For Carl, Ace's life or death doesn't really matter.
They are all pirates, after all. He has killed thousands of them in the past few years and has long since stopped seeing them as anything but enemies of justice.
Still, this might be the best possible ending for Ace—better than being burned alive by Akainu's magma. A pirate dying through official execution could be seen as fulfilling their own reckless pursuit of freedom, even if the price was their life.
Carl's sharp gaze shifted below. A powerful aura fluctuated erratically—Garp!
The old Marine hero stood frozen, his face shadowed in grief, as if he had aged decades in an instant. His fists trembled at his sides, but he did not move.
Unlike in the original timeline, where he lost control after Ace's death, this time the execution had gone exactly as ordered. Ace hadn't been killed by a Marine's personal vendetta but by due process. This subtle change restrained Garp's reaction, preventing him from lashing out.
Humm—
Whitebeard, however, wasn't going to stand still. After a deep inhale, he brandished his bisento Murakumogiri and brought it down in a devastating slash.
Carl did not intervene. His role was done.
BOOM!
The execution platform collapsed, and Ace's lifeless body tumbled downward.
Whitebeard caught his son's corpse with one massive hand. After a long silence, he gently tossed him toward Garp, who caught him with a pained expression.
Sengoku's voice rang out, firm and commanding.
"Enough! All Marines—take down the Whitebeard Pirates!"
The battlefield erupted once more.
Whitebeard's bisento gleamed with Gura Gura no Mi energy as he cleaved through the charging Marines.
"Gurarararara! If you want to reach the future, you have to get through this old man first!"
Kizaru and Aokiji kept their distance, launching attacks from afar. After all, Akainu had gone headfirst into battle earlier, and now he lay buried somewhere deep beneath Marineford.
Carl, watching from above, had no intention of stepping into the chaos.
This was Whitebeard's final stand.
He still remembered how Akainu's magma fist had nearly caved in the Emperor's chest earlier. Just the thought of that attack made his ribs ache in sympathy.
But…
Carl's gaze shifted toward the ruins of Marine Headquarters. Several ominous presences were approaching—malicious and full of unrestrained ambition.
"Blackbeard… I've been waiting for you."
His hand tightened around the hilt of Sakura Ten.
Zheng!
A massive black-and-gold slash shot through the fortress ruins.
BOOM!
The rubble exploded, revealing an enormous figure nearly as tall as the fortress itself. A sinister chuckle echoed.
"Well, well… I've been found out."
All Marines turned toward the destruction.
Someone pointed at the ruins of the execution platform.
"Who is that?! What's happening behind the fortress?!"
"Finally, we've arrived."
A smug grin spread across Blackbeard's face.
"How did you bastards get here?!" Sengoku roared, his face darkening.
Whitebeard's pupils shrank.
"Teach, you…"
As the dust settled, several sinister figures emerged, each exuding overwhelming menace.
A Marine gasped.
"Those criminals—the ones who were erased from history because they were too dangerous!"
Another Marine pointed, voice trembling.
"That giant…! That's the Great Battleship, Sanjuan Wolf!"
Sanjuan Wolf grinned. "Not only was I discovered, but they even recognized me. Hehehe."
A silver-haired man clad in royal garb sneered.
"It's been too long since I've seen the outside world," said Avalo Pizarro, the Evil King.
A muscular man with a massive drinking gourd laughed drunkenly.
"A party like this calls for a drink! Let's kill everyone and celebrate!" said Baskerville Choate, the Heavy Drinker.
A wicked-looking woman twirled a knife between her fingers.
"What a lovely moonlit night. I wonder whose blood will stain my blades tonight," purred Catarina Devon, the Crescent Moon Hunter.
And at the center of them all, standing beside Blackbeard, was a man in a long coat, a cigar dangling from his lips. His piercing eyes scanned the battlefield with cold calculation.
"Shiryu of the Rain…" Sengoku growled. "You traitorous bastard! What happened to Magellan?! What happened to Impel Down?!"
Shiryu smirked, taking a slow drag from his cigar.
"Marshal Sengoku, our presence here is your answer."
"We're here now. That's all that matters."
Blackbeard let out his signature laugh.
"Zehaahahaha! I only joined the Warlords to get what I needed! Now that I've got it, I don't need the title anymore!"
Whitebeard's grip on his bisento tightened.
"Teach… I should've killed you long ago."
"Gurararara! It's time to end this!"
Whitebeard raised his glowing fist.
BOOM!
The air cracked as a seismic shockwave tore toward Teach.
"Gahhh! It hurts, damn it!" Blackbeard screamed, his body slamming into the ground.
Unlike other Logia users, his Yami Yami no Mi didn't allow him to become intangible. He had to absorb damage, but the pain was doubled.
Whitebeard seized Teach's face in his massive hand, white energy pulsing ominously.
"S-Stop it, Pops! I'm your son!"
This time, there was no mercy.
BOOM!
The very earth caved beneath them, smoke rising into the sky.
Teach gasped for air, battered and bloodied.
Whitebeard loomed over him, his body battered but his spirit unbroken.
"You… You're a monster!" Teach wheezed.
Whitebeard raised his fist for a finishing blow—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunshots rang out.
"Kill him! ALL OF YOU!" Teach howled.
His crew swarmed Whitebeard, stabbing and shooting him from every direction.
A moment later, the bullets stopped.
Teach panted. "Is… Is he dead?"
Shiryu smirked. "No need for another shot. He's done."
Then—
"You…" Whitebeard's voice rumbled like distant thunder.
He stood there, unmoving, covered in wounds.
His gaze locked onto Sengoku.
And then, with a voice that shook the world—
"SENGOKU! The thing you and the World Government fear most… will come to pass."
The battlefield fell silent.
"One day, a great war will engulf the world! When someone finds that treasure… everything will change!"
For a moment, Roger's face flashed in Whitebeard's mind.
His lips curled into a knowing smile.
And then, in his final breath—
"ONE PIECE… IT'S REAL!"
Sengoku's eyes widened in horror.
The strongest man in the world—Edward Newgate, Whitebeard—stood tall even in death.
He had suffered 267 sword wounds, 152 bullet wounds, and 46 cannon blasts.
Yet not a single scar marred his back.
For Whitebeard never ran from a fight.
JOIN MY PATREON TO READ ADVANCE 60+ CHAPTERS
Patreon.com/Kora_1