The Red Count, Patrick Redfield, raised his head and looked at Rowan.
He could feel nothing.
As someone born with Observation Haki, he could clearly sense the thoughts in every person's heart. Precisely because of that, he had become disappointed in this world and felt that human hearts were ugly.
But facing Rowan, he could feel nothing.
His Observation Haki, which allowed him to read minds, had failed.
This was an entirely new experience.
A faint smile appeared on Redfield's aged face.
"You're truly willing to let me out?"
"As long as you agree to the condition I just stated, yes."
The moment Rowan finished speaking, the prisoners on Level Six could no longer hold back and began roaring.
"Let me out! I'm willing to fight the Marines!"
"Me too! I'm willing! I'll work like a beast of burden for you!"
"Captain, let me on your ship! I'm begging you! I don't want to stay in this sunless place anymore!"
"Let me out! I'm willing to follow you! I'm willing to pledge loyalty to you!"
Facing this noisy group of prisoners, Rowan frowned.
"Shut up!!!"
The moment his words fell, terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted violently.
An invisible yet dreadful pressure descended with a boom, falling evenly upon every single person.
Most of the prisoners on Level Six of Impel Down foamed at the mouth and fainted one after another.
Douglas Bullet's pupils contracted violently.
He was also a wielder of Conqueror's Haki and had always believed his Haki was inferior to no one's.
But at this moment, the Conqueror's Haki Rowan released was absolutely above his. He even felt that compared to Rowan's Haki, his own was like a firefly before the moon.
They were simply not on the same level.
Who exactly was this guy? Why did he possess such terrifying Conqueror's Haki?
Patrick Redfield let out a soft "oh" and couldn't help sighing.
"What powerful Conqueror's Haki. Even Pirate King Roger didn't have Haki like yours. Who exactly are you?"
"Didn't I already say it? Just an ordinary person who likes eating, drinking, and having fun."
Redfield chuckled. Not even a ghost would believe that.
How could an ordinary person possess such powerful Haki?
However, he did not investigate further. Instead, he agreed to Rowan's condition.
Even if he was going to die, he was willing to die on the battlefield of the Summit War, not in this sunless prison.
"A wise choice."
Rowan cut through the restraints on the Red Count and freed him.
After that, he also freed Shiliew of the Rain and World Destroyer Byrnndi World.
The condition was the same as before: go to Marineford, join Whitebeard's side, and fight the Marines.
The two agreed without hesitation.
"Let's go."
There were many prisoners on Level Six of Impel Down, but only these few caught Rowan's eye. The rest were either unforgivably evil or deserved their fate.
Rowan couldn't be bothered with them. He took Jinbe, Bullet, Redfield, Shiliew of the Rain, and Byrnndi World and left Impel Down.
The people of Impel Down knew nothing about it.
The reason was simple. Earlier, when he released his Conqueror's Haki, he had already knocked out all the surveillance Den Den Mushi on Level Six.
By the time they found out, it would be too late.
…
Meanwhile, at Marineford.
Today was the great day when Ace would be publicly executed.
For this day, Marine Headquarters had made full preparations. Not only had they gathered one hundred thousand elite troops from all over the world, even the three Admirals, who usually came and went like elusive dragons, were all assembled here.
In addition, aside from the imprisoned Crocodile and Jinbe, and the dead Gecko Moria, all the remaining Seven Warlords of the Sea had arrived.
Hawkeye Mihawk, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, and finally, Bartholomew Kuma.
Without question, this was absolutely the most luxurious lineup the Marines had ever assembled.
And this lineup existed for one purpose: to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates.
To deal with the strongest man in the world.
The time of execution drew closer and closer. But for some reason, Sengoku, standing on the execution platform, grew increasingly uneasy.
A few days ago, the Whitebeard Pirates had suddenly vanished right under their noses.
No matter how they searched, they could not find Whitebeard's whereabouts.
It was as if the other side had evaporated from the face of the earth.
Even the World Government had sent people to search for the Whitebeard Pirates.
But the result was nothing.
This made Sengoku feel that matters were beginning to slip beyond his control.
His intuition told him that the Whitebeard Pirates would definitely come. With Whitebeard's protective personality, there was no way he would watch with open eyes as they executed Ace.
The problem was, Sengoku had no idea how the Whitebeard Pirates would appear at Marineford.
It was precisely this unknown that made him uneasy.
Of course, even though his heart was unsettled, Sengoku's face showed no expression. As Fleet Admiral of the Marines, he could not reveal any hesitation or anxiety at a time like this.
That would only affect the morale of the Marines.
As time passed, the Whitebeard Pirates still did not appear.
At that moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru walked over and said in a low voice, "It's about time. We can begin."
