Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki and Sengoku's Conqueror's Haki collided head-on at the very center of Marineford Bay, like two invisible ancient beasts crashing into each other.
The sky wailed.
The sea trembled.
Invisible pressure tore through the air, shredding the clouds into fragments before forcing them back down toward the ocean, where towering waves rose in response.
Yet at the eye of this storm, atop the execution platform
Renn Hawk took a single step forward.
A presence just as vast, yet far more concentrated and merciless, bled quietly from his body. It was a deep crimson will, cold and razor sharp.
Unlike Whitebeard's and Sengoku's Haki, which swept across the entire battlefield, Hawk's aura formed a precise barrier, perfectly enclosing the execution platform.
Whitebeard.
Bounty: 5,046,000,000 Berries.
Converted, that alone was more than five hundred thousand points of justice.
And that was only him.
Behind him stood over a dozen commanders, forty three allied captains, and fifty thousand elite pirates.
This was a feast of justice worth over a million points.
Which meant one thing.
Ace had to die here.
Right now.
In front of the entire world.
In front of the man who called himself his father.
Only then would Whitebeard's fury be ignited beyond restraint.
Only then would the Whitebeard Pirates fight to the last man, without retreat.
"Vice Admiral Hawk…"
The two executioners felt the crushing weight on their souls vanish in an instant.
Feeling returned to their bodies. Instinctively, they looked toward the man standing before them.
Hawk turned his head slightly and gave a calm nod.
"Continue the execution."
Clang.
The two executioners bent down and picked up the execution blades that had fallen to the ground.
Their trembling arms steadied under the weight of Hawk's will.
Once more, they raised the blades high.
The polished steel reflected a cold, murderous light under the sun.
On the Moby Dick, every Whitebeard pirate watching the platform felt their pupils shrink to pinpoints.
"Stop it!!!"
Marco the Phoenix let out a scream so raw it tore his voice apart.
His wings beat violently as he transformed into a streak of blue flame, tearing through the sky toward the platform without hesitation.
His speed reached its absolute limit, leaving a blazing trail behind him in the air.
"Bastards!!!"
At the bow of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard's face twisted completely under the weight of his rage.
The muscles in his arms bulged grotesquely, veins surging like coiled dragons beneath his skin.
His bisento was wrapped in a layer of pure white light capable of shattering everything. The air around the blade fractured inch by inch, letting out sharp, broken cries.
He swung the weapon toward the execution platform with all his might.
The force that shattered the atmosphere condensed into an invisible shockwave and slammed forward.
But it was too late.
Crack.
Crack.
Two impossibly crisp sounds echoed out.
They were not loud.
Yet they struck the ears of the entire world like thunder.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
On every broadcast screen across the globe, people saw the same scene.
The two raised blades fell in perfect unison.
Two heads flew into the air.
One belonged to Fire Fist Ace.
On his face lingered worry for his brother, regret toward his family, and a quiet, indescribable sense of release.
The other belonged to Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach.
His face was twisted with fear of death, resentment over his capture, and the crushing despair of an ambition cut short.
Blood erupted like twin crimson fountains from the headless bodies.
Scalding blood soaked the execution platform, dyeing it a horrifying red.
Silence.
The entire world fell into a deathly stillness.
On the plaza at Sabaody, every pirate stood frozen in place, their expressions locked into eternal shock.
The wild grin vanished completely from Kid's face, leaving only emptiness.
Law gripped Kikoku so hard that veins bulged across the back of his hand.
The Navy…
They really did it.
They executed Whitebeard's son in front of the entire world.
They executed the Pirate King's bloodline in front of the entire world.
They executed the son of the tyrant of the old era.
And now
That man was about to explode.
High in the sky, the blazing blue phoenix froze in midair.
The world-shattering white light around the bisento dispersed in an instant.
Whitebeard.
Edward Newgate.
His mountain-like body swayed violently.
He watched Ace's headless body collapse.
He watched the severed head roll across the platform.
His pupils dilated, then contracted violently.
Hope.
Honor.
Family.
The future.
Everything was severed by those two cracking sounds.
"Ah… ah…"
A meaningless, broken sound escaped his throat, like the howl of a wounded beast.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
An overwhelming aura filled with endless grief and boundless rage detonated from his body.
The seas surrounding Marineford began to quake violently.
"Navy!!!"
"I will make you pay for Ace with your lives!!!"
Whitebeard raised both hands toward the sky above Marineford and wrenched downward.
Crack crack crack!
The air itself split apart like shattered glass, massive fissures tearing across the sky.
Destruction had begun.
Below the platform, at the three seats representing the Navy's highest combat power, three figures rose to their feet.
"So it finally begins."
Akainu stood up. His crimson suit fluttered violently as magma-like flames surged around him, warping the air with intense heat.
A cruel curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
"Relics of the old era deserve to be burned to ashes."
With his hands in his pockets, he walked forward step by step, each footfall leaving scorched black prints on the ground.
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is truly frightening."
Kizaru stood as well, lazily stretching his arms over his head, his expression as casual as ever.
But behind the tinted lenses of his glasses, golden light grew increasingly intense.
"Whitebeard, are you trying to destroy headquarters?"
He lifted a finger. A beam of condensed golden light quietly took shape.
"That will not be allowed."
"Hm."
Aokiji rose in silence.
Each breath he exhaled became visible white frost.
The temperature around him plunged instantly.
"Angry, are you?"
"Then let's freeze everything."
Icy mist spread outward from beneath his feet.
The three Admirals of Marine Headquarters moved at the same time.