Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven: Rescuing Ace

History repeats itself.

Buggy was thrown like a decoy weapon right before Eustass Kid, sliced clean through, interrupting his action.

“Hm?”

Strange fruit ability.

A sharp sword qi came from beside, unlike the previous weaklings.

“Fifth Division Captain, Flower Sword.”

Interrupted in his rhythm by two outsiders, Eustass Kid had no choice but to deal with the one before him.

“Go save your brother, Straw Hat,” Flower Sword said, standing before Eustass Kid.

“Thanks, you’ve been a huge help.”

Eustass Kid, no longer interested, turned his gaze to Flower Sword—he was at least a decent swordsman. Fine.

Scissors Hand now appeared beside Luffy:

“Let me clear a path to the execution platform for you.”

Activating the Scissors Fruit ability, giant scissors cut the hard ground into long strips and hurled them onto the platform, forming a bridge.

“Luffy~.” Boa Hancock blocked Luffy’s path.

Of course, not to stop him.

“Hancock! I was just looking for you!” Luffy ran over happily: “Give me the key.”

Hearing this, Hancock’s heart bloomed, lost in a symphony of love.

‘Is this what spouses call heart-to-heart connection?! Ah~ Luffy.’

Slowly opening her palm, she pulled out a key and handed it to him.

“Thanks, Hancock!” Luffy leapt onto Hancock and hugged her.

World Government Seven Warlord Boa Hancock defeated.

“Karp, this is all your fault for failing to discipline them!”

Admiral Sengoku glared at Karp, who wore a beaming smile: “Are you even listening to me, you bastard?!”

“Hahaha, my grandson is amazing!”

#

“Karp!”

“I understand.” Karp’s smile vanished, replaced by solemnity: “Then let me, personally, take responsibility.”

“Grandpa...” Ace looked down, tears falling.

“Both of you are absolute idiots.”

Karp stood up and looked toward Luffy running toward him.

I am a qualified naval officer.

“But as a grandfather, I have failed.”

Karp recalled his past in the East Blue, over a decade ago.

Back then, those two brats were still shouting they wanted to become pirates.

After being scolded, they pulled his beard in defiance.

“My teaching.”

“Where did I go wrong?”

Now that he thought about it, Luffy had been the first to say he wanted to become a Marine like his grandfather.

Damn Red-Haired!

If not for that bastard—forget it, thinking about it now changes nothing.

“Luffy!”

As Luffy drew near, Karp roared: “Why can’t you two listen to me?!”

Just become Marines like good boys.

“Get out of my way, Grandpa!!!”

“I’m a Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters!”

As they spoke, the distance between them shrank until they stood close.

“This is the path you two chose for yourselves!”

Don’t hate me!

But at the moment of contact, Karp remembered those past days—and his invincible iron fist could not strike down.

“Karp.”

Sengoku’s pupils shrank, his heart tightening.

‘You bastard won’t...’

Sure enough, Karp landed on the ground, cratering it.

Though shocked, the surrounding Marines understood—among those in the know, the bond between Straw Hat and Karp was no secret.

Put themselves in Karp’s place, they’d find it equally impossible to choose.

“Grandpa!” Ace bowed his head, tears streaming.

Because of his recklessness, his family suffered—he didn’t regret becoming a pirate, only hated how powerless he was.

Sengoku’s beard stood on end from rage.

As an old comrade, Sengoku knew perfectly well—Karp was faking this fight!

“Ace—!” Luffy cried out, thrilled.

He ran to Ace’s side and inserted the key into the lock.

Sengoku frowned, deeply frustrated.

Then, his fruit ability activated.

Behind him, Sengoku transformed into a colossal Buddha form, his expression furious:

“Do you think you can escape my grasp?!”

“It’s Sengoku! The Admiral has acted!”

Sabaody Archipelago

The gossip reporters erupted in cheers again.

Pirates drinking and eating meat on Sabaody Archipelago watched the broadcast, tense.

That was a figure from Karp’s own era!

Marine Admiral—Sengoku.

Luffy, nervous, fumbled with the key, unable to align it.

“Who’d have thought there’d be a key? Straw Hat,” Kizaru, newly arrived, decided he ought to do something useful.

His fingers glowed.

A laser, just like the one in the previous War, shot toward the key in Luffy’s hand.

But this time—

“Hm?”

Another beam, arriving from afar, interrupted Kizaru’s attack.

“Su Lin!” Luffy shouted in delight.

Countless light dots appeared before him, coalescing into a human figure.

It was Su Lin.

“Third Brother, wake up,” Su Lin kicked the man lying at his feet, dressed as a Marine execution soldier—Mr.3.

“Oh right, Mr.3 was here too!” Luffy suddenly remembered—during the last rescue, it was Mr.3 who had forged the key at the critical moment to save Ace.

Watching this, Sengoku finally brought his fist down.

“You handle the lock, Mr.3!” Luffy tossed the key to Mr.3.

Mr.3, barely awake, was immediately given a vital task.

“Gear Fourth!”

Luffy transformed into a giant, his body covered in Haki, his massive fist wrapped in Conqueror’s Haki, resembling a colossal iron fist.

“Rubber...”

“Gorilla Rocket Fist!”

The golden fist clashed with the iron-black fist.

Waves of air and shockwaves surged—but their fists never touched.

As an Admiral,

He naturally wielded Haki.

Haki and ability-powered forces collided and entwined.

The resulting shockwaves overturned nearby soldiers and cannons.

The execution platform cracked apart.

Kizaru watched Su Lin, firing several more laser beams—each one blocked by the same technique.

“That guy... his ability’s the same as Kizaru’s?!” the surrounding Marines cried out.

“Hohoho~.” Kizaru turned into light, appearing midair, kicking toward Su Lin.

Su Lin transformed into a beam of light and launched a counterattack, the two beams entwining as they departed the collapsing execution platform.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” Admiral Zhan Guo shouted.

“Straw Hat Kid!”

“It’s not over yet!” Luffy roared, determined to intercept this Marine legend’s attack.

Below the platform, the Marine artillery squad had assembled.

“Aim at the execution platform—fire.”

“Ace is just a normal man now—attack!”

The Sea-Prism Stone manacles have not been removed—this is the Marines’ opportunity.

Shhh—!

Amid the sound of cannon fire, the execution platform shattered and collapsed.

After the shells screamed past, a thunderous boom followed.

In an instant.

A tornado of flames surged into the sky, before the eyes of everyone present!

“Ace!”

At Luffy’s cry, Ace, gripping Mr.3 by the collar, used a barrier of flame to shield against the explosion.

“You’re such a disobedient brother, Luffy!” Ace laughed.

“Ace—!”

Beyond the Marines, the entire crowd erupted in cheers; Whitebeard’s golden-amber eyes gleamed as he smiled with joy.