To the man in front of them—the Sun God Nika, the future Pirate King—nothing carried more weight than those two words: Ace.
Beside him, Zoro's hand had already unconsciously left the hilt of his sword.
He looked at Luffy, who seemed like he might shatter at any moment, and his eyes were filled with an unprecedented mix of worry and heartache.
As his first crewmate, Zoro knew better than anyone what that name meant to his captain.
It was an absolute taboo.
A wound so raw, no one could even touch it.
On the other side, Marco's entire body trembled.
He stared at Luffy, fists clenched so tightly they had turned white.
'The future Luffy...'
'So this is what he's become…'
'Just hearing Ace's name brings him this much pain…'
'Then doesn't that mean…'
'In their timeline… Ace… really…'
A terrifying thought that Marco couldn't accept began to surge uncontrollably in his mind.
'No!'
'No way!'
Marco's breathing turned erratic.
He had to stop this.
He had to—no matter what!
"You said… what?"
"That you can… save…"
"Ace?"
Luffy slowly raised his head—inch by inch.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He stared at Lucian, not like he was looking at a man, but like a drowning soul grasping desperately for one final strand of hope.
His voice trembled violently with emotion.
"You just said…"
"That you can… save… Ace?"
Each word seemed to cost him all his strength, squeezed through clenched teeth.
Hope.
A hope so far-fetched it bordered on delusion—
Yet right now, it was the only light in his dark world.
"Yes."
One word.
Just one.
Yet it was like a beam of light piercing through the endless darkness shrouded in regret and pain within Luffy's heart.
Boom—!!
That nod struck like divine thunder, detonating in the dead silence of his inner world.
Those eyes—once filled with nothing but despair and agony—suddenly erupted with a brilliance more dazzling than ever before.
Like a sun bursting forth in the dead of night!
"Really…?"
Luffy's voice still trembled.
But this time, it wasn't from sorrow—but from pure, uncontrollable joy and disbelief.
"Can we really do it?!"
Lucian's lips finally curved into a faint smile.
He knew—it was done.
"Of course."
His voice was calm, yet carried unmistakable strength.
"As long as you say yes…"
"We can go back in time—back to the battlefield at Marineford—and rescue him before the eyes of the entire world!"
"I…"
Luffy opened his mouth to speak.
But the tears—he couldn't hold them back anymore.
They burst from his eyes like a dam breaking.
He cried.
This man—who would one day defeat Kaido, who had shaken the very foundations of the World Government—
The future Pirate King—
Cried like a child.
And he didn't wipe them away.
He let those burning tears streak freely down his cheeks.
Because they were tears of joy.
Tears of hope.
The next moment—
He suddenly raised his hand and wiped his face with the back of his arm in one fierce motion!
That fragile expression vanished without a trace.
In its place was a determination and madness that could burn the whole world to ash!
"I'll go!"
"Of course I'll go!"
Luffy's voice rang out with unrestrained excitement and absolute resolve, echoing across the ruins.
"If there's really a chance to save Ace…"
He paused suddenly, the flames in his eyes flashing with deep, searing pain and guilt.
A hatred—directed at the weak version of himself from back then.
"I'll do anything!"
"Because back then—"
Luffy threw his head back and let out a roar of anguish that split the skies!
"I was too weak!!!"
That shout contained all the regret, the pain, and the desperate hunger for strength he had carried for two years.
When it ended—
Luffy lowered his head and locked eyes with Lucian.
He extended his hand, and with a tone that brooked no refusal, declared the vow of the Sun God.
"Take me there!"
"No matter the cost!"
BOOM!!!
A force beyond words erupted from Luffy like a storm.
It wasn't Conqueror's Haki—it was something higher.
A will born from the very depths of his soul.
It was the vow of the Luffy standing here now.
Under the pressure of that will, both Zoro and Marco were forced to take a step back, their faces full of shock.
As they looked at the man who now seemed ablaze with divine fire, one thought crossed their minds at the same time:
'Yonko? Pirate King?'
'Compared to saving Ace, none of that matters!'
For this goal, this man—
Would face the entire world without hesitation.