In Ray's mind, there were currently two options on the table.
First option: Stop the Summit War from ever happening.
This meant ensuring Ace never even sets foot on the execution platform at Marineford.
They'd have to rescue him in advance.
Based on the current timeline, Ace was likely already locked up in Impel Down.
To pull this off, they would either need to launch a full-scale attack on the prison or sneak in like rats to bust him out.
If they chose to sneak in?
Let's be real—the Straw Hat crew lacked the talent for stealth.
They were loud, chaotic, and subtle as a brick through a window!
Never mind that in the original storyline, even with Luffy's insane plot armor and constant help from allies like Jinbei and Crocodile, he still failed to rescue Ace in time.
It was hard to say whether Luffy still had that kind of devil's luck now.
Ray was a planner by nature; he wasn't about to gamble everything on "luck" unless he had a gun to his head.
Furthermore, judging by the current power levels of this world, Magellan was.... probably a real monster.
His poisonous power was formidable enough that Luffy, in his current state, would likely get dissolved before he could throw a second punch.
If they got caught, there was a very real possibility that both Luffy and Ace would end up on the execution platform together.
Although Ray had seen people like Bon Clay, Marianne, and Mikita helping Luffy recently, he still didn't realize these former enemies had come to pledge allegiance to him specifically.
He naturally wouldn't include such "uncertain elements" in his life-or-death plans.
So, sneaking in was out.
What about a direct assault? Even the current Ray couldn't guarantee success.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence in defeating Magellan—that poison-spewing trash was practically negligible to Ray.
He could slice him apart from a distance!
The main problem was the fallout.
News of him killing Big Mom would inevitably spread across the world any minute now.
As long as the Marines had half a brain, they would be watching his every move like hawks.
If the World Government didn't keep tabs on a pirate who just took down a Yonko, they might as well pack up and go home.
If he tried to storm Impel Down under that kind of scrutiny, it would attract at least two Admirals, possibly even the entire Marine High Command.
Ray was confident, not arrogant.
He wasn't about to hand himself over to the Marines just to save Ace.
That left the second option: Let the Summit War proceed as normal and rescue Ace through sheer brute force during the battle.
This was risky as hell.
It meant facing the Marine Headquarters's top dogs—monsters like Kizaru, Aokiji, Akainu, Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Kong.
But... he would have allies on his side too.
The most obvious would be the Whitebeard Pirates.
Then there were possible reinforcements from the Straw Hat Pirates, maybe the Red Hair Pirates, Buggy's new crew, and legends like Rayleigh and Gabban.
If all these forces showed up at Marineford simultaneously, the Summit War would turn into a true apocalypse.
...
The next day.
Cavendish contacted his crew members, so Ray and Frieda naturally transferred to Cavendish's flashy White Horse Pirate ship.
Following Ray's orders, Cavendish told his navigator to set a course toward the Whitebeard Pirates' territory.
Truth be told, given Ray's pride, he hated the idea of actively seeking allies.
He preferred to stand alone.
But the Summit War was far more complicated than it appeared in the original story.
While the Whitebeard alliance seemed to be trading blows with 100,000 Marines, the reality was grim.
Many of the Marines' top fighters never even joined the fray properly.
Just three active Admirals were enough to scatter the Whitebeard Pirates and inflict heavy casualties.
Even if Akainu hadn't provoked Ace into turning back, could the Whitebeard Pirates really have escaped?
Absolutely not.
Escaping that hell was a fantasy.
Sengoku, Garp, Kong—each of them possessed Admiral-level strength or higher.
No matter how powerful the aging Whitebeard was, how long could he hold off six Admiral-class fighters?
Not to mention that beyond the Marine forces, the World Government also had the Five Elders and the God Knights waiting in the shadows.
Was it really Sengoku who wanted Ace dead? No.
It was the World Goverment.
They wanted the bloodline of Roger erased.
Ray speculated that in the original timeline, Ace's death on the battlefield, combined with Shanks's timely arrival, was the only reason Luffy and the surviving Whitebeard Pirates managed to escape at all.
If Ace had been successfully rescued, the World Government would have gone scorched earth.
They would have deployed endless streams of elite fighters to chase them down.
In Ray's view, the Whitebeard Pirates never stood a chance in the original Summit War from the beginning.
Ironically, it was Ace's death that satisfied the Marines enough to stop the slaughter.
And if Ray wanted to break through his own limits, the Summit War was an unavoidable challenge.
Thus, he needed to calculate everything.
Every variable.
Every possibility.
The seemingly powerful Whitebeard Pirates were actually quite weak when facing the full might of the World Government.
Even with Ray and the enhanced Straw Hat Pirates joining in, their chances of victory remained dangerously low.
That's why Ray decided to increase both the quantity and quality of his allies.
The Whitebeard Pirates were just the first stop.
He wanted to test just how powerful the aged Whitebeard truly was.
Of course, this was also the main reason he kept Cavendish around.
As someone who didn't like to talk much, Ray needed a mouthpiece to handle negotiations, and Cavendish was surprisingly perceptive.
As for why he brought the female reporter Frieda along? Being Morgans' niece, she was a walking intelligence network!
The difficulty of conquering the Summit War was immense.
Thorough preparation was absolutely necessary.
...
Three days later.
It had been four days since Ray killed Big Mom.
It had also been four days since Luffy and the others defeated the Golden Lion.
Yes, just as Ray had predicted, Luffy, Buggy, and the others joined forces and completely wrecked Golden Lion Shiki in less than five minutes.
Shiki had ultimately grown too old.
His physical capabilities were severely diminished.
Strictly speaking, he was worn down to death by the relentless assaults of Luffy, Buggy, and the others.
Chopper successfully created an antidote for the IQ enhancement serum, and all the frenzied beasts on the floating islands regained their sanity.
Naturally, he also left several bottles of the antidote for Chouchou.
The Straw Hat Pirates had now resumed their adventurous voyage, heading straight toward the New World.
On the deck of the Thousand Sunny, Usopp, who often came up with wild, paranoid ideas, suddenly raised a question while fishing.
"Hey... do you guys think Shiki is actually dead?"
"Even though he was sent flying by Luffy's punches, I have a weird feeling he might still be alive."
Nami rolled her eyes, leaning against the railing.
"You said it yourself—it's just a feeling. How accurate can your feelings be?"
Sanji lit a cigarette and nodded. "He was already a fossil, and we beat him up badly. Even if he survived the fall, the Marines would capture him instantly."
Usopp thought about it and realized they were right.
When they left the floating islands, they had briefly clashed with a Marine fleet that had come to clean up the mess.
They definitely there to picked up Shiki.
"Yeah... I hope that old bastard never shows up to cause trouble in the world again."
...
Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters.
Sengoku frowned deeply, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.
His anxiety was palpable, much to the exasperation of Garp and Zephyr sitting on the sofa.
But both of them understood—if they were in the Fleet Admiral's shoes right now, they wouldn't be able to sit still either.
"Not finding Shiki's body is indeed dangerous," Zephyr said, exhaling a puff of purple smoke with a worried expression.
Garp nodded in agreement, munching on crackers.
"True. But..."
"What's more important right now is that brat, Ray. Sengoku originally planned to have Ray help him eliminate the pirates who provoked the Straw Hats, but now... tsk tsk tsk."
Before Garp could finish his teasing, Sengoku exploded.
"SHUT UP, GARP!"
Sengoku grabbed a handful of rice crackers from Garp's own stash and threw them directly at Garp's face.
"Are you gloating right now?! This is a disaster!"
Seeing Sengoku's furious expression, Garp suppressed a laugh, picked up a cracker that fell on his shirt, and took a bite.
"Delicious."
A minute later, Sengoku managed to calm down somewhat.
He collapsed into his chair, resting his forehead in one hand, looking exhausted.
"Who would have thought?"
"Ray went to Big Mom's territory and actually killed her!"
Sengoku looked up, his eyes serious.
"Garp, could you do that? Even two Admirals working together might not be able to pull it off without massive casualties!"
"Eh~" Garp scratched his head, looking away.
They all knew the truth.
Ray had become excessively strong.
Dangerously strong.
Correspondingly, the threat level he posed to the World Government was now far beyond what a mere 1.5 billion berry bounty could represent.