This is going to cause a massive wave of people answering questions across the sea!
Everyone's going to try to get rewards. If you're lucky enough to get a Devil Fruit… that's like winning the lottery!
[Whitebeard: "Garp, you nervous? I was just stretching a bit. No need to panic!"]
Whitebeard chuckled as he withdrew his fists and sat back down calmly.
But even that casual attack earlier had shaken the entire Marijoa.
He could feel it clearly now—his strength had returned beyond expectation.
The effects of that S-rank physical pill were no joke.
[Marco: "Dad! That was amazing! Just one punch nearly cracked the sea!"]
For them, Whitebeard had always been the strongest man in the world—even more so after Roger's death.
But now that his old injuries had healed, he truly deserved that title again.
At that moment, Ace opened his artifact jar.
He ignited the jar with flames, and though it resisted at first, it eventually exploded into golden light—yet nothing tangible appeared.
Instead, a dark purple symbol floated in midair…
Then it suddenly flew forward and branded itself onto Ace's palm.
["Congratulations to Ace for opening the artifact jar and receiving the 'Favor of Luck'. This reward will activate under special conditions."]
Ace looked down at the mark, slightly confused.
"Luck's favor? So… no item?"
He frowned at the symbol glowing softly on his palm. It radiated some strange energy, but there was no way to tell when or how it would activate.
[Ace: "This doesn't feel like much of a reward…"]
Crocodile at least got cigars—even if they were useless, they were something.
[Marco: "Hahaha! Ace, were you panicking? Thought you got scammed, huh?"]
Even the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates thought Ace had gotten nothing. But after the system explained the nature of the reward, everyone felt relieved.
[Ace: "Well… at least I didn't get nothing."]
He pressed the brim of his hat down, looking half-annoyed, half-resigned.
Then, suddenly, the scene on the giant screen shifted—the cheerful mood disappeared instantly.
O'Hara Island appeared. And it was burning.
Flames engulfed every corner of the island.
The Tree of Knowledge, the greatest library in the world, had been completely surrounded by fire.
Inside, priceless historical books—some irreplaceable—were reduced to ashes.
The scholars were being hunted down by the navy.
Dr. Clover stood in tears, helplessly watching centuries of knowledge being exterminated by government hands.
"Please! Let us go!"
"Don't shoot, we're civilians!"
"Have mercy, please!"
Their cries echoed across the burning land.
But the navy had already lost all restraint.
"Bang! Bang!"
The sound of gunfire silenced their pleas.
Even those kneeling, begging for mercy, were executed.
This brutal scene was transmitted worldwide via the giant screen.
The reaction was instant and furious.
"What the hell is the Navy doing?!"
"This is murder!"
"They show more mercy to pirates than to innocent people!"
"This isn't justice. It's slaughter!"
Global condemnation flooded in, and all of it appeared live on the screen.
At Navy Headquarters, Sengoku's expression darkened.
He had hoped the broadcast might be controlled, censored even—but now, he knew that was impossible.
The truth was out in the open, and there was no turning back.
Somewhere far away, Nico Robin silently wept.
This was her nightmare. Her past.
She couldn't watch any longer.
The fire, the screams, the Tree of Knowledge reduced to rubble—it was everything she lost that day.
She had survived… but everyone else didn't.
And this footage had just ripped open twenty years of buried pain.
Then a new report came in.
"Report! There's a refugee ship out at sea! There are women and children from O'Hara on board… they seem to be trying to escape! What should we do?"
The question was directed to Admiral Akainu, one of the two commanders of the Buster Call.
But just as the world held its breath, waiting for their answer…
The image on the screen froze.
Then—
It cut to a new image.
The refugee ship was shown.
A new question appeared on the screen:
[What happened to the refugee ship?]
a. They were released by the navy
b. The ship sank in a whirlpool
c. They were eaten by a sea king
d. The ship was bombarded by the navy