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Marineford
The atmosphere shifted drastically the moment the two Emperors fell. The tension was so thick that even breathing could be heard.
Suddenly, a white figure leapt into the air at incredible speed.
"Hahahahaha! Ace! I'm here to save you!"
That innocent, almost naive laughter tore through Marineford's silence, causing countless eyes to snap toward the sky.
"Luffy?"
"Straw Hat?"
"Monkey D. Luffy?"
"Vice Admiral Garp's grandson?"
Stunned gazes locked on the figure soaring high, carrying shock and disbelief.
Even Garp, who had remained calm at Ace's side, widened his eyes in alarm and shouted with fear and tension.
"Luffy?!"
For a moment, panic flickered across his face. Sengoku, standing nearby, turned and saw the rare expression on his old friend's face.
He couldn't help but sigh. Then his eyes glinted as he turned to Ace. "Fire Fist Ace... Do you remember your mission?"
At these sudden words, Ace's body trembled. His expression twisted, and turmoil surged in his eyes. After a long silence, he slowly nodded.
"I hope you'll follow through as we agreed," Sengoku said calmly. "Of course. The Marines will honor their word and follow the original plan."
Such a massive war had naturally gone through thorough simulations and strategies beforehand.
Everything unfolding now was within expectations—perhaps even the best-case scenario.
As long as the steps continued, ultimate victory was assured. Sengoku looked up sharply. Luffy had landed, then leapt again, directly in front of them.
Sengoku's eyes flashed with resolve. Garp stood, fists clenched, glaring at Luffy.
"Even if you're my grandson, I will not hold back!" His face darkened, his roar shaking the air.
"Move, Grandpa!" Luffy shouted, his right fist clenched tight. Garp matched him, fists drawn, eyes locked onto Luffy. In the next instant, both launched into the air and collided.
Boom!
A thunderous crash echoed through the sky as one figure crashed like a meteor, slamming hard into the ground.
Garp's white Marine cape fluttered behind him as he landed heavily, his face dark and veins bulging at his forehead.
"You still don't have the right to interfere in this war... Luffy!" His voice trembled, low and pained, and many Marines wore stunned expressions.
No one expected Garp actually to strike his own grandson. "Garp..." Tsuru sighed. Garp's face twitched, twisted in fury and agony.
"Arashi... You bastard! You'd better be worth my trust!" He shouted inwardly as blood pounded in his chest.
Though not part of Sengoku and Arashi's original plan, he had sensed something deeper at play.
This entire war revolved around Whitebeard. Ace, Luffy, and even Whitebeard's commanders were secondary.
And with the brief exchange between Sengoku and Ace, Garp became certain: even Ace, a pirate, was part of this scheme.
Perhaps he had formed some alliance with Arashi and Sengoku.
Which likely meant—Ace wouldn't die.
Silence fell again. Despair clouded the faces of pirates all around. They had hoped that Ace's younger brother might succeed in rescuing him, making this battle not a total loss.
But now, the outcome seemed set in stone. Whitebeard and Shanks had both fallen, and neither had stirred since. This war was utterly lost.
Suddenly—
"Tell them, Ace." A calm, low voice swept through the battlefield, capturing everyone's attention.
"Arashi!" Marco stared at the blood-soaked figure in the middle of the field, severely wounded but still standing tall.
Marco's eyes darted, seeking a chance to save Shanks or their father. "Tell them the truth of this war."
Arashi said with a faint smile. His words stunned everyone. The truth?
"What truth?"
"What are you hiding, Fire Fist Ace?"
"What's the truth of this war?"
"Speak, Ace!"
"Yeah, tell us!"
"Even if we die today, we want to die knowing the truth!"
The pirates shouted emotionally, their voices loud and pleading. Ace's body trembled, and his expression shifted.
He opened his mouth several times but couldn't speak. "Remove his shackles."
Sengoku's voice came deep and clear. That simple command made every pirate, even Luffy, tremble in disbelief.
"What... did he say?" One pirate muttered.
No one answered. All the pirates clenched their fists, their faces twitching with disbelief.
They didn't want to trust Sengoku, yet they had heard him. Now, they needed to listen to it from Ace.
Clank!
The guards bent down without hesitation and removed Ace's shackles from his hands and feet.
"Tell them the whole truth, Ace," Arashi said again. His words triggered an uproar.
"A traitor?! Ace, are you a traitor to the Whitebeard Pirates? You actually sided with the Marines? Damn it! I knew you abandoned us!"
"This whole war... was a setup! A scheme between Ace and the Marines! And we sacrificed our lives to save him?"
"His father is Roger. He was always our enemy! How could he ever be one of us?"
Accusations filled the air. Ace's face twisted in pain. He clenched his fists but had no idea how to respond.
The battlefield grew murky and confused. Even the Marines looked shocked.
They hadn't expected such a dramatic twist in the war.
"Is Fire Fist Ace one of ours? With Admiral Arashi's methods, it's very possible."
"But he's Roger's son!"
