[156] : [BONUS] - Exposing Ace's Lineage! The Summit War Countdown Begins!
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"Yo, Sakazuki. You look pretty pathetic right now," A lazy, infuriatingly casual voice drawled from above.
VMM!
A brilliant flash appeared, countless particles of light coalescing in the air to form a human figure.
"ADMIRAL KIZARU!" Momonga breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Borsalino..." Akainu's eye twitched upon hearing Kizaru's voice.
"HURRY UP AND PURSUE HIM! Sky Sovereign Rowen is at his limit too!" Akainu yelled, looking up at Kizaru, gasping for breath.
Akainu had also reached his absolute limit. Only by sheer willpower, fueled by excruciating pain and adrenaline, could he maintain a sliver of consciousness.
"On this vast ocean, which direction do you want me to chase??" Kizaru asked, even making a mock saluting gesture as he peered into the distance.
"It's over, Sakazuki. No matter how you look at it—process or result—this war was, without a doubt, our complete and utter defeat," Kizaru stated, his usual lazy demeanor gone, his eyes unusually serious behind his sunglasses.
"Damn it..." Akainu's vision began to blur.
With Kizaru's arrival, his mind subconsciously relaxed.
The adrenaline and pain that had kept him conscious now faded, and his mind plunged into darkness. He slumped forward, unconscious...
"ADMIRAL AKAINU!" Momonga cried out in alarm.
"Don't worry. He just passed out," Kizaru commented, shouldering Akainu's unconscious form.
Distant warships approached.
"To beat Sakazuki into unconsciousness... How scary..." Kizaru murmured, looking out at the distant sea, his voice devoid of its usual teasing tone, replaced by deep gravity.
Kizaru knew Sakazuki's strength all too well.
Even with his Glint-Glint Fruit, the fastest Devil Fruit, he was no match for Sakazuki.
Devil Fruit, physique, Haki—Sakazuki stood at the pinnacle of the seas.
Yet, in a direct confrontation, he was beaten by Sky Sovereign Rowen to the point of fleeing, and now lay unconscious!
A COMPLETE AND UTTER DEFEAT!
The Super Buster Call, led by Akainu, against the Straw Hat Pirates led by Sky Sovereign Rowen—Marine HQ had suffered a catastrophic loss!
Fortunately, Sakazuki's powers hadn't been stolen by Rowen. Otherwise, if Kizaru had to face Rowen now, he too would have to turn and run.
"Let's go. Back to Marine Headquarters," Kizaru instructed.
"Medics. Treat Admiral Akainu immediately!"
"Remaining warships—continue towards the Enies Lobby sea region. If there are any survivors, conduct rescue operations!" Kizaru commanded, returning to the deck of his warship with Akainu.
"YES, ADMIRAL KIZARU!" The numerous Marines saluted, their faces filled with horror.
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The warships, carrying Akainu and the few surviving Marines, quickly arrived back at Marine HQ.
The surviving Marines rescued from the waters around Enies Lobby arrived shortly after.
Marine Headquarters was instantly thrown into turmoil.
Countless wounded soldiers were carried from the ships, rushed to emergency medical treatment.
And the most severely injured—was one of their Strongest Combatants, Marine HQ Admiral, Akainu!
The very Admiral who had set out so imposingly with a Buster Call to subjugate Rowen and the Straw Hats—had been beaten into unconsciousness by Rowen!
Of the five Vice Admirals, only Momonga returned relatively unscathed.
Ten Buster Call warships all destroyed!
Ten thousand elite Marines suffered heavy casualties!
The Buster Call, symbol of the World Government's Absolute Justice, for the first time in history, had suffered such a crushing defeat!
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"How is Sakazuki's condition?" Sengoku asked gravely, looking at Kizaru, who had returned to report.
"Still unconscious. It will take some time for him to wake up," Kizaru replied, for once not using his usual lazy tone, seeing Sengoku's suppressed fury.
No matter how lazy or flippant he acted, he was still a Marine Admiral.
In fact, when it came to completing missions—aside from his handling of the Straw Hat crew—Kizaru was arguably the most reliable of the three Admirals.
A true mission machine.
Even against former teachers, friends, or favored juniors, Kizaru could bring himself to deliver the killing blow to complete a mission.
Marine HQ suffering such a heavy blow—even Kizaru's heart felt heavy. They only had three Admirals. Aokiji was severely injured with a lost leg, and Sakazuki was now unconscious and severely injured.
Of the three, he was the only one left standing unharmed...
