Summary:
Ace’s execution is only three hours away. Luffy makes it to Marineford, but finds the gates of justice closed. While Garp thinks about his conversation with Gol D. Roger, Fleet Admiral Sengoku reveals to the world that Ace is the son of none other than Gol D. Roger.
With three hours actually left, Ace untied the chain from the wall. He looks down and thinks of his childhood with Luffy and walks down the hall with the guards holding him tight. He looks up the long staircase and climbs the stairs.
In South Blue, the civilians fear that Whitebeard will soon arrive at Marineford. As Whitebeard is widely known over the years, an elderly woman reads the paper that Marineford has tightened security. In East Blue, the shepherd senses that Marineford is impenetrable, but a civilian says that the fortress was attacked before, 20 years ago by the Golden Lion Shiki, leaving the headquarters in ruins. Today’s battle would be much worse.
In North Blue, a man refuses to open his bar in time of war. At West Blue, some bartenders talk about the time they saw Whitebeard. Somewhere on the Grand Line, some children sing about Whitebeard while a woman prays for salvation.
In Marineford, the city is abandoned to prepare for an intense war with Whitebeard, as civilians have been evacuated to the Sabaody Archipelago. Civilians await Ace’s execution with reporters ready to break the news. A reporter named Reuder asks if Whitebeard wants war.
Every ship sent to find Whitebeard was sunk.
In the main building, Garp slams into Sengoku’s desk, but Sengoku reminds him that Ace’s execution is for the good of the world. The responsibility rests on Garp’s shoulders, but he simply smiles and leaves.
Marineford is surrounded by fifty naval ships and a hundred thousand marines in the docks. The execution is supposed to last three hours and hopefully be over. There are also cannons ready to bombard enemies and finally the Shichibukai are ready. Eventually the three admirals arrive to take their places guarding the scaffolding, Aokiji, Akainu and Kizaru. A massive force of justice is assembled to ensure that Ace is executed no matter what.
As Ace continues to climb the stairs, he remembers how he told Luffy to enjoy life with no regrets, hoping to set out to sea freer than anyone else. He comes out over the shouts of the Marines.
On the hijacked naval ship, Luffy sees the Gates of Justice and calls out to Jinbei. The fisherman sees that the gate is firmly shut and wonders how to get to it. Buggy announces his intention to conquer the world by destroying Marine HQ, killing Whitebeard and becoming the new Pirate King.
Ace sees the scaffolding and walks over to it. The crowd at Sabaody sees the action build in intensity. Any wrong move could trigger a war. Pirate Firefist is kneeling on the scaffold and two swords are about to finally execute him. Sengoku and Garp also go to the scaffolding and the former brings Den Den Mushi to Ace’s side. He announces something shocking; About to be executed, Portgas D. Ace needs to reveal his father’s name. Ace says that his father’s name is Whitebeard, but the Admiral says that thanks to Cipher Pol, they learned about Ace’s father, but not his mother. His biological mother Portgas D. Rouge fooled the whole world. Ace was born on Batelira in South Blue. Rouge held her child in her womb for 20 months and died after giving birth.
Years ago, Gol D. Roger told Garp to take care of his child.
Sengoku reveals that Ace’s biological father is Gol D. Roger, a former pirate king. Sabaody’s crowd looks on in shock. Reuder realizes that Roger’s bloodline still lives. Ace growls at the revelation.