One Piece: Bai Ye Deputy Captain of the Straw Hats

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

Edward Newgate. Known to the world as Whitebeard. Once a core member of the legendary Rocks Pirates, now one of the Four Emperors, a king reigning over the New World.

Such honors were built upon the power of a single Devil Fruit: the Gura Gura no Mi, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. It was a Paramecia-type fruit that granted him the ability to generate earth-shattering vibrations at will. He could crack the very air, shake the sea, and rattle the heavens. Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself called it "the power to destroy the world," and the fruit was known far and wide as the "strongest of the Paramecia."

To this day, a debate rages: Did the Tremor-Tremor Fruit make Whitebeard the world's strongest man, or did Whitebeard's own immense power make the fruit legendary?

What is known for certain is this: when Whitebeard unleashes its might, he can conjure a tsunami massive enough to swallow Marineford whole.

And that is exactly what he did.

"A tsunami! It's towering over the headquarters!"

"Is this the end? Are we all going to drown?!"

On the shores of Marineford, young Marines screamed, their courage breaking at the sight of the colossal wave cresting above them.

From the Warlords' ranks, Donquixote Doflamingo cackled with manic glee. "Fufufufu! Now this is power! The old monster of legend lives up to his name!"

Beside him, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk's gaze narrowed, his golden eyes fixed on Whitebeard. "So, this is the man who stands at the pinnacle of the world." He slowly drew the supreme grade blade, Yoru, from his back, a hunger for battle gleaming in his eyes.

On the execution platform, Admiral Aokiji sighed. "What a troublesome man." In a flicker of icy mist, he vanished from his seat, reappearing high in the air above Crescent Bay. He faced the two towering waves rushing in from either side, calmly extending his hands. A torrent of frigid air, the essence of the Hie Hie no Mi, blasted from his palms.

"Ice Age!"

In an instant, the admiral, another man standing at the top of the world's food chain, flash-froze the entire tsunami. The cold spread like a shockwave, freezing not only the waves but the entire bay, locking the Moby Dick and its fleet in a sea of ice.

"The Admiral! Admiral Aokiji has made his move!" the Marines roared, their fear turning to elation. So what if the pirates had the world's strongest man? The Navy had their own titans.

High above the Sabaody Archipelago, the Supernovas, who had been scrambling to escape Kizaru and the Pacifista, fell silent as they watched the broadcast. This was the true power of an Admiral. And a single, sobering question entered all their minds: Are the Straw Hat Pirates really ready for a war of this magnitude?

On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard looked at the frozen sea and the man responsible. "Gurararara... So you're the little brat who plays with ice," he rumbled. "If you think you can stop me from saving my son, you'd better be ready to die trying!"

Just as the two behemoths were about to clash, Sengoku's voice boomed across the battlefield once more.

"Stop this charade, Whitebeard! You're lying to the world!" he bellowed. "Portgas D. Ace is not your son! He is the spawn of the most evil man this world has ever known!"

The declaration stunned every Marine on the island. Those watching the broadcast stared in confusion. Only the Whitebeard Pirates seemed unfazed, their expressions unreadable.

"My father is Whitebeard!" Ace screamed from the platform, his eyes locked on Sengoku.

"No! You are the one who is lying!" Sengoku shot back, regaining his commanding presence.

"I'm not lying! My father is Whitebeard and no one else!" Ace's retort was swift, desperate, almost proving Sengoku's point.

"We searched for years," Sengoku continued, his voice echoing with authority. "We heard a rumor that his bloodline might still exist on an island in the South Blue." He glanced at Garp, who stood stoically beside Ace, a flicker of pity in his eyes before it was replaced by cold resolve.

"Based on the slimmest of intelligence from Cipher Pol, we investigated every newborn, every expectant mother on that island. But we found nothing."

Sengoku paused for dramatic effect. "It's because your mother was clever. She defied nature itself to save you. Your birth was the price of her life."

"Portgas D. Rouge. A name that will live in infamy. To hide you from the World Government, she carried you in her womb for twenty months. An impossible feat. She died the moment you were born."

His voice rose, a declaration not just for the Navy, but for the entire world watching. This was the justification for the war. This was the proof of the Navy's absolute justice.

"A year and three months after your father's death, a child inheriting the most cursed bloodline in the world was born. That child... is you!"

Sengoku stared down at Ace, his voice like a judge passing sentence. "Your father is none other than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!"

The world erupted.

"Fire Fist Ace... is Roger's son?"

"That demon who started this cursed age of pirates... he had a child?"

"No wonder the Navy is going to such lengths... a public execution..."

At the headquarters of the World Economic Journal, Morgans threw his head back and laughed. "This is it! The story of the century! Get the presses running! I want every soul who missed this broadcast to know the truth by morning!"

Back at Marineford, Sengoku noticed the strange calm among the Whitebeard Pirates, but pressed his advantage. He raised the Den Den Mushi to his lips again.

"Two years ago, Fire Fist Ace set sail under his mother's name. As he made a name for himself, we finally realized the horrifying truth: Roger's bloodline was not extinguished! And at the same time, Whitebeard realized it too! He took you, the son of his greatest rival, onto his ship with one goal in mind: to groom you into the next Pirate King!"

His words, amplified by his unwavering aura of justice, were dangerously convincing.

"No! You're wrong!" Ace screamed, his voice raw. "Dad didn't know who I was when he took me in! I told him myself! And I joined his crew to make him the Pirate King, not me!"

"You're a naive fool!" Sengoku roared back. "The only reason the Navy hasn't crushed you before now is because of Whitebeard's protection! But if we allow you to continue to grow, your cursed blood will inevitably lead you to start another damn era of piracy!"

"That is the meaning of your death here today! To preserve peace on the seas and protect the justice of this world! For that cause, we will wage all-out war with the Whitebeard Pirates without a moment's hesitation!"