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Marco was tired. It has been a quiet week. They had visited one of their territories in the East, the people welcomed them with open arms and gifted them multiple things – which Oyaji stubbornly insisted to pay. After this, they were navigating through a calm sea. Big sun, no clouds, almost no wind. It has been like a week of vacation.
Then it went south. Yesterday, they were attacked by a pirate crew. Newbies, again. It seemed like they never learned from the mistakes of their predecessors.
While digging into their treasure, Thatch discovered a Devil Fruit. It was rare to find one in these times, so he proudly paraded on the ship, showing the fruit to whoever wanted to – and even to those who didn’t want to. He had not yet decided if he would eat it or sell it, Thatch wanted to research it. The Fruit had not been referenced in the big Encyclopedia of all fruits. Marco hadn’t thought much of it. There were some fruits that didn’t appear. Luffy’s Gum-Gum Fruit was the perfect example.
He shouldn’t have thought lightly of this.
The sun had yet to set that Thatch was found by Vista on the upper deck. Teach had been looming over the commander of the 4th division, a knife in hand, immediately incriminating him. The alarm was raised, Teach had fled.
Fortunately, Thatch had not been dead. His injuries were severe, but not life-threatening. He recalled the events of the evening with clarity.
Teach had known the fruit. He called it the Yami-Yami Fruit. He coveted it.
“I’m chasing him and killing him,” Ace had said after leaving Thatch in the care of the doctors. Marco wanted to stay, but he knew he was too affected to treat his adoptive brother without losing focus. So, he left too and arranged an urgent meeting with the three other commanders currently on board.
Ace had seen red, like all of them. But Ace was moved by his sense of responsibility. Teach had been part of his division. He felt it was his responsibility to take care of the deserter.
“You’re not going alone,” Oyaji countered. “Teach injured Thatch, it’s not a small feat.”
Impulsive like he was, Ace didn’t care for the order and took his Striker to chase him. None had the time to stop him before he was a small silhouette on the horizon. Marco had wanted to chase him in his phoenix form, but the wind suddenly rose and the weather went bad. Marco had not been able to fly, lest he was swept by and would have finished at the bottom of the ocean.
Now, three days have passed since Ace left. He had not checked with them, nor had he answered their calls. Oyaji had been irritated, but he ultimately decided to let Ace manage the chase on his own.
Marco wasn’t that worried for him, Ace was a young man, but he was powerful and skilled at planning. If he was smart about the chase, he would have no problem.
Fuck. They have a problem.
Marco was sitting in his cabin, at his desk. In front of him was a folder. A simple folder he had let on the side without opening it once. A folder he should have opened sooner.
It was the folder Sabo gave them the only time he visited. Inside was the list of distrustful people and why they were not loyal to the Whitebeards.
Both Oyaji and him had scoffed at the thought. They could never have imagined some of them, their family, their brothers, betraying the crew.
But here it was. On the very first page of the stack. Written in bold capitals, underlined and highlighted:
MARSHALL D. TEACH
How?! Marco didn’t hesitate and delved into the papers, reading every information Sabo gathered.
It was bad, so, so bad. A few weeks ago, they would have doubted the file. But now, they had proof. And if Ace’s brother was right about Teach, then all he had on him could be true!
Marco bolted, folder in hand, and ran to the upper deck where he knew his father was.
“OYAJI!” He shouted as he launched right in front of him.
“Son, what are you running for?” Worried the an.
“We need a meeting, now.”
Marco didn’t know what it was, probably his state of distress, but the commanders and Oyaji were quick to go to the meeting room.
“Marco, what is happening?” Haruta asked.
But Marco was too shaken to even start a sentence. He eyed the people in the room, searching for an anchor. Haruta was standing beside Vista, both were eyeing him with worry. Namur was frowning, and Oyaji was slowly lifting his hand to press on Marco’s shoulder in hope of grounding him.
It did. Marco inhaled loudly before lifting the file up.
“What is that?” Namur asked.
“Is that the folder Sabo left us last time?” Oyaji queried.
“Yes, it is,” Marco finally found his voice. “I should have opened it sooner.”
“What is it?” Vista asked.
“A folder of people conspiring behind Oyaji’s back. It was given to us by the Second in command of the Revolution Army.”
“Oh, Ace’s twin brother?”
“Yes,” Marco pressed. “We left it on the side because we couldn’t think that the crew would betray us. But here we are, Teach is a traitor, and it was all in this folder.”
Marco opened the file and spread the sheets on the table. It was all here. What Teach did in the name of Edward Newgate, whom he contacted, whom he recruited.
“He has a crew?!” Haruta choked.
“And they are not your random guy,” Vista commented. “What does that say for Ace?”
“We need to contact him at all costs,” Marco said.
“But how?! This idiot doesn’t pick up his Denden!” Haruta fumed.
“Luffy.” “Strawhat.” Marco and Whitebeard said at the same time.
Marco didn’t catch a break and took his personal Denden. He composed the number he long knew by heart. The Denden rang for a few seconds before they heard the traditional click of someone picking it up.
