The smoke-filled battlefield suddenly fell silent. Those still engaged in bloody combat gradually stopped, looking at each other in confusion, unsure of what had just happened. When they caught sight of the silver-haired girl not far away, their pupils shrank, and an expression of disbelief appeared on their faces.
Even Sengoku Garp, upon seeing that slender figure, looked as though he had seen a ghost, his eyes widening involuntarily.
How could it be her?
If it had been someone else—even Red-Haired Shanks—they wouldn't have been so shocked. But the one who appeared was completely unexpected.
A young marine soldier, who had been hiding in cover and fortunately hadn't been knocked unconscious by the dragon's might, looked around in confusion and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What's going on?"
A senior vice admiral beside him was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and asked in surprise, "Don't you know who she is?"
"No," the young marine shook his head and asked curiously, "Is she someone important?"
The usually composed vice admiral showed an uncharacteristically fervent expression in his eyes and said, "She is Kaguya, our instructor."
"Kaguya?" The young marine still looked puzzled. The name sounded familiar, like he had heard it somewhere before.
Suddenly, as if something clicked in his mind, his eyes widened sharply, and he hurriedly exclaimed, "Kaguya? You mean the one known as the strongest in the world?"
"That's right, it's her."
The crowd erupted in shock—how could it be her?
Even if they hadn't seen Kaguya in person, they had all heard of her. She was the most powerful among the strong in the era of legends, possessing awe-inspiring strength. Not only the current navy admirals, but even the legendary Four Emperors had all been defeated by her.
Her strength had reached its peak, to an almost inconceivable level.
Even more unbelievable, ever since she appeared in the Grand Line, she had never lost a single battle. Most of her victories were with overwhelming dominance. There were even rumors that the power she displayed wasn't her true strength. Even the all-controlling World Government treated her with deep secrecy.
Kaguya casually waved her slender hand, and the magma that had been shooting through the air toward Ace instantly turned to ash, vanishing into thin air.
"She actually dispelled Admiral Akainu's attack with just a wave."
"Incredible, truly amazing."
"Even Hero Garp couldn't do something like that."
"As expected of our instructor—she's incredible."
"Long live Instructor-sama!"
The pirates present were dumbfounded, their jaws nearly dropping. The navy vice admirals who had just been exuding murderous intent now looked like completely different people, displaying a fanatical enthusiasm like concertgoers.
Kaguya turned around and gave a radiant smile. Her pink lips lightly parted as she said, "All of you shut up, you idiots."
Hearing her soft and pleasant voice, the marines present froze. Looking into her half-smiling, half-threatening eyes, they recalled the hellish torment from their training days and immediately fell silent. Only now did they suddenly remember that this instructor was no gentle person.
"Why have you come here?" Akainu said coldly. "Are you here to shield them?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. I have no such intention. But…" Kaguya looked down at him condescendingly and said coldly, "Who do you think you are? Do I need your permission to do anything?"
Akainu's face turned livid. He clenched his fists and shouted through gritted teeth, "Don't think you can act recklessly here. This is no longer your era!"
With that, he stomped the ground, causing it to crack. Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot forward, arriving in front of Kaguya in an instant. He leapt high, raising his magma-infused fist with scorching heat, and brought it down upon Kaguya's head.
But just then, with a swish, Kaguya's figure suddenly vanished into thin air.
Akainu's eyes narrowed. Without turning his head, he instinctively struck behind him.
"Hellhound."
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted as the scorching magma collided with a delicate fist.
Magma churned, sparks flying everywhere.
Kaguya looked at Akainu in surprise and said, "I didn't expect that after all these years, you've improved quite a bit. You actually managed to block my attack."
Akainu replied coldly, "Stop being so arrogant. You're just a remnant of the old era. Let me personally send you to hell."
"The arrogant one is you, brat."
That familiar voice at his ear made Akainu's pupils shrink sharply. Unbeknownst to him, another Kaguya had appeared behind him—clearly, it was her shadow clone.
