(Bellamy POV)
The show never went deeper into it, but the chaos sparked by Luffy had left lasting marks on Sabaody. Collapsed ruins, burning wrecks…a horde of refugees on the streets. Even Sabaody Park, that giant entertainment district had been reduced to rubble.
Now, to be fair, Luffy could not have caused this much wanton destruction by himself, even if the fun-loving kid had wanted to. Neither could the supernovas be held accountable for more than a small fraction of it. I was one of the supernovas and I had fought alongside three others against the third greatest destructive force brought to the archipelago by the marines and all that had merely resulted in one house being remodelled into a single floor residence.
No, what I was seeing was much more the consequence of the marines deciding to engage in a bit of early spring cleaning. What should have been immediately obvious though, was that the targets of said spring cleaning were armed to the teeth and composed of individuals who had problems with central authority…to put it mildly.
There was no denying that Kizaru was a frighteningly powerful individual and the admiral best suited to cover such a wide area. But even he couldn't be everywhere at once and his stamina had limits. With thousands upon thousands of pirates, ruffians and bandits on the archipelago, it would have been impossible to catch all of them without some manner of support.
That the support came in the form of his marines needed not be said, but consequently hundreds if not thousands of individual engagements had broken out all over Sabaody with a corresponding amount of collateral damage. All while the admiral blitzed about the archipelago putting out fires, chasing down the bigger targets and surviving against Rayleigh, which meant he was unable to aid his marines.
Kuma had probably gone back to Marineford after dispatching the Straw Hat crew and being the whimsical man-baby he was, Kizaru had likely done the same after he got tired of trading blows with old man Rayleigh. Akainu would have stayed and fought to the death, but thankfully for most of us involved, Sparkles was not so focused on doing his job right as much as he was on doing whatever he felt like doing at a particular time.
As for how I knew all this?
Shakky told me after Urouge and I walked into her pristine bar.
“You’re back, Hyena-chan.”
“And it’s like I was never away, Shakky-san.” I greeted her, accepting her trademarked overpriced beverage. “Did you miss me?”
“I sure missed your wallet.” Ouch. “Just joking with you, Hyena-chan. After what you did for me, I couldn’t take your money.”
“Who are you and what have you done to Shakky?” I reared back, pointing my finger at her, my overly exaggerated expression and dramatic voice making it abundantly clear that this was not a serious accusation. Shakky certainly seemed amused, though it was debatable whether the responsibility lay with my amazing sense of humor or with a certain cute little junior pirate bracing for a fight. “Urouge, put the pillar down!”
In the face of my sudden and growing panic, instead of sheepishly stowing his weapon away, the big guy start grinning while our hostess leaned against her counter with an indulgent smile.
…they were having me on. Well played. It didn't take long for my companion to begin guffawing, forced to lean against his pillar for support as he wiped joyful tears from his eyes.
“You should have seen your face!” Urouge laughed, slapping me on the back. “Come on, midget. Hyenas are supposed to smile.”
“Hardy har har.” I snarked back. "I nearly had a heart attack, you overblown pufferfish!"
“It’s not nice to play pranks on a lady, Hyena-chan.” Shakky admonished me in turn, sending my friend (?) a conspiratorial wink and causing my jaw to drop in outrage.
That was patently not fair. She started it!
----------------------------------------
Rayleigh hadn’t come back yet, though to be fair the two weeks weren’t up at this point in time. Then again, I wasn’t in a rush to get my ship coated, seeing as we weren't going to make the journey just yet. Like I had told Urouge, my crew wouldn’t survive the New World as they were now and Paradise still had plenty of opportunities left for us to grow stronger. Maybe I could even convince Rayleigh to change his mind after the war.
Speaking of which…
“Firefist’s execution is in a few days, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t take divine foresight to see that that isn’t going to happen as planned.” Urouge huffed, gazing deep into his bottle. “Whitebeard will intervene.”
“His territories have gone suspiciously silent last week.” Shakky concurred, lighting yet another cigarette. Her third for the afternoon. “It’s not only his main crew but dozens of his allies who have dropped off the grid as well. Rumor has it that the emperor Shanks is patrolling those waters instead.”
That was because most of them are travelling underwater towards Marineford, bypassing most of the marine’s outer layers of defence. Whitebeard was a cunning old fox when he wanted to be and there were only a scant few things which would motivate him more than the life and safety of his sons.
“The question though is, does the emperor have enough?” I asked, as I inwardly pondered whether or not I should do something to intervene. My position had taken a dramatic shift in just the last two weeks. I wasn't safe anymore, even for a very generous definition of the word. Not with the murder the World Government was pinning on me.