“You’ve reach the Strawhat’s main Denden. Who are you?” The voice of Sanji echoed in the silent room.
“Yo, Marco here,” the Vice-Captain greeted as Oyaji motioned him to.
“Oh, Marco? To what do we owe the honor?” Marco could hear the smile in Sanji’s voice, just like he could see the Denden’s face morph to take on the chef’s characteristics.
“I’m with Oyaji and other commanders. We need to talk to Luffy about Ace.”
The smile instantly disappeared. Another voice came through the communication device/animal.
“What is it?” They heard Luffy ask in a neutral voice. It took Marco back to their first encounter, when Luffy boarded the Moby-Dick to search for Ace. He shivered before answering.
“There has been an attack on our ship. One of our crew members turned traitor. As he was in Ace’s division, your brother decided to chase him. We let him, but he shut us down and we just discovered the traitor has a full crew of his own hidden away.”
Silence at the end of the line. The Whitebeard’s pirates felt unease creeping in when they finally heard from the other. It was a ringing tone, as if someone was using another Denden.
“Tsk. He’s not answering either,” Luffy explained. “Thank you for telling me, I’ll let my fleet know to look for him. Who’s the traitor?”
“One named Marshall D. Teach, and from Sabo’s intel, he’s been known as Blackbeard” Marco answered.
“Okay. I’ll give a few calls.”
“Thank you, Luffy.”
“No problem.”
And the communication died. Marco pocketed his Denden again and faced the others.
“We’ll contact our fleet to,” Oyaji ordered.
The commanders were set in motion.
As he tidied the papers in the folder, Marco couldn’t part way with that nasty presentment he was feeling.
One week. It had taken one week for us to finally hear from Ace.
Unfortunately, it was one of the worst-case scenarios.
Marco was sitting in the mess, a cup of coffee in one hand, a pen in the other. In front of him were maps of all of Whitebeard territory. He had marked the position of each division roaming and every ally in the zone.
He was searching for Teach, triangulating the man from their fleet’s intel. When Oyaji told the allies that the man betrayed them, Squard instantly told them he had seen the man in the middle of their territory.
The man was hiding there; Marco could almost feel it.
Oyaji and the commanders on board were also around the table. Haruta had contacted a few people on each island to make sure they were okay. Vista and Thatch - who was still supposed to rest but insisted to help – were checking-in with the other commanders. Namur had gone with his division to search in parts of their territory they haven’t covered yet. Izou- who came back after hearing of the attack, was still trying to contact Ace unsuccessfully.
That’s when Marco felt like the realm of Hell opened his doors.
“OYAJI! COMMANDERS! Bad news!” A man from the 16th division entered at full speed in the mess, disheveled and pale.
“Morgin, what happened?” Izou inquired.
But the man, breathless, couldn’t speak. Instead, he only lifted his hand that held onto the newspaper. Izou took it with a frown and opened it.
“Oh no,” he whispered, distressed.
With helpless eyes, Izou faced his brothers and father and showed them the page.
Marco felt like the ground opened right under his feet.
“PORTGAS D. ACE CAPTURED! PUBLIC EXECUTION SET!” he read.
They all stayed silent as Izou read the article aloud. “On today’s morning, the pirate Portgas D. Ace, commander of the 2nd division of the Whitebeard pirates, has been apprehended on Evolton Island. This dangerous pirate with a bounty of 550 000 000 berries has been responsible for many attacks on civilians and Marine bases. The pirate who helped to this capture, Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, is offered a place as one of the Seven Warlords. The public execution of Portgas D. Ace will stand at Marineford and broadcast worldwide. The execution date will be set at a later day…”
The room shook. Or rather, the whole ship trembled as Oyaji unleashed his power.
“Oyaji!” The commanders called.
After Whitebeard reigned his powers in, he stood up.
“Call everyone,” he ordered. “We’re going at war.”
They scattered, each knowing who to call without concerting the others. Marco ran to the communication hall. He was the one who would have to call every ally. But he was caught off guard when his personnel Denden rang. It was not the time, but he took the call regardless.
“Whitebeard’s Marco.”
“Marco, what the fuck is that news,” the cold voice came from the other side.
The blond man winced. He knew the voice, and he dreaded to tell the man.
“Luffy, we just learn of it too. We’re calling all our allies.”
“You’re going at war with the Navy?”
“Yes.”
“Good, you can count on us. I’ll call later to fill you in.”
And the communication died.
Marco took a moment to digest the conversation he just had. In times like this, it was hard to forget that Luffy was an Emperor of the sea. The man embodied fun and laugh at every corner of the globe, his cold tone right now made Marco remember that the man could be dangerous.
Haruta came to the communication hall too. He barely acknowledged Marco’s torment before taking the ringing Denden sitting at the table.
“Commander of the 12th division of the Whitebeard’s pirates, Haruta,” he greeted on the other side.
It should be one of their brothers or an ally. The news made probably spread around the world by now.
