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Sengoku frowned as he watched the pirates press forward. "Unbelievable… can one brat really stir the soldiers up this much?"
"Luffy!!" Garp muttered, worry etched on his face.
Still, Sengoku barked his orders: "Do not falter! Stick to the plan and press the attack!"
Whitebeard's grin spread wide. "Heh. So that bastard Sengoku's already abandoning the execution schedule, huh?"
Marco, flames of blue fire on his wings, landed at Whitebeard's side. "Pops, word is they've moved up Ace's execution time."
Whitebeard chuckled darkly. "Don't panic. Sengoku's not the type to 'make mistakes.' That bastard planned this."
Suddenly, a blinding beam of gold light slammed into the battlefield. BOOM! Pirates were blasted off their feet.
"Yata no Kagami!!"
The dazzling light twisted, and a tall figure emerged, radiating terror.
"You've gotten ahead of yourselves," the man said. "You're not breaking through here."
"The Admiral… Kizaru!"
Luffy charged toward him head-on.
Kizaru peered at him, voice mock-lazy. "If we don't capture you, the Celestial Dragons will keep pestering us nonstop, Straw Hat Luffy."
His entire body glowed brighter and brighter, golden light searing the battlefield. He raised one shining foot, and the earth itself seemed to tremble.
Luffy stared up—the sky itself blazed with gold. His heart pounded.
"He'll be killed!" Marines shouted.
But then—
Ivankov hurled himself into the fray. "Death Wink!!"
The blast sent Luffy flying clear just as Kizaru's attack detonated. The golden explosion rocked the entire plaza, sending shockwaves rolling like a hurricane.
"Straw Boy, are you alright?!" Ivankov called.
"Yeah—thanks, Iva! That was close!"
But another golden beam flashed into existence, flooding the plaza with light.
Ivankov's face drained. "Again? Kizaru?! No… this is something else—!"
"Kuma!!!"
In the blink of an eye, Bartholomew Kuma of the Seven Warlords appeared, his mouth glowing with blinding golden light that painted the sky in shimmering gold.
A terrifying beam of energy shot straight toward Ivankov.
"Rolling Beauty!!!"
Ivankov spun his whole body like a top, barely slipping past one golden blast after another.
Explosions thundered across the battlefield without pause.
"Kuma, that's way too much! Sure, you've got the title of Warlord, but how can you shoot deadly lasers at an old friend like me?!"
He didn't even finish his complaint before another beam scorched past, erupting behind him in a deafening blast.
"Iva!"
"Don't worry about me! Leave this to me and get moving!"
Luffy clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "Got it!"
But the Marines swarmed him mercilessly, blocking his every step. Activating Gear Second, Luffy's body blurred as he tore across the battlefield, pushing toward Ace with all his speed.
From the shadows, Gecko Moria cackled wildly. "Straw Hat Luffy! Still as fiery as ever!"
"Rise, my zombie soldiers!"
One after another, corpses clawed their way out of the ground.
"Go! Rip Straw Hat to pieces!"
Luffy scowled at the wave of undead rushing toward him. "Moria, huh? Just what I needed—another pain in the ass!"
In the World of One Piece
"Why isn't Luffy looking for us?" Usopp and Sanji scoured the battlefield for their missing crewmates.
"Don't tell me we never even made it to the war… That's impossible! There's no way the Straw Hats would let the captain charge into danger alone!" Sanji's face twisted with disbelief.
"Luffy!!!"
Meanwhile, Luffy himself was just as confused, fighting through the chaos.
High above, the Whitebeard Pirates watched with interest.
"This kid's got guts. He's something else," one of them chuckled.
"Not bad at all, for Ace's little brother," Marco grinned.
Ace couldn't help but laugh softly. "That's Luffy for you. He hasn't changed a bit—and he never will."
Their laughter echoed across the deck.
In the World of Dragon Ball
Goku watched the battle with an eager smile. "Man, the fighters in this world are fascinating. Their abilities are totally different from anything I've seen before. Pretty fun!"
Frieza, however, sneered. "Hmph. Pathetic weaklings like these get a spot on the rankings, and yet I, the great Emperor, don't? Outrageous!"
On King Kai's planet, the old deity laughed heartily as he stared at the broadcast. "So the world really is this vast… These otherworldly powers are quite something!"
Meanwhile, Beerus finished off a tray of sweets with a yawn. "Tch. This so-called ranking's been around for ages, and still not a single fighter worth my time. Wake me up if someone interesting shows up."
In the World of Bleach
Aizen smiled faintly at the screen. "So this other world's powers bear similarities to ours… That Admiral Aokiji's abilities remind me of Hitsugaya's. Still, compared to my Espada…"
At Karakura High, Ichigo slumped on his desk. "This stupid ranking's been going on forever. What's next, are Hollows gonna show up too?"
Back on the battlefield, Luffy was dodging strike after strike from the zombies, but their strength was no joke. His body was already covered in wounds, and more zombies just kept crawling out of the ground.
"That's right—this is war!" Moria gloated. "Every corpse is another soldier for me!"
And the Marines weren't letting up either. Waves of officers charged him, blades flashing.
Luffy fought with everything he had, blood running down his arms, his skin cut open in countless places—but he refused to stop.
Ace's eyes went wide. "Don't come any closer, Luffy! You should know this—we're pirates. We're meant to live free out on the seas!"
"I have my own adventures!"
"I have my own crew!"
"You've got no right to butt into my business!"
"For someone as reckless as you to come here to save me—do you think I'd ever allow that?!"
"There's nothing more shameful than this!"
"Go back, Luffy! Why are you even here?!" Ace's voice broke into a desperate roar.
"Please, Luffy… I don't want to drag you down with me!"
Luffy's face twisted, fierce and unyielding.
"I'm your brother!!!"
Tears welled in Ace's eyes. In his mind, a memory surfaced—two young boys clinking cups of sake together.
"Luffy, once we drink this, we're brothers for life!"
Their small hands clutched their cups, their voices echoing together:
"From now on, we're brothers!"
That innocent promise overlapped with the image of Luffy bleeding and battered before him, and Ace's heart ached unbearably.
"He really said it… He's my brother. Then that means he's also Roger's…"
But Luffy only roared back through the chaos: "Pirate rules? Like I care!"
"Even if it kills me—I'll save you!!!"
"Why don't you get it?!"
Suddenly, a massive surge of seawater roared onto the battlefield, crashing into the zombies. The moment the saltwater touched them, their souls burst free and their bodies collapsed into lifeless heaps.
"The former Warlord of the Sea—'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe!!!"
Jinbe leapt into the fray. "Moria! Zombies can't stand saltwater, can they? Leave them to me, Luffy—go!"
Luffy gave a firm nod. "I'm counting on you!"
Meanwhile, Sengoku barked into his transponder snail. "What are you all doing? Don't let this one brat disrupt the entire war!"
"That boy is Ace's sworn brother—Dragon's son, the son of the world's most dangerous criminal. He must die here!"
At his command, the Marines surged with renewed fury.
"Dragon's son? The founder of the Revolutionary Army?! Then he dies today!!!"
"..."
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