So what? Arashi's unit already had former pirates. And bloodline doesn't equal identity." Curiosity stirred within the ranks of the Marines. They watched eagerly.
"You won't speak, Ace? Then allow me," Sengoku declared.
Their plan was to break the pirates' morale and seal the war's fate.
"Portgas D. Ace. No... more accurately—Gol D. Ace!"
"In addition to being Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, before this war, Ace had another secret identity."
Sengoku smiled. He believed this was Arashi's masterstroke—his most brilliant move yet.
"That is, a trainee Marine in Admiral Arashi's Scientific Division!" The entire battlefield erupted.
"Traitor!"
"A Marine?! He's one of them?! Ace, you bastard!"
The pirates shouted with fury. Ace lowered his head, quietly enduring it all.
He did this to give the Whitebeard Pirates a chance to survive—to provide Pops with an opportunity to live.
He knew the original Marine plan was swift, ruthless, and absolute. But because he cooperated—and perhaps because of Arashi's strange faith—he had been given a shot to save them.
"His mission in this war," Sengoku shouted, "was to assist the Marines and lure the Whitebeard Pirates into Marineford!"
"In doing so, the Marines could more easily eliminate this global threat and restore peace to the world!"
He scanned the stunned pirates below and roared, "This war was your loss! Pirates!"
His voice echoed across Marineford, leaving the pirates in utter despair. Some collapsed, drained of all will to fight.
"A conspiracy! It was all a Marine conspiracy!"
"We were stabbed in the back by one of our own—how were we supposed to defend against that?"
Sengoku smiled in satisfaction. This was precisely what he wanted: to secure victory with the lowest Marine casualties.
.....
No one noticed the group silently weaving through the Marine ranks, heading straight toward Arashi.
"Zehahahaha! Boys, I've changed my mind! The wilder the storm, the richer the fish! The greater the risk, the bigger the reward!"
"What excites me more than Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit... is Arashi's immortal power!"
"If I can claim it, I'll be invincible worldwide!" A rugged figure chuckled darkly, eyes gleaming with madness.
The ones behind him showed varied expressions but voiced no objection. "Do whatever you want!"
"Your power can suppress every Devil Fruit user in the world...Even this man—the strongest Admiral in history!"
As their sinister laughter echoed, a magma-covered hand suddenly reached out from the edge of a shattered cliff. Molten rock sizzled, and a chilling voice followed.
"Sinful blood will always be sinful...and you, who sided with him...You're a traitor to the Marines, too!You deserve to die, Arashi!"
The mood across Marineford grew more bizarre than ever. Despair, grief, and frustration consumed the pirates.
With the fall of both Emperors, their morale was already crumbling—now, it hit rock bottom.
Conversely, the Marines were surprised but intrigued, gossiping about the shocking truth behind the war.
On the execution platform, Sengoku gazed over the battlefield. He saw the difference in morale between both sides and smiled.
Long before it began, this war had been meticulously calculated and laid out.
Every step, every twist was part of the plan, and Arashi's role was the most vital one.
Only by breaking Whitebeard's will... Could they deliver the final blow, crush the pirates' spirit, and claim the ultimate victory?.
Now, that victory was finally within reach.
"Phew." He exhaled slowly.
In battle, one never feels it—but the moment the fighting stops and the body relaxes, waves of exhaustion and pain come flooding in.
"The battlefield is like a chessboard. This match... has finally come to a pause," Arashi murmured with a soft sigh.
He slowly closed his eyes, entering a state of rest. Just a brief moment was enough to help him recover.
As for taking his own life, that was something he rarely considered anymore—not since he had reached the pinnacle of power.
Perhaps it was that inexplicable pride in his heart? What kind of top-tier warrior kills himself?
No one noticed a strange group of pirates, hidden in the crowd at the edge of the battlefield.
They were grinning wildly, eyes brimming with excitement and tension as they locked onto the blood-drenched figure standing in the distance.
"Zehahahaha!"
"The world will soon enter an era of my own!" muttered a rugged-looking man with a cruel smile.
Behind him stood Lafitte, Van Augur, and others—recruits from Impel Down, including Catarina Devon, Sanjuan Wolf, Avalo Pizarro, and Shiryu.
All were infamous criminals with terrifying power.
"Move out, boys!" Marshall D. Teach gave the cold command, eyes fixed like daggers on Arashi's battered form.
"Kill him, and we'll become the stars of this world!"
The group surged forward in an instant, rushing toward Arashi from behind—the perfect angle for a sneak attack.
At the battlefield's center, smoke drifted with the wind, fluttering the tattered legs of Arashi's pants.
His back was a gruesome mess of bloody scars, forming a sinister pattern like a demon's twisted face.
Even from afar, just seeing his back sent chills down the spine. His thick neck and crossed arms bulged with veins, radiating a powerful aura.
Suddenly, a commotion rose among the crowd.
"Is that... Admiral Akainu?! Oh no, what's he doing?! Admiral Arashi! Get out of the way!"
Marines shouted in alarm. Akainu, his body wreathed in magma, had appeared from who knows where and was now speeding straight toward Arashi.