Sengoku nodded.
At that moment, the Visual Den Den Mushi began operating. The scene at Marineford was broadcast through the Den Den Mushi to locations all over the world.
The image of Sengoku standing expressionlessly on the execution platform appeared before every person watching the broadcast.
"More than twenty years have passed since Pirate King Roger was executed."
"During these past twenty-plus years, the seas have remained in a state of rampage."
"Countless evildoers, driven by the so-called great treasure of the sea, have rushed into the ocean one after another, bringing wound after wound upon this world."
"So, it is time to end this era of chaos."
Sengoku's powerful voice rang across Marineford, and through the broadcast, across many more cities.
He slowly lowered his head. As the camera shifted, a figure kneeling on the ground appeared before everyone.
"As you can see, the man before you, Portgas D. Ace, is the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Today, we will publicly execute him."
"And then, we will declare war on the Whitebeard Pirates."
"We Marines will use ironclad facts to tell the world that this chaotic era must end, starting with the Whitebeard Pirates, the greatest tumor in the world."
"Now…"
Just as Sengoku was about to say the words "carry out the execution," he suddenly felt the sky darken.
No, that wasn't right.
The sky hadn't darkened.
Something had blocked the sunlight overhead.
Sengoku abruptly raised his head and saw a huge island descending from the sky, hovering directly above Marineford.
At the same time, a wild, unrestrained voice rang out.
"Gurararara! Sengoku, weren't you going to declare war on the Whitebeard Pirates? I'm here!!!"
"It's Whitebeard! Whitebeard is here!"
"The island… it's flying!"
"How is this possible?"
Sengoku's pupils contracted violently.
He had imagined many possibilities, but he had never imagined that Whitebeard would descend from the sky.
If that flying island smashed down, the entire Marineford would suffer disaster.
At the same time, a name that had long since been forgotten appeared in his mind.
"Golden Lion!!!"
Only Golden Lion Shiki's Float-Float Fruit could make an island fly into the air.
He truly had not expected Golden Lion to join forces with Whitebeard. This was damn troublesome.
Akainu was the first to recover from his shock. He leapt up from his chair, activated the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit, and hurled burning fists toward the island floating in the sky.
Meteor Volcano!!!
"Jihahahahaha… Brat, I'll take you on."
Before the blazing fists falling from the sky could land on the floating island, enormous flying slashes shot out from the airborne island and sliced all the descending magma fists into pieces.
"Lion: Senjindani!"
The shattered magma fell toward Marineford.
Seeing this, Aokiji quickly released powerful cold air, freezing the magma into lumps of ice that dropped to the ground.
"Everyone, retreat!!!"
Seeing the island continuously descending, Sengoku roared immediately.
Countless Marines retreated all the way back toward headquarters.
At the same time, with a thunderous boom, the island that had been floating in the sky smashed heavily into Marineford's harbor.
The enormous impact kicked up a violent hurricane, shaking all of Marineford.
Many Marines lost their footing and collapsed to the ground in disarray.
When the dust carried by the hurricane dispersed, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates finally appeared in everyone's field of vision.
At their head stood Edward Newgate.
"Ace, I've come to save you!!!"
Seeing this, Ace could not help bursting into tears.
"Pops, why did you come?"
"Silly son. You're my son. How could this old man watch you die?"
However, while the two were showing their father-son bond, Sengoku felt a chill run down his spine. Cold sweat broke out all over him.
His hands and feet turned ice-cold, and his scalp went numb.
His heart instantly sank to the bottom.
Because he discovered that the island that had descended from the sky did not only carry the Whitebeard Pirates.
On that island, he also saw members of the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
What did this mean?
Could it be that Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Whitebeard had joined forces?
And there was Golden Lion as well.
Bad.
Bad.
This was very bad.
He had originally intended to use Ace to lure Whitebeard in, then wipe out Whitebeard and his pirate crew in one fell swoop.
Who could have expected Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, and even Kaido to come and meddle?
This was no longer fishing.
This was clearly hooking a prehistoric crocodile.
The Marines' advantage vanished in an instant.
The side holding the upper hand had suddenly changed from the Marines to the Whitebeard Pirates.
If today's matter could not be properly resolved, the entire Marine force would suffer a devastating blow, perhaps even fall into permanent decline.
Just thinking about it made Sengoku's vision darken in waves.
At the same time, Whitebeard, who had finished catching up with his son, saw Sengoku standing there silently and could not help laughing again.
"Gurararara! Sweating bullets, are you, Sengoku?"
"You didn't expect Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Golden Lion to help me, did you?"
"Too bad. There's no turning back once the bow is drawn."
"Now, let us begin."
"Our war!!!"