Chapter 49: The War Ends
Black smoke surged into the sky as the massive crater blasted by Apollo gradually cooled. At the harbor, the Marines and pirates faced off in a standoff. On the Marine side, Sengoku naturally led the charge, while the pirates were headed by Marco.
A large ship with a red bow anchored within the U-shaped harbor, and ten figures leaped down from it. These were the Red Hair Pirates, led by the imposing Red-Haired Shanks. In terms of Conqueror's Haki, no one in the pirate world might surpass him.
Red Hair surveyed the harbor. The plaza could only be described as littered with corpses. The Marine Headquarters, once standing tall on the island, had vanished without a trace, leaving only a massive pit billowing thick smoke. When they had first arrived near Marineford, the Red Hair Pirates even thought they had come to the wrong place.
The sea breeze blew gently, the sky was overcast, and a few seabirds flew by.
As Red Hair passed by Marco, he paused.
"Marco, stop fighting. Whitebeard has already fallen here. It's time to back down."
"..."
Marco's fists clenched tightly as Red Hair walked past him.
A fierce wind swept through, causing the long cape behind Red Hair to flap loudly, revealing the Western sword at his waist. He stopped in front of the Marines, locking eyes with Sengoku.
"Everyone in the Marines, continuing this war will only increase your casualties."
As Red Hair spoke, his crew members came to stand behind him, shoulder to shoulder, leaving a step of distance between them.
"If anyone still isn't satisfied, come on. We'll be your opponents."
Red Hair glanced at Sengoku and Blackbeard as he spoke, then turned his gaze to Su Xiao, who was holding Apollo.
"Zehahaha, you're getting more and more domineering. Let's go, boys."
Blackbeard turned and walked away, the darkness in his hand twisting incessantly. His attempt to steal the Tremor-Tremor Fruit wasn't entirely successful, but it wasn't a complete failure either. Something called ambition had been fully unleashed within Blackbeard.
"Bai Ye, Red Hair really came to mediate. That guy sure is warm-hearted."
Doflamingo, standing on a pile of rubble at the edge of the battlefield, spoke in a low voice. The last time Su Xiao and Doflamingo had clashed with the Big Mom Pirates, it was Red Hair who had stepped in to mediate.
"Of course he would show up."
Su Xiao stood up from the rubble, his chest wrapped in bandages. The war was over, and staying in Marineford any longer was pointless.
"For the follow-up payment, go to the Revolutionary Army. They won't refuse. If I remember correctly, your arms trade with them is quite close."
Su Xiao walked toward the harbor, heading straight for the Moby Dick. As he passed by the many Marines in the plaza, Sengoku's expression remained unchanged. Although he desperately wanted to keep Su Xiao here forever, that was no longer realistic.
When Su Xiao walked past Red Hair, the latter suddenly spoke.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, are you really that fond of war?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused in his steps.
"Of course. The techniques I master exist for war. If you're interested, I could consider supplying these things to you in bulk."
Su Xiao tossed Apollo in his hand. Red Hair shook his head and turned his gaze back to Sengoku.
"Everyone in the Marines, the images of this war will spread across the world. That's why Whitebeard's funeral must be handled by us. He has already died here, and I won't allow anyone to defile his death. I hope you'll all do me this favor!"
Red Hair placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. No one could guess his true purpose for coming here, but one thing was certain: Red Hair didn't want the era to undergo drastic changes.
When he heard that Ace had gone after Blackbeard, Red Hair immediately sought out Whitebeard, hoping to negotiate a halt to the Whitebeard Pirates' pursuit of Blackbeard.
During the later stages of the Dressrosa naval battle, Su Xiao and Doflamingo had nearly completely severed ties with Big Mom, to the point of dropping Apollo on Whole Cake Island. If the fighting continued, it would inevitably drag in more factions. That was when Red Hair chose to wade into the muddy waters and mediate.
