One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Damn it!

Marco turned around and saw Enel, with blood on his lips and a gloomy look in his eyes, shooting towards him again!

Chapter 659 Teach's Laughter

At the top of the towering execution platform, Sengoku looked down at the battlefield below, where shouts of battle filled the air, and a feeling of utter frustration welled up inside him.

Although the real purpose of this war was to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates.

However, the public execution of Fire Fist Ace was also an important part of the Navy's plan to crack down on the increasingly rampant pirate forces on the high seas.

Although Ace's reputation and strength on the sea have not yet reached their peak, they are far from being comparable to those of his biological father and adoptive father.

However, as the only bloodline of the Pirate King, if he could be executed in front of the whole world, it would be a very effective way to curb the arrogance of pirates.

However, at this moment, before the normal process of public execution and prosecution had even begun, the formal battle had already started, leaving Sengoku unsure whether to bring Ace up for the first time.

Furthermore, due to the extremely widespread thunderstorm in Rorschach, the entire island of Marineford is now filled with dissipated electric currents, severely affecting the live broadcast signal of the video Den Den Mushi.

Of the three live Den Den Mushi that were originally prepared, two have now been shut down, and the remaining one has an unstable signal, with occasional blackouts and fluctuations.

However, even though the war did not develop as the navy had anticipated, the necessary tasks still needed to be done.

Immediately, Sengoku spoke in a deep voice into the Den Den Mushi in his hand:

"Science Unit! Maintain the live broadcast signal for the video Den Den Mushi! Guards! Bring up Portgas D. Ace and Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach, who are about to be publicly executed!"

As Sengoku finished speaking, the sound of chains scraping and clanging immediately rang out from the steps of the execution platform that connected to the prison at the bottom of the fortress.

The voice was urgent. Sengoku turned around and looked down, and saw Ace, whose hands and feet were shackled with heavy sea stone. He didn't need the guards in charge of the execution to push him; he quickly strode towards the execution platform.

If it weren't for the fact that he hadn't been able to eat due to the torment in his heart during his imprisonment and had expended too much energy, Sengoku would have even suspected that he could have jumped straight up from the prison exit.

"Ace!!"

"Captain Ace!"

On the battlefield, Marco and the others, who were engaged in fierce fighting, saw Ace appear on the execution platform and immediately shouted excitedly from afar.

"Marco! Jozu! Everyone! Why are you going to such lengths for me?! Someone as willful as me isn't worth risking your lives to save me! Leaving the team was my own choice, why should everyone have to bear the consequences for me? Marco! Jozu! Vista! Take everyone away! Get everyone out of here, don't worry about me! Go back to the New World!"

Looking at the bloody and chaotic battlefield before him, Ace, kneeling on the execution platform, felt both the joy of being recognized and accepted by his comrades and the deep guilt, worry, and sorrow for the pirates who sacrificed themselves and were injured while trying to save him.

Hearing Ace's painful screams, the captains, who were fighting fiercely and had no time to turn around, were loudly offering words of comfort, which made Ace feel even more guilty.

In just a short time, he saw many familiar faces fall before his eyes, never to rise again.

Too many people died because of him, too many people were hurt because of him.

These people shouldn't have been in this meat grinder-like hell.

They would have lived a carefree and unrestrained pirate life in the New World, eating meat and drinking wine under their father's protection.

No one forced them; it was simply out of a pirate's code of honor that they disregarded their own lives and risked everything to follow their father to save them.

Looking at his comrades fighting fiercely, Ace couldn't help but recall the question Rorschach had asked him on Tassan Island.

Have you found the meaning of life?

At that moment, Ace knew he had found it.

However, if Ace had known beforehand that he would pay such a heavy price for this answer, he would definitely have chosen not to.

"Goo la la la la!"

Hearing Ace's choked sobs from afar, Whitebeard, who was fiercely exchanging blows with Rorschach, suddenly exerted his strength. A shockwave erupted from his naginata, blocking Rorschach's slash. He looked towards Ace and grinned, "Ace, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Dad?" Hearing that familiar voice, Ace's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the imposing figure standing on the ice of the inner bay.

"I was the one who told you to go. Now that something has happened to the crew because of the captain's orders, I, as the captain, naturally have to take responsibility," the white-bearded man grinned.

"Nonsense! I went there of my own accord!" Ace yelled hoarsely.

"No! I'm the one who asked you to go, Marco, right?" Whitebeard looked in Marco's direction.

Marco's blue flames surged, blocking the lightning bolt shot by Enel, and he shouted back, "That's right! We all heard it. It was Dad who told you to go after Teach. Ace!"

“That’s right! Ace! We heard it too!” Jozu and Vista chimed in.

“You guys…!” Ace was stunned.

Whitebeard's chest heaved as he watched Rorschach stride toward him once more, his aged yet heroic voice echoing across Marineford.

“Everyone on this sea knows the consequences of messing with our people. Ace, my son, you’ve suffered these past few days. Wait a moment, we’ll rescue you right away.”

"Dad!"

Seeing the gentle smile on Whitebeard's face, which showed no reproach but was full of concern, Ace could no longer hold back.

Tears welled up from his burning eyes like a burst dam, and he couldn't stop them.

Below the execution platform, Garp, his eyes filled with deep weariness, listened to Ace's choked sobs from above. His eyes reddened slightly, and he closed them in anguish.

In stark contrast to Ace's excitement was Teach.

It's not that he was deliberately stalling for time.

But Teach's demeanor at that moment seemed far too calm.

His hands and feet were shackled with sea stone chains, but his face showed no tension, regret, or fear as he faced imminent execution. Instead, he grinned and revealed a wanton, arrogant smile.

