Chapter 19

Ace watched what was happening while chained to the platform. Seeing Luffy getting ganged up on by so many people was terrifying for Ace. Luffy was his precious little brother and he couldn't stand watching him risk his life like that, "Luffy... STAY AWAY LUFFY!!"

Luffy continued to bash people out of his way, blatantly ignoring Ace's shouting. Ace wouldn't give up though, "You should know better! We're both pirates! We have both sailed the seas! I HAVE MY OWN ADVENTURES! I HAVE MY OWN FRIENDS! YOU SHOULDN'T BUTT IN! YOU'RE SUCH A WEAKLING! YOU THINK I'LL FORGIVE SOMEONE LIKE YOU FOR RESCUING ME?! THIS IS HUMILIATING!! GO HOME LUFFY!!"

Luffy finally got fed up with Ace running his mouth and shouted back, "I AM YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES OF PIRATES!!"

Luffy's shouting about being Ace's brother caused a big commotion. It was impossible for them to actually be related by blood. It wasn't until Sengoku revealed that Luffy was the son of Dragon that the confusion was cleared. Though, it did lead to many Marines wanting to kill Luffy just because of who his father was. Luffy didn't care about the commotion the revelation of his father caused, instead he continued to yell at Ace, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!! I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU EVEN IF IT KILLS ME, ACE!!"

Ace seemed to deflate at Luffy's words. From the execution platform, he could see everything happening in the war. He finally gave up trying to convince them to all leave and let him die. Markus nodded in agreement with the decisions of Luffy and Ace. Markus might not be related to anyone in the crew but, if any of them were in Ace's position, he'd raise hell and sink Marineford into the sea without hesitating. He may not have exchanged cups of sake with them, but they were still his family.

Markus's attention shifted as he scouted for more information as things were progressing. He remembered most of Sengoku's plan but not all of it. He needed to keep an eye on the Marines so he can interfere with it to his full capabilities. One such thing was when Sengoku had the walls around the bay raised. The thick steel walls were filled with canons and turned the entire bay into a kill zone. That HAD to be prevented but Markus had no idea where the control room was to destroy it. He also didn't remember the name of the dick that stabbed Whitebeard. He had to keep his ears open for Akainu to turn someone as well.

When he glanced at Luffy, he saw him getting pummeled by Captain Smoker. Man, Smoker was really a terrible matchup for Luffy. Without Haki or some kind of elemental weakness, Smoker was completely invulnerable to anything Luffy could do. Lucky for him, Hancock came to his rescue. Like most, if not all Amazons, Hancock could use Haki and deal with Smoker. She'd also stolen the key to Ace's cuffs and given it to Luffy. Markus didn't want to admit it, but seeing Hancock blushing with a love-struck look on her face after Luffy hugged her was pretty enchanting. He still didn't have any interest in her though.

The war was beginning to go really badly for the Marines. With the arrival of Luffy and his allies, the Marines were getting pummeled into the ground. Markus had already taken out the Shichibukai that Jinbe and Ivan would have fought in the canon story. That just left Captains and Vice Admirals to contend against them. They were nowhere near enough. Jinbe's Fishman Karate was impressive to see in person. With just a punch he would send dozens of men flying. Ivan... Ivan was really... interesting to watch fight. Somehow, Ivan's winks were powerful enough to cause explosions.

It wasn't long before Mihawk decided to confront Luffy. Markus cracked his neck, "Looks like I should play a bit."

Despite how lighthearted or cocky his words sounded, he was still a little wary of fighting against Mihawk. Especially after he looked at Mihawk's status and saw that his level had jumped to over two hundred. He had no idea how that was possible. Maybe Mihawk could control his strength to such a degree that it could fool his system? Or did he gain over one hundred levels worth of strength over the last few months? Well, it didn't matter which it was. It just meant Mihawk was serious and seriously strong.

