5 5. Luffy enters the War. Akainu’s scheme failed.

│1st Person POV of Ace│

"Hahahahaha!!" A hearty laugh escaped my lips upon witnessing Luffy's fabulous entrance.

Sengoku growled at this moment, "Garp! You and your damn family!"

"LUFFY~!!" Gramps shouted while holding his head.

I looked over to Gramps and looking at his comically wide-eyed face, I couldn't help but exclaim joyfully, "Luffy's entrance was even better than Pops', I mean Whitebeard's entrance, right Gramps?"

And then, I sensed an attack coming towards my head with my Observation Haki. And it was fast enough that I couldn't even move my head the slightest bit to avoid it.

Bonk—!

"Owwww!" "Shut up, you damn brat!"

I think I deserved that Fist Of Love for riling up Gramps at a time like this.

"SHUT UP!! It's not your job to decide that!"

Just then, Luffy's shout echoed throughout the Marineford and the battlefield once more fell silent.

All attention was focused on Luffy as he continued to defy THE Whitebeard, "I have heard about you. You want to be the Pirate King, right?! Well, the one who will become the Pirate King is gonna be ME!!!"

Marines and pirates alike witnessed Luffy's declaration, completely rooted in place.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for Pops to respond with a quack-powered punch to Luffy's face.

Well, everyone but me and a handful of others from both sides.

A second later, Pops lifted his Naginata and began to spin it through the air, creating a small whirlwind, before smashing the butt of the pole-arm back down.

I am sure he slipped in a bit of Haki as well while doing so to generate the small but powerful shockwave that was more than enough to knock several marines and pirates off balance down in the bay.

Then, Pops' glare turned into a grin. "You're a damn cheeky brat."

He continued while focusing back on the battle, "You better not get in my way, greenhorn."

"I will do whatever I want however I damn want to." Came Luffy's equally strong retort. "I'm saving Ace myself."

After then, it seems that Luffy and Pops exchanged some casual pleasantries before the former leaped from the prow of the Moby Dick into the frozen bay.

"HEY, LUFFY~!" I shouted, "NOW THAT YOU HAVE COME THIS FAR, I WON'T STOP YOU FROM HELPING ME. SO, BE CAREFUL THERE, ALRIGHT?"

"ALRIGHT, ACE!!!"

While responding, Luffy utilized his Gear 3rd technique to defeat a big, fat marine.

Sengoku promptly revealed Luffy's father's identity, wasting no time, guaranteeing that the Marines would now spare no effort in ensuring his demise today.

Thereafter, Luffy, together with Jinbe and Ivankov faced three of the seven Shichibukais.

Doflamingo was not fighting right now, just giving some background information to Ivankov while watching him struggle against Kuma. And then, he went off to mess with Crocodile.

Boa Hancock on the other hand was assisting Luffy by keeping Smoker busy, that is after she passed the spare key of my locks to Luffy, that she had in her possessions.

As Luffy started causing chaos here and there after shaking off Mihawk, a marine came near the execution platform to report to Sengoku that their preparations were complete.

Sengoku then barked out orders to shut off the broadcast.

Subsequently, the Pacifistas entered from the back being led by a single marine, Sentomaru.

The intensity of the war just went up a few notches. The Pirate crews under Pops' command came under pretty heavy firepower.

Fortunately, Oars was there providing massive help to Whitey Bay, Doma, De-Calvan Brothers, and several others in handling those inferior-Kuma copies.

Behind me, Sengoku was shouting at the marines below to hurry up and stop Buggy's antics and shut down all the visuals.

Just then, the moment I was anticipating finally arrived.

I could now see the Whirlpool Spider, Squard making his way to the front of Moby Dick, towards Pops.

Pops and Squard engaged in conversation as the latter walked across and positioned himself directly in front of Pops.

I fully focused my Observation Haki onto Squard now.

The moment he unsheathed his sword and turned towards Pops, I let loose the full might of my Conqueror's Haki on him and him only.

…

…

The Battlefield was silent for just a single moment and then Marco shot across the frozen bay, arriving on top of Squard in the blink of an eye.

After confirming that Squard wasn't able to harm Pops with my Observation Haki, I slumped in exhaustion.

I really overexerted myself while trying to keep an eye on Luffy for twenty hours straight. Just three hours of sleep wasn't anywhere near the amount of rest I needed.

I will just rest for now and wait for Luffy to free me.

=+=+=+=< Scene Break >=+=+=+=

│3rd Person POV│

"SQUARDO!"

As Marco slammed Squard's head on the prow, he noticed that the latter was already unconscious even before his head made contact with the prow.

"What?! How?!… Oyaji?!" Marco stuttered out as he hadn't noticed Ace's royal Haki usage in his shock and rage at how one of them could even think of betraying their Pops.

Whitebeard gazed at the smiling visage of Ace as he answered Marco, "It wasn't me. Ace did that. That brat, still worrying about me at a time like this."