“You better have a very good explanation to what I just read on the newspaper,” the threat came unannounced, and Haruta’s blood drained from his face. He couldn’t speak as he felt power rolling from the opposite Denden.
Marco took pity on his little brother and took the communication for him.
“We literally read it twenty minutes ago, Sabo. We’re preparing the riposte.”
Ace’s twin brother, the second in command of the Revolutionary Army had called them, and he was pissed.
“What the fuck happened? Did you fucking not opened the folder I gave you?! Marshall D. Teach was the first man on that fucking list!”
Marco fought the shame. He couldn’t tell the man he forgot entirely about that folder, that he had dismissed it as rubbish.
“Oh fuck, you did not open it,” Sabo deduced by the silence. “You better be ready, because after we saved Ace, I’m coming for you.”
And the communication died again. Haruta, still beside him, was shaking hard.
“What is he planning to do?” He panicked.
“Haruta, calm down. For now, I think he will help us rescue Ace. And for what comes after, let me handle it.”
The younger, smaller commander nodded. The two of them then focused on the reason they were in this room.
They had news. Less than a week after the bomb the newspaper dropped, Marco reunited every commander in the meeting room. Twelve out of sixteen were present now. The one who was still at large called to participate in the meeting. On another Denden, Whitey Bay was present as the spokesperson of all their fleet.
“Are we all present?” Oyaji asked Marco.
And as everyone was ready for him to say yes, the commander of the 1st division shook his head.
“Two people are still missing; they should be calling soon.”
“Who?” Jozu asked.
He was cut off by the ringtone of Marco’s personal Denden. Marco took the call.
“Yo, Oyaji and all the commanders are here.”
“Hey Marco, everyone,” Luffy’s voice echoed in the room.
Immediately, some division commanders grew tense. Marco could understand them, Luffy’s cold voice did the same to him last time.
“Monkey D. Luffy, Marco told me you were joining us at war?”
“Of course. Ace is my brother. But just make things clear. I’m only synchronizing with you. I’ll do whatever I want when I reach Marineford.”
“I’m not delusional to think I can control another Emperor, lest someone as free as you,” Oyaji snickered.
“For what it’s worth, I’ll do whatever I want too,” another voice came through the Denden. It was Sabo.
“Sure,” the Whitebeard captain scoffed.
“Now that it’s settled, what’s your plan?”
Marco shot forward to explaining their plan. He was interrupted when Sabo required more details. Luffy was silent, but he – or at least his Denden – displayed a smirk.
“I’ll have some of my fleet try to intercept the Navy when they transfer Ace from Impel Down to Marineford,” Luffy exposed. “But I can’t guarantee their success. We’re joining you at Marineford, you just need to leave a little space for my ship in your grand display. I’m also still trying to convince Torao to come help us but he’s stubborn.”
Marco blinked at the foreign name. It didn’t sound like a real name, more like a nickname as Luffy loved to use them. He didn’t pry.
“Strawhat, how are you going to join us after our entrance?” Whitebeard asked. “Our allies and fleet will circle the entire battlefield.”
“Shi shi shi, you will see.”
“You’re thinking evil, Luffy,” Sabo warned.
“Oh, Whitebeard, I have news about Ace from my Gramps.”
That made all the commanders react. Marco was hopeful, they could hope for information about their youngest brother. He still didn’t know who
Whitebeard sneered, surprising everyone in the room. “And what does that man have to tell us. He has the power to free Ace on his own, why didn’t he do it? Isn’t he his grandfather too?”
If Luffy was caught off guard by the vicious tone of Whitebeard, he didn’t comment. “It’s… complicated,” the younger Emperor sighed. “But he has enough family conscience to at least help me free Ace.”
“Gramps is a force we can’t count on in this fight,” Sabo intervened. “But he won’t be difficult for us to handle.”
Whitebeard nodded, he was probably the only one on the crew knowing who the man they were talking to was. Marco supposed the man was an acquaintance from when his captain was still in Rocks’ crew.
“Anyway, he doesn’t have news of Ace from Impel Down, but rather on how the execution will set place.”
Izou jolted, eyes widening.
“That means we can base our attack on the moves of the Navy! This is peak information.”
Luffy laughed a little before continuing. “He hasn’t told me anything on what their plan really was, but I know the basic position of them. First, the furthest away from the scaffold will be regular soldiers. Then you will meet Vice-Admiral – except Garp for obvious reasons. Then there will be the Six Warlords of the Sea. Five of them accounted for. Blackbeard is unheard of. Then you will find the Admirals, and only then will there be Ace.
“How the fuck did your grandfather know all of this?!” Rakuyo chimed in. “That’s regarded as classified information!”
“Meh, he’s just being himself.”
On the other side, Sabo snorted. “Luffy, I think he wanted to know who our grandfather is.”
“Wait, Sabo, there are people who don’t know?!” Luffy apparently couldn’t fathom how they didn’t know.
But before Marco could ask, Luffy dismissed it and changed subject. “There’s another thing that you need to know.”
