Marine Headquarters

Around the world, civilians wait for Ace's execution and Whitebeard's possible arrival. In the South Blue, people say, "There are only three hours left..." and wonder whether Whitebeard is already there. In the East Blue, others ask if he will really show up, saying even Whitebeard is getting old and has not made major news in years. An older man calls him "a pirate from another age" and asks whether the Marines could lose. Another voice says that win or lose, there will be many deaths, and that it would be best if Whitebeard never showed up and the execution simply ended.

The anxiety spreads through other seas. In the North Blue, a desperate drinker yells at "Boozie" and the old shopkeeper, asking if he is really supposed to work on a day like this and demanding booze because he cannot live without something to drink. In the West Blue, men insist Whitebeard is not just some old man and remember that only a year ago, when he glanced at them for a second, they gave up on their lives. On the Grand Line, children skip rope while singing, "Whitebeard the Pirate, scarier than a demon," and adults listen in fear, asking what will happen to the world.

Narration explains Marineford, the island where Marine Headquarters stands. A large city on the island houses the families of the Marines, but those residents have been evacuated. As the execution draws closer, evacuated residents and crowds watch monitors at Shabondy Archipelago, while reporters and cameramen from all over the world gather there, ready to send word at a moment's notice. When Ace appears on the broadcast, spectators shout, "Hey, look!! They're bringing Ace out!!"

At Marineford, narration says the patrol ships sent out by the Marines have all been sunk. Whitebeard has still not been sighted, and the tension at Marineford is running high. The execution slowly draws closer with only three hours remaining. Ace is brought out in chains and forced onto the execution platform, the cuffs clanking with a "Gachan!" sound. The crowd below and the watching world see the condemned commander kneel at the top of the scaffold while the final countdown begins.

A full view of Marineford shows the fortress, harbor and battleships filling the crescent-shaped bay. Narration says well-known Marines have been gathered from all over the world and that, in all, over 100,000 elites are there waiting for the final battle. The location card reads, "Grand Line, Marineford, Marine Headquarters." Marines rally themselves, shouting, "Then it'll all be over!!!" "No matter what happens, there's only three more hours!!" and "Don't be nervous!!!" The giant sound effects over the fortress turn the entire island into a braced battlefield.

The defenses are laid out in layers. Narration says fifty battleships are stationed around the crescent-shaped bay and island, countless heavy cannons are set up along the coast, and at the very front of the troops, visible from the port, stand the five villains who hold the key to the battle: the Royal Shichibukai. Donquixote Doflamingo laughs among them, Dracule Mihawk stands calmly with his sword, Gecko Moria looms behind, Boa Hancock poses with Salome, Bartholomew Kuma stands silently with his book, and Marines wait under the heavy SFX of the assembled force.

At the rear of the plaza, atop the towering execution platform, is the center of the incident: the head of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace, awaiting his fate. Before Ace's eyes, protecting the platform, sits the Marines' greatest military force, the three admirals. The labels identify Marine HQ Admiral Kizaru, Borsalino; Marine HQ Admiral Akainu, Sakazuki; and Marine HQ Admiral Aokiji, Kuzan. The page places Ace behind them, the scaffold above the troops, and the admirals as the final wall between him and rescue.

Narration says all the forces of justice imaginable have gathered to prevent Ace's rescue and wait for the Whitebeard Pirates. On the Tri-Current, Luffy spots the Gates of Justice and yells, "Hey, Jimbei!! I can already see the Gates of Justice! That was fast!!" Jimbei answers that he would call it slow, because with the wind at their back they would already have arrived. The prisoners shout about how to pass the gates, while Buggy's followers cry, "Alright bastards, we're getting close!!! Close to what!? The time when Captain Buggy rules the world!!! That's right!!"

At Marineford, Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku step onto the execution platform near Ace. Sengoku says, "I'm going to tell them everything... all right, Garp?" Garp, grim and weary, answers, "Do what you want, I'll be below." Sengoku orders the guards to step back for a moment and asks, "Give me the Denden Mushi..." The crowd below notices and asks what is happening, while Marines shout, "It's Fleet Admiral Sengoku!!" The page shifts from military display to public announcement, with Ace chained in the center of the platform.

Sengoku addresses the assembled forces and the watching world: "Gentlemen, I have something to tell you. Portgas D. Ace... this man will die here today. And there is great meaning in that death...!!" The announcement unsettles the plaza. Tsuru tells Garp, "None of this is your fault..." and Garp laughs bitterly, asking why she is being nice to him at a time like this. Commanders, Marines and onlookers react in silence and confusion. Sengoku then turns the question directly onto the prisoner: "Ace, say the name of your father!!"

The crowd wonders why Ace's father matters now. Ace answers with all the force he can muster: "My father... is Whitebeard!!" When Sengoku says "No!!!" Ace insists, "It's true!! The only father I have is Whitebeard!!! Nobody else!!!" Sengoku begins the hidden history anyway. Long ago, he says, they were desperately searching because that man's child might be alive on some island somewhere. Cipher Pol had only the smallest information, so they checked every newborn child, children born soon after, their mothers as well, and still found nothing.

Sengoku says that should have been the end of the matter, but Ace's mother gave her life for his birth, using sheer willpower to perform a trick. The Marines understand that she deceived them, and another voice corrects it: she deceived the entire world. Sengoku names the place and the woman behind the impossible deception: in the South Blue there is an island called Baterila, and Ace's mother's name was Portgas D. Rouge. The page shows Rouge by the island shore as Sengoku explains the secret that hid Roger's bloodline.

Sengoku continues that they never even imagined what Rouge was capable of. Out of love for her child, she carried Ace in her womb for twenty months, and when she finally gave birth, her strength gave out and she died right there. One year and three months had passed since the father died. Sengoku declares that a child was born with the blood of the world's greatest villain running through his veins, and that child was Ace. He tells Ace, "There's no way you don't know...!!" while Ace sweats in silence before the entire Marine force.

The plaza erupts in shock as the revelation reaches its final point. In a memory, Rouge says, "My unborn child bears no sin, Garp!! Take care of my boy!!" Ace remembers the plea and the burden that followed him. Sengoku stands over the chained Ace and announces to the world, "Your father... was the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!!!" The huge shout lands like an explosion. Ace lowers his head, the Marines stare in disbelief, and the secret of Roger's son is no longer hidden from Marineford or the world.

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