"Born with Observation Haki?"
In the dark, terrifying cell, the hulking figure slowly rose to his feet.
"So that's how it is… That really suits you."
A crimson glow pierced the blackness as Douglas Bullet curled his lips into a savage grin.
With the word "old acquaintance" added in, he already knew who the man in front of him was.
"I see… So you're a senior, huh."
Within Hades, the vast will of a king surged.
He forcibly shut out that mind-peering Observation.
If his Conqueror's Haki had not already reached the level of Observation-killing, he would have leaked far too many secrets.
"A being who, by his own strength alone, stood on equal footing with three legendary pirates."
"The Red Count, Baroric Redfield."
The old man faced that calm gaze without a trace of fear, murmuring softly.
"A rookie from Roger's ship… and you've grown to this extent."
Three apex monsters of the sea now stood at the front of Infinite Hell's cells.
Blackbeard sensed something was off and started to move over, about to ask Hades what he was doing.
Then Hades bared his teeth and spoke with shameless arrogance.
"You're just washed-up relics abandoned by the era."
"Join Blackbeard's crew."
"I'll even give you a commander seat."
The tone was outrageous.
Hades sounded genuinely confident that Teach could tame monsters like these.
"What?!"
Cold sweat beaded on Blackbeard's forehead, his pupils trembling.
Because he felt it.
Hostility.
"Is that so, Blackbeard?"
Bullet stepped out of the cell slowly, grin widening, icy intent in his eyes.
As if he could not hear the provocation at all.
From another cell, an elegant yet terrifying presence emerged as well.
A man who could grasp hearts and read the ugliness inside them.
Of course he could see Hades' impure motives.
But a strong man's pride would never allow him to show weakness in front of a younger powerhouse like Ozz.
"Complex and ugly human hearts."
"It wouldn't be a problem if they all died here."
And at the exact moment that should have been triumphant…
Blackbeard Teach, the man with the world's most vicious power, led his newly recruited criminals from Infinite Hell into a grand and mighty…
No.
A massive retreat.
Wooooom.
Black-red lightning tore across the air.
Cells and stone split apart.
Under the contempt and taunting of a "peer-level powerhouse" like Hades, the two former legends unleashed terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
"Damn it!"
Teach glanced back mid-run.
Demon Heir Bullet looked like a hellish asura given flesh, an oppressive aura that crushed the soul, killing prisoners with a single punch as if swatting flies.
The Red Count, Redfield, elegant and arrogant, truly a man who could stand against Whitebeard and Roger.
Even without going all-out, he was slaughtering Level 6 inmates so badly they screamed for their mothers.
Teach nearly wet himself.
With only the Yami Yami no Mi and combat skills that were not yet top-tier, how was he supposed to fight those two monsters?
In the entire Blackbeard Pirates, only Hades might be able to hold them off evenly for a while.
But that was his first mate.
Even if every other crewmate died, Hades could not be allowed to fall.
So Teach grabbed Hades by the back of his collar and bolted in front.
The core officers sprinted after him.
And the expendable prisoners who tried to follow ran last, the weakest of the bunch, only to be cut down one by one by the two raging giants behind them.
Dragged along by Teach, Hades kept yelling, yet the corner of his mouth lifted.
Hahaha.
Yes.
Run in one breath.
All the way to Marineford.
…
"Hey, look!"
"That legendary big shot is smiling on the platform!"
"We're about to face Whitebeard!"
At Marineford, a low-ranking Marine couldn't help grumbling to his companion after noticing the strange atmosphere on the execution stand.
The companion clicked his tongue.
"You don't know, do you?"
"That man fought Whitebeard before and barely won."
"That battle shattered an island larger than Marineford into countless pieces."
"Why wouldn't he smile at an opponent he's already beaten?"
The nearby Marines nodded, shocked yet convinced.
"And compared to him, the Admirals look pretty tense."
"Especially Admiral Aokiji…"
The middle-aged Marine who seemed to know everything and loved talking about the strong started analyzing seriously under everyone's gaze.
"Against someone like Whitebeard, Admirals naturally have to be cautious."
"Not everyone is a monster like Saint Ozz."
"Aokiji's ugly expression is probably because he isn't confident in his own strength."
At that moment, Admiral Aokiji on the platform had no idea he'd already been secretly labeled "afraid before the fight even starts" in someone's head.
His face was dark for one simple reason.
The grinning man beside him.
"Oy, my dear friend."
Ozz sat with one leg crossed over the other, cigarette between his fingers, greeting Kuzan cheerfully.
"You look like you're in a terrible mood."
Kuzan refused to respond.
He was afraid he might actually swing first and shake the entire army's morale before the war even began.
On Kuzan's other side, Akainu sat with his cap shadowing his face, unreadable, as though he had no desire to comment on Ozz's presence.
Ozz had no doubt that if he betrayed them right now, he would immediately receive a magma baptism.
As for Borsalino, that man was as slippery as ever.
His eyes rolled, then he turned toward Ozz with that drawn-out tone.
"Ohhh… Even Saint Ozz has come to support the Marines."
"Then this war really has no suspense, does it?"
"After all, he's the monster who once defeated Whitebeard."
When everyone reached their assigned positions, the target of this execution, Fire Fist Ace, was escorted onto the platform.
From this moment on, the world broadcast began.
People across the globe watched this grand war unfold.
Even Morgans' World Economy News Paper was streaming it live.
Sengoku stood with a stern expression.
"Fire Fist Ace."
"Tell the world."
"Who is your father?"
Ace's face twisted.
"Whitebeard!"
"No."
Sengoku declared the true purpose of the execution before the entire world.
"Your biological father is the Pirate King."
"Gol D. Roger!"
The Admirals and Warlords were not particularly surprised.
But the lower-ranked Marines erupted in shock.
Countless eyes turned toward Ozz.
Yet Ozz had fallen into memory.
That night in Impel Down.
Drinking and eating meat with Captain Roger.
A man who lived his life in loud, fearless glory, revealing a warmth that belonged only to family at the very end.
In the quiet cell, the firelight gradually faded.
"Thank you, Ozz."
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