Markus's body erupted in sparks before he dashed off of the figurehead and blasted through the air with Geppo. As he flew through the air, Mihawk raised his sword and slashed down toward Luffy releasing a powerful flying slash that could be seen by everyone due to its massive size. Markus landed in front of Luffy with his hand on Shodai. In a single rapid and smooth action, Markus pulled Shodai from its sheath and coated it in Armament Haki. His blade violently clashed with the powerful flying slash. Fortunately, his massively boosted physical attributes kept him from being overpowered and allowed him to deflect the flying slash into the sky.

"Markus! You're here?!"

Markus grinned, "I was here way before you captain. I'll keep Mihawk busy, you go ahead."

Mihawk looked at Markus with narrowed eyes, "Silvers D. Markus... I didn't peg you for a swordsman... and that sword... Where did you get it?"

Markus chuckled a little, "I'm not a swordsman, I'm sure you'd consider me to be an amateur at best. As for the sword... Not telling."

Luffy looked between Markus and Mihawk before taking off, "Thanks, Markus!"

Mihawk didn't take his eyes off of Markus but he looked a little vexed at the moment. Markus kept a calm smile on his face but on the inside, he was filled with trepidation. He'd never once beaten Mihawk in pure swordsmanship, all he could count on were his skills. Fortunately, he'd practiced and felt that with his experience defending against Mihawk and his enhanced attributes, perception, and reaction speed, that he could at least defend his life.

Mihawk didn't speak anymore, he was the kind of man that seemed to like talking with his sword in situations such as this. Both men dashed toward each other at the same time, surprisingly Markus seemed to have a rather large lead over Mihawk in terms of speed. Of course, that was only with his Lightning Armor active. Mihawk seemed slightly surprised about Markus's speed but it didn't bother him. He performed a perfect slash to bisect Markus.

Markus immediately went on the defensive. Shodai swiftly sliced through the air and intercepted Yoru with a loud clang. Shodai practically vibrated in joy at meeting a worthy foe in Yoru. Mihawk's eyes widened a little bit. Now that he was closer and clashing with Markus's blade, he could clearly feel the curse that the sword contained. Mihawk jumped back and looked between Markus and Shodai, "That sword is cursed... a powerful one as well. How is it not controlling you? You're no swordsman so it should be trying its best to take you over or kill you."

Markus lifted up Shodai and looked over its black gleaming blade, "It knows who the boss is. It's true that it tried to take control of me when I first drew it but I overpowered its will with my own. Since then it's been a loyal companion. A little bloodthirsty maybe, but still loyal."

Mihawk looked intrigued, "Perhaps you have a future as a swordsman... if you survive today."

Markus chuckled softly while taking a defensive pose. His goal was to delay Mihawk for a bit, not defeat him. He didn't want to piss Mihawk off too much and end up having him refuse to help Zoro get stronger. So, Markus would become an impenetrable wall for the next few minutes while Luffy got further away.

As the two men stared at each other, a massive sand tornado came out of nowhere. Markus and Mihawk glanced at it. Markus spotted a familiar idiot, though the truth was that idiot was super lucky. Buggy was stuck in the sand tornado and screaming for help. Markus smirked and Geppo'd right up to Buggy to grab him and throw him directly at Mihawk. Mihawk didn't hesitate for a moment and turned Buggy into sashimi.

Lucky for Buggy, his Bara Bara no Mi made him immune to Mihawk's slashes since he wasn't using Haki. Buggy was furious and once his body reassembled he turned to Markus, "WHAT THE HELL DO... you..."

Buggy slowly trailed off as he noticed just who it was that threw him at Mihawk. He'd been in jail so he wasn't up to date on Markus's bounty but he wasn't blind and could see the electricity rippling around Markus's body and the scary-looking sword in his hand. Buggy swallowed loudly, "Oh... uh... you've changed Markus..." Buggy instantly tried to divert the conversation, "Oh yeah! Has Alvida found you yet? She's been looking everywhere!"

Markus tilted his head for a bit, "Wow, I almost forgot about Alvida. I haven't seen her since Loguetown when you guys got nabbed by the Marines. That was so pathetic Buggy! I didn't even have a Devil Fruit then and we still got away. Pffft!"

There were clearly veins throbbing on Buggy's forehead. Markus just smirked and shoved him toward Mihawk, "Thanks for taking over here Buggy!"

