Shiki, whose strength had already recovered by more than half, heard Garp's merciless mockery and raised his leg to slash without even thinking.
Strangely, the expected sharp sword aura did not burst forth.
Instead, there were two crisp cracks.
The twin blades attached to his legs snapped cleanly in half!
After all, they were only two ordinary swords he had picked up at random.
Cutting apart that iceberg earlier had already pushed them to their limit.
The completely unexpected scene left Golden Lion both humiliated and furious.
His old face flushed bright red.!
He glared at Garp as if the man were the culprit behind everything.
Naturally, Shiki knew that it was Garp who had sent people to drag him back to Impel Down, so he roared at him angrily,
"GARP, YOU BASTARD! YOU FIST-SWINGING OLD DOG, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU HIDE MY SWORDS?!"
With a soft pop, Cain instantly undid his transformation and returned to his human form.
Although Cain's current strength was far above that of Shiki, who had only recovered part of his power, he still could not help taking a guilty step backward.
At that moment, Sengoku finally noticed something was wrong.
Shiki's Float-Float Fruit could only make non-living things float.
Then how was Luffy, Little Oars, and that whole group of living people frozen in midair right now?
He turned to look at Ace beside him.
Ace and Luffy were still shouting at each other at the top of their lungs.
Their argument of "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE!" and "I CAME ANYWAY!" rang out clearly.
Sengoku's expression grew increasingly solemn, his brows locking tight.
'Was there someone else interfering behind the scenes of this chaotic battle?'
Almost at the same time, a Marine came running toward Fleet Admiral Sengoku in a panic, holding a projection Den Den Mushi in his hands as he hurriedly reported the situation.
…
Sabaody Archipelago.
"Look! There's an image! The screen has an image again!"
"What's happening? How's the battle going?"
"Has the execution started? What happened to Ace?"
The crowd erupted into noise.
Before the gathered people in the plaza, one of the three broadcast screens—the one in the center—suddenly lit up.
The figure that appeared on the screen was none other than Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
He was standing in a dimly lit room, and his usually stern face was still clearly visible on the screen.
The moment he opened his mouth, he delivered an extremely solemn apology.
"I am truly sorry. This incident was a failure on the Marines' part!"
That one sentence alone sent the reporters at the scene into another frenzy.
What's going on?
Could it be that the Marines had been hiding some other important piece of information?
On the screen, Sengoku took a deep breath and spoke again.
His voice spread through the broadcast Den Den Mushi and reached the entire world.
"All previous information claiming that Fire Fist Ace is the son of Roger is hereby declared invalid!"
"Hey! What the hell is going on?!"
"How can they just say it's invalid now? I already sent my article back to the editorial office!"
"Do the Marines have any credibility or not? One moment they say he is, and the next they say he isn't!"
Voices of doubt rose one after another, but Sengoku on the screen remained calm and continued speaking.
"I am deeply sorry. Because of incorrect information from the Marines, we caused unnecessary panic throughout the world. Previously, we did indeed find many pieces of evidence, all of which pointed to Fire Fist Ace being the son of the Pirate King, Gold Roger. However, we overlooked the most crucial matter."
"And that is the biological structure of 'humans.' This is information we have only just verified. According to the latest paper published by the genius scientist Vegapunk, whose technology is said to be five hundred years ahead of the world, the paper was written from the perspective of promoting harmonious coexistence among all races and objectively explains the physical structures and related cultures of each race…"
"In other words, every conclusion recorded in that paper has been repeatedly verified by this genius scientist."
"The paper clearly states the specific amount of time required for a human woman to carry a child from conception to birth."
"Therefore, our previous speculation that Fire Fist Ace's mother carried him for twenty months before giving birth is absolutely impossible."
"He has no connection whatsoever to the Pirate King, Roger. He is merely an ordinary child who happened to be born on that island. Nothing more."
"Even so, we Marines will continue to uphold the justice in our hearts, fulfill our duties, and protect these seas. Therefore, our encirclement of the Whitebeard Pirates will continue."
Although the first half of Sengoku's statement caused many people's trust in the Marines to plummet sharply, the final declaration undoubtedly pulled some of that trust back.
...
Red Line, Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders, the highest authorities of the World Government, stared at Sengoku's speech on the screen, their faces full of confusion.
Shepherd Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, spoke with a grave expression.
"What is Sengoku doing? Has he been replaced by someone? Is he trying to prevent this war from proceeding normally?"
Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, responded.
"Even so, Whitebeard will still die here in the end. Whether Fire Fist Ace dies or not is irrelevant. Even if he truly is Roger's son, his level of threat is far below that of his father."
Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of the Environment, followed up.
"Still, should we investigate this? Vegapunk chose this exact period to publish such a paper. Was it intentional, or purely coincidence? This matter should fall under your responsibility, Saturn."
Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, leaned on his cane and spoke calmly.
"It is merely a paper. It has no real significance. Vegapunk is currently developing a new type of energy, and Lord Imu is quite interested in it. This is clearly not the time to hold him accountable. If anything truly goes wrong during this period, I will personally offer my apology to Lord Imu."
Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, the Warrior God of Finance, wiped the blade in his hand and looked toward the other four.
"In other words, whatever that person in the Navy pretending to be 'Sengoku' said has no meaning at all. If it was only for the sake of one Fire Fist Ace, then there was even less need."
"Executing the 'son of Roger' was merely a way to increase the Marines' prestige. To the World Government, it offers no substantial benefit."
Warcury Saint nodded.
"Then this time, as before, we do not need to act."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
With four voices of agreement, the decision of the Five Elders was settled.
…
The images and information transmitted by the broadcast Den Den Mushi had been laid bare before the world.
Naturally, Sengoku would never willingly do something that damaged the Marines' prestige and public trust.
Besides—
The real Sengoku himself was currently standing in Marineford's plaza.
How could he possibly be hiding in some unfamiliar room, saying those things?
The image and voice that had just come through the broadcast Den Den Mushi were also seen clearly by Sengoku and Ace beside the ruins of the execution platform.
The cause was simple.
The Marine who had come running in a panic was one of the people responsible for monitoring the broadcast feed and searching for the missing Den Den Mushi.
When he saw "Fleet Admiral Sengoku" suddenly appear on the screen, while the real Sengoku was clearly standing in the plaza, he immediately realized something was wrong.
He hurried over with a projection Den Den Mushi and played the broadcast footage for Sengoku.
The same scene was seen by Ace, Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and Yamato, who were closest to him.
It was obvious.
The Sengoku who had just appeared through the Den Den Mushi was someone else in disguise!