One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 56 The Last Peace, A Well-Intentioned Lie!

The embers of the campfire flickered with their last few rays of light in the night wind.

The boisterous banquet finally came to an end.

Beside the mountain of food scraps, the female warriors of Amazon Lily were cleaning up the mess in twos and threes, occasionally casting curious glances into the depths of the jungle.

There, the incredibly energetic Straw Hat Boy was surrounded by a group of female warriors, gesturing wildly as he recounted his adventures, eliciting gasps and laughter from time to time.

He laughed carefree, like a child who would never grow up.

A sea breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness.

Marco held his wine glass, but couldn't drink a single drop.

His gaze shifted back and forth between the laughing figure in the distance and the calmly standing man beside him, and he desperately wanted to understand the confusion and questions in his heart.

Why?

Finally, Marco couldn't hold back any longer.

"Tatsuba."

Marco strode up to Chen Ye, his voice filled with barely concealed anger.

"What exactly do you mean?"

Why lie to Luffy?

He stared intently at Chen Ye, asking each word carefully, "Ace is his brother! He has the right to know the truth! What gives you the right to make decisions for him and conceal such a life-or-death matter from him?!"

Standing to the side, the Pirate Empress Hancock also put away the shyness she showed when facing Luffy.

She frowned, her beautiful blue eyes filled with the same confusion.

Although she wished Luffy would never know the news that would break his heart, she also didn't understand the meaning behind Chenye's lie.

Despite Marco's almost accusatory tone, Chen Ye remained unperturbed.

He didn't even glance back at Marco.

His gaze remained fixed on the figure being tossed high into the air by the female warriors in the distance, a gentleness in his eyes that he himself was unaware of.

It was as if, in his eyes, Chen Ye saw the version of himself he had imagined before he transmigrated.

Carefree!

"Marco."

Chen Ye's voice was soft, yet it reached Marco and Hancock's ears clearly.

"Look at him now, how happy he is."

Marco was taken aback.

"He will have to face this pain sooner or later."

Chen Ye withdrew his gaze, finally turned around, and calmly looked at Marco's anxious eyes.

"But it shouldn't be now."

"The time is not yet ripe."

This was just a white lie!

He said it casually, without a hint of a joke in his tone.

"Let him...enjoy this final peace."

One sentence left all of Marco's questions stuck in his throat.

The final peace...

He looked at the boy in the distance who was still playing and laughing, and his heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.

Yes.

Once this devastating news is revealed, the innocent smile on the boy's face will be shattered.

Instead, there will be endless pain, anger, self-blame, and despair.

At that time, burdened by the heavy responsibility of saving his brother, he will surely disregard everything to reach that hellish meat grinder called "Marineford," constructed by the world's top combat forces.

Chen Ye was using a lie to buy himself a last bit of carefree time.

Having figured this out, the anger in Marco's eyes slowly faded, replaced by a complex expression.

He never imagined that this man, whose mind was full of crazy plans and whose combat power was terrifying, would have such a delicate, even gentle, side.

"I see."

Marco let out a long breath and downed the drink in his glass in one gulp, as if trying to swallow all his frustrations.

Chen Ye nodded, and then his gaze turned to the silent Pirate Empress beside him.

"Your Majesty the Empress."

"Hmm?" Hancock snapped out of her thoughts.

"I believe the Navy's summons will arrive soon."

Chen Ye's tone became serious.

"The World Government will definitely force you, a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, to participate in the public execution of Portgas D. Ace at Marine Headquarters."

Hancock's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

"By then, the time will be about right."

Chen Ye looked at her and solemnly instructed, "Tell Luffy about Ace again."

"Before that..."

"Please take good care of him."

Hancock was stunned.

She never expected that Chen Ye would entrust such an important matter to her.

Looking into Chen Ye's sincere eyes, she glanced back at Luffy's figure in the distance, and a sense of responsibility she had never felt before welled up in her heart.

"Please...please rest assured!"

Hancock's cheeks instantly flushed a beautiful blush, and her eyes began to wander.

She cupped her hands around her heart, her body slightly swaying, and spoke in a voice almost like a dream:

"With me here, Luffy... he'll definitely be taken very, very well!"

The way she instantly switched from an ice queen to a lovesick girl made Marco's eye twitch again.

Hopeless.

This mighty pirate empress is completely beyond saving.

Love-struck!

. . . . . .

Having completed their task, Chen Ye and Marco did not linger.

While Luffy was still fooling around with the female warriors, Hancock secretly took the two of them to the shore of Amazon Lily.

Under the moonlight, the waves gently lapped against the beach.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your hospitality," Chen Ye said as he took his leave.

"No need." Hancock regained a hint of her empress-like aloofness. "I'm only doing this for Luffy."

Chen Ye smiled and said meaningfully:

We'll see each other again soon.

"However, the next time we meet, we'll probably be rivals."

Upon hearing this, Hancock's lips curled into a very faint smile, a tacit understanding that only Chen Ye could comprehend.

Please rest assured, both of you!

"At that time, I'll probably just be putting on an act."

She gave a soft snort, her tone carrying a natural arrogance.

"Please rest assured."

"In that case, thank you very much."

Chen Ye nodded slightly to the pirate empress.

No further explanation is needed.

Marco stepped forward, and his body instantly burst into azure flames.

"Let's go, Chenye!"

With a clear and melodious phoenix cry, the enormous phoenix spread its wings once more.

Chen Ye leaped and landed steadily on the broad back of the bird.

"Until we meet again, Pirate Empress!"

Before the words were even finished, the azure phoenix's wings suddenly flapped!

A fierce wind whipped up sand and dust, and the enormous figure soared into the sky, transforming into a golden streak of light that tore through the night. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the horizon as Hancock looked up.