Although this was the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, it was only the outer perimeter.
And having just liberated a nation, they had gained quite a few new faces.
So Luffy's unfamiliar presence didn't seem particularly out of place.
He shook his dizzy head and crawled out from a pile of rubble.
"I'm not dead?!" He patted himself down.
After confirming it was indeed his own body, he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Where the heck is this?" he scratched his head in confusion, about to grab someone at random to ask.
Just then—
The conversation of several Revolutionary Army soldiers tidying up nearby drifted into his ears.
"Have you heard? The Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace, has been captured by the Marines!"
"Not just captured—he's going to be publicly executed at Marineford!"
"Tsk tsk, troubled times indeed."
"But it's none of our business. Perfect chance to liberate a few more countries."
"Exactly. Marine Headquarters must be swamped. They won't have time to deal with us."
Boom—!!!
Those words struck Luffy's mind like a bolt from the blue!
He froze instantly, eyes wide, mouth agape, all thought gone.
"Ace… public execution…" he muttered.
His body began trembling uncontrollably.
He had just seen his brother in Alabasta not long ago—had even knocked that giant lizard flying together with him.
And now Ace had fallen into Marine hands.
And was going to be publicly executed!
In an instant, his urgent desire to search for his scattered crewmates was completely suppressed.
It wasn't that Luffy wasn't worried about them.
But since they'd all been sent flying by Kuma—and he himself was still alive—then Zoro and the others must be alive too.
But Ace was different…
Ace was about to die!
"ACE!!!"
Luffy roared and recklessly charged at the Revolutionary soldiers who had been talking.
He grabbed one by the collar and shook him wildly.
"Hey! Is what you said true?! Is Ace really going to be executed?! Where?! How do I get to Marineford?!"
Very Luffy-like.
He had completely lost control of his emotions, shaking so hard he nearly strangled the soldier.
"Bastard! Where did this brat come from?! Causing trouble in the Revolutionary Army? You looking to die?!"
A tall Fish-Man nearby immediately stepped forward, twisting Luffy's arm and slamming him hard to the ground.
"Let me go! I have to save Ace!!" Luffy struggled frantically.
His rubber body twisted wildly.
But the other man was immensely strong and had even coated himself in Armament Haki. Luffy couldn't break free.
"Hack, lock him up," another Revolutionary officer frowned.
"Yeah. A restless and unidentified guy like this needs to be detained and interrogated first," Hack nodded.
Luffy was dumbfounded. "Lock me up? Why lock me up?! I just want to save Ace! Let me go!"
Pinned to the ground, he was so anxious he was nearly in tears.
If he got locked up, how could he save Ace?!
At that moment of despair—
Leno's mocking words from before suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Lucky second-generation… your old man's the head of the Revolutionary Army…"
Like grabbing the last straw.
Luffy shouted desperately, "You can't arrest me! My dad is your Revolutionary Army's leader! I'm his son!!"
The area fell silent for a brief second.
Then—
Laughter erupted.
"Hahahaha! Kid, if you're going to make excuses, at least make them believable!"
"You? The son of our Supreme Commander? That's hilarious!"
"Hey, but if you look closely… this brat's dumb expression kinda resembles the boss when he was young?"
Someone joked half-seriously.
Hack's expression turned extremely strange as he looked at the speaker.
"You serious?"
At that moment—
A young man wearing a top hat, with a burn scar at his temple and a metal pipe strapped to his back, walked over after hearing the commotion.
"What's going on? What's all the noise?" Sabo asked.
His eyes met Luffy's, who was pinned to the ground.
Both of them trembled simultaneously!
An inexplicable sense of familiarity and emotion surged in their hearts.
Beside him, Koala watched Sabo's sudden dazed and turbulent reaction.
For some reason, she felt like she'd just been… cuckolded by a man?
Wow, wow.
Didn't get stolen by a woman—got stolen by a guy instead, huh?
Luffy tilted his head, frowning, as if searching deep in his memory for someone with a similar face.
But being somewhat face-blind, it wasn't easy.
Until he noticed the familiar metal pipe behind Sabo.
He hesitantly spoke, "Sabo? Are you… Sabo?"
"No! That's not right! Sabo's already dead…"
Hearing those words—
Seeing Luffy's face and that straw hat—
Sabo suddenly felt a tearing pain explode in his head.
He clutched it as countless blurred memory fragments flooded back wildly!
Seeing Luffy still rambling and even affecting the Chief of Staff, Hack and the others grew furious, preparing to knock him out and lock him up.
"Stop!!"
Sabo suddenly raised his head, no more confusion in his eyes—
Only excitement and disbelief.
He remembered!
He remembered everything!
"Luffy!!" He shoved Hack aside and rushed forward, pulling Luffy into a tight embrace.
"I remember! I remember everything! My little brother! I never thought I'd see you here!"
"Sabo! It really is Sabo!"
Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief.
But he had no time to savor the joy of reunion!
Grabbing Sabo's arm, he stammered urgently:
"Sabo! Now's not the time for this! We have to save Ace! Ace was captured by the Marines! They're going to publicly execute him!!"
"What?! Ace?!" Sabo's expression changed drastically.
His excited, trembling heart was instantly doused with cold water.
Having just regained his memories, he could not afford to lose Ace!
Without hesitation, he pulled Luffy up.
"Let's go! We're finding Mr. Dragon immediately!"
The two of them sprinted deeper into the Revolutionary Army base.
Hack and Koala exchanged bewildered glances, completely confused.
But realizing Sabo's memories had returned—and that something huge was happening—
They quickly followed.
…
Aside from the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines, the other Emperors of the New World were also stirring restlessly.
Unfortunately—
There was the troublemaker, Red-Haired Shanks.
Meanwhile—
An inconspicuous small boat quietly departed from the Revolutionary Army headquarters at Baltigo.
Heading straight for the great underwater prison—Impel Down!
And they weren't the only group sailing in that direction.
Without the help of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Boa Hancock—
The Revolutionary Army had their own ways of infiltrating.
Otherwise, where would the Newkama Kingdom on Level 5.5 have come from?
One could only say—
Impel Down looked impenetrable.
And in truth, it was extremely secure.
But it had far more loopholes than one might imagine.
…
Sabaody Archipelago, Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Shakky looked at the latest intelligence report and exhaled a ring of smoke, surprise on her face.
"Rayleigh, it seems that brat Leno's sources of information are even better than we thought."
"He knew about Ace's execution far in advance."
After saying that, she looked at Rayleigh.
"You… going?"
◇ You can read 60+ Chapters Ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/CanonBreaker
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter