"Rocks?"
"Who's that? Was he some big-shot pirate from back in the day too?"
"Hey, didn't you come back from the New World? Do you know anything about him?"
"Never heard of him."
The reporters gathered on the Sabaody Archipelago were whispering among themselves, their confusion spreading through the crowd.
Far off at the edge of a raised platform, Rayleigh sat cross-legged with half a bottle of liquor in his hand.
His eyes rested on the giant screen, fixed on the enlarged face being shown there, and he gently shook his head.
"To think even you're about to vanish beneath the waves of time, Rocks."
Rocks had once roamed the seas, ruling over an entire era—until, for reasons still unknown, his pirate crew was forced to disband, and Rocks himself disappeared from history.
But that had been thirty-six years ago.
Among the reporters busily taking notes in the plaza, even the oldest was only in his early thirties.
Add in the World Government's suppression of information related to Rocks, and it was only natural that most of them had no impression of him.
After all, when people spoke of pirates, the name that rang the loudest would always be the Pirate King, Roger—the man who reached Laugh Tale and ignited the Great Pirate Era.
As for Rocks, who had long since faded into the river of history, he was not someone ordinary people remembered.
And the ones who truly did remember the Rocks Pirates, whether they were civilians or officials of the World Government, were already old and gray.
That was precisely why those who knew of the Rocks Pirates understood better than anyone just how dangerous that name truly was.
Still, whether the world knew Rocks or not no longer mattered.
Because a certain King of News, who had been monitoring every movement on the battlefield, was capable of fabricating even the entire process of Garp becoming the Hero of the Marines.
The moment he heard the name "Rocks," his eyes lit up, and the pen in his hand began racing across the paper.
It probably would not be long before the name Rocks echoed across the seas once again.
…
Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
The Five Elders stared at the images on the screen before them, their brows locked tight.
"The bloodline of Davy still hasn't been cut off?"
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro slammed his sword against the floor and asked in a heavy voice.
Saint Topman Warcury turned to the other side.
"You should have the most to say on this matter, Saturn."
"It shouldn't be possible."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn only spoke half a sentence before abruptly falling silent.
"Back then, it was Lord Imu personally who acted, forcing Rocks into his blackened state and suppressing him by hand…"
He paused.
In his heart, however, a thought surfaced.
'If anyone could have saved someone from Rocks while he was in that blackened state, perhaps it could only have been Bartholomew Kuma after eating the Paw-Paw Fruit.'
'If Kuma truly saved Davy's bloodline back then, and Kuma has been under my control all these years, yet I received no related information at all…'
Only now did Saturn realize just how grave an error he had committed.
But he did not admit it.
Just like that robot which had once attacked Mary Geoise and should have been completely destroyed by the World Government.
Saturn had not destroyed it according to regulations. Instead, he had hidden the matter and allowed Vegapunk to secretly study it.
This time was the same.
He concealed the key details of that incident and only brought out the conclusion that "Lord Imu personally acted, so there could be no mistake," convincing the other four Elders.
"Even so, better to treat it as true than dismiss it as false," Saint Marcus Mars said slowly.
"Contact the Marines at once," Saint Warcury ordered in a deep voice. "No matter what method they use, Marshall D. Teach—Blackbeard—must be kept there!"
…
On the other side, Law had just arrived at the edge of the battlefield in his submarine, the vessel slowly surfacing from beneath the melted ice.
At this moment, nearly everyone on the battlefield had heard Golden Lion's shout.
The moment Garp heard the name "Rocks," he instinctively let go of Golden Lion's leg, opened his eyes wide, and sat upright with a jolt.
Even Yamato and Zephyr, who were fighting each other, immediately stopped their attacks and turned almost simultaneously to look toward Blackbeard.
Sengoku, who had been questioning Blackbeard about why he had appeared here with prisoners from Impel Down, gritted his teeth in anger.
First, they had failed to make Ace's identity as Roger's son stick, making it impossible to proceed with the execution properly.
Now, out of nowhere, a "child of Rocks" had appeared.
He stared hard at Blackbeard's fleshy, savage face.
The longer he looked, the more he felt that he could indeed see traces of Rocks' old brutality in those features.
With one change after another piling up, just how chaotic was this war going to become?!
Even with his thoughts churning, Sengoku still made an immediate decision.
He ordered Blackbeard stripped of his title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and commanded all Marines to pursue him.
But Blackbeard was not listening to Sengoku at all.
As for the name Rocks, and the suspected identity of "Rocks' son," Blackbeard neither admitted nor denied it.
Instead, he laughed wildly, lifted the broadcast Den Den Mushi in his hand, and declared to the camera that this entire war had been part of his plan from beginning to end.
Whether it was Fire Fist Ace or Whitebeard, everything had been for this very moment.
The prisoners from Impel Down, and the wounded Whitebeard before him now—every last one of them was his target.
Akainu took the opportunity to break free from Whitebeard's grasp, his cold eyes sweeping over the battlefield.
Whitebeard had clearly heard those words as well.
Slowly, he spoke.
"I noticed a few signs long ago. I didn't expect it to really be true… But with what you've done, you're not worthy of being his child, Teach!"