“And what might that be?”
“Sengoku will make Ace, Public Enemy n°1. You and I both know how.”
And Marco knew too. Even if it was a secret, Ace had still talked to Oyaji and him about the man he shared blood with. He didn’t want to call the man Ace’s father, even if it was technically correct. Their firecracker never acknowledged him as such. In fact, Luffy was more a father to him than even Newgate.
“He’s really doing it, he better be prepared for the repercussion, then. Ace will have a lot to take care of after we rescued him,” their captain and father joked.
The rest of the commanders shared confused glances as Luffy laughed.
“Glad we’re thinking alike, old man.”
Marco bristled at the title, even if Luffy didn’t mean disrespect.
“You plan to crash that announcement, Sabo?” Whitebeard asked.
“Nah, he can have his moment…”
“But he’ll not see my announcement coming,” Luffy smirked.
“Captain, what hell are you planning to unleash on those poor Marines?” Marco recognized Sanji’s voice.
Luffy didn’t answer the question, only laughing like possessed. It bothered more than one commander, but Marco apparently grew accustomed to this, just like none of the Strawhats reacted.
The meeting with Strawhat soon came to an end. Once the Whitebeard were left with only Whitey Bay – who hadn’t interfered in the two Emperors’ affair – they started to adapt their plan to what they just learned. But despite the questions, neither Whitebeard, nor Marco, answered Sengoku’s announcement.
It was today. Marco was standing on the prow, with his father and all commanders. They were facing the Navy; their main force was all there. He knew that they were already broadcasting. They had waited for Ace to stand on the scaffold to appear from underwater. Marco didn’t think that there could be a more impressive entrance than this.
“Yo, Sengoku,” Whitebeard greeted with a vicious smile. “Thank you for taking care of Ace in my absence. Son, we’re coming to get you.”
Sengoku frowned but said nothing. On his knees by his side, Ace was making a painful face. Marco was worried. Ace had to be hurt. I was clear from his prostrate form and his minimal move when he walked on the tall execution platform. And his face was shadowed by pain right now. Gosh, he wanted to check on him.
“Oyaji, why…” Ace whispered, but as he was close to the transmission Denden, his words were caught by everyone. “Why did you come to save a stupid boy like me?”
Ah, self-depreciation. Marco hadn’t accounted for that. His usual, bold self, had been severely tainted by Impel Down. They needed to reassure him; Marco couldn’t stay silent.
“Because you’re our brother, and Oyaji’s son, Ace. You’re family.”
Ace bit his lips, clearly holding up tears.
Sengoku took a step forward. “Marco the Phoenix, you’re displaying great family loyalty. But let me tell you all another story about family.”
Marco blanched, even though he knew it was coming. His own words had been twisted to form a stage for Sengoku to perform his little speech. He and Whitebeard already knew what was about to be said.
“It is a story about a woman named Portgas D. Rouge…” Ace looked up at the man with shock. He wasn’t expecting this. And despite Marco knowing he couldn’t stop the man, he wishes he could. Ace would get even more depressed after this. Just where was Luffy when they needed him!
Sengoku resumed his speech after a dramatic pause. “She was a woman born in South Blue, a fierce bounty hunter some of you remembered her as Bloody Habanero.” Marco heard a few of the commanders gasp. “And she was your mother, Ace.”
Another, dramatic, pause in the story. Marco and his siblings grew restless, but their father didn’t move one bit.
“She had loved you very much, to the point that she made the greatest sacrifice in order for you to live.”
Ace’s face twisted with pain as he moved, probably to try to silence the man beside him. From the corner of his eye, Marco saw Jozu take a step forward, the Phoenix stopped him with a small gesture.
“That sacrifice, was letting you live inside his womb for 20 months.”
Silence, then a few solders gasped, as well as the Whitebeard crew. Even Marco had to fight his reaction. He had not expected that.
“The reason she did that; it was your father. Ace, I want you to announce here, loud and clear, the name of your father.”
Sengoku put the Denden in front of Ace, where he was clearly fighting his anger.
“Shut up! I don’t have another father than Whitebeard!”
“The name of your father, Ace…” dramatic pause again, and Marco could really tell that the man missed a storyteller vocation, because even the commanders were waiting eagerly for the name, while Marco was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. Again, where was Luffy when they needed him!
“Gol D. Roger.”
Now they’ve done it. Sengoku has ended his speech with the most powerful bomb.
But the effect, even if impressive, was dimmed by Edward Newgate himself.
“A man who died before his son was born is no father,” he declared while stomping forward. “Ace is my son. You will never change that.”
The commanders were quick to recover from the shock and reassured Ace with the same speech. The importance of their ties, the fact that water ran deeper than blood on the ocean, and so on.
“UFO detected!” A soldier announced from the very left of Marineford.
Marco turned around to watch a small silhouette in the sky. It was strange, nothing he ever saw.
“Prepare to fight!” Sengoku ordered.