Combined with the loss of so many Vice Admirals and elite forces—Marine HQ had suffered an unprecedented blow at the hands of Sky Sovereign Rowen!
"BASTARD! SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN!" Sengoku roared, slamming his fist on the desk.
Two Admirals severely wounded, so many elite Marines lost—this wasn't just a loss of combat strength—it was a devastating blow to the very concept of Justice!
The Navy's dominance on the seas was built not just on official authority, but on the Justice inherited and carried forward by generations of Marines!
Justice wasn't just a simple slogan!
With Justice in their hearts, generations of new Marines could grow into the top-tier powerhouses of this sea.
Upholding Justice was a form of spiritual strength—in the One Piece power system, spiritual strength directly translated to Haki strength.
The more a Marine adhered to their sense of Justice, the greater their potential for growth. Akainu's extreme iron-blooded justice, for instance, had forged his Armament Haki into arguably the strongest in the Navy—
And the representatives of Naval Justice—were undoubtedly the three Marine HQ Admirals, hailed as the World Government's Strongest Combatants.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call the Admirals the very soul of the Navy. Each was a crucial pillar supporting the entire organization.
But now—two of the three pillars had been defeated by Sky Sovereign Rowen!
The impact on the Navy's prestige, on Justice itself—was devastating!
If the very foundation of Justice was shaken, how could the next generation of Marines rise?
The seas now, thanks to Rowen's wanton actions, were already in complete turmoil. If the new generation of Marines couldn't rise quickly, the Navy would face immense trouble...
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Tsuru were also silent.
Justice was the foundation of the Navy. If that foundation was shaken, the Navy's future would be dire indeed.
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"Buru-buru-buru!"
Just then, a Transponder Snail in the corner of Sengoku's office rang.
"Hm?" Sengoku frowned upon seeing the snail. The number was the one he had given to Laffitte of the Blackbeard Pirates during the Warlord meeting.
Back then, Laffitte had boasted their captain, Blackbeard Teach, would take Rowen's head to secure a Warlord position.
Now that sounded like a complete joke!
Even Aokiji and Akainu had fallen to Rowen. Marine HQ had suffered an unprecedented defeat at the hands of Rowen and the Straw Hats!
Without a doubt, the Straw Hat Pirates, with Rowen at their helm, were now a fully-fledged Emperor crew. For an unknown pirate crew like Blackbeard's to go after Rowen—was tantamount to suicide.
But since they were calling now, Sengoku was curious what they wanted.
Click. Sengoku answered the call.
"ZEHAHAHAHA! Sengoku, is it?" A wild laugh echoed from the snail.
"Who is this?" Sengoku asked gravely.
"I am Blackbeard! Marshall D. Teach!" Blackbeard grinned, showing his gapped teeth.
"Oh? Did you capture Sky Sovereign Rowen?" Sengoku asked mockingly.
Sengoku was human too—even as a Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu user—in his extremely foul mood, he needed to vent. This Blackbeard had called at just the right time.
"Well, no," Blackbeard replied, his tone faltering slightly.
Ever since learning Rowen had defeated Aokiji, Blackbeard had abandoned all thoughts of targeting that man.
He was a true pirate—and pirates only cared about profit and risk! Though his Dark-Dark Fruit gave him an absolute advantage against devil fruit users, a super-powerhouse capable of defeating a Marine Admiral wasn't someone who could be dealt with by the Dark-Dark Fruit alone.
Now was clearly not the time to clash with Sky Sovereign Rowen. But he had already boasted about taking Rowen's head for the Warlord position...
Facing Sengoku's question, Blackbeard was momentarily at a loss for words.
But then, looking at the unconscious figure beside him, Blackbeard grinned again.
"I didn't capture Sky Sovereign Rowen... But the Whitebeard Pirates' 2nd Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace—that should be enough, right? Enough to trade for a Warlord position? Zehahahaha!" Blackbeard laughed heartily.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY??" Sengoku's pupils constricted.
Whitebeard's 2nd Division Commander?? User of the Flare-Flare Fruit—Fire Fist Ace??
Fire Fist Ace's strength was also astonishing; an average Vice Admiral was no match for him. Even an Admiral Candidate couldn't guarantee victory against Ace...
However—
"Angering the Whitebeard Pirates because of you—is not a good deal for us Marines," Sengoku pushed up his glasses.
Defeating Ace certainly qualified this Blackbeard for a Warlord position. But these were troubled times. Angering the Whitebeard Pirates over Fire Fist Ace was not in the Navy's best interest...