As soon as he shoved Buggy, Markus took off as a bolt of lightning and landed next to Whitebeard. While he'd been busy with Mihawk and Buggy, he'd overheard some news he'd been waiting for. As he landed next to Whitebeard, he looked up at the old man, "Sengoku is about to have a stroke. Watch and enjoy."

Just as Markus finished speaking, a Marine ran up to Sengoku to make a report, "Fleet Admiral! Th-There's a problem! We can't contact Sentomaru or anyone else from the ship he was on!"

Sengoku looked shocked, "What do you mean you can't contact anyone on the ship?! What happened?!"

"We don't know! After contact failed we went for a visual confirmation but the ship is missing!"

"Missing?! How did a ship go missing?!"

Whitebeard looked down at Markus, "Your doing?"

Markus nodded, "The ship contained twenty of the Marines newest human weapons known as Pasifista's. I took them all out and sank the ship. I also tossed all the Den Den Mushi's into the sea so there's no way for them to figure out what happened."

"Gurararara! It's not often someone can pull one over on that old dog!"

Sengoku looked like he was ready to blow his top. Markus could clearly hear him grinding his teeth in rage, his plan had been so badly disrupted, "That goddamn Sentomaru! What the hell is he doing at such an important moment! FIND HIM, NOW!"

Sengoku looked around and when his eyes landed on Markus, his rage spiked. Markus had a cheeky grin and gave Sengoku a V sign with his fingers. It was as plain as day that Markus had something to do with the disruption in his plans. Still, Sengoku wasn't about to give up. He had to get some sort of victory out of this or else the Marines really would lose all of their reputation. So far all they've managed to accomplish is wounding and killing some of the weaker members of the Whitebeard Pirates.

All of the Commanders of the Whitebeard fleet were still doing great. Without powerful Shichibukai like Kuma and Mingo to help fight, their strength had been greatly compromised. It got even worse with Boa Hancock's obvious betrayal and loyalty to Luffy. They were left with a single Shichibukai and as strong as Mihawk was, he was only one man. One man who was currently engaged in a drawn-out battle with Vista, a Whitebeard Commander, preventing him from helping elsewhere.

Sengoku observed the battlefield some more before he began to issue orders, "Have all Marines draw back from the ice! Don't let the pirates near the platform! We might not be able to block them in completely but we can still continue! Cut the Den Den Mushi broadcast! The public isn't prepared for what we're about to do! Once the picture cuts out begin the route! At the same time as Ace's execution, WIPE THEM ALL OUT!"

As the Marines retreated, the Pirate's charged forward. Well, most of the Pirates. Buggy and his misfits from Impel Down had managed to steal one of the video broadcasting Den Den Mushi's from the Marines and were putting on their own pathetic little show. Markus had a plan for that broadcasting Den Den Mushi but it could wait for a bit. Man, the Marines were going to look so weak by the time Markus was done with them.

When Sengoku got the report that one of the broadcasting Den Den Mushi had been stolen and was still active, Sengoku was so angry it looked like the veins throbbing on his neck and forehead were about to explode. Markus wanted to antagonize him further and as he was thinking about what he should do, a man he didn't recognize boarded the Moby Dick and walked toward Whitebeard. As he did, Whitebeard turned his head to the side, "Squard! Are you hurt? I haven't been able to contact you."

Markus turned to look at Squard and even though he didn't recognize the man, he recognized the moment. Squard was, putting it politely, a rather unattractive man. He was pale, tall, slim, bald on top of his head with a long mane of dirty-pink hair flowing out of the back of his head, sharp teeth, and an ugly ass spider tattoo on his forehead. It wasn't Squard's looks that caught Markus's attention though, it was the oversized katana he was carrying in his hands. This was the man who stabbed Whitebeard after listening to the lies of Akainu. So, not only was he ugly, he was an idiot as well.

