"What?! Luffy!!!"
"How did Luffy end up like this?!"
"Oi! Luffy, wake up already! How can you fall asleep at a time like this?!"
"Luffy! Get up! There are enemies everywhere!"
Shocked voices erupted throughout Makino's bar in Windmill Village, East Blue.
The moment Luffy collapsed on Brown Square had already spread across the world through the broadcast Den Den Mushi.
Even though it was already deep into the night in East Blue, Makino's bar remained packed.
Nobody wanted to miss the war in Crusimia.
But after seeing Luffy suddenly collapse, the atmosphere inside the bar became heavy.
A huge bearded man wearing a pink dress forced out a laugh.
"Hey, Luffy's probably just sleeping, right? That brat always falls asleep anywhere."
He turned toward the others beside him.
"Right?"
The villagers exchanged uneasy looks.
"It... should be..." a tall, skinny man answered uncertainly.
The bearded man scratched his head before looking toward Makino behind the counter.
"Makino, can't that bad habit of his be fixed already?"
Makino did not answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"Luffy..."
She did not want to believe something had happened.
But Ace's panic, Sabo's reaction, and the expressions on the battlefield made it obvious.
Something was terribly wrong.
She silently clasped her hands together and prayed for Luffy's safety.
Nearby, the village chief stared at the screen with a dark expression.
He had lost his wife early in life and later lost his son as well.
The children of Windmill Village had long become the grandchildren he never truly had.
And Luffy was one of the children he cherished the most.
Seeing Luffy collapse filled him with anger and helplessness.
But he was only an old man.
There was nothing he could do except hope Garp would not lose control like he had during the Marineford War.
...
Far above the New World, inside Peach Garden.
"Let me go! I'm going to save Luffy!"
A young woman with short orange hair tied into round buns struggled angrily against several guards.
A mechanical flying ship hovered beneath her feet.
The guards looked exhausted.
"Miss Margaret, please stop making things difficult for us."
Margaret glared at them furiously.
"Didn't you see the broadcast?! Luffy collapsed!"
She immediately restarted the ship's engine, trying to force her way out.
But one of the guards tightly held the controls in place.
"Miss Margaret, Mister Luffy gave direct orders. You are not allowed to leave."
Margaret's eyes reddened.
"Why?!"
"Luffy is my man! Why can't I go to him?!"
In her emotional state, she shouted without caring who heard her.
Back when the Whitebeard Pirates were preparing to head toward Crusimia, Margaret had insisted on following Luffy.
But Luffy refused.
He understood how brutal a war of this scale would become.
He did not want Margaret anywhere near that battlefield.
Still, Margaret stubbornly refused to back down.
In the end, Luffy had kissed her deeply and promised he would return safely.
Only then did she reluctantly stay behind.
But now...
Luffy had collapsed in front of the entire world.
When Margaret tried leaving Peach Garden earlier, every port had already been sealed.
This was the only port where she finally saw a ship preparing to depart.
Yet she was stopped again.
Only now did she understand.
Luffy had specifically ordered them not to let her leave.
One of the guards sighed helplessly.
"Miss Margaret... Mister Luffy only wants to protect you."
Margaret bit her lip hard.
"I know..."
Tears slowly streamed down her cheeks.
"I know Luffy doesn't want me hurt... but how am I supposed to stay here after seeing him like that?"
Her voice trembled.
"When he needs me most, I can't even stand beside him..."
In the end, she crouched down on the deck and cried.
The guards looked at each other awkwardly.
None of them knew how to comfort her properly.
One finally spoke up.
"Miss Margaret, you have to trust Mister Luffy."
"He'll definitely survive this."
Another guard quickly nodded.
"That's right. His Majesty also went to Crusimia. Everything will be alright."
Margaret slowly calmed down.
She knew they were right.
If even Luffy had fallen, then whatever enemy he faced was beyond terrifying.
Even if she reached the battlefield, she would probably only distract him.
She slowly stood up and clasped her hands together tightly.
"Luffy... please wake up."
"I'll wait for you on Amazon Lily."
"And if something really happens to you..."
Her voice grew quieter.
"Then I'll follow you."
The guards watched her departing figure with complicated expressions.
One guard lowered his voice.
"Naludo... are we really doing the right thing?"
Naludo sighed.
"We're only following orders."
...
Crusimia, Brown Square.
Purple-black flames suddenly erupted from the battlefield.