Akainu quickly turned and instinctively threw a magma punch behind him. But a hand was already pressing against his chest. A gentle exhale from her palm unleashed a massive, overwhelming force.
"Ultra Shinra Tensei."
Boom!
A thunderous sound shook the skies as Akainu was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing through several buildings before finally smashing into the mountainside of Marineford. He came to a stop with eyes wide open and blood gushing from his mouth.
Kaguya withdrew her hand, standing tall, letting out a disdainful hmph. She said, "You've indeed made some progress over the years. Unfortunately, no matter how hard small fry try, they will always just be small fry."
Everyone was dumbfounded, jaws nearly hitting the ground.
Akainu—one of the Navy's top three forces—had just been defeated that easily? This had to be a joke, right? It must be a joke.
Even the man known as the strongest in the world, Whitebeard, had taken heavy injuries battling Akainu. Yet before Kaguya, he couldn't even block a single move.
Was this the difference in strength?
"Honestly, my beautiful vacation plaza—turned into this mess. It took me quite a bit of effort to get approval for it in the first place."
Just as Kaguya turned and began walking toward the Marineford harbor, a hand suddenly reached out toward her leg.
Raising an eyebrow, Kaguya shifted her body and dodged. Turning around, she saw it was Luffy lying on the ground.
Luffy was covered in wounds, completely exhausted. His body was on the verge of collapse. His head drooped weakly to the side as he pleaded in a frail voice, "Please… save Ace… please, save him."
Kaguya asked curiously, "Why are you so sure I can save him?"
"Aren't you the strongest in the world?" Luffy quickly responded. "You can definitely save him."
"Flattering words, quite slick, aren't you," Kaguya said. "But I have no relation to him—why should I save him?"
"Please… save Ace," Luffy's eyes turned red with tears, teeth clenched as he shouted, "He's the only brother I have in this world!"
Everyone present trembled at his words. Even Sengoku in the distance showed a touched expression.
"Saving him isn't out of the question," Kaguya said, a devilish smile appearing on her face. "But… there's one condition."
Luffy's face lit up with joy. He quickly said, "Really? You're really willing to save Ace? That's great! Thank you so much, you're such a good person!"
"Hey, hey, are you deaf or something?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow and said, "I said there are conditions. Conditions—do you understand?"
"It's fine," Luffy said excitedly. "As long as Ace can be saved, any condition is okay."
Kaguya's eyelid twitched. She said, "Don't you even want to hear what the condition is?"
"It's okay. Either way, thank you so much," Luffy said gratefully, his eyes brimming with tears. "You're a really good person."
"You really don't care what the condition is?"
"Thank you, thank you so much. I thought I was going to lose Ace. When will you start treating him?"
Finally unable to tolerate it any longer, Kaguya raised her foot and stomped on Luffy's head, shouting, "You idiot! Just shut up and listen to me!"
"Yes," came Luffy's muffled voice, his head pressed into the ground.
Looking at this lump-covered guy in front of her, Kaguya sighed. For someone as foolish as Luffy to survive this long—Ace must've had a rough time. The boy had only one track in his mind.
"My condition is this," Kaguya's eyes sharpened, "You must give up the Gum-Gum Fruit, give up One Piece, and never set foot on the Grand Line again. Can you do that?"
As soon as she said this, an uproar broke out among the pirates.
"That's too much! What a ridiculous demand!"
"Yeah, One Piece is every pirate's dream!"
"To take away someone's dream—that's just cruel."
"How can she do this?"
"She clearly doesn't want to help and is just making things difficult."
"So this is the legendary figure? Not so great after all."
Kaguya's cold, icy gaze swept over them. Instantly, everyone felt like they had fallen into an ice cave. Their hearts were seized by an invisible hand, unable to breathe. The noisy protests fell silent.
But surprisingly, Luffy said happily, "That's great. So does that mean you'll save Ace now?"