But he hadn’t been able to say more because the thing that was flying has now crashed into the ocean, right beside the Moby Dick.
A wave rose high at the impact but as the sea settled, they were all able to identify the menace.
The Thousand Sunny, Marco thought. They came here flying.
“Shi, shi, shi, that was an interesting story, Sengoku. But you missed more than half of it,” a voice rose from the ship. His presence unmistakable, Monkey D. Luffy.
The second Emperor entered the war.
“Monkey D. Luffy, what are you doing here?!” Sengoku shouted with disbelief.
Luffy raised an eyebrow at the question. “Are you seriously asking? Don’t you know who’s on the scaffold now?” They he smiled at the younger man. “Hey Ace, no worries I’m coming to get you out of this. We will also have a few words about what I heard on the retransmission, okay?”
Ace pulled a face. “Can we skip that part and tell we did it?”
“Nope, shi, shi, shi,” Luffy replied instantly.
“Face it, kid, you’re in for a good scolding,” Zoro snorted as he joined his captain on Sunny’s prow.
“You have no rights to be here, this is between the Whitebeards and the Navy,” Sengoku interrupted again.
Luffy frowned. Then his gaze shifted to somewhere where Marco couldn’t pinpoint in the middle of the enemies and pointed at Ace.
“Seriously, Gramps? You haven’t told Sengoku a thing about Ace and me?!”
“BWAHAHA!” The recognizable laugh filled Marineford like a hammer. Marco had no problem spotting Garp sitting right above the Admirals, tears in his eyes from the laugh he let out. It was bad if the man was laughing, like all Ds. “What do you think, brat! I wanted to tell Sengoku, but he always hushed me when I tried. Now he can’t blame me for not trying to tell him the war would not go as planned!”
It took Marco – and all the crew – a few seconds to realize the man replied to Luffy after the Emperor called him Gramps.
“I’m sorry, what did I just hear?” Izou asked, flabbergasted.
“Do you think it’s a collective hallucination or some shit like this?” Curiel inquired.
“How did we not make the connection,” Vista sighed. “Monkey D. Luffy. Monkey D. Garp.”
Marco knew exactly why none of them made the connection. Garp was hardly known by his name. It had always been, Garp, Vice-Admiral Garp, Garp the Fist, Garp the Hero… and so on.
Luffy broke the confusion by laughing. Not his usual laugh, one Marco never heard. Vicious.
“Hey, Sengoku, wanna be in on another secret?”
Here it comes, Marco thought. This was the part where Luffy makes his announcement he talked about on the Denden. He had no idea what would be said, but he could bet none of them here would be prepared enough. The viciously knowing smirk of all the Strawhat crew confirmed it.
“You think you made Ace Public Enemy n°1, but you’re wrong.”
Luffy, in a dramatic silence, took his own Denden and marched towards the very edge of the prow. He then resumed his speech that carried through the whole of Marineford and was therefore picked up by the transmission Dendens.
Marco raised an eyebrow at the prowess. Luffy had an insider working for him at Marineford. Even Oyaji didn’t have one.
“In fact, Ace is now the most protected person in this entire world.”
It took everyone by surprise, even the Whitebeards.
“What do you mean?” Sengoku asked.
Luffy let his smirk widen. “By announcing the name of Ace’s father, people will start to act. Because even if Roger was labeled the worst criminal ever, pirates older that thirty still remember the man he truly was, and not that stupid propaganda.” Dramatic pause, and Marco nodded along a good portion of the Whitebeards. Luffy was right, Roger’s way of life allowed him to make friends wherever he was, and he won respect from more than half the piracy world. “And even if you tell me those people are now old and can’t fight anymore, I’m sure you remember just who was part of Roger’s crew, right?” Luffy resumed.
Marco’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even thought of that. But of course, crew mates of Roger would protect Ace, and the strongest of them was known worldwide.
Apparently, Sengoku hadn’t thought of this before.
“You mean Akagami no Shanks,” he announced loudly. “But that pirate doesn’t mingle with other’s trouble. He won’t show up today.”
“So, what if he doesn’t?” Luffy asked, genuinely confused, his head tilting to the right, big eyes blinking innocently. “We’re more than enough here to rescue Ace.”
Sengoku looked like he was about to throw a fit right there. Marco found it funny. Garp certainly didn’t miss this opportunity to laugh at the Fleet Admiral’s face.
“Man, he certainly does have a point,” Speed Jiru snickered.
“That’s enough. Commence the execution!” Sengoku ordered.
Everyone grabs their weapon, but none where quicker to act than Whitebeard. The man threw his fists in the air. It was an attack Marco had not seen for a while, but it was still impressive to see his Captain level up the whole sea at will. As he directed the waves toward the Navy, Aokiji acted, freezing the unruly sea down to the boats.
“Nice, thanks Frozen-jiji!” Luffy shouted as he launched on the ice, covered by Zoro and Robin from afar.
“Children, you go too,” Oyaji ordered and was obeyed.
“Usopp, your turn!” Luffy called from the middle of the frozen bay where he was about to meet the first line of defense.