A figure slowly emerged from within the flames and stood directly in front of Shanks.
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in shock.
"What the hell is that?!"
"That thing looks insane!"
The creature possessed two heads.
One was a lion's head.
The other was a goat's head.
It had the body of a goat, a massive snake tail, and purple flame clouds wrapped around its body.
Shanks narrowed his eyes slightly.
"An Awakened Mythical Zoan... Chimera."
The lion head slowly opened its mouth and spoke with a human voice.
"Heh, I didn't expect someone here to recognize this form."
Shanks glanced toward the execution platform.
Originally, six figures had stood there.
Three Admirals.
Three Holy Knights.
But now one of the white-clothed figures was gone.
Clearly, the creature before him was one of them.
And the aura radiating from its body was no weaker than an Admiral's.
Possibly even stronger.
One of the World Government's openly deployed Holy Knights.
Carterpoa.
Shanks rested Gryphon on his shoulder.
"So you're trying to stop me?"
The moment those words fell, his Haoshoku Haki intensified again.
The pressure covering Brown Square became even heavier.
Yet Carterpoa showed no fear whatsoever.
Instead, excitement appeared in his eyes.
"Hahaha!"
"Good."
"I hope you can actually pressure me."
Suddenly, the goat head opened its mouth.
Boom!
A massive blue laser shot directly toward Shanks.
But Shanks vanished instantly.
The laser slammed into the area where he had been standing moments earlier.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying explosion erupted across the battlefield.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Shockwaves spread violently in every direction.
Marines and Cipher Pol agents closest to the blast were blown away like ragdolls.
Then...
A voice echoed from within the smoke.
"Divine Departure."
A massive crimson slash exploded outward.
The sword attack carried overwhelming Haoshoku Haki, splitting apart the battlefield itself as it tore toward Carterpoa.
The Chimera Knight immediately coated his body with Armament Haki and met the attack head-on.
BOOM!!!
The slash struck directly against his body.
An enormous explosion erupted.
Carterpoa was blasted backward hundreds of meters before finally crashing into the ground.
The battlefield trembled violently.
Then...
"Hahahaha!"
Carterpoa slowly stood back up while laughing loudly.
"What a terrifying attack!"
Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, Shanks had injured him.
But the fact he remained standing shocked everyone watching.
Shanks frowned slightly.
This was the first time someone had taken Divine Departure directly and survived.
Even the Red Hair Pirates looked stunned.
Lucky Roux's eyes widened.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Yasopp clicked his tongue.
"That bastard actually blocked the captain's sword attack with his body."
Benn Beckman calmly exhaled smoke from his cigarette.
"It looks like this war is finally becoming interesting."
He stepped forward slowly.
"Let's move."
"I want to see what other cards the World Government has hidden."
Yasopp and the others grinned before following behind him.
After taking several steps, Beckman suddenly shouted toward another battlefield.
"Oi! Red Nose!"
"What are you standing around for?!"
Buggy, who had been posing dramatically in front of his crew, instantly exploded.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING RED NOSE, BENN BECKMAN?!"
The pirates behind him immediately became emotional.
"As expected of Captain Buggy!"
"He's actually yelling at Benn Beckman!"
"Captain Buggy is incredible!"
"We'll follow Captain Buggy forever!"
"Long live Captain Buggy!"
"Our captain alone can wipe out the Marines!"
"The Marines aren't even worth one finger from Captain Buggy!"
Buggy nearly coughed blood from frustration.
"Shut up, idiots!"
But the more he yelled, the more excited his crew became.
Meanwhile, countless Marines and agents began staring toward Buggy's direction.
"So Yonko Buggy came here too..."
"Another Emperor-level threat..."
Buggy's face immediately turned pale.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead while his legs trembled uncontrollably.
"H-Hey... you guys are joking, right...?"
But his crew misunderstood his fear completely.
"Look! Captain Buggy is trembling from excitement!"
"A legendary pirate really is different!"
"Sugoi!"
Buggy almost cried.
But seeing the worshipful expressions of his crew, he could only force himself to wave dramatically.
"My little ones!"
"Go destroy the Marines for me!"
Even though his voice shook violently, his crew became even more excited.
"OHHHHHH!!!"
At that exact moment, another ship slowly approached the shores of Brown Square.
Several elderly figures stood aboard the vessel.
"Hahaha! What a huge battle."
"I didn't think old men like us would still have a chance to join something this crazy."
"Let's contribute whatever strength we still have left."