Chapter Nineteen: Skuld, the Paragon of Filial Piety

Whitebeard stood at the bow of the ship, observing the overall battlefield. The previously missing captain, Skuyard, appeared at Whitebeard’s side, holding an unusually long sword that defied logic. His expression was grave, his gaze fixed ahead.

Whitebeard glanced sidelong at Skuyard and gently questioned, “Skuyard, are you alright? We haven’t been able to reach you for a while now.”

Skuyard replied in a low voice, “Our brothers have suffered heavy casualties. I took a detour to get here.”

“Are the men at the bay unharmed?” Whitebeard asked.

Skuyard responded, “Many of my subordinates have fallen. I only made it here by taking a side path.”

Turning, Whitebeard looked toward Sengoku on the high platform, his voice rumbling, “Sengoku won’t let us go. He’ll mobilize all his forces.”

Skuyard looked up and asked, “Father, have you seen through Sengoku’s plan?”

With his back to Skuyard, Whitebeard replied, “Sengoku and I go way back.”

Hearing this, Skuyard’s gaze sharpened. He stepped forward, raising his long sword to his chest, drawing it partially from its sheath.

As he drew the blade, he said, “All forty-three pirate crews under your banner owe you a great debt. If it’s for the Whitebeard Pirates, we would follow you through fire and water without hesitation.”

A shell came flying, radiating dazzling white light. In a sudden movement, Skuyard drew his sword in full and drove it straight through Whitebeard’s chest.

Whitebeard’s pupils quivered. He had not expected that this loyal son would truly turn against him, though in that instant, he also realized the reason for the assassination.

He shoved Skuyard away, falling to one knee, breathing heavily.

Marco rushed over, subduing Skuyard and shouting, “What are you doing, you bastard Skuyard! Why did you attack the old man!”

“Stop pretending, Whitebeard! You’ve allied yourself with the Navy, haven’t you…”

Sweating profusely, Skuyard loudly proclaimed the reasons for his betrayal, his voice carrying so that everyone present could hear.

All the pirates charging forward froze in place, no longer advancing. They shouted toward Whitebeard, “Old man, tell us this isn’t true…”

They trusted Whitebeard, but only to a certain extent.

But such feelings are only human and understandable.

Whitebeard remained silent. After a long pause, Skuyard, unable to withstand the psychological pressure and knowing he was doomed, felt it was already a stroke of luck to have wounded Whitebeard at all.

He spread his arms wide, awaiting death’s arrival. “Come on! Kill me!”

With a darkened expression, Whitebeard roared, “My foolish son, even if you’re not very smart, you’re still my family!”

He extended his massive fist. Skuyard, terrified, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and shrank his neck.

But instead of delivering the expected blow, Whitebeard pulled him into a rough embrace, venting none of his rage through murder.

Qingsi watched Whitebeard’s imposing figure and could not help but praise, “Whitebeard truly deserves his title as the world’s strongest man—unmatched in both intellect and strength. If it had been Kaido or Big Mom, Skuyard would’ve been beaten into a pulp.”

“And in doing so, they’d lose all authority over their pirate crews, leaving nothing but scattered sand.”

Qingsi thought that with the intent to kill radiating from Skuyard as soon as he appeared, Whitebeard couldn’t possibly have failed to notice the coming attack. There were only two explanations: either Whitebeard trusted those around him so completely that he let his guard down, or he did so deliberately.

After Whitebeard’s explanation, all the pirates realized everything was a Navy ploy. The Navy had manipulated Skuyard’s hatred for Roger, deceiving him. The pirates regained their confidence.

Whitebeard unleashed the power of his Devil Fruit, shattering the walls of ice on both sides so that the pirates could escape at any time, proving once again that he had not colluded with the Navy to betray them.

With that, Whitebeard no longer directed the battle. He leapt straight into the fray, choosing to fight in person.

Several shells arced toward him. Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit power activated, sending the shells ricocheting back along their original trajectories, destroying the artillery positions.

A giant Vice Admiral brought his blade down, scattering a group of pirates, then leaped high to strike at Whitebeard. Whitebeard blocked the attack with his bisento, sending the giant flying, then tossed his weapon aside.

He reached up with both hands as if tearing at silk, and the very heavens and earth seemed to invert. The sea split apart, cracks spreading across the ice. Qingsi used Moonwalk to dodge and, in passing, rescued several Navy comrades about to fall into the abyss.

Watching Whitebeard, Qingsi murmured, “What a terrifying power…”

He quickly retreated deeper inside, knowing that the next stage of the plan was to completely encircle the pirates, with rising walls about to surge up from the seabed.

At that point, the pirates would become caged beasts, fish on the chopping block, left at the Navy’s mercy.

Whitebeard’s blow shattered the battlefield, even destroying the Navy headquarters and leaving massive fissures.

Next, the giant Vice Admiral was sent flying with a punch, the shockwave splitting the walls and shooting straight toward the execution platform.

But the three Admirals stopped it in its tracks, and, following the law of “smoke but no wounds,” the execution platform remained unharmed.

Soon after, the Navy’s bulwark broke through Aokiji’s ice, rapidly ascending and blocking Luffy, who was rushing to Ace.

All the pirates were trapped within the arc.

Only where Oars had crawled did a gap remain.

Qingsi quickly withdrew into the Navy ranks, coming to the side of Izumi Mizuno and Tanino, asking, “Izumi, you’re not hurt, are you?”

Izumi Mizuno raised her hand. “No serious injuries, just a cut on my arm.”

Qingsi, heart aching, took her hand. “Those damn pirates, how could they hurt my subordinate? How could anyone bear to scar such beautiful arms?”

At that moment, Tanino chimed in from the side, “Lieutenant Qingsi, I—I’m hurt too.”

Qingsi acted as though he hadn’t heard, and Tanino, disappointed, began to weep quietly, his wounds stinging all the more.

Izumi Mizuno smiled gently and asked, “You’re not injured, are you, Lieutenant Qingsi?”

Qingsi shook his head. “No. Everyone, be careful. The Whitebeard Pirates are much stronger than ordinary pirates. Don’t confront those from Impel Down head-on, either. They’ve all survived hellish trials, and anyone who made it into Impel Down is no weakling. Always act within your limits. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

Qingsi nodded with satisfaction.

Next, the three Admirals and Whitebeard would all join the battle—the true war was about to begin.

On the high platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku turned to Akainu and said, “Admiral Akainu, proceed as planned.”

Akainu stepped out from the line of Admirals, both arms churning with molten magma, raised toward the sky.

Countless fireballs shot upward like fireworks…