One Piece: The system is only activated after leaving the Navy.

Chapter 154 Schemes

"Shut up! It's because you guys have been pressuring me that I have no choice but to do this!"

Squard roared, his face filled with anger and resentment.

Meanwhile, Marco stared wide-eyed at Squard in disbelief and asked incredulously.

"What did you just say? Don't you know what stupid things you've done?"

At this moment, Whitebeard's already weakened body could no longer withstand such a heavy blow. He slowly squatted down on one leg, using his long sword to support himself on the ground to prevent himself from falling.

Seeing this, Marco rushed to Whitebeard anxiously and said something.

"Dad, please don't push yourself anymore. If you keep pushing yourself, your health will suffer..."

However, Whitebeard raised his hand and waved it slightly, indicating that Marco didn't need to worry and that he was fine.

Just then, Squard also stood up and shouted angrily.

"Enough! Let's end this utterly boring farce already! You've been secretly colluding with those damned Marines all along, haven't you?"

"Also, your Whitebeard Pirates and Ace will definitely be rescued safely. They should have made that promise to you long ago!"

Squard pointed his finger directly at Whitebeard, his eyes filled with resentment and suspicion.

Upon hearing this, Marco turned around abruptly, looking at Squard with a puzzled expression, seemingly completely baffled as to why he would utter such a nonsensical statement.

The tense and fierce atmosphere on the battlefield was instantly broken. After hearing Squard's words, everyone's faces showed shock and confusion.

They began to whisper among themselves, their clamor filling the entire battlefield.

Squard stood ramrod straight, his angry gaze sweeping over everyone on the battlefield, before he shouted at the crowd with all his might.

"You bunch of fools! Listen to what I'm saying! We've all fallen for their trap!"

Immediately afterwards, Squard turned around abruptly to face the white-bearded figure not far away.

His eyes were bloodshot, filled with anger and resentment, and he roared at the white-bearded man through gritted teeth.

"I've been kept in the dark all this time! I had no idea that Ace was Roger's son!"

After saying this, Squard paused for a moment, as if to calm the surging emotions within him.

Then, Squard spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of accusation.

"Whitebeard, do you know why I am all alone? Let me tell you, all my important comrades who fought alongside me and shared life and death with me have all died tragically at Roger's hands! Yet, you knew all this, but you deliberately kept it from me and did not tell me Ace's true identity!"

At this point, Squard seemed to be lost in painful memories.

Squard's eyes became somewhat unfocused as he muttered to himself.

"Looking back on everything that happened, it suddenly dawned on me that I had been ruthlessly betrayed by you from that moment on... I was completely unaware of even something as crucial as this, and foolishly became good friends with Ace. How dare you to play such a trick on me! It's unforgivable!"

Squard continued, his face grim.

"And what's especially important to you is that Ace has been captured! Right now, your Whitebeard Pirates are inside this bay; and on the outside, there are many pirate crews like ours that belong to your command. Yet, you actually chose to betray the lives of 43 of our pirate captains, just to save Ace's life!"

Squard's voice, like thunder, resounded throughout the battlefield, not only reaching everyone present but also serving as a stern interrogation directed at the renowned white-bearded father, as if eagerly seeking a clear answer from him.

However, these words were all part of the Navy's scheme, a lie carefully woven by Akainu to confuse and sow discord between Squard and Whitebeard.

Immediately afterwards, Squard pointed his arm sharply towards the fiercely fighting battlefield on the outside and roared angrily at Whitebeard.

"Open your eyes and take a good look! So many of us risked our lives to follow you to rescue Ace, but now, aren't we the real target of those damned Marines?"

On the battlefield, smoke filled the air and shouts of battle were deafening.

The pirates anxiously called out to Whitebeard, whom they considered a god-like figure.

"Dad! Please say something!"

"Dad, is what he said true?!"

At this moment, Marco, his face full of anger, grabbed Squard by the collar and began to curse loudly.

"Damn it! How could you be so stupid as to fall for it so easily, Squard! Don't you trust your old man at all?"

However, Squard did not back down in the face of Marco's rebuke.

Squard's eyes widened as he roared at Marco.

"Stop playing dumb! You're the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, how could you be completely unaware of the deal between Whitebeard and the Marines? Don't think I don't know what tricks you're up to behind the scenes!"

Upon hearing this, Whitebeard slowly turned his head, first glancing at Fleet Admiral Sengoku standing opposite him, then turning his gaze to Squard, muttering to himself.

"Ace is Roger's son. It seems those guys took advantage of that, specifically targeting the most easily swayed person. I have to admit, their tactics this time were indeed much more sophisticated."

Just then, Crocodile, unable to contain his anger any longer, raised his arm, now replaced by a golden hook, and pointed it directly at Whitebeard, roaring loudly.

"Whitebeard, you were stabbed so easily, how pathetic! I don't want to lose to such a cowardly and incompetent man as you!"

When Marco heard what Crocdar said, he couldn't help but ponder it to himself.

“That’s right. Just as Crocdale said, you know, if it were my dad on a normal day, he could easily neutralize any unexpected attack.”

"Even if my father's closest and most trusted confidants suddenly launched an attack, it would be difficult for him to find the slightest flaw."

"However, at this moment, the facts are right in front of us—the other party actually accomplished this seemingly impossible task."

So, what exactly caused this result?

This question, like a huge mystery, lingered in Marco's mind, leaving him completely baffled.