Yukino looked at Dragon, was silent for a moment, and spoke.
"I thought you were different from your father."
"But it turns out, you two… or rather, your whole family are all the same."
Dragon's brow furrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Akainu, beside him, also furrowed his brow and asked in a deep voice, "What are you talking about?"
Yukino took a deep breath.
"Over twenty years ago, before Roger was executed, he told one person the news and location of his child."
Her gaze fell on Garp.
"The Marine Hero… Monkey D. Garp."
Garp's pupils contracted sharply.
"If Nishikawa Makoto hadn't intervened, Garp would have adopted that child."
Yukino was silent for a moment, then looked at Makoto. Seeing that he didn't object, she continued.
"That child is Portgas D. Ace. No, he should be called Gol D. Ace."
Everyone looked in unison at Ace, standing behind Makoto.
That face, black hair, brown eyes… apart from the freckles on his cheeks, it was almost identical to a young Roger.
"Re-really?"
"He... he's still alive?"
"The bloodline of the Pirate King? It still exists!?"
The Marine veterans who had fought against Roger all exclaimed in surprise. Only now did they realize that Ace really did resemble Roger.
Yukino continued. "As a Marine Hero, Garp should have revealed this information to protect those innocent pregnant women and infants. But he chose to ignore it."
Her voice grew colder.
"Those pregnant women and infants were captured one by one by the World Government and secretly executed."
Yukino looked coldly at Dragon.
"And you, Dragon, as the commander of the Revolutionary Army, should have prioritized the revolution. Yet now, to save your son, you've dragged so many of your comrades from Revolutionary Army into this."
Yukino's gaze grew increasingly disappointed.
"Your whole family is truly hopeless."
With that, Yukino turned away and led Koala, Issho, Smoker, and others away without looking back.
The way the Marine soldiers looked at Garp had completely changed.
Although Garp had smashed the execution platform and played the 'rebel' earlier,
many felt it was understandable.
After all, the one being executed was his own grandson, and Luffy didn't seem to have done anything heinous, just defeated Crocodile.
And according to subsequent investigations, Crocodile had indeed committed many heinous acts in Alabasta.
But no one had expected that back then, he had known the truth about Roger's child.
Yet he had chosen to withhold the information.
Leading to the tragic deaths of so many women and children. That was a different matter altogether.
"Garp-san..."
"Is this true?"
"You really..."
The soldiers' eyes were full of doubt, disappointment, and anger.
Garp bowed his head in silence.
He didn't notice that among the crowd, a pair of eyes had gone from shock to extremes of hatred.
Yukino left with over half of the Revolutionary Army's members.
The old Revolutionary Army, on the other hand, became the target of many of Makoto's subordinates.
Hachiman set his sights on Ivankov. Because his beloved Totsuka Saika had once said that she really wanted Ivankov's ability.
Normally, Hachiman was very unambitious, as long as he could live a good life with Saika.
But since this was his wife's request, of course he had to give it his all.
And Dragon also became a key target of Makoto's women.
"Your ability seems very interesting, Uncle Dragon."
Yamato and Chika, the 'kanabo sister duo' both inherited from Kaido, stared at Dragon with shining eyes and asked in unison, "Can you hand over your Devil Fruit's ability?"
Dragon remained silent, his fists clenched, Armament Haki coiling around them as he assumed a fighting stance.
He didn't answer, but his attitude was clear.
Seeing Makoto's men start targeting the Revolutionary Army, Sabo couldn't help but call out to Yukino and her group again.
"Yukino! Haruno! Are you really going to stand by and watch us die?!"
In the distance, Yukino's ship had already raised its sails. The white sails billowed in the sea breeze, the hull slowly pulling away from the port.
Sabo gritted his teeth and then looked at Smoker.
"Smoker-san! You—"
"Shut up."
Smoker, chewing on a cigar, walked onto the ship without looking back.
"I joined the Revolutionary Army to overthrow the World Government, not to be a bodyguard for your little brother."
With one Admiral fleeing and another defecting, the Marine's morale completely collapsed.
"Borsalino-san and Sakazuki-san both..."