“Personally, I wouldn’t bet on the marines being able to stop the strongest man alive.” Knowing what I did, I didn't share Urouge’s confidence. Yes, Whitebeard was the strongest man alive. Just as Kaido was the strongest beast alive and Big Mom was the strongest monster alive. Shanks? Shanks was going to outlive all of them by virtue of being several decades their junior. It didn't stop the marines killing Whitebeard and Ace, though much of that was due to Ace being a damned fool.
“The marines are certainly worried, if the way they stripped their bases of all personnel, lieutenant rank or higher, is any indication. Worldwide, near a hundred thousand marines are being mobilized compared to Whitebeard’s few thousand.” Shakky told us.
“Bah, fodder won’t do much when facing Whitebeard’s veterans.” Urouge claimed before setting down his empty bottle hard enough to rattle the counter. It was a minor miracle or very good workmanship that the bottle didn't explode into a zillion shards.
“Is there any news from Impel Down?” I asked only to get a shake of her head in response. Didn't Luffy break in to the prison yet?
“Not anything more than the usual.” Shakky replied, tapping her chin in thought. “Though the marines did recently imprison the Warlord Jinbe for being overtly critical of their decision to challenge Whitebeard.”
Then again, that news wouldn't have spread so quickly, now would it. If only because the world government certainly had more than enough motivation to suppress the truth as far as humanly possible.
“If I were Whitebeard, I would hit the prison convoy before Firefist reaches Marineford. He wouldn’t even need all that many men to do it.” My increasingly drunk companion grumbled. Piled up next to him were the drained and devastated remnants of a casket of liquor. “Right, that’s got to be easier than targeting Marineford head on…”
I tuned him and Shakky out, opting to sink into my thoughts instead. Up to the moment I had read the morning news of a World Noble's murder, my plan had been to stay on the sidelines and harvest devil fruits. But if one considered Bonney’s reaction to Whitebeard’s death, intervening would allow me to score a lot of points with the glutton as well as Whitebeard's remnants. And that came with a lot of potential new benefits, benefits my new status more or less required in order to stay alive and furthermore, to reach my next goal of dethroning Doflamingo.
But…even if I wanted to do something, was there anything I realistically could do? Rushing headfirst into battle would be far more likely to result in me being a burden rather than anything else, just like Luffy had been.
Really, Luffy’s charge may have resulted in a temporary boost for morale but you had to remember that Whitebeard pulled the majority of his commanders from their positions to escort him to the platform. Commanders who should have been commanding their divisions and protecting their men instead of getting trapped deep behind enemy lines.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Even with all that support, Luffy was only able to reach the execution platform because of three reasons.
One, Hancock turned into a first-class troll, smashing into marine lines like a wrecking ball and sowing confusion everywhere. Not only that, but she actively protected Luffy a few times.
Two, Dracule Mihawke had no intention of hurting Luffy and let him go on purpose. Nothing against Vista, but were you truly going to try and convince me that the world’s greatest swordsman couldn't swing his sword fast enough to cut down a pre-timeskip Luffy? I would think not.
And finally, a shit amount of deus ex machina to unlock conqueror’s haki at just the right moment.
Now, if someone else, like let's say a certain hyena themed pirate, were to attempt the same stunt, the most probable result would be a dead hyena themed pirate and bunch of very out of position pirates.
No, Plan Luffy was most definitely crossed off the list.
Another option would be to stick close to Whitebeard for a bit. Just long enough to stop Squard from stabbing a foot-wide nodachi through his pop’s heart. While I was convinced that Whitebeard fully intended to die that day, not having one of his most vital organs be bisected could only be helpful.
It was my firm belief that Squard only managed to touch the old man in the first place, because Whitebeard’s whole attention (and haki) had been focused on the wider battlefield. Hence, if I brought even a small part of his attention back to his immediate surroundings, he should be able to protect himself or at least minimise the damage.
Barring everything else, I could also try and stop Squard myself. I wouldn’t even need to beat the guy, just block one blow I knew was coming. Just that and Squard’s ambush would fail, Whitebeard would be more energetic by the time Blackbeard turned up and Akainu might even get himself killed, which would solve a whole host of other issues for me. For one, a proponent of lazy justice like Aokiji might be less inclined to send his higher tier officers after me, than someone supporting the idea of absolute justice.
Plus, the spot right next to Whitebeard may as well be the safest place on the whole battlefield. None of the big hitters were going to pay little old me any attention with the biggest prize right there. And I was confident in my ability to deal with anybody below the rank of vice admiral.