For some reason, seeing Teach's smile involuntarily brought to Sengoku's mind the image of Roger's heroic smile before his death in Loguetown twenty years ago.

Compared to Ace's regret and pain, Teach's calm and composed attitude had a strange kingly air about him.

This made Sengoku no longer regret what Rorschach had done back then.

Blackbeard is indeed more dangerous than Fire Fist Ace.

"Blackbeard, what are you laughing at?"

When Teach slowly and leisurely climbed onto the execution platform and walked up to Sengoku, Sengoku couldn't help but ask a question.

Teach glanced at the chaotic and bloody battlefield below the stage, and his smile widened.

"Hahaha, why do you think it is? The Warring States period."

Without being pushed by the guards behind him, he stepped forward, slowly knelt down, and sat on the wooden board of the execution platform, letting the two executioners behind him pull the chains on his hands and feet and lock them into the locks on the execution platform.

Then, as he continued to gaze at the grand war scene before him, he laughed again, "Hahaha, because the dream is over."

Sengoku was taken aback. "When a dream ends... shouldn't it be sad and painful?"

"Sadness, pain?"

Teach threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahaha, hahaha!"

"Why be sad? Why be in pain? I'm not one of those trashy kids playing pirate games! I don't cry just because I didn't get the wealth and women I wanted during my raids!"

"When your dream comes true, you should drink heavily, eat heartily, spend money lavishly, play with women to your heart's content, and laugh heartily!"

"My dream is over. Aside from no more wine, no more meat, no more money, and no more women to play with, I should still laugh! Hahahaha!"

"Yes, Lao Tzu did say that human dreams never end. But death is the end of everything! Since my destiny has come to an end, shouldn't I laugh even louder? Hehehehe, hehehehe!"

Blackbeard laughed loudly, a wild, unrestrained, and exhilarating laugh.

The ear-piercing laughter even drowned out Ace's sobs, echoing far and wide across the chaotic battlefield of Marineford, drawing the attention of some of the powerful warriors engaged in combat.

Blackbeard smiled even more broadly upon noticing Whitebeard's gaze fixed on them from the ice of the inner bay.

"Dad! Tell me, am I right? Hahahaha!"

On the ice of the inner bay, Whitebeard coldly stared at Teach, who was laughing maniacally, and shouted, "Shut up! Teach! You alone are unworthy to be my son!"

"why?"

Blackbeard, who was laughing loudly, suddenly turned his face and looked at Ace, who was also glaring at him angrily.

"Because my son is too rebellious, too disobedient, and has his own ideas, you no longer love me? I've been your son for decades, and all I did was make a small mistake, and you're now putting a bounty on my head all over the world, wanting to kill me. And Ace? He's only been on the Moby Dick for less than three years! You'd trade the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew of 70,000 for him alone? Is this how you treat all of us sons equally?"

Blackbeard's voice was full of sarcasm and jealousy that anyone could hear.

An eerie silence suddenly descended upon the vast battlefield.

Countless eyes were drawn to him and Whitebeard.

Some of the pirates who were fighting looked confused and turned to look at Whitebeard's tall figure.

"Is there infighting within the Whitebeard Pirates?"

In the square, many sailors wore cold smiles.

Below the execution platform, Akainu, the only one who hadn't made a move, sat silently with his arms crossed, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

Whitebeard's powerful Observation Haki allowed him to clearly sense the suspicions of the many pirates behind him. He sighed inwardly but did not refute them.

Ace, who was handcuffed to the execution platform alongside Teach, angrily struggled against his chains after hearing Teach's words, trying to ram into Teach. However, because the chains were not long enough, he was pulled back, his body leaning forward like an angry bull.

"Shut up! Teach! You have no right to insult Daddy! You're just making excuses! You've committed the most unforgivable crime on this sea! No one can be forgiven for murdering their own comrade!"

"Captain Ace, please don't deliberately change the subject, okay? I'm talking about how Uncle is biased. He said he would treat all the crew members equally, so why is he being so nice to you after you've only been here for such a short time? Even when Oden died such a tragic death, Uncle didn't even think about going to Wano Country to rescue him. Now that you're in trouble, he can't wait to bring the entire pirate crew over. We're both second division commanders, so why is there such a big difference? Can you tell me why?"

Blackbeard looked at the furious Ace with a mocking glint in his eyes.

“I…” Ace opened his mouth, but for a moment he couldn’t find the words to refute it.

After a brief struggle with Kizaru, Marco, who had kicked Kizaru away, couldn't hold back any longer and angrily shouted, "Shut up! Teach! Didn't you already know why we didn't get involved in that matter? When Oden was in trouble, Kaido blocked the news, and we didn't find out the tragic news until many years later..."

"Then why not go and take revenge on Kaido?"

Blackbeard's words once again rendered Marco speechless, who had tried to explain.

Blackbeard laughed.

"Admit it, Marco, in Father's eyes, even among sons, there's a distinction of importance! Squard, Magugai, Doma! Your pirate crew was wiped out by the G5 Marines, and Father didn't even tell you to go after G5. When you were captured, the captains didn't immediately attack G5 to rescue you. You fools, ask yourselves honestly, if you were the one captured by the Marines and facing public execution, would Father have gone to such lengths to come and get you? Don't dream about it!"

Blackbeard's voice was incredibly grating, causing the pirates fighting in the Inner Bay Plaza to turn pale and lose all color.

The Whitebeard Pirates' main force is alright. They have been following Whitebeard for quite some time, so they naturally trust his character and are willing to sacrifice themselves for him.

But the stance of those vassal pirates was not so firm.

At first, things were fine, but as one powerful naval officer after another appeared, and as their comrades continued to die or be wounded, their confidence in winning waned, leaving them in a predicament where they were caught between a rock and a hard place.