"Can... can we still win?"
"Stop fighting! Run!"
Far away in Mary Geoise. Imu sat on the empty throne, watching the battle situation at Marineford.
"Worthless... all worthless..."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. At this moment, Imu knew he could no longer hold back.
The power of his Devil Fruit ability, Domi Reversi, was pushed to its absolute limit.
Marineford, the battlefield.
On the battlefield, the bodies of those Marine Vice Admirals who had signed the contract suddenly began to tremble violently.
"Arrrgghh—!"
Doberman and the others let out pained screams.
Their already-enlarged bodies swelled even further. Their pupils completely lost focus, turning into a lifeless pure white.
Onigumo, Momonga, Strawberry, Yamakaji... one by one, they all suffered the same.
Their aura surged. Their strength first jumped from Vice Admiral to Admiral candidate level, and now it was being pushed to infinitely close to an Admiral's.
"Kill... anyone who obstructs Imu-sama... must all be killed."
Doberman and the others let out slurred roars. There was no trace of rationality in their eyes, only mad killing intent. He raised his sword and struck at the nearest Marine soldier who was about to flee with the main force.
Blood splattered.
That soldier didn't even have time to scream before being cut in half.
"Doberman-san! What's wrong with you?"
"Stop! Please stop!"
The soldiers' pleas were useless. Onigumo, with six swords in his six hands, swung them wildly through the crowd. With each flash of his blades, soldiers fell… utterly indiscriminate.
And not just hawkish Marine officers like Doberman and Onigumo. Even Momonga, a dovish officer, struck out with his sword, cutting down many soldiers who had once been his subordinates.
They were no longer human. They were merely Imu's puppets.
Just then…
Boom—!!!
A giant laser descended from the sky, landing precisely on Doberman.
Doberman's body was instantly evaporated by the laser, not even ashes left behind.
Yu, in his Gun Devil form, once again transformed into the calamity-level Gun Devil.
Bang bang bang bang bang—!
An endless rain of gunfire poured down.
Bullets tore through the air with sharp whistles, precisely hitting those demonified Marine officers.
Onigumo was turned into a sieve by dozens of armor-piercing rounds. His body exploded, flesh flying.
Momonga was pierced through the chest by a laser, a huge bloody hole left behind, visible from front to back.
Yamakaji was torn apart by countless bullets, his body scattering into pieces on the ground.
Beam, Four Gay Bros, and others were no pushovers either.
As genuine Devils, how could they be afraid of these pirated copies?
"Come out! Imu!"
Yu fired a shot toward Mary Geoise.
Boom—!!!
A giant laser shot from his gun barrel, tearing across the sky, crossing dozens of kilometers, and landing precisely on Pangaea Castle.
Pangaea Castle exploded, rubble flying, smoke billowing.
That white palace, which had been rebuilt once forty years ago, in this moment, once again turned into ruins.
Imu stood up from the rubble.
His face was pale, his eyes full of fury.
"Nishikawa Makoto... Ishigami Yu..."
Above Marineford, the sky suddenly darkened.
A wave of Conqueror's Haki, so dark purple it was nearly black, descended from the sky like a towering tsunami, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
The surrounding collapsed buildings seemed to come to life, beginning to writhe, deform, and grow.
Eyes grew on the walls… giant eyes, filled with blood vessels, blinking, their pupils reflecting the burning Marineford.
Mouths grew on the ground, their pitch-black throats letting out eerie laughter, rising one after another, like ten thousand ghosts crying in unison.
"It's here, just like last time..."
Garp looked up at the sky, his expression grave.
Yukino stood by the gunwale of the ship, looked back, and frowned deeply.
The Conqueror's Haki lightning descending from the sky gradually condensed into a human form.
After the light dissipated, a 'small giant' whose physique was a third larger than Kaido's appeared in mid-air.
He had black skin, white hair, and androgynous features. His pale, long hair covered his left eye.
His body was wrapped in dark red aura, which moved around him like living creatures, occasionally taking the form of eyes, mouths, or some indescribable shape.
Nerona Imu has descended once again.