His right arm had already transformed into molten rock, his entire presence radiating bloodlust.
"You allied with the blood of evil... with pirates... hiding their crimes and deceiving the world," he growled. "Arashi, you deserve to die!"
His cold voice clashed violently with the searing heat from his body. Each step rang loudly through the battlefield.
"Even here, even now, the justice I uphold cannot suppress my hatred for you!"
With a mighty leap, Akainu launched himself like an arrow toward Arashi. In a blink, he was face-to-face with him.
Without hesitation, he swung his magma-covered fist straight at Arashi.
"Die!"
At that very instant, Arashi's eyes snapped open—blood-red and freezing cold. They locked with Akainu's, and the chill within them sent a shiver through the admiral.
Splurt!
The burning magma pierced through Arashi's abdomen, instantly incinerating a portion of his flesh.
Arashi's eye twitched, but his face remained calm. Arms still crossed, he stood like a fortress before Akainu.
"Akainu!"
On the execution platform, Sengoku roared, veins bulging in fury. Garp's face darkened, eyes blazing as he prepared to charge forward—but Tsuru held him back.
"Calm yourself, Garp!!
"You better hold me back, Tsuru! Or I'll kill Sakazuki!!" Garp bellowed.
Tsuru's expression soured as she stared at the two figures facing off on the battlefield.
Akainu had crossed a line by attacking a fellow Marine—but in this critical moment, internal chaos would only doom them further.
"Akainu?"
Borsalino paused in his clash with Benn Beckman, his eyes flashing. Nearby, Kuzan also stopped moving, face growing colder by the second.
All eyes were now locked on the center of the battlefield. Time itself seemed frozen.
"Whether it's you or Whitebeard... in my eyes, you're both the world's greatest evils," Akainu spat. "You must be erased!"
"Arashi, you must die!" He yanked back his fist. Molten droplets hit the ground, burning holes with hissing sizzles.
Gasps echoed as everyone saw the gaping hole in Arashi's abdomen.
"I know about your strange immortality," Akainu sneered. "So I won't try to kill you cleanly."
"Instead, I'll make you feel the most excruciating pain this world has to offer!"
"Only then will your sins be atoned!"
Arashi's face was still frozen cold, unmoving. He stood there like an unshakable mountain.
Finally, some realized—he may have used up all his strength fighting the two Emperors earlier.
"Admiral Arashi!!"
Female officers sobbed uncontrollably, hands clamped over their mouths.
"Someone stop him!!"
A shout rang out, and others finally moved. Shiryu, Smoker, Buggy, and several others turned pale, then sprinted toward the center of the battlefield.
But they were too far away. They might not make it in time.
Splurt!
Akainu struck again—this time hitting Arashi's liver, leaving another hole in his body. Marines clenched their fists, faces contorting in anger.
Sakazuki's treacherous assault on a comrade had infuriated everyone.
"Stop it, Sakazuki!"
Sengoku shouted at the Den Den Mushi, his voice echoing worldwide. But Akainu didn't flinch. A cruel smirk even crept across his face.
"You never imagined a day like this, did you? Soon, I'll crush your pride and dignity under my heel!"
Still, the man before him wore the same icy expression... with a hint of mockery in his eyes. Akainu's face twisted. Rage surged again.
He threw another punch—this one striking Arashi's face. The magma surged, scorching half of it away.
The crowd recoiled in horror, then erupted in fury, voices roaring in outrage. Sengoku trembled, fists clenched tightly as his eyes grew darker.
"Damn it, Arashi, what's wrong with you? Fight back!!"
Garp bellowed. He knew well that none of them could act. If they did, the conflict would escalate, and the war they waged against pirates would become a farce.
"No one's coming to save you, Arashi," Akainu sneered. "Looks like I picked the perfect moment."
His right fist clenched again with a hiss as magma burst forth. "Next, I'll burn off your limbs. Turn you into a living corpse."
"Then I'll take the heads of Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks. The Marines will still be the victors of this war—and all you filthy criminals will be wiped out."
His words echoed across the battlefield. Akainu bent his arm back, charging power—his magma growing hotter.
Then, he unleashed his punch, aimed straight at Arashi's lungs. He knew how to destroy a body piece by piece.
But in the next instant—
Fwoosh!
A blaze of fire erupted, glowing embers igniting and quickly forming a fist. It collided directly with Akainu's attack.
"Fire Fist!!"
A furious voice rang out as flames burst in every direction. Akainu was stunned—his fist had met resistance, and when he saw the man before him, his eyes turned cold.
"Fire Fist Ace!"
The fire roared around him. Ace's face burned with fury as he glared daggers at Akainu.
Arashi still stood with arms folded, unmoved. But when he saw the figure before him, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a faint smirk.
"Ace," he said softly. Ace turned and gave him a fiery glance.
"I just need a moment to rest," Arashi said with a calm smile. "Just a little while." The ease in his voice contrasted eerily with the bloody holes in his body.
In that moment, everyone felt it—those horrific wounds didn't even seem like they belonged to him.
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