Maybe that wasn't entirely fair, Squard had his own history and all, but then again what kind of fool would listen not just to an enemy but one of the leaders of the enemy? Furthermore, why trust that enemy leader over your own leader who's been your family for years or even decades? Markus couldn't understand it. If someone told him that Luffy had betrayed him, he would laugh in their faces at the absurdity of their words. Squard knew Whitebeard even better than Markus did and Markus already knew Whitebeard would never betray his own.

All of these thoughts passed through Markus's mind in a flash while Squard continued to walk toward Whitebeard, "Ah, Sorry dad."

He stepped up next to Whitebeard and seemed to look a little confused about the situation. Things were not going at all how Akainu had said they would. Seeing the confusion on his face, Markus spoke up, "Squard, right?"

Squard looked over at Markus, "Yeah, who're you? You a freshly adopted son?"

Markus smiled, "While that would be an honor, I could never betray my captain like that. I'm Markus, a member of the Strawhat Pirates." He gestured to where Luffy was going ape on Marines, "That's my captain over there."

As Squard looked over toward Luffy, Markus continued, "You know, you really shouldn't listen to the words of the enemy Squard. Akainu's only goal was to deceive you and sew discord among you all."

Squard froze up like a kid caught by his mother with his hand in a cookie jar. Whitebeard's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in anger. Not anger at Squard for being deceived, but at the Marines for trying to play such a dirty trick on his son! Squard slowly turned to look at Markus, he was confused about the situation. According to Akainu, there was supposed to be some sort of attack on their rear but so far it had all been nothing but standard Marine battleships that they didn't really fear. Casualties had been minimal, nothing like the mass death Akainu hinted at.

Markus smiled, "Do you really think your father would betray you? I've only known Whitebeard, in person, for a few days and even I know he would do no such thing."

Squard turned to face Whitebeard, "The Marines told me that they promised to spare the lives of you, your crew, and even Ace! He said you tricked us because Ace was Gold Roger's son! Is it true?"

Markus smiled, things were going completely different from what the Marines had planned. Without the Pacifista decimating the allied crews outside of the bay, there wasn't much stress or fear to push him to the edge. Squard was calmer and seemed willing to listen. Whitebeard looked down at Squard, "It's true that Ace is Roger's son. They tried to manipulate you, knowing how much that information would affect you."

Squard looked up at Whitebeard while tears formed in his eyes. Seeing Squard crying was a rather unpleasant sight for Markus but he endured while Squard spoke, "Did you betray us?"

Whitebeard looked down at Squard, "My foolish son..." Whitebeard dropped to one knee and wrapped Squard in a one-armed hug, "Though you may be a fool, I still love you. I know how much you hate Roger but, Squard, it's ridiculous to hold children accountable for the sins. What has Ace ever done to you? He is your friend, companion, ally, and brother. You are all my family and I would never betray any of you."

Without the huge event of Squard stabbing Whitebeard, not too many people had paid attention to their conversation. They remained focused on crushing the Marines before them and were doing a damned good job at it. Markus turned his gaze to Sengoku and gave the fuming Fleet Admiral another V sign. Sengoku was about to lose his mind seeing yet another part of his 'flawless' plan being so easily destroyed by Markus. With spit flying from his mouth he shouted, "Aokiji! STOP THAT DAMNED DEN DEN MUSHI!"

Aokiji quickly leaped into the air and located Buggy and his minions. With a quick wave of his hand, they all turned into ice statues cutting off the transmission. With no witnesses being able to watch anymore, Sengoku issued another order, one Markus had been waiting for, "RAISE THE SIEGE WALL!"

Markus strained his ears, focusing on the Marines side. He knew about the siege wall but he had no clue where the control room was located. He'd need to wait until now to hear the people inside of the room receive their orders. Once they did, he could locate the control room and blast it to pieces. Without being able to raise the walls loaded with canons, the Marines would be in for an even worse time!

"Yes, Sir! Raising the siege wall!"

As Markus's hearing picked up the reply from the Marines in the control room, he located them. A smile spread on his face as electricity charged around his body. Whitebeard and Squard looked at Markus prompting him to explain, "Oh, don't mind me, just going to ruin yet another of Sengoku's tricks."

All three of them shared a vicious smirk.