After a few days, Marineford.
Blaize and his unit arrived at the Headquarters after watching the clash between Whitebeard and Shanks as Fleet Admiral Sengoku called him back.
As Blaize set foot on the Headquarters, he saw Akainu coming out of his office.
Noticing Blaize, Akainu also stopped in his tracks. As they both looked at each other, tension sparked in the air. The temperature rose by a few degrees.
Though he thrashed Akainu two years back, it was by disguising his face. As a Marine, it's been nearly ten years since Blaize last met Akainu. At that time, he was beaten half to death by the other party.
Regis who's behind Blaize, sweated, feeling the uneasiness in the air. As for Kuina, she didn't think much of Akainu.
"Sakazuki...You look good!" Blaize smirked. He could tell Akainu's Haki had grown since he last met him. Possibly, it grew after the last beating.
"Blaize..." Akainu slightly gritted his teeth. He'd been hearing his deeds for some time, so he knew how strong Blaize was.
But, he couldn't accept it. In fact, he regrets not killing him when he had the chance.
"Are you regretting it?" Feeling Sakazuki's emotions, Blaize chuckled.
"*Snort* Don't think you are above everyone after beating Whitebeard. He was already old with one step into his grave." Sakazuki snorted.
"Want to try?" Blaize narrowed his eyes, exerting pressure on Sakazuki.
"I want to..." Sakazuki's right arm transformed into raging magma.
"You two, stop it." Sengoku arrived at the right time and intervened, preventing the situation from escalating further.
Blaize wasn't interested in fighting Sakazuki, who already lost to him.
Sending Akainu away, Sengoku led Blaize to the Fleet Admiral's office while Kuina and Regis stood outside.
Inside the office, Sengoku sat in his seat while Blaize seated opposite.
"You know about Ace's background, right?" Sengoku suddenly asked.
"Yes," Blaize calmly replied.
"Do you know what kind of impact it would cause once the world discovers Ace is Roger's son?" Sengoku asked, with hands under the chin.
Blaize could tell Sengoku is serious. He should be.
"A son isn't responsible for a father's crime. It ends with Roger's death." Blaize replied and asked, "How do you know about Ace? Garp-san won't reveal this kind of thing!"
"An hour back, We received a call from Blackbeard pirates. The former member of Whitebeard Pirates, Teach who calls himself Blackbeard told us this information. He captured Ace!
After some investigation, we confirmed the intel was true. Garp also acknowledged Ace is Roger's son." Sengoku briefed.
"World Government wants to publicly execute Ace eradicating Roger's bloodline!"
"Come on, Sengoku-san. Feed this to someone else, I'm not a fool." Blaize rolled his eyes.
"Alright, Alright! Aside from eradicating Roger's bloodline, it's a show of power and a demonstration of Marine's authority." Sengoku shrugged.
"You want to eliminate Whitebeard!" Blaize exposed the crux.
"I know you have some relationship with Ace..." Sengoku stretched his words. He didn't dare to plan Ace's execution without knowing Blaize's thoughts.
He knew how strong Blaize was. The strong has to be respected!
"I won't interfere unless Garp-san asks me to do something." Understanding Sengoku's plight, Blaize made his stance clear.
"Good!" Sengoku let out a sigh of relief and spoke, "Blackbeard Teach will be declared as Warlord of the Sea, as Crocodile's successor, once he hands over Ace to the Marines."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Secure Ace and send him to Impel Down. Though everything's kept confidential, I don't want to risk." Sengoku spoke.
If Whitebeard knows about Ace's arrest before they make sufficient preparation, the outcome may be disastrous.
"Good!" Blaize agreed and left Sengoku's office.
Shortly after his unit left the Marineford, they were informed of the trade location for Ace. To Blaize's astonishment, it's Banaro Island where Ace and Blackbeard should have fought.
'Blackbeard Teach...this guy is too overconfident. Should I kill him?' Blaize thought.
--
Banaro Island,
The entire island was destroyed after the battle between Ace and Blackbeard. Right now, it was just a plain island with no town or rocks.
"Will the World Government give us the Warlord position after we hand over Ace?" Jesus Burgess asked.
"Well, they have given the word. And, we have shown our value with strength and invaluable information." Laffite spoke.
"Teach, you bastard! Kill me!" Ace cursed, a little weak to move. Being kept captive inside the Blackbeard's dark domain is not a good feeling.
"Ohh! Ace, you woke up. Ze Ha ha ha ha! I won't kill you. You are too valuable. I'm going to hand you over to the Marines!" Blackbeard laughed aloud.
"Captain, a marine ship is approaching!" Van Augur, who was on the lookout, told.
"Wee ha...Who did the Navy send, Is it an Admiral?" Jesus Burgess asked.
"It's Vice Admiral Blaize!" Van Augur replied with gleaming eyes. Who in the world doesn't know of the World's Strongest Man Blaize?
At first, it wasn't recognized by the world, but as time passed, people gradually began to accept it because there was no strong person who could claim the title from him.
"Are you serious?! Dammit! What the hell...That guy's a trouble. We're getting outta here! Leave Ace here!" Blackbeard left with his crew in a hurry. "Fuck! They sent him just for an exchange!"
"Captain, is he that strong?" Burgess asked.
"He's freakishly strong. I was there at Moby Dick when he defeated Whitebeard. That battle was earth-shattering." Blackbeard told.
Though Whitebeard's condition wasn't at the best condition, Blackbeard believes even if Whitebeard was at his prime, Blaize would still defeat him.
As a cunning man, Blackbeard knew his strength well. Only when he achieves his goals he would think of opposing Blaize.
When Ace heard the name 'Blaize' the memories of East Blue appeared in his mind. After thinking of Whitebeard, tears streamed from his face. 'Oyagi, please don't do anything stupid.'
Shortly after Blackbeard left, Blaize landed on the island along with his unit. "Kuina, Regis, search the entire island. If you spot Blackbeard, inform me."
After walking to the Island center, Blaize saw Ace lying weakly on the ground with wounds all over his body.
"Yo! Ace! It's been some time since I last saw you." Blaize walked near Ace and spoke.
"Blaize..." Ace called out weakly and stood on his feet. He didn't struggle as if waiting to be handcuffed.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Ace. It's the world that's wrong." Blaize expressed his thoughts and nodded his head at the soldiers. They secured him with seastone Handcuffs and led him into the Marine ship.
At that moment, Regis and Kuina came back and reported. "Blaize-san, there's no sight of Blackbeard and his crew. I think they left after seeing you on the ship."
"Mn. Let's go."
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