"I can throw in another piece of information... about Fire Fist Ace's lineage!" Blackbeard grinned.
"Hm?" Sengoku frowned.
"Portgas D. Ace's real name—is Gol D. Ace! Zehahahaha!"
Blackbeard's wild laughter made Sengoku's pupils constrict.
Aokiji, Kizaru, and Tsuru's eyes all narrowed.
GOL D. ACE???
"That's right! Ace is the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger! ZEHAHAHAHA!"
Blackbeard's insane laughter continued.
Ace's identity had remained hidden until now. The Pirate King had Ace after the Roger Pirates disbanded, when Roger went to Baterilla Island.
Roger knew very well what would happen if his bloodline were discovered. So he entrusted this secret only to Garp. And Garp had hidden it well, never letting the information leak.
The Roger Pirates' crew didn't even know Roger had a child...
However, after Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates and truly came to see Whitebeard as his father, he revealed this secret to Whitebeard.
Secrets, once known by a third person, were no longer true secrets!
Blackbeard—also knew Ace's true lineage.
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"GARP!!!!" Sengoku's forehead veins throbbed.
With his Buddha-like wisdom, Sengoku instantly connected the dots.
No wonder the Navy and World Government couldn't find any trace of Roger's bloodline back then, despite searching for so long!
Roger had entrusted his son to Garp?
As for its veracity? Very easy to confirm!
Back then, to find the bloodline, Marine HQ had searched possible islands and pregnant women extensively. All the information gathered during that search was recorded in CP's archives. Knowing Ace's identity now, they could easily trace the records backward and confirm the truth.
In fact, he didn't even need to check. Having fought Roger for so many years, having been comrades with Garp for so long—Sengoku knew their personalities all too well.
Fire Fist Ace—had to be Roger's son, entrusted to Garp!
"Fine! Hand over Fire Fist Ace to us. And we'll give you the Warlord position," Sengoku stated gravely.
"Zehahahaha! A pleasure doing business with you!" Blackbeard smiled with satisfaction and hung up the Transponder Snail.
"Sengoku, what are you planning?" Tsuru asked, her voice low.
"Justice has been severely wounded by Sky Sovereign Rowen! The Navy urgently needs to re-establish the authority of Justice! This is a godsend opportunity! Publicly executing the Pirate King's bloodline—Our Navy's Justice will be served!" Sengoku's eyes blazed.
"Once Sakazuki recovers... gather all forces! WE WILL HOLD A PUBLIC EXECUTION FOR FIRE FIST ACE!" Sengoku stood up, pushing up his glasses.
"As for Garp... he will understand," Sengoku stated grimly.
He knew about Garp's adoptive relationship with Ace, but he hadn't known Ace was Roger's bloodline.
Garp, once he made a promise, would always keep it. He had hidden Ace's lineage well.
"Report to the Five Elders. Have Cipher Pol re-investigate the Pirate King's bloodline using the previous clues and files! I want absolute, detailed confirmation of Fire Fist Ace's lineage!"
Sengoku had no intention of confirming it with Garp. He knew Garp; even if it were true, Garp wouldn't admit it.
They had to confirm it themselves...
"Understood," Tsuru replied gravely.
After suffering such a major defeat at Rowen's hands, the Navy needed a major event to boost morale and faith in Justice.
The public execution of the Pirate King's bloodline—was the perfect way to do it!
"Once confirmed—immediately prepare for war! Knowing Whitebeard's personality, he will absolutely not let us conduct the public execution smoothly!" Sengoku began issuing a series of orders.
"Understood," Aokiji and Kizaru both nodded grimly.
Summit War—The countdown had begun!
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World Economic News Agency!
"Akainu defeated by Sky Sovereign Rowen in a direct confrontation, forced to flee!"
"The Buster Call—almost completely annihilated in the war against Rowen and the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Enies Lobby, unbreached for 800 years—completely destroyed by Sky Sovereign Rowen!"
"WHAT A HUGE NEWS!" Morgans trembled with excitement.
Two of the three Marine Admirals—defeated by Rowen!
A Super Buster Call led by Akainu—utterly defeated!
The Straw Hat Pirates were now a fully-fledged Emperor crew!
"SPREAD THIS NEWS ACROSS THE SEAS! LET THE CHAOS RAGE EVEN MORE! HAHAHAHA!" Morgans cackled.
News Coos quickly departed from every World Economic News Agency outpost, carrying this news to every corner of the world.
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