Apart from a couple of minor issues, this was a much better plan. Issues, like how I was supposed to reach Whitebeard in the first place.
I’d have to sail past a conflict zone filled with pacifistas and Whitebeard’s allies, run across a frozen bay, again riddled with combat ready individuals, to board the Moby Dick without Roger’s strawhat. Would Whitebeard’s allies and crew even allow me to do so or would they try and stop me? If I had to bet, it was going to be on the latter.
Never mind how I was supposed to stop a haki infused strike from a New World veteran.
I could straight up tell Whitebeard that Squard was going to drive a sharp implement through his heart in a temper tantrum, but…yeah. Whitebeard was more liable to turn me into paste for daring to accuse one of his children without proof than he was to believe me, which was unfortunate but understandable.
But if one ignores these minor issues, it was the perfect plan to save Ace.
...
Yeah. Not. Happening. Period.
Also, did I really want to save Ace? The kid was a hotheaded idiot whose pride was more important to him than his common sense, whose final act of idiocy made a mockery of his adoptive family’s sacrifices.
…and to top it all off, he was not my brother.
Then again, the chance to make a favorable impression on the remaining Whitebeards and Jewelry Bonney.
Risk and potential reward.
What would be a way I could participate…tangentially, with minimal risk while still reaping all the benefits?
It took a while but the beginnings of an idea started coalescing within my brain, gaining ever more substance with every moment. Until at last, I had about half a plan.
“Hey, Urouge?” I asked, bringing his attention back to me. “Wanna crash a party?”
----------------------------------------
(Urouge POV)
They called him the mad monk, but damn if the midget wasn’t batshit crazy. Not sure why he was trying to convince everyone that he was normal, when his new friend was anything but. He was fooling nobody. Anyone who could come up with half the stuff he came up with, never mind be willing to put it into action, had a couple hundred screws loose.
Crash a party indeed.
But as he was going along with the midget’s hare-brained scheme, it wasn't like Urouge had a lot of room to talk. To be honest, Urouge hadn't made it to where he was now by being the most well-adjusted person around the block. When the world was unhinged in its very nature and her residents were nuttier than a fruitcake, it's the sane individuals who were insane.
Either you adapted or you went mad, this was the choice forced upon them by this world. Accept the absurdity of the world order, her rules and her regulations, or jump off the proverbial cliff and do the irrational thing.
Fight.
That was not to say that every crook calling themselves a pirate had this motivation. No, most of them were acquiescing to the local rules in a slightly more dishonest manner. Not like those who sought the truth or a better world.
Not like Urouge and his clerics.
A world where tyrants like Enel had no place. Where children could be children and live without a slaving authoritarian regime breathing down their necks.
A place deserving of the name…Paradise.
Which was also why Urouge was currently committing an act of lunacy by sailing both his ship and crew to Marineford. If your dream was infeasible by normal means, abnormal methods were required.
If the midget’s plan panned out, they would have struck a mighty blow against the darkness and brought themselves that much closer to a better future. And if he were completely honest with himself…
…it sounded like too much fun to pass up.
----------------------------------------
The Dark King Resurfaces!
Welcome to Marineford Daily News, your only source of accurate and unbiased truth.
We at Marineford Daily News are deeply saddened to report that one of our finest journalists, Charles 'Chucker' Tarlson, has been brutally murdered while investigating unfounded rumors that slavery and human trafficking was occurring under the approval of the Marines stationed on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Such outlandish lies normally would not warrant a second glance by our reporters, but Chucker was convinced that the rumors concealed a much darker secret. And despite being warned by many that this path was dangerous, he pushed on, ready to do his duty as a journalist.
Much to our combined horror, the brave reporter disappeared off the face of the earth before being found resting in pieces three days later. Nailed to his body was a note warning that this was to be the fate of all who dug too deep and too greedily. A stark warning to all of us.
However, as the editors of the Marineford Daily News, we were determined to ensure that his great sacrifice in trying to bring the numerous terrible threats to light was not in vain. Following up on his final reports, we have sought the assistance of the local marines who very eagerly offered to help us in our investigation.
It turned out that he had uncovered that for the past twenty years, Silvers 'Dark King' Rayleigh had in fact been living in secret on the Sabaody Archiopelago. While we believe he has long since fled the archipelago thanks to the noble actions of the Marines and is no longer a threat to its citizens, the former First Mate of the infamous Gold Roger is considered one of the most dangerous men alive and is not to be approached under any circumstances by the general public. Chucker's tragic death should serve as a warning to all when dealing with such vicious and bloodthirsty pirates.
This was Marineford Daily reporting.
Please follow us to never miss an update on the best news reports this side of the Red Line.