Just as Ace's inner monologue faded, the world snapped back into motion.
Shamrock moved first.
With a violent burst of force, he shoved Ace backward, breaking the invisible stalemate between them. Ace skidded across shattered marble, boots carving lines into the frozen ground.
And before Ace could fully recover—
A familiar, lazy voice echoed through the battlefield.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Kizaru raised his hand.
Light condensed.
Then exploded outward.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of brilliant beams tore through the air, each one screaming with lethal intent as they rained down upon Ace like divine punishment.
Ace's expression sharpened.
He knew those attacks.
Each bullet carried enough destructive force to erase entire city blocks. Calling them weapons of mass destruction wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
"Tch."
Ace vanished.
The beams tore through the ground where he'd stood moments earlier, ripping open streets, vaporizing towers, turning sacred land into molten ruin. Ace reappeared midair, twisting his body as he shot straight toward Kizaru, fist already drawing back.
But—
"Cerberus."
Shamrock's voice cut through the chaos.
He thrust his sword forward.
The blade screamed.
From its edge, something crawled out of reality.
A massive three-headed beast erupted from the steel itself—fangs bared, eyes burning, each head snarling with its own murderous will. Its form was ethereal yet solid, bound to the sword by something ancient and obscene.
And then—
From each of the three heads, a spectral blade extended.
A sword born from a sword.
Ace's eyes widened—just a fraction.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
A mythical Zoan.
Someone had actually fused a Mythical Zoan into a sword.
Ace couldn't help it.
For half a second, disbelief slipped through the tension.
"So this is where all the luck went," he muttered.
"Kaido spent his whole damn life collecting mythical Zoans and couldn't even get more than two. And here they were using it for Item enchantment. "
The Cerberus roared.
The three blades came down at once.
United States of Smash
Ace met Shamrock's strike head-on.
His fist came forward, coated tightly in Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki roaring beneath it. The punch collided with the descending blades of Cerberus, and for a moment—everything stopped.
Then the impact exploded.
A shockwave tore outward, shattering frozen ground and sending debris flying across Marijoa. The pressure alone forced nearby ruins to collapse, and even Kizaru was pushed back a step.
Ace twisted in midair, already preparing to press the attack.
That was when another voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Mori Mori no Mi — Forest Creation. Vine-Draining."
The ground beneath Ace cracked open.
In an instant, massive trees burst forth, their trunks spiraling upward unnaturally fast. Thick vines followed, snapping through the air like whips, aiming straight for Ace's limbs and torso.
Ace recognized it immediately.
Aramaki's power.
Those vines weren't just meant to restrain him—they were meant to drain him. Once caught, they would pierce his body and suck out his strength, his stamina, even his life.
"Tch."
Ace didn't hesitate.
Conqueror's Haki erupted outward, crushing down like an invisible tide. He twisted his body and drove his fist straight into the ground.
Titan's Impact
The impact rippled outward.
The forest didn't just break—it was erased.
Within a hundred-meter radius, trees shattered, vines snapped, roots were ripped clean out of the earth. The land was left barren, cracked, and smoking.
And then—
A row of arrows cut through the air.
It moved at blinding speed, silent, precise, aimed directly at Ace's blind spot.
Ace felt it before he saw it.
His eyes narrowed.
Manmayer Gunko.
One of the four Holy Knights.
Devil fruit: Aro Aro no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit
Ace twisted through the air, dodging most of the arrows.
A few still found their mark—cutting into his shoulder and side—but he didn't slow. Compared to what was coming, that much damage barely registered.
A loud, mocking laugh rang out.
"Looks fun."
Shepherd Sommers appeared out of nowhere,
Thorny Hunt
Multiple thick briars rushed towards Ace as if to skewer him.
Crimson Lotus Hell
A bed of Thorns surrounded the ground around Ace as if to restrict his movement.
And then—
The air changed.
Rimoshifu Killingham stepped forward.
His body shifted, scales spreading across his skin as a horn curved from his head. Lightning flickered faintly around him as his form completed.
Dragon-Dragon Fruit Model: Kirin.
Ace didn't know how strong Killingham truly was.
But he knew enough.
This was the one who could force sleep onto others.
Not normal sleep—dreams and control dreams.
A dangerous ability in any fight.
"Tch… troublesome," Ace muttered.
There was no time to think further.
Six enemies.
No room to breathe.
Ace moved.
He vanished, reappearing between them, fists and legs striking in rapid succession. Each blow carried Armament and bursts of Conqueror's pressure, forcing distance, breaking formations, never letting them surround him fully.
This wasn't a duel anymore.
It was a collapse into chaos.
---
Three more minutes passed
" - 27 "
By now, Ace was already bleeding.
Not from one place—but many.
There were stab wounds across his body. Some from arrows, some from blades—he didn't even know which ones anymore. Thorned cuts from Sommers' Devil Fruit tore at his sides, while jagged wounds from Aramaki's wood still burned where they'd pierced him.
His breathing was heavier now.
But his eyes were steady.
The mission—at least part of it—was already a success.
So now—
Ace was just fighting.
Not to win cleanly.
Not to dominate.
Just to stay alive a little longer.
Just then Ace felt someone approaching.
But Ace couldn't look.
He couldn't afford to.
He was locked in too tightly—parrying two, sometimes three attacks at once, answering them with his own blows, never getting even a second to breathe. Every opening was immediately punished. Every mistake nearly fatal.
Then—
A voice cut through the chaos.
"Stop."
It wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
And yet—
Everything stopped.
Admirals froze mid-motion.
Holy Knights halted their attacks.
Even the air itself seemed to still.
Ace staggered back half a step, surprised, and finally allowed himself to look.
Six figures stood there.