Marco let out a relieved sigh upon finding Whitebeard unscathed. "Pops, what should we do with him?"

"Wake him up. I can guess why attempted to stab me." Whitebeard said with anger in his voice.

While Marco woke up Squard, several captains were clamoring to know the reason for his betrayal.

Upon opening his eyes, Squard right away figured out that he had failed. He screamed in response to Marco's question, "Shut up!! You're the one who forced us into this.

"I know that you have already made a deal with the Marines, haven't you, Whitebeard!? They have promised to let Whitebeard Pirates and Ace live in exchange for the lives of all the 43 Captains under you.

"You know how much I hate Roger, the person who killed all of my crew members before meeting you.

"Why didn't you say anything about Ace being Gol D. Roger's son and how you planned to make him the next Pirate King!!? Because as soon as you did that, you had already betrayed us.

"We came here to throw our lives away for Ace and Whitebeard and look at us!! Right now, who are the marines targeting!? It's us!!! Blocked by the frozen waves, we can't escape at all."

After Sqaurd's rant ended, numerous allied Pirate Captains also began to question Whitebeard.

Even though Oars' Presence significantly reduced the pressure of Pacifistas on the allied Pirates' crew, the situation was not that good as casualties kept rising higher.

"It's a pity that I failed to take you down with me… However, I am already prepared. Kill me!!"

Marco couldn't bear to listen to Squard's nonsense any longer, he roughly grabbed his collar and shouted, "You Idiot!!! You were fooled, Squardo! Why didn't you trust in Pops!!?"

"It's true that Ace is Roger's son. They turned the man who would be most affected by this news against us. Their plan was one step ahead. Only Ace's intervention managed to foil their plan." said Whitebeard in a low voice.

"AOKIJI!!"

Following Sengoku's shout, Aokiji froze all of the Buggy Pirates that were messing around with the only Den-Den Mushi that was still broadcasting the events of Marineford to Sabaody Archipelago.

Subsequently, the Fleet Admiral ordered the activation of the Siege Walls surrounding the bay.

"Heh~! Whitebeard isn't that weak to let himself be struck by such a pathetic sneak attack." Crocodile muttered in a low voice.

He believed that Whitebeard was the one who used the Conqueror's Haki to incapacitate Squard, thereby rendering the surprise attack useless.

'It seems that Pops' situation is worsening. Otherwise, Squard couldn't have come so close to succeeding in his sneak attack.' thought Marco.

Whitebeard exerted the pressure of his full height of 21 feet and 11 inches on Squard, "Squardo, you attempted to attack your own father with your blade. You're an unbelievably idiot son!!"

With his heart beating faster than Kizaru's top speed, Squard stood still, awaiting the verdict of the Strongest Man in the world.

However, he never anticipated Whitebeard's next move.

Whitebeard knelt on one knee and hugged while announcing, "But even so, I still love you, my son."

Squard was in denial as he frantically spoke up, "Don't screw with me!! You… You threw our lives away!!!"

"You have a straightforward, and loyal heart. Who was it that dragged it into darkness?" Whitebeard questioned calmly.

With some hesitation in his voice, Squard replied, "One of the marines! A member of the rebel faction. He said that if I killed you, we would be spared!!"

"So Akainu said that, huh… I know how much you hate Roger, to the point that it hurts me. But Squardo, the son shouldn't bear the sins of the father.

"What has Ace ever done to you!? Be good to each other… Ace isn't the only special one. You are all my family…"

Squard couldn't believe that even after betraying him, Whitebeard forgave him so easily. He was crying his eyes out with regret and shame crushing his heart.

Whitebeard stood up and stabbed his Naginata to the side before enveloping both of his fists in a quake bubble.

In one strike, he destroyed the frozen tall waves surrounding the Marineford.

"I gave away my son's life!? Don't joke with me! I am Whitebeard. Family is everything to me. If you're a Pirate, choose who to believe in by yourselves!!

"However, if you want to fight with me, be prepared to give up your lives!!!"

Whitebeard's declaration was followed by the war cries of almost all the pirates as they began attacking the marines and Pacifistas with renewed vigor.

Whitebeard also entered the battlefield, encountering and easily defeating Vice Admiral John the Giant.

Sengoku was furious with Ace because, had he not intervened, Whitebeard would not have joined the war without any injuries.

Ace sensed Sengoku's anger being directed at him and turned his head to face him, "You are getting enraged so easily!? I wonder what your expression would be like when you extend your Haki beyond the frozen waves?"

Sengoku's expression soured further as he expanded the range of his Color of Observation beyond the encirclement of Marine Battleships.

He sensed the presence of four ships rapidly approaching the back lines where the Pacifistas were engaging the New World Pirate crews.

After a few moments, he identified the Captains of the four ships.

Sengoku's expression turned incredulous, as he hadn't anticipated that rookie pirates, even if they were the Supernovas, would dare to partake in a war of such magnitude.

...To Be Continued!

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A/N: Naughty Akainu, you won't succeed this time. And this is just the start of your suffering.

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