Marco should fly to cover his subordinates, but he was curious to see the sniper act.
“Yosh, let’s go! I’m counting on you, Sanji!” The sniper said as he adjusted his googles on his nose.
The man aimed his slingshot toward the execution platform and fired a projectile. Marco raised an eye as he watched the trajectory. It was so off it hurt. He was about to doubt the accuracy of Strawhat’s main sniper when the projectile turned to flames and hit.
“Yes, dead center!” Usopp celebrated.
Marco could only blink as he registered what happened. Usopp didn’t miss his shot. He had aim precisely way off.
Straight to the Government flag that was now combusted.
“Yikes! Here he comes!” Usopp shrieked.
Marco turned back to the man and saw a flash of light heading toward the sniper. The flash met flames as Sanji intercepted Kizaru on his way to the offender.
“Sorry, but you’re gonna fight me,” Sanji proclaimed as he engaged the Admiral in a ruthless fight.
Marco finally focused on his own mission. He transformed and launched into the air, his phoenix form catching all eyes of the Navy, allowing the crew to make a few decisive strikes to march toward Ace.
As he surveyed the battlefield in case the crew might need him, he shot glances at Luffy who was now in the middle of a battle with Boa Hancock. The woman was vicious, Marco hoped Luffy would be okay…
Did Luffy just hug the Snake Princess?! Marco blinked a few times, but he apparently was not hallucinating. Boa Hancock was left as a blushing mess as Luffy continued his course to the execution platform.
Marco followed, assisting Zoro in defeating Marines left and right, down to the Vice-Admirals, swords full of Conqueror’s Haki.
“Thanks guys!” Luffy shouted as he made a bee line toward the Admirals.
Marco tensed, no way Luffy could take on two Admirals on his own! Maybe he should help him…
Just as he thought about it, a loud bang resonated and hit Akainu right in the chest. For a moment, it was like time stopped. Not a word was uttered as they watched the rumored strongest Admiral falling on his back.
“Shi shi shi, thanks Beck!”
“You’re welcome, little demon. Glad we made it in time,” a voice answered Luffy’s.
Turning around to spot the familiar voice, Marco’s eyes blew up at the figures standing there. They’d come as quietly as possible, far from what they were accustomed to. Sengoku too, Marco noticed, was blown by the fact that they were here.
“Akagami,” Sengoku whispered, like he couldn’t believe it.
Of course, none of the Marines in this war expected Luffy to participate, yet Akagami no Shanks. Too much for their brain to process.
“We’re just here to help when needed,” Shanks waved with an easy smile. We’re not actively participating unless things are really going south.”
“Sure, expected nothing else,” Luffy laughed.
The fight resumed for the pirates, they were used to Grand Line way of saying shit to every logic so another Emperor in this war, one who came to help them, they would not refuse.
On his side of the battlefield, Luffy was back at throwing hands with the icy Admiral who was still making a face.
“Troublesome,” the older man groaned. “I don’t like fighting you. And you’re friends with Akagami. He’ll come to me if I leave a scratch on you”
“Shi shi shi,” Luffy laughed as he transformed mid-fight. From small and lean, Luffy became suddenly taller and bulkier.
“Gear 4th,” Luffy announced with a D smile only he knew how to make.
Seeing as Luffy was fine fighting the Admiral, he turned around to quickly assess the situation. His crew was deep in the fights. He had spotted a few commanders engaging with the Warlords, name Vista and Mihawk, and Jozu and Moria. They were already passing through the first line of defense, under their father and Captain careful watch. It looked good.
“Commence Portgas D. Ace’s execution,” Sengoku solemnly commanded.
Both guards raised their saber behind their Second Commander. But they didn’t commit to the order.
Not that they didn’t, they couldn’t.
Power exploded in a familiar wave that had Marco almost choke on air. Every fight stopped right this instant, Marco noticed, as they all turned their gaze toward the youngest Emperor of the Sea.
Monkey D. Luffy was furious. His eyebrows frowned, smile nowhere to be seen and replaced by a scowl that made more than one person shiver, including himself. Conqueror’s Haki rolled out of him and engulfed the whole battlefield. But none other than the two guards fell. It was deliberate, Marco thought, to warn the Navy not to do something stupid.
“That’s a dangerous move, Sengoku,” Luffy declared, turning himself fully toward the platform.
What Marco found dumbfounding was the fact that Aokiji stayed put where he was, meaning lying on the ground. Oh, the man was alive, his Haki was still strong and indicated no real reason to stay down, he was simply too lazy to stand up.
It was at this moment that Garp made his move. The man had been sitting on the ground, looking bored, until now. He rose on his feet and looked down to Luffy from where he was.
It all happened in half a second. Garp readied his fist, Haki powering it, and launched himself at Luffy. The young man stood there, ready to take on his grandfather.
Thair Haki clashed with each other, leveling up the ground and throwing back a few officers that were lingering around. It has been as violent as quick. One second, their fists were colliding, the other, Garp went flying toward the bulwarks behind the scaffolder. He didn’t go up again.
