"Ah…"
The brief silence of the battlefield was suddenly shattered by a group of unexpected "guests." From the skies above, a Marine battleship came crashing down, herding a mass of people as it plummeted swiftly toward the ground.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the battleship slammed hard into the gap on the bayfront, sending water and spray surging everywhere.
"What just happened? Did a battleship fall from the sky just now?!"
On the Sabaody Archipelago, reporters watching the live broadcast stared at the screens in shock. "None had anticipated that, even with the war locked in stalemate, unexpected intruders would still break onto the scene."
From the gap that Diamond Joz had smashed open earlier, countless pirates began climbing from the shattered wreck of the ship toward the shore under everyone's astonished gaze.
Bathed in the warm sunlight on the deck, Luffy, drenched in seawater, slowly regained consciousness. His blurred eyes sharpened as roaring cannon fire and clashing blades rang in his ears. His mind stirred awake.
"Ace!"
Once fully conscious, Luffy scrambled across the ruined battleship, desperately searching for Ace's figure. "At last, when he reached the warship's bow, slanted into the sea, he spotted Ace—hemmed in by both Garp and Sengoku."
"Ace… I finally found you!"
Luffy's thunderous shout resounded across the battlefield, drawing every eye to his presence.
"Luffy!"
"Ace's face tensed with worry as he looked at his younger brother, but from such a distance, Luffy remained oblivious."
"Luffy
During his fierce clash with Akainu, Jiang Lin glanced toward the deck nearby. His face flickered with an unreadable expression.
"Oi! Those people… could it be… Crocodile?!"
"And not just him! Who the hell are all those others?!"
Marines gaped as one figure after another appeared at Luffy's side. Their faces were filled with disbelief.
Ivankov, Buggy, Jinbe, Crocodile, and a host of escapees from Impel Down—their arrival was nothing less than a massive boost to the Whitebeard Pirates' strength.
"Garp! More of that damned family of yours!"
Sengoku's face grew darker as more and more figures gathered around Luffy. Finally, he snapped, turning on Garp with an angry roar.
"Luffy!"
Rebuked by Sengoku, Garp clutched his head in both hands, his expression filled with pain. His heart was even more conflicted than Sengoku's.
"So that's him… Hero Garp's grandson, and the son of the Revolutionary Dragon? That brat must be eliminated as well!"
Akainu's eyes blazed with murderous intent as he stole a glance at Luffy in the middle of battle.
"Of course, my priority is still you… D!"
He shifted his gaze back to Jiang Lin, his killing intent surging.
"Twelve minutes have already passed… nineteen remain. Without awakening a new ability, there's no way to kill or even escape Akainu. I need the system to grant me a good fruit awakening. Now then… whose Devil Fruit powers haven't I collected yet…?"
Jiang Lin's eyes swept across the battlefield as he thought. "From his earlier battles, he had already managed to replicate Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit and Bartholomew Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit."At this point, there weren't many fruits left worth copying.
The truly valuable ones were either wielded by people too far away… or completely out of reach.
Realistically, the only options for Jiang Lin were Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit—or the Mythical Zoan, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha, possessed by Sengoku, who stood beside Ace.
"Akainu, come with me to the execution platform for a little game."
With that, Jiang Lin shot forward, riding an ice path at near-light speed straight toward the execution platform.
"Ice-Ice Fruit (amplified by the Glint-Glint Fruit) loaded. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
As the yellow lightning-crackling ice bore him toward the platform, Akainu, behind him, narrowed his eyes. But instead of giving chase, he fixed his murderous stare on the newly arrived Luffy and the others.
"Since you've left your opponent's range, the Devil Fruit Awakening mission has been temporarily suspended. Current elapsed time: twelve minutes. Once the host reengages an Admiral-level opponent, the mission timer will resume."
Because Akainu had chosen not to pursue, Jiang Lin's awakening mission was put on hold.
Clearly, this was not a mission that could be completed by stalling or "slacking off" like the replication tasks.
"No matter. As long as they keep fighting, I'll get enough time to finish this!"
Closing the system interface, Jiang Lin refocused. Before him, Garp and Sengoku were embroiled in a heated argument—Luffy's appearance had clearly driven a wedge between them.
"You two keep arguing. Ace! I need your help!"
Ignoring them, Jiang Lin reached toward Ace. At his fingertip, a needle of ice gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
"D!"
Spotting Jiang Lin's approach, Sengoku immediately abandoned his quarrel with Garp and turned, eyes sharp.
"D! You're not taking Ace!"
Garp's face twisted with pain, but in the end, he too moved to strike.
Whssshhh!
The air screamed as Garp rose with a clenched fist, slamming a devastating punch toward Jiang Lin. The searing cold radiating from him drew a satisfied nod from Sengoku.
This, in Sengoku's mind, was the only correct choice. After all, justice and evil could never coexist.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Faced with Garp's blow, Jiang Lin immediately activated another Devil Fruit card. His body split into several fragments, slipping past the attack. His right hand then shot forward like a rocket straight toward Ace.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Sengoku unleashed a shockwave of invisible Haki, blasting toward Jiang Lin.
"Don't even try to stop me!"
Jiang Lin roared, ignoring the attack as his hand pressed onward. At last, after overcoming countless obstacles, his fingers reached Ace's forehead.
Thwack!
A sharp flick rang out as his knuckle snapped against Ace's head. Satisfied, Jiang Lin drew his hand back.
"You've attacked Portgas D. Ace, wielder of the Flame-Flame Fruit. The system replication process has begun. Please endure for one minute."
As the system prompt echoed, Garp and Sengoku turned on Jiang Lin, their eyes filled with killing intent.