...
One week after the Celestial Dragon Incident, at Grove 1 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Hey, look! The broadcast is starting!"
"Is it starting?! Make way, hey!"
"Stop pushing me, you bastard!"
The town's central square was packed with people. Journalists and reporters from all over the world had been waiting for a long time, their voices creating a lively and chaotic din.
A massive crowd of residents and pirates had gathered, all staring nervously at the three large projection screens hanging above the square.
Static flickered across the three screens for a few moments before flashing into a clear picture, displaying multi-angle views of Marine Headquarters at Marineford.
Outside the crescent-shaped harbor, fifty top-tier battleships were lined up in a grand, orderly formation on both sides.
Inside the bay, on the vast Oris Plaza, one hundred thousand Marine elites stood in strict formation. Countless Justice coats fluttered in the wind, resembling a sea of white at a glance.
Behind Oris Plaza stood a towering execution platform.
Two executioners escorted a shackled, familiar face who had appeared in the newspapers countless times—Fire Fist Ace—up onto the platform!
"The execution is about to begin!"
"It's 2:00 PM right now. The time left until the execution is..."
"One hour on the countdown!"
As the broadcast from Marineford played on the screens, an uproar swept through the town square on the Sabaody Archipelago.
On the spacious balcony of a five-story building at the edge of the square, a set of white tables and chairs was arranged.
Sanji, Nami, and the others were either sitting or standing, their eyes glued to the projection screens as they quickly scanned the footage for a certain someone.
However, even after scanning the screens several times, they couldn't spot Allen.
A short while later.
"Hey, look! The Headquarters Vice Admirals are making their appearance!"
"And the Giant Squad Vice Admirals too!"
Excited shouts erupted across the square. Nami and the others stared intently at the screens, watching as dozens of figures slowly walked out onto the first tier of steps below the platform.
Momonga, Onigumo, Yamakaji, and even the Great Staff Officer of Marine Headquarters, Vice Admiral Tsuru—one familiar face after another appeared on the silver screens.
Before the crowd could even identify all the Vice Admirals, five more figures stepped out in succession onto the second tier of steps just above them.
"It's them! The Warlords of the Sea have arrived!"
"The World's Strongest Swordsman—Hawkeye Mihawk!"
"Hey! Could that be... the one known as the most beautiful woman in the world...?!"
Seeing them appear, the noise in the square below boiled over even more. The moment they saw Hancock's face, everyone's eyes went wide.
"The Pirate Empress! Boa Hancock!!"
"So beautiful!!"
"It's over! I've completely fallen for her!!"
"Hancock, I love you!!"
A chorus of lecherous howls rang out across the square. Everyone's eyes turned into heart shapes as they drooled with infatuated expressions.
Meanwhile, not too far away at Marineford.
Allen and the rest of the Warlords arrived at the steps of the plaza in front of the execution platform.
The four people beside him were Hawkeye Mihawk, Bartholomew Kuma, Boa Hancock, and Donquixote Doflamingo.
However, Blackbeard Teach, who had arrived at Mary Geoise several days prior, was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
At the same time, on the tier of steps integrated with the execution platform, sat three chairs representing the highest military forces of Marine Headquarters.
Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji took their respective seats.
Another wave of excited, boiling shouts erupted throughout Oris Plaza.
"Fuffuffuffu... Where do you suppose that guy Teach went off to?"
Doflamingo stood with his hands in his pockets, a playful smirk on his face.
"He answered the World Government's mandatory summons early on, yet disappeared right before the war is about to break out. It's hard not to suspect he's plotting something."
Faced with this question, Mihawk and the others gave no response, clearly not caring in the slightest.
Allen, however, suddenly spoke up.
"Although I don't care either, I'd guess he went to the Great Underwater Prison."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, both Doflamingo and Boa Hancock turned to look at him.
"How do you know? Come to think of it, I recall you having some bad blood with that guy," Doflamingo said, his interest piqued.
The corners of Allen's mouth curled up. "Just a wild guess. I heard the Straw Hat kid broke into the Great Underwater Prison, so it's hard not to connect the two."
During the Celestial Dragon Incident a week ago, the fleeing Straw Hat Crew ended up being swatted away by Kuma, leaving the entire pirate crew shattered and scattered.
Just this morning, Ace was transferred from the Great Underwater Prison to Marine Headquarters. Not long after, Marine Headquarters received news that someone had broken into the prison.
The intruder's identity was confirmed to be the Straw Hat kid, who had been missing for a week.
It wasn't until just now, when Boa Hancock arrived at Headquarters on a battleship, that news came from the Great Underwater Prison stating the riot had been quelled.
"I heard from the Marine soldiers that you just came from visiting Fire Fist Ace at the Great Underwater Prison?"
Allen turned his head slightly, his gaze fixing on Hancock with a playful look in his eyes.
"How strange. Impel Down, known for being an impenetrable iron fortress, was broken into right after a completely unrelated visit."
"Fuffuffuffu... That does sound like quite a coincidence. Things seem to have suddenly gotten interesting."
Doflamingo laughed, his tone meaningful and tinged with a hint of cunning.
"Are you questioning this Empress?"
A subtle glint flashed in the depths of Hancock's eyes. She faced Allen with an indifferent expression, her voice icy.
"Hmph. Does this Empress need to explain her actions to you?"
Allen didn't reply to her. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked down at the crowded plaza below and smiled mysteriously.
"Speaking of Blackbeard Teach, I actually heard an even more shocking rumor. Word has it that his true identity is the son of the former overlord of the seas, Rocks!"
Allen deliberately raised his voice a bit so that anyone nearby paying attention to their conversation could hear him.
Such as the three Admirals sitting not far above them.
Hearing this, everyone around cast sidelong glances at him. Even Mihawk, who always maintained a cold and detached face, couldn't help but look at him and say flatly,
"Are you serious about that?"
"I said it was a rumor. If I had a way to prove his identity, I would have said so back in Mary Geoise."
Allen spread his hands in a shrug.
Not everyone had a god's-eye view like he did. He had no way to prove Teach's identity, and the Marines wouldn't possibly make a move against a Warlord based solely on his word.
It was just like if Allen suddenly insisted that Mihawk was Rocks's son—would the Marines attack Mihawk over that?
Of course not. Everyone would just think he was being absurd, and the same applied to Teach.
Except for the rather extreme Akainu, who was the only one likely to attack directly based on mere suspicion. But even then, Sengoku would definitely step in to stop him.
However, if he could reveal it at the right time and in the right way, that would be a different story.
With Teach suddenly disappearing right before the outbreak of a massive war, the Marine higher-ups were already suspicious of his actions.
By coming out and subtly hinting at it now, it was hard for people not to make that connection.
And once the news of Teach attacking the Great Underwater Prison arrived, and he jumped out to cause chaos with that group of heinous criminals, whether there was evidence or not wouldn't matter anymore.
The things Teach was about to do were already enough to provoke the hatred of the Marine higher-ups.
And under the circumstances where he might also have inherited dangerous ideals about overthrowing the world, even if Red-Haired Shanks showed up, his influence might not carry enough weight to save him.
Not to mention, Allen would also act as a driving force behind the scenes when the time came. As long as Teach dared to return to Marineford...
A fierce glint flashed deep within Allen's eyes.
He absolutely would not let Teach survive the Summit War!