The silence was deafening. Monkey D. Luffy had never truly shown the Marines what he was capable of. They all knew he had fought Kaido and won, but no one ever knew how. Now, after witnessing the power Luffy could wield, they were starting to understand that the Marine shouldn’t make an enemy out of him.
No one had time to understand. One time, Luffy was near Aokiji, the other, chains opened and Ace was free.
“Shi shi shi, heya, Ace,” Luffy smiled to his little brother from behind him.
“Luffy!” Ace smiled, flames finally free from the shackles.
The Fleet Admiral reacted quickly to this, but Marco and Luffy were quicker. As Sengoku transform into his Buddha form, Marco was already in the air, grabbing Zoro by his collar and offering a ride to the young Emperor and his brother.
“Ace is free!” Marco shouted, his voice caring far. “Retreat!”
Celebrations erupted everywhere on the battlefield. The crew, invigorated by this massive win against the Navy and the World Government, battled twice as hard to rejoin the Moby Dick.
“Soldiers, raise the walls!” Sengoku shouted.
Marco tensed, what walls? Would they be held captive inside Marineford? Was that what they were aiming at? It had been suspicious that the crew could progress that fast inside the Marine base, was that a trap?
“Careful!” Marco shouted.
“Na, it’s going to be okay,” Luffy chimed in with a smile.
And he was right; nothing happened for a few seconds. As the Marines were seeing the pirates fleeing successfully, Sengoku shouted even louder.
“DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME?! RAISE THE WALLS!”
“But Fleet Admiral”, an officer had the courage to ask, “witch order are we to follow now?”
“What do you mean, my orders, what other orders do you have?!” Sengoku was about to have an attack.
“Well, from your second-in-command,” the officer answered, quickly followed by legions of others, even Vice-Admirals, nodding along.
Sengoku stood there, probably under a terrible shock. Marco didn’t fully understand what was going on, but it was playing in their favor.
“I don’t have a second-in-command for this execution! Who’s the idiot who thought he could overrule my orders!”
“Ahh,” a lazy voice came from the Denden retransmitting everything. “Test, one, two, one two. Does everyone hear me? Sorry, seems like I’m out now.”
Marco blinked, the voice was a bit deformed by the retransmission, but he was sure he knew the voice.
“Luffy, is that Sabo?!” Ace asked, flabbergasted.
The response came with a laugh. “Don’t ask me how he impersonated a commander in the Navy, I have no idea.”
“Luffy, first lesson with my diabolic twin: don’t ask questions.”
“True,” Luffy snorted.
Pause, what? Marco almost marked a halt in his flight to ask more about how a little gremlin, no even in his twenties could come and just take over the chain of command in one of the most guarded institutions in the World. But he would ask later. His top priority was to take Ace home.
“So, it’s like this,” another voice, angry resonated. “The Whitebeard pirates are cowards. They don’t even fully commit to…”
Marco didn’t understand the end of the sentence; he was caught off guard by Ace’s flames who acted up in response to the bait Akainu was throwing. The man was apparently too resistant to stay down, even after Beckmann shot him.
“Ace, calm down!” Luffy put his arm around Ace’s waist to ground the kid who was ready to jump and face the most dangerous Admiral of all.
“Luffy! Put me down! He insulted the crew. I’m gonna show him…”
“Nothing,” Luffy countered. You’re going on the Moby Dick, and everyone is going home. End of the day.”
“But…”
In his spite, Ace tore his wounds open. Seeing blood – Marco was more feeling it running down his body than anything else – had Luffy and the phoenix panic.
“Shit, you were in contact with Sea stone for too long. How’s your Logia functioning?”
Ace was about to answer but Luffy’s rant made him shut up. “Forget it, you never acknowledge how bad you’re wounded. Let’s leave the fixing to Torao.”
Marco perked up at the name. Unfamiliar, but a close friend of Luffy, if his smile was anything to go by.
“Who’s that Torao?” The phoenix asks as he was almost flying over the bay.
“Torao is Torao,” Luffy answered with a little pout as if asking the other if he had more obvious questions.
And Marco would have been fooled by this confused face if he hadn’t known better. The small glint in those dark eyes made him understand that he was being played.
Suddenly, Marco sensed a great heat from below and veered to the left just in time to avoid a gigantic magma cannon bullet, thrown by non-other than the man who was baiting Ace with his foul words.
“You will not leave this place alive!” He shouted.
“Shit, we won’t be able to indefinitely avoid him. Your captain is too far to be of help, and I would not risk a massive attack.
Marco understood Luffy’s reasoning; the crew was still retreating and in the middle of the pathway leading to Akainu.
“Captain, let me fight him,” Zoro asked from where he was, hanging from Marco’s talon.
“Nope, you’re already injured from you fight with him. I’m not risking losing you. I’m going. Marco, can you please take Zoro to the Sunny? I’m dropping Ace to Torao.”
