Sengoku slammed the table so hard his den-den mushi nearly flew out of his hand.
"Garp! You held back so much you could drown the entire East Blue! What am I supposed to say to you?!"
Garp stood to the side, his face shifting like a stormy sky.
The image of Ace's body being pierced by magma burned itself into his mind.
Rage boiled inside him, trembling through every muscle. He ignored Sengoku entirely and headed straight for the door.
Sengoku's heart lurched. He leaped from his seat, Armament Haki flaring, and forced Garp to the ground, pinning him like a trapped beast.
"Garp! What do you think you're doing?!"
It was a pointless question. After decades of friendship, Sengoku knew exactly what was on Garp's mind.
"Soldiers! Restrain Vice Admiral Garp!"
"That brat Akainu… he actually dared to kill my grandson!"
Garp didn't resist. He just knelt there, chained down, silent, tears of fury spilling uncontrollably down his face.
"Garp! Remember your position! If you can't hold yourself together, I'll throw you in a cell until you can!"
Only after the others wrapped Garp tightly in chains and cleared the room did Sengoku finally speak.
"Ace is Roger's biological son. The entire world knows it now. You understand what that means."
Sengoku sympathized with his friend… but the word Justice on their backs allowed no personal sentiment.
"If the Pirate King's son lives… if the remnants of the old era survive… people will never stop living in fear. The Navy can't establish authority. The new age will never arrive."
Hands behind his back, Sengoku stared out into the dark night sky.
"This war is unavoidable. And it's coming sooner than I planned."
Originally, Sengoku intended to gather all Navy forces at Marineford before publicly announcing Ace's execution and his identity as Roger's son.
But the Cross-Anime Projection videos had ruined everything.
The Summit War would arrive ahead of schedule.
"If I'm right, that old man Whitebeard is already on his way here."
Sengoku frowned deeply. The Navy had gathered most of its strength, but even then… there were risks.
"Who is the one uploading these Cross-Anime videos?"
He paced the council room restlessly and summoned all intelligence officers.
"You all saw how popular those videos are. Find the creator. I suspect he's deliberately sabotaging the Navy!"
"Yes, sir!"
The intelligence agents vanished instantly.
Sengoku then picked up the den-den mushi to summon the Seven Warlords of the Sea, threatening them with the title the Navy had granted them.
Dressrosa , Donquixote Doflamingo, Warlord of the Sea.
"Understood. I'll be there."
He hung up. A twisted smile crept over his face, laughter echoing through the room.
"So the old era is finally ending? About time these fossils stepped aside! Fufufufufu!"
Amazon Lily , Boa Hancock, Warlord of the Sea.
"I shall depart immediately."
But once she hung up, the cold empress façade vanished.
Boa Hancock held her blushing cheeks, long legs kicking ecstatically.
"Lord Luffy… I will see Lord Luffy again… chu~"
Moria and the remaining Warlords also received the summons.
Hours later, as Sengoku and Garp discussed strategy, a den-den mushi rang.
"Reporting, sir! All Warlords except Dracule Mihawk have been contacted!"
Sengoku hesitated. Mihawk was the last person who should be unreachable.
He only agreed to become a Warlord because he preferred peace and quiet… and now even he had disappeared.
"Keep trying! Before Whitebeard arrives, I want him found."
In a war where any slight shift in power could tilt the battlefield, Sengoku refused to gamble.
"Garp… will you participate in this war?"
Still chained to the support pillar, Garp had calmed somewhat.
"I can't promise I won't act."
Garp never hid his emotions. Between the Justice behind him and his love for Ace, he could only try to stay a spectator… but he couldn't guarantee it.
"I want to see Ace… in Impel Down."
Sengoku sighed. Whether Garp fought or not didn't matter.
Just his presence as a legendary Vice Admiral would boost morale.
"Go. I won't stop you this time."
Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick, the Division Commanders held a secret meeting.
Only one topic mattered:
Ace must be saved.
But none of them wanted to watch their father walk into his own grave.
And given his failing health, Whitebeard couldn't withstand this war.
"We cannot let Pops go to Marineford!"
Marco stood firmly. Joz gulped down an entire jug of alcohol.
"Agreed. Pops joining the war is out of the question."
The Fourth Division Commander had remained silent until now.
"If Pops doesn't go… we don't even have a ten percent chance of saving Ace. Have any of you considered that?"
Silence fell instantly.
"You've all seen the strength of the Admirals. And with Sengoku and Garp there as well… we have no chance."
In that suffocating quiet, Marco pulled out his phone, opened the Cross-Anime Projection app, and found the videos posted by Blaine.
"Since the uploader knows the future… I'm going to ask him for help."
[Hello, Author. I'm Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because of your videos, we are now heading to Marineford.
We do not want Ace to die there, nor do we want Pops to be buried there.
If you have a way to help us, we are willing to offer the recently obtained Mythical Zoan: Tyrannosaurus Rex Fruit as payment.]
Blaine's phone was still set to silent.
He was currently drinking, partying, and burning money alongside Wayne,
seventy thousand Anime Coins spent in a single night.
The next morning, he awoke in his rented apartment to a tidal wave of notifications.