Sabaody Archipelago.
"It happened again! Another one appeared!" "What do all these 'second' versions have in common?" "Where are they coming from?!" "Don't tell me... after Izo and Marco, there are more people rushing to help Straw Hat Luffy?" "A second Whitebeard Pirates crew?!"
The crowd in the broadcast square shuddered simultaneously. The mere thought was enough to paralyze them with fear.
A second Whitebeard Pirates? A second Yonko Whitebeard? If that were true, the Marine Headquarters would be silenced. 100,000 elite Marines would be wiped out in an instant!
"No, no, that's just our imagination! It won't necessarily happen!" "Exactly, it's just baseless fear. Don't scare yourselves!" "If there were a second crew, they would have shown up by now!" "Focus on the war! Look, something else is happening!" "Wait, is that Maelstrom Spider Squard attempting an assassination?" "What?! He's one of Whitebeard's captains! Why would he betray his own father?" "Is it a Marine plot?"
The citizens whispered frantically, their eyes glued to the screens. No one expected the broadcast to suddenly go dark. The Marines had cut the signal—there were things about this war that the world was not meant to see.
"Damn Marines, what are they planning now?" "Big Eater" Jewelry Bonney bit her thumb in frustration.
Marine Headquarters. The Moby Dick.
"Stop your lies! You Whitebeard Pirates forced my hand!" Squard screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. "I know everything! The dirty deal between Whitebeard and the Marines!"
"That's enough, Squard! You've been played by Admiral Akainu!" Future Marco shouted, his blue flames flickering with a mix of pity and anger.
"Think clearly! Our Pops would never do such a thing!" Future Izo added, his hand resting on his flintlock, eyes filled with sorrow.
Even though they had seen this before, they couldn't remain calm. Seeing their brother so easily manipulated by the Marines' darkness hurt more than any wound.
"Did Pops really make a deal to sell us out?" "Say it isn't so, Pops! You didn't betray us, right?" Bohemian Knight Doma, Thunder Lord McGuy, and Ice Witch Whitey Bay—the New World Captains—shouted in a panic.
"Marco, let him go," Whitebeard finally spoke, his voice like rolling thunder.
The two-year-later Marco stepped back.
"I have no love for Roger... but to play me like this, using Roger's son against me... is it really that amusing, Sengoku?" Whitebeard's gaze pierced through the battlefield.
Squard stood up, spreading his arms as if ready to embrace death. "Go ahead, kill me!"
But Whitebeard didn't strike. Instead, he pulled Squard into a fatherly embrace. "Even so... you are still my son."
Squard froze. His heart, once filled with poison, began to shatter under the weight of that unconditional love.
Whitebeard stood tall, his massive form radiating an aura that shook the very foundations of Marineford. He slammed his bisento, Murakumogiri, onto the deck.
BOOM! CRACK!
A massive fissure erupted from beneath him, shattering the ice walls and clearing a path. The World's Strongest Man was finally taking the offensive!
"Hahaha! I knew it! Pops would never betray us!" "Pops, I'm sorry! I actually believed that idiot Squard for a second!" "Follow Pops! Charge!!!"
"For Justice!!!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice boomed through the Den Den Mushi, trying to stabilize the Marines' crumbling morale.
"Justice? What a grand word," Whitebeard smirked, pointing his blade at the execution platform.
Behind the Scenes.
While the battlefield raged, the future Marco and Izo shared a moment with the current Whitebeard. The two-year-later versions couldn't hold back anymore; they threw themselves into Whitebeard's arms, tears streaming down their faces.
"Pops..." they sobbed. In their timeline, they had lost him. Getting to touch him, to feel his warmth again, was a miracle they never dared to dream of.
"You've worked hard, my sons," Whitebeard said softly, his large hands patting their heads.
"Stop wasting time! Save Ace!" the current Marco grumbled, though his eyes were also red.
The Battlefield.
The Marines were being pushed back. The ice field was almost cleared of soldiers.
"Something's wrong," Jinbe noted. "The Marines aren't just retreating; they're luring us in."
"The Encircling Wall," Sanji hissed, his face darkening. "They're going to trap us!"
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper ran in circles as the metallic walls began to rise.
But suddenly, the machinery groaned and stalled.
"What? Why isn't the wall rising?" Sengoku demanded.
"Report! We've found members of the Mink Tribe in the rear town! They're destroying the power lines!" a Marine officer shouted.
"Minks? Nekomamushi and Inurashi are here too?" Whitebeard laughed heartily.
Indeed, the future Marco had coordinated with the Mink leaders to sabotage the Marines' ultimate trap. The "Encircling Wall" strategy was dead on arrival.
The Duels.
On the ice, several high-level battles reached their peak:
Law vs. Doflamingo: Two Laws were now overwhelming the Heavenly Yaksha. "Demon Bamboo" Vergo had already fallen to a future Kroom attack. Doflamingo was bleeding, his arrogant smile fading.
Zoro vs. Mihawk: Zoro unleashed his most powerful form. "Kyutoryu: Ashura - Bakki Mokei (Dead Man's Game)!!!" The strike that once scarred Kaido exploded against Mihawk. The World's Greatest Swordsman was actually pushed back, his sleeve torn, a thin line of blood trickling down his arm. "Impressive, Roronoa," Mihawk whispered, a genuine spark of interest in his eyes.
The Final Charge.
"I don't have time for this! I need to get to Ace!" Fifth Emperor Luffy roared.
"One minute! Give me one minute!" Sanji shouted, preparing his ultimate move.
Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri again, a sphere of vibration forming at the tip. "Sengoku! Try and stop this!"
The shockwave leveled the remaining Marine buildings, sending Vice Admirals flying like ragdolls. But as the dust cleared, three figures stood firm in front of the platform: Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru.
"The real war starts now!" Akainu growled, his arm turning into molten magma. "Great Eruption (Daifunka)!!!"
Whitebeard met him head-on. The clash of white vibrations and dark-red magma split the sky in half.
Meanwhile, the current Marco soared toward the platform, only to be intercepted by a massive fist.
BOOM!
Vice Admiral Garp, the Hero of the Marines, stood his ground. "If you want to pass, it'll be over my dead body!"
The Execution.
"Executioners! Do it now!" Sengoku commanded.
The blades were raised. Ace closed his eyes.
"ACE!!!" Luffy screamed, his Conqueror's Haki exploding in a wave that knocked out thousands of soldiers, including the executioners.
As new executioners stepped up, two figures were already hidden beneath the platform. Sabo and the giant Morley.
"Wait," Sabo whispered, spotting two men in white robes and masks. "CP0... they've replaced the executioners. They aren't just going to kill Ace; they're planning something else."
But before CP0 could strike, Luffy reached the top. Garp, torn between duty and family, closed his eyes and allowed Luffy's punch to land, falling from the platform.
Luffy fumbled for the key. "I got it, Ace! I'm here!"
The CP0 agents lunged, their blades aimed at both brothers' hearts.
"Ryusoken: Flame Dragon King!!!"
A massive dragon of fire erupted between the brothers and the assassins. A man with a top hat and a scarred eye stood there, his pipe glowing with heat.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on my brothers," Sabo declared, his presence igniting the platform.
The three brothers were finally reunited on the battlefield.