Marco couldn’t answer before Ace was grabbed by his older brother and lifted high.
“Wait, Luffy?” Ace asked, face paling.
“TORAO! CATCH!”
And Luffy Threw Ace from the sky. Every Whitebeard crewmember looked at the scene, eyes goggling, as they watched their Second Commander flying through the sky in direction of the sea.
They couldn’t start to panic before a yellow submarine rose from the sea and Ace seemed to just disappear in mid-air.
“Luffy-ya, next time you throw patients at me, I’m drowning you,” the drooling voice came from the upper deck.
“Shi shi shi, nice catch Torao.”
Torao, Marco thought. The nickname for a person Luffy was friend with. A nickname for Trafalgar Law, another goddamn Emperor.
“Whitebeard-ya,” the Surgeon of Death called to their Captain, “I’m taking Ace into custody to heal him. The Strawhats know where ‘I’m going.”
And the man walked back in this submarine, Ace on his shoulder, and the ship submerged again, disappearing with the most important figure of this war.
“Catch them!” Marco heard Akainu roar.
“Not on my watch!” Luffy shouted as he bolted from Marco’s back. “Franky, turn the ship around!”
“Aye Captain!”
Jimbe left the ship as Sanji rejoined it, making Marco double take on the battlefield the blond man left. Kizaru was still embedded in the wall, beaten black and blue by the left-hand man of the Emperor.
“Thank you for bringing the Marimo back. He would have been lost alone.”
“OI, take that back shitty cook!” Zoro raged as he drew his swords.
His attack was met with a powerful kick from the cook and both men leaned forward, throwing insults at each other.
“Ignore them,” Nami intervened as she witnessed Marco’s blank expression. They are always like this. They’ll kiss and make up later.”
Marco shoots her a glance, slowly assimilating what she just said. But she only threw him an Eternal Pose for an island named Ruskaina, or at least it was the name on the tool.
“Torao’s going there to drop Ace off. You can meet us there.”
“Thank you,” Marco could only say before looking at the clash between Luffy and Akainu. “Are you not worried about the outcome?” he dared to ask at the relaxed crew.
That comment earned him a snort from everyone on the deck.
“Nah, Luffy’s still playing. I suggest you all leave fast because when he get’s serious, he’ll be uncontrollable,” Zoro told him, an arm around Sanji’s waist.
Marco didn’t want to comment on what he just learned and only nodded before flying of to his Captain.
“Oyaji!”
“Marco! What’s the situation with Ace?” He was asked instantly.
“He’s with Trafalgar law. Nami gave me the coordinates to pick him up. We should go fast, their Vice-captain suggestion.”
“But he’s still fighting! Izou pointed at Luffy. Are we helping him?”
Apparently, Luffy’s ears were sharp because he threw them a smile before shouting. “No need for help, you better go. Jimbe, I’m counting on you!”
“Aye captain!” Jimbe stood on the shore with a smile, repelling a few officers that dared to approach him. He was sitting there, as if waiting for something.
And Marco didn’t need to wait long. As soon as their last crew members were on deck, that Akagami was ready to leave too, and that the Thousand Sunny left flying, power erupted again from the youngest Emperor.
But this time, Marco fell on his knees, not from the power itself, but in shock.
It was more powerful than anything he had ever witnessed. Power, not even directed at him, but strong enough to make Vice-Admirals cower.
And there, in the middle of this chaos, stood Luffy… or was it him? Marco had to look twice to finally be able to confirm it was Luffy. From black, his hair became white. Clothes’ colors faded to white and smoke formed around him, like a feathered boa.
It was powerful, ethereal, mystical. It was like nothing and everything at the time, like he could die from a simple flick of his wrist but also thrive in the power he could feel rolling from the man.
“Ah, so he did awaken his fruit,” he almost missed his captain’s words.
“Does Paramecia even awaken with another form?” Haruta asked.
“No, they don’t,” Newgate answered.
Marco did not want to think about what he said, his eyes were still glued on the white laughing form that was bouncing on the ground.
“Oi!” Shanks’s voice craved its way in Marco’s mind as he finally took his eyes off the figure. “You better leave before Luffy sink the island.”
Sink? An island? Marco couldn’t even bring himself to be surprised by this. Of course, an Emperor could level up islands like nothing was on.
And sink it he did. As the ship followed a steady course to the island, they had a means to reach, Marco still shot glances at the fight.
“Marco,” his captain said and the phoenix instantly turned away from Luffy to fix his father figure, embarrassed. “Don’t look away from that fight. Monkey d. Luffy is establishing himself as the strongest powerholder in this world. Go watch it.”
Marco didn’t ask, didn’t negotiate, didn’t even think of contradicting his father on what was said. He flew to the stern and stood there, watching, hypnotized, the mortal dance of Luffy and the Marines.
It ended as they were already far away, but no one could pretend having not witnessed the end of Marineford. It had been a powerful demonstration of what Luffy could do, of the power he wielded and the message he wanted to pass on.
Do not cross his family.