Now, Red Hair had personally arrived at the Paramount War to mediate the conflict between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines.
As soon as Red Hair finished speaking, many Marine officers stepped forward. Though their words were polite, their expressions clearly said: 'Who the hell are you? Just because you're a Yonko, you think you're special? We've been fighting and dying here, finally killed Whitebeard, and you think you can just take his body with a single sentence?'
"It doesn't matter!"
Sengoku's shout silenced the Marines.
"You can handle it, Red Hair."
"Thank you."
Red Hair tilted his head slightly in acknowledgment. Given his status, bowing to Sengoku in gratitude was out of the question.
"The war..." Sengoku took a deep breath and shouted again, "is over!"
"Roar!!"
The Marines erupted in cheers. Some even sat on the ground, covering their faces and weeping. Only those who had experienced war understood that it was a massive meat grinder—the strong survived, the weak perished.
With Sengoku's roar, the sky above Marineford seemed to clear a little.
With a loud rumble, a jet of water erupted from the original site of Marine Headquarters, like a fountain. During the war, Whitebeard had nearly split Marineford in two, and then Su Xiao had blasted another massive crater. The battered Marineford seemed to have been punctured.
"You bastard..."
Sengoku turned his gaze to Su Xiao, who was sitting on the Moby Dick. If Sengoku hadn't personally declared the war over, he might have already charged at Su Xiao to settle things once and for all.
The Whitebeard Pirates boarded the Moby Dick, carrying a simple stretcher covered with a white velvet cloth. The large ship turned around in the sea, its main sail catching the wind, and sailed out of the U-shaped harbor.
The Red Hair Pirates' Red Force also set sail, heading toward the Gate of Justice alongside the Moby Dick.
At the harbor, a large group of medics moved through the battlefield. Comparing casualties, both the Marines and the pirates had paid a heavy price, but the Marines had 'won' the war. With the World Government backing them, as long as the newspapers didn't court death, tomorrow's headlines would undoubtedly read: 'Whitebeard Pirates Annihilated, Justice Prevails.'
As soon as the war ended, Marine branches around the world received the news: the Whitebeard Pirates had been thoroughly defeated, the great pirate Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, had been eliminated by the Marines, and the Whitebeard Pirates were in full retreat.
As for the instigator of the incident, Portgas D. Ace, whether he lived or died had little impact on the World Government. Aside from being the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 2nd Division and the son of Roger, he was just a capable pirate, nothing more. There were plenty of such pirates in the New World.
What the World Government truly feared was Whitebeard helping Ace ascend to that throne. Now, with Whitebeard dead, the Whitebeard Pirates without their captain were merely a first-rate pirate crew in the New World, having fallen from their position as a Yonko crew.
The Moby Dick and the Red Force quickly passed through the Gate of Justice, with clearance all along the way. Given how the war had escalated, Sengoku also wanted the Red Hair Pirates to leave the Grand Line as soon as possible.
As soon as the Moby Dick passed through the Gate of Justice, Su Xiao stood up from the bow. A pitch-black submarine surfaced from the sea.
"Kukulin, aren't you coming back to the New World with us?"
Marco, leaning against the ship's railing, spoke. Whitebeard's body lay in the cabin, and Marco still couldn't bear to look at it, afraid he would lose control and seek revenge against Blackbeard and the Marines.
"I have other matters to attend to."
Su Xiao leaped down from the bow, with Bubu Wang following closely behind. As for Amu, it was the one piloting the submarine.
"Ace hasn't thanked you in person yet."
Marco's voice came from the Moby Dick.
"No need."
Su Xiao entered the submarine. He had taken Ace away from Marineford not out of personal grudges, but for the Soul Severing Shadow Stone: Fragment. Including the one rewarded from the mission, he now had three Soul Severing Shadow Stones: Fragments. Five could be synthesized into a complete Soul Severing Shadow Stone, granting him the Soul Severing ability.