"Don't say that, Pops. I inherited his will."
Blackbeard grinned arrogantly.
"Everything I've done has been for this… After all, your Tremor-Tremor Fruit is just too damn powerful…"
"YOU'RE NOT WORTHY!"
Whitebeard roared, both fists tightening at once as he slammed them toward both sides.
His left fist struck toward Blackbeard.
His right fist swung toward the distant Marine Encircling Wall.
"SKY-RENDING STRIKE!"
A full-power blow from the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, wrapped in the Conqueror's Haki of Whitebeard's peak, erupted violently.
The space itself cracked open, the fissures spreading wider and wider.
Black-red lightning crawled up into the sky along the fractures.
The shock of Conqueror's Haki swept through the area. Katakuri, who had been pursuing him, tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and retreated at high speed.
Seeing that, Crocodile also abruptly pulled back several steps, barely avoiding the attack.
Whitebeard's right-hand punch blasted a massive gap in the Encircling Wall trapping the pirates.
As for Blackbeard's side, he was directly facing the heavy blow from Whitebeard's left hand.
He hurriedly activated Black Vortex, trying to absorb the impact.
But the power behind that strike was simply too great.
The absorption of Black Vortex had its limits.
The crushing pressure of the impact, carrying the suffocating force of shattered space, slammed Blackbeard's group toward the edge of the island.
Blackbeard and the prisoners were left covered in wounds. The sound of bones breaking and agonized cries rang out one after another.
Some lost consciousness on the spot, falling into a near-death state.
The arrogance they had carried when they first appeared was gone.
That near-prime, full-power strike from Whitebeard had forcibly torn open an escape route for the pirates.
At the same time, Whitebeard coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. His legs went weak, and he dropped heavily to one knee.
His powerful body rapidly shrank back down, returning to its aged form.
Then he roared toward the pirates at the top of his lungs.
"HURRY UP AND TAKE ACE AWAY!"
But in the next instant, Akainu had already rushed behind him.
A heavy punch pierced straight through Whitebeard's chest.
"POPS!"
Ace screamed through his tears, gripping his Sea-Prism Stone shackles and smashing them hard against Cain's arm.
The moment Cain's arm touched the Sea-Prism Stone, weakness instinctively shot through it, and his hand loosened from where it had been holding Ace back.
Ace staggered forward and charged toward Whitebeard.
Luffy was not in good shape either.
Since the day before, he had not rested at all. He had fought all the way until now, and his stamina was long since exhausted.
He collapsed straight to the ground.
Seeing this, Sabo hurried over to support him.
But Luffy did not care about the pain and exhaustion covering his body.
He still forced himself to raise his hand, trying to give Ace the key hidden in his palm.
But Ace had already run farther and farther away, completely unaware of his movement.
Cain froze for a moment.
Just now, Ace had barely been able to stand.
Yet now he was pouring every last bit of strength into rushing toward the center of the battlefield.
Cain had no time to think.
He immediately stepped forward and pressed Ace down to the ground.
"Enough, Ace. This is Whitebeard's own choice."
"Ace, leave this place."
Whitebeard gasped heavily, his voice broken and uneven.
"I am a remnant of the old era… The New World… has no ship that can carry me anymore. You all have to live well…"
As he spoke, Whitebeard threw a backhanded punch and forced Akainu behind him away.
Then he tightened his grip on Murakumogiri and slashed toward Akainu.
Akainu was not in good condition either.
Blood seeped from all over his body, and deep wounds exposed bone in several places. His reactions had already slowed, and he could not dodge in time.
The blade cut into his ribs, sinking more than halfway in.
Immediately after, a sharp flying slash came tearing in.
Just as it was about to strike Akainu, Aokiji arrived and blocked it for him, though he was still forced back several hundred meters.
"You look pretty miserable, Sakazuki."
"I don't need you meddling, Kuzan."
While the two Marine Admirals exchanged words, Whitebeard turned his head toward the direction the slash had come from.
Golden Lion stood there, gripping both of Vista's swords, his face twisted in fury as he cursed at Whitebeard.
"NO SHIP THAT CAN CARRY YOU? DON'T SCREW WITH ME! IF EVEN YOU GIVE UP, THEN WHAT THE HELL HAS ALL MY STUBBORNNESS MEANT AFTER ALL THIS TIME?!"
"IF THERE REALLY ISN'T A SHIP THAT CAN CARRY YOU, THEN I'LL USE THE ENTIRE ISLAND TO CARRY YOU ACROSS THE SEA YOU FUCKER!"
The moment his words fell, the entirety of Marineford began slowly rising under Golden Lion's power.
It climbed until it approached the Raigo in the sky, and the lightning within was naturally drawn downward, striking Marineford's buildings one bolt after another.
Shiki had always been despicable.
He had betrayed his companions plenty of times too.
But on this matter, he absolutely would not allow Whitebeard to say such a thing!
"COME AT ME, MARINES!"
Sengoku was stunned.
His brain was nearly boiling from anger.
Could this war not end normally for once?
Shiki—
No, Cain—
No, Luffy—
No, Garp—
This was all your fault!
---------
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