He didn't need Observation Haki.
He didn't need introductions.
One glance was enough.
The Five Elders.
And beside them—
The current Chief Commander of the Holy Knights.
Ace's eyes narrowed slightly.
Confusion flickered across his face.
Why had they stopped the fight?
Why now?
But if they weren't attacking—
Ace wasn't complaining.
He straightened, blood dripping onto frozen marble, and said nothing.
He waited.
Saint Saturn stepped forward.
His presence alone made the frozen air feel heavier.
"Portgas D. Ace," he said calmly.
"Son of Gol D. Roger."
Every eye in Marijoa sharpened.
"I am willing to spare your life," Saturn continued, his tone measured, almost merciful,
"on one condition."
Ace didn't move.
"End this alteration of temperature," Saturn said. "Restore Marijoa to normal."
The moment the words landed, Ace understood.
That was the real reason the Five Elders had revealed themselves on a live broadcast.
Not mercy.
Fear.
The temperature had already fallen to minus twenty-seven degrees Celsius.
Ace could feel it himself—his breath fogging instantly, blood freezing at the edges of his wounds. He estimated he could hold on for another ten minutes at most.
But by then—
The temperature wouldn't just be dangerous.
It would be catastrophic.
This wasn't limited to the battlefield anymore.
Ace could sense it clearly.
A three-kilometer radius around him had become the epicenter, the cold plunging rapidly, violently. Beyond that, the temperature rose in layers—minus ten, minus five—spreading outward like a slow, inevitable death.
Marijoa wasn't built for this.
They didn't want the Holy Land destroyed.
They knew that altering temperature on this scale took time.
They knew Ace hadn't even reached the true limit yet.
And perhaps—
They wanted him to stop now…
So they could kill him later, safely.
Ace looked at all five of them.
He pretended to think.
A few seconds passed.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Fine," Ace said. "I'll accept your condition."
A ripple of relief—barely noticeable—passed through the Elders.
"But," Ace continued, his voice sharpening,
"I have one condition too."
The air tightened again.
"You will not attack the Whitebeard Pirates."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the Admirals didn't breathe.
The Five Elders exchanged glances—not words, not signals, just understanding.
Then—
"Accepted," Saturn said.
Ace nodded once.
"Good."
He raised his hand and pointed lazily toward the battlefield.
"Then move them," Ace said. "All of them. Get them to a safe distance."
Only then will I stop.
The temperature won't normalize instantly."
Saint Nusjuro stepped forward, fury finally cracking his composure.
"You insolent brat," he snapped.
"Don't mistake our patience for weakness. If you wish to die, say the word—three minutes is more than enough."
Ace didn't even look at him.
"Then leave two here," Ace replied casually.
"Take the rest away. That's more than enough."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Then—
Saint Mercury nodded.
He lifted his cane and pointed.
"Aramaki, Killingham,Sommers and Gunko—withdraw."
Shamrock and Kizaru didn't move.
Manmayer Gunko, Shepherd Sommers, and Rimoshifu Killingham all retreated, stepping back toward the Five Elders, taking position behind them.
The battlefield cleared.
Frozen ruins. Broken ground. Blood-stained marble.
Ace stood alone again—wounded, bleeding, exhausted—
---
Across the world—
Chaos erupted.
News screens blazed to life in every kingdom, every sea, every hidden corner where eyes still dared to watch the World Government. The image was the same everywhere: the Five Elders themselves, revealed to the world… and the conditions they had spoken.
Withdraw.
Do not attack.
Negotiate with a single pirate.
No one had expected this.
Not in a thousand years had anyone imagined a lone pirate forcing the World Government to bend its knee—even if only for a moment. Even the most hardened veterans of the sea stared in disbelief.
Some laughed in triumph.
Others felt only dread.
Intelligent minds across the world noticed it immediately.
Something was happening at the Holy Land—something the World Government could not allow to continue. And so they placed conditions, forcing a pause before catastrophe.
Whether they would honor those conditions afterward…
That was another matter entirely.
No one with sense trusted the World Government—not even for a second.
---
On Sphinx Island—
The Whitebeard Pirates watched in silence.
Some cheered.
They drank, laughed, slammed their fists together in raw relief—celebrating the fact that the World Government had declared it would not attack them. Celebrating that Ace was still alive.
But others remained quiet.
Veterans, Commanders, men who had lived through betrayal before.
They knew this wasn't an ending.
This was a comma.
Ace had pushed the world government into a corner—but corners made beasts dangerous.
Whitebeard himself said nothing.
His grip tightened on his weapon.
---
Far away, aboard the Thousand Sunny—
At first, the air was heavy.
No one spoke as the broadcast continued, the frozen battlefield reflecting in the wide screen.
Then the words came.
Ace can leave.
No immediate attack.
Luffy finally exhaled.
His shoulders loosened, fists unclenching for the first time in what felt like hours. Even he could tell—Ace had been getting pushed back. The arrival of the Five Elders had changed everything.
Just seeing them…
Luffy could feel it.
Those people weren't on the same level as him.
They weren't even on the same staircase.
If the fight had continued, Ace wouldn't have lasted long.
For a moment, relief washed over the deck.
But then—
Robin spoke.
Her voice was quiet.
"Luffy," she said, eyes never leaving the screen,
"today won't end peacefully."
Luffy stiffened.
A bad feeling crawled up his spine.
"…Why?" he asked.
Robin didn't answer immediately.
She watched the frozen ruins of Marijoa, the unmoving figures of the Five Elders, the lone, bleeding pirate standing before them.
Finally, she spoke.
"Because," she said softly,
"the World Government can't be trusted."
Luffy swallowed.
His eyes locked onto the screen.
---