A simple hug can speak louder than words.

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•———•———•———•———•

Chapter's Events:

—————————

"BOSS!!!"

The eyes of the people who witnessed this shocking scene just now widened, whether they were allies of Whitebeard or even his enemies from the Marines.

"Whitebeard!!" Buggy's lips trembled in disbelief.

"Whitebeard was…" The same went for the viewers who were following the war events through the lone working screen.

"Stabbed!!!"

Sengoku's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, while Garp stayed silent.

"Old man…" Luffy was greatly shocked because he didn't expect that.

…

Whitebeard's blood dripped from the gaping wound caused by Squardo's blade, which was reflected on the broadcast screen at Sabaody Archipelago.

"Kyaaah!!!" This was a scream from a young woman who didn't want to see this sight.

{{Yes, That's right, the one who stabbed Whitebeard was his subordinate, }}

Among the viewers, a journalist was narrating the exclusive news to his boss.

{{A pirate from the New World, Whirlpool Spider!!!}}}

…

Back to the battlefield, Squardo felt a rise in temperature behind him.

"SQUARDO!!!"

Suddenly, a burning mallet slammed onto his head and pinned him to the ground. "…Ku…!!!"

"… Why did you do this!!?" Marco shouted violently, not expecting such an action from a trusted ally like Squardo.

"Shut up!!!"

"You're the ones who forced us into this!!!"

With hatred in his eyes, Squardo yelled at Marco and then turned towards Whitebeard and continued speaking.

"Stop this insanity!!! Whitebeard!!! You've already made a deal with the Marines, haven't you!? They promised to let your Whitebeard Pirates and Ace live, right!!?"

Upon hearing that, the other allied pirates felt stunned.

"What're you saying!?"

"What's the meaning of this?"

"He led us into a trap!!!" exclaimed Squardo.

•———•———•———•———•

"What the fuck are you saying!!?"

In the art store on Sphinx Island, Squardo is still in disbelief over what's happening in the manga.

His counterpart's words after what he did caused much more confusion than he was already in.

"Calm down, Squardo, first, and then focus."

After a long silence, Whitebeard finally spoke, causing Squardo and the others to fall silent unconsciously.

Squardo nodded humbly, then calmed his racing heartbeats and regained his composure away from his previously tense mood.

"Sigh~ Squardo in the manga indeed fell into some trap, but not my trap apparently, as expected, he was deceived… this foolish son."

A smile appeared on his face; Whitebeard was pleased with such an outcome, which was much better than betrayal without any justifications, no, pure evil, betrayal for the sake of betrayal only.

"And the one who led him into this trap must be… Sengoku…? No, this despicable act wouldn't be done by Sengoku…"

"Then who in the Marines would do such a despicable thing?"

Whitebeard wondered with a dangerous glint in his eye… Though he was just reading events on paper, not experiencing anything personally, he felt the same as Whitebeard who was stabbed in the manga.

These scenes might be part of a possible future that made the current Whitebeard feel like he was already part of this amazing war.

When Squardo turned and stabbed his counterpart with cold blood, he felt a piercing pain stabbing his heart… He never expected such a dramatic change at all.

"Well, never mind, whatever it is, he has already succeeded in his goal… weakening my counterpart's strength significantly, and creating confusion among his allies…"

"Let's see how you deal with this, my old counterpart…"

Finally, Whitebeard smiled, lifting the immense burden of heavy emotions on the hearts of his sons and allies, especially Squardo.

Whitebeard looked at Squardo and spoke with a smile.

"You see, when you analyze calmly, the picture becomes clearer, there's no need to fear or worry about something you didn't do, everyone here won't suspect any wrongdoing from you, my son, so relax and continue reading the manga as if you were reading an unrelated story."

"Everyone here is confident in your loyalty."

"Oyaji…" Squardo felt like crying upon hearing that.

He nodded calmly and continued reading the rest of the scenes.

The same went for Marco and the others who felt relieved after knowing that Squardo was just deceived and wasn't a wolf in sheep's clothing like Blackbeard.

After reading what happened next, Squardo choked on his tears that he couldn't control.

Whitebeard's reaction to being stabbed literally made Squardo's tears overflow… He wasn't alone; most of them cried, including Marco, Jozu, and the others.

Seeing this, Whitebeard sighed, as his eyes reflected this manga scene.

…

•———•———•———•———•

"We didn't know anything… about Ace being Gol D. Roger's son…!!!" exclaimed Squardo.

"…" Whitebeard's expression darkened further upon hearing that. Nevertheless, he continued listening to Squardo's justifications.

"When you picked me up… I was alone…!! Do you know why!? It was because the friends I fought alongside for so long were obliterated by Roger…!!!"

"You should know the hate I have for Roger!!!"

Squardo continued expressing his dissatisfaction: "Why didn't you say anything… about how Ace was Roger's son and you planned on making him the next Pirate King!!?"

"As soon as you did that, you had already betrayed us… You mocked me by having me be friendly with Ace!! And when your darling Ace was captured you sold out the 43 captains following you in exchange for Ace's life!!!"

…

"Squardo… You attacked your own father with your blade… You're an unbelievably stupid son!!"

"Uwaah!!!"

What Whitebeard just said terrified Squardo, but in the next moment, he froze from what happened.

Whitebeard hugged him with one hand, saying: "But even so… I still love you…"

•———•———•———•———•

Away from the Grand Line, in the South Blue.

"Did you kill this man's crew…?"

Rouge asked with a concerned expression. By "this man," she was referring to Squardo, of course.

"I've killed countless pirates; I can't remember every bug I've squashed," Roger replied indifferently, but deep down, he was trying to remember seriously.

"Perhaps I crushed his crew that was committing wicked acts against civilians. That's the only case where I take lives; you know how intolerant I am of those who disturb the peace of ordinary people."

"Even pirates targeting my life may not necessarily lose theirs, just as my crew doesn't do so either."

"That's true…" Rouge nodded after hearing that.

"What's wrong with weakness? For an old man, you're strong enough to intimidate the world." Seeing how Newgate dealt with Squardo's matter, Roger smiled broadly.

"An embrace for a lost son, what a father deserving of praise."

_________________

Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

_________________

Chapter 723: The Strongest Man In The World Is Attacking!

Chapter 724: The Man Who Shakes The World!

Chapter 725: The Terrifying Admiral Akainu!

_________________

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