The pirates sat and forgot, and they really believed the nine truths and one lie.

Garp and Ace sat together and talked. It had been a long time since the grandfather and grandson had been able to spend time together peacefully like today.

Time is not on the side of the son of One Piece. Time is linear and will not stay in place waiting for anyone.

The morning light crept in through the iron bars of the high prison windows, casting narrow spots of light on the dusty stone floor.

Ace sat against the wall, the grayish-white color of his prison uniform making his face look even paler. Only when he was bathed in sunlight did he still retain a bit of his vitality.

"Old man, please go away. I don't want to embarrass you. Please go away..."

Under Ace's repeated urging, Garp didn't want to move with tears in his eyes. He wanted to buy time.

Familiar footsteps were heard behind the old man. Aokiji walked out from the shadows and came to the teacher, "Teacher Garp, Marshal Sengoku wants to see you. Come with me."

Garp turned his head and looked at his disciple. Was it really Sengoku who was looking for him?

Aokiji didn't explain much, helped his teacher up, and didn't even look at Ace. The two marines supported each other and disappeared from Ace's sight.

"Old man, it turns out you also have weak legs sometimes. If Luffy knew, he would definitely make fun of you." Ace showed a rare smile on his face.

Because of the complicated emotions in Garp's heart, his mental state was not good. If he hadn't had his disciples to support him, he might have fallen to the ground.

Only Garp himself can understand the pain of seeing his loved one die. He is heartbroken and has no way out. His heart can only waver between family affection and justice.

Ace stood up and basked in the sunshine. The sun was truly beautiful, giving life the opportunity to survive. If he had a second chance, he would definitely appreciate the sunrise carefully.

The sound of keys dragging on the floor came from the corridor, getting closer and closer. Ace counted the footsteps, one, two, like drumbeats beating on his heart.

The sunlight climbed up his brow bone, illuminating the fine lines on his face. The footsteps stopped outside the door, and three short metal collision sounds were heard.

Ace slowly raised his hand, his five fingers opening and closing in the light, as if trying to grasp something that was slipping away.

He took a last look at the sky outside the high window, which was divided by iron bars. The clouds were dyed a gentle orange, just like the sea at dusk in his hometown.

"It's time to go, finally leave this damn place," he whispered to the empty cell, his voice hoarse as if it had been sandpapered.

The lock on the door flicked open gently, and the hem of his prison uniform swept across the ground, raising a small cloud of dust, which spun slowly in the beam of light and then slowly fell down.

"Come with us, Ace, your time is up."

There were two sailors wearing navy uniforms. One of them was Smoker, a smoker whom I had met once, and the other was Levi, a stranger who had just joined the navy.

Finally, the day of execution came. Although Ace was only twenty years old, he did not throw a tantrum in prison during the last days of his life. He just faced death calmly.

Ace was wearing seastone anklets and handcuffs. Due to his limited physical strength, he walked very slowly in front. Smoker and Levi did not push him, but just followed behind him silently.

There were still some pirates imprisoned in the navy's special prison who had not yet been transferred into the city. They lay near the iron railings, watching the son of the Pirate King about to walk out of the prison and into the execution ground.

"Ace, you are going to die. Tell us where your father put the One Piece."

"You are the only son of the Pirate King, you must know the great secret treasure."

"What's the use of treasure for the dead? Why not leave it to us?"

Among the pirates in prison, only a small number of them mocked Ace. They were more concerned about the treasure left by the Pirate King. Every one of them was obsessed with money.

The navy guards shouted for silence and hit the prisoners with batons. Amidst their painful cries, they did not forget to ask about the whereabouts of One Piece.

Ace walked in front with a calm expression. He had no interest in One Piece. He longed for family affection and only cared about his family. His family was his greatest wealth.

The last outer gate of the naval prison slowly opened. Whether the next step was hell or heaven, it didn't matter to Ace anymore.

The sunlight poured down like melted gold foil, leaving a burning touch on Ace's exposed shoulders. He had never paid attention to it before, but it turns out that the sunlight can be so warm when it falls on the body.

When I stepped onto the hot stone steps barefoot, two rows of silver-white navy formations came into view like cast steel and iron. The sound of military boots hitting the ground made the air tremble slightly.

"Was it the same scene when we welcomed Roger back then?"

The navy soldiers in the front row stood with guns in hand, the metal butts of their guns gleaming coldly in the sunlight, their gazes piercing him like poisonous needles.

The father and son will one day enjoy the same treatment, and the navy really takes good care of them. Although Smoker remained silent throughout, he has already agreed with Ace's words in his heart.

The prisoner walked down the stone steps step by step. The navy on both sides were examining him. Finally, today, Fire Fist Ace no longer had the charm of the past. In the eyes of outsiders, he was just a thin young man.

At the end of the team stood an old woman, who was Vice Admiral He. The Navy's identity verification process still had to be followed, and finally the task of this process fell on her.

Ace walked to Vice Admiral Tsuru's side, and Smoker called him from behind, asking him to stop for a moment because the navy wanted to record a video.

Vice Admiral Tsuru held a signature board in his hand and read the official document: "Gol D. Ace, 20 years old, codenamed Fire Fist, bounty of 5 million berries, captain of the second team of the Whitebeard Pirates. Identity verification completed, please sign."

He placed the signature board and pen in front of Ace. He didn't expect that the execution process followed by the Navy still required the parties involved to confirm and sign. Their official attitude was really old-fashioned.

Ace took the pen handed to him by Vice Admiral Tsuru. He didn't like his surname being given on official documents. "I can sign this form, but the name needs to be changed."

He grabbed a pen and erased Gol D. Ace, wrote Portgas D. Ace in the blank space below, and then wrote Portgas D. Ace in the signature space.

The navy did not try to stop this at all. Ace did not like a father who gave birth to a child but did not raise the child. She respected her mother very much for risking her life to give birth to her. It was her mother who brought him into the world.

Even at the end of his life, the young man chose to die with his mother's surname and did not want to have any connection with Roger.

Vice Admiral Tsuru took the signed version and conceded that there was nothing wrong with Ace altering his name, "Take him to the execution platform and pay attention to any sudden incidents that may occur at any time."

The Navy will permanently preserve this precious signature as part of the proof of the Navy's achievements.

Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at Ace's receding back and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. If he wasn't the son of Pirate King Roger, nothing would have happened today.

The debt Roger owed when he started the Great Pirate Era was eventually repaid by his son, and the retribution fell on his only son.