Kaguya raised an eyebrow and said, "So you don't care that your dream will never come true? Or are you just saying that to fool me?"
A rare serious expression appeared on Luffy's face. He said, "One Piece is my dream. I've never given it up. But my dream is to go with my companions. To me, my friends are just as important as One Piece. If my friends aren't around, then what's the point of going to One Piece?"
Everyone present was stunned, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. Members of the Straw Hat crew especially felt this deeply, and even Whitebeard couldn't help but glance over.
Kaguya smiled faintly. She had expected Luffy to make this choice. She said, "Think it through—don't regret it later."
Luffy nodded firmly. But just as he was speaking, someone tugged at the corner of his clothes. He looked down—it was Ace.
Luffy froze, then said with joy, "Ace, did you hear that? You're going to be saved! That's great! Just wait a little longer—I'll have her treat you right away."
Ace tightened his grip on Luffy's collar, gritting his teeth. "Who told you to decide for me? I don't need you to save me."
"What are you talking about, Ace?" Luffy said. "You're about to be saved."
"I told you—I don't need to be saved by you," Ace said, his trembling hand clinging tightly to Luffy.
"What's wrong, Ace? You—"
"Stop being so sentimental. I don't—"
Before he could finish, Kaguya struck his neck with a knife-hand chop, cleanly knocking him unconscious. The words stopped abruptly.
Luffy immediately panicked and shouted, "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Nothing. A doctor doesn't need the patient's permission," Kaguya said expressionlessly. "Besides, I have no interest in watching a 3:30 p.m. family melodrama."
What would follow was obvious: Ace wouldn't want Luffy to give up his dream just to save him; Luffy would insist on saving Ace even if it meant giving up his dream; Ace, for Luffy's sake, would refuse; and Luffy, even against Ace's will, would keep trying to save him. Ace would rather die than let Luffy make that sacrifice—and the two would argue endlessly. This melodramatic plot was so predictable it could be guessed with one's knees.
Kaguya extended her hand and placed it over Ace's chest. A gentle white light flowed from her palm, seeping into his body like running water.
As the energy continued to pour in, the gaping hole in Ace's chest began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few moments, it had already recovered more than halfway.
"Impossible—this is impossible!"
From a distance, the Whitebeard Pirates' doctor looked on in shock at the unbelievable scene.
He had examined Ace thoroughly before. Ace's body had suffered grave injuries in battle—not only was he covered in wounds with multiple fractures, but the most fatal damage was the magma that had pierced his chest. Under extreme heat, his internal organs had sustained severe burns.
If the damage had been to other parts of the body, perhaps it could be treated. But destruction of the internal organs usually meant certain death.
These injuries were far beyond his capabilities. Not only his— even a user of the Ope Ope no Mi might not have been able to save Ace.
It was truly unbelievable.
"You're aiding the enemy. I won't let you succeed!"
With a thunderous shout, a figure charged in like a cannonball. His muscular body suddenly expanded, transforming into a golden, blindingly radiant Buddha—the form of Sengoku the Buddha.
"Aiding the enemy?" Kaguya turned and glanced at him. "Old man, can you explain why I was made a wanted criminal?"
Sengoku paused, seemingly unsure how to respond. His momentum faltered.
Even he knew there was no justification. After all, Kaguya's contributions to both the Navy and the World Government were well known. The Navy's current strength owed a lot to her efforts.
Yet someone who had done so much for them had been branded a traitor and a criminal. No one in that position would take it lightly.
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding," Sengoku said solemnly. "But that's no reason to consort with pirates."
A flicker of mockery crossed Kaguya's eyes. She said, "If they sincerely apologized, I might consider accepting it. But even now, neither the Navy nor the World Government has offered any explanation. So, I'm afraid not."
"So you're saying you intend to become the Navy's enemy?" Sengoku said gravely. "In that case, I'll have to capture you first."
"Capture me?" Kaguya's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Let's see if you have what it takes."
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