In the world of pirates, at the headquarters of the Navy.
The Whitebeard Pirates, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and countless Navy soldiers had turned this place into a battlefield, with gunfire and cannon fire echoing non-stop.
Today was the day of the execution of Fire Fist Ace, and to save him, Whitebeard had led the entire Whitebeard Pirates to come and rescue Ace. The renowned Monkey D. Luffy had also arrived, solely for his sworn brother Ace.
Navy Admiral Akainu looked at the already battered crew of the Whitebeard Pirates, who had rescued Ace and were now trying to flee.
He knew that if they used all their might to escape, he wouldn't be able to stop them. To keep them from leaving, there was only one other method: to provoke them into attacking him.
In a direct confrontation, Fire Fist Ace would surely not be able to defeat him, so Akainu mocked, saying, "Rescuing Ace and then running away, the Whitebeard Pirates are truly a bunch of cowards."
"But it's normal, after all, the captain is just a failure from the last era. It's not surprising that the crew is like this."
"Failure...?"
Fire Fist Ace, who was running, suddenly stopped, his cheek muscles twitching, flames rising from his body, his face darkening terrifyingly. He turned to look at Akainu, "Take back that last sentence of yours!"
Everyone around watched the scene, the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates were all furious, but they had no choice because they couldn't defeat Akainu, and Ace, who was already severely injured, couldn't defeat him either.
Seeing Ace stop, Akainu's triumphant smile grew even wider. Not only did he not take back his previous words, but he added fuel to the fire by continuing, "Take it back? Haha, look at your father, Gol D. Roger. Though it's not something I should say, I have to admit that he truly deserved the title of 'Pirate King.' Compared to him, Whitebeard, is a complete and utter failure!"
Ace's eyes widened, and flames blazed uncontrollably from his body. Someone had insulted and defamed the person he respected the most in front of him, and Ace could not bear it. Even knowing that he couldn't defeat the other, he would still attack.
"Akainu!"
With a fierce punch enveloped in flames, he clashed with Akainu's magma-covered right arm, only to be brutally knocked away.
"Hmph, just as I expected. Now, I wonder who'll protect that Straw Hat brat!"
After knocking Ace away with a punch, Akainu's right arm spewed out lava once again, but his target this time was no longer Ace, but Luffy!
Luffy had no time to react to Akainu's sudden change of target. The image of Akainu grew larger and larger in his eyes, and in a flash, a smiling figure stood in front of him.
Luffy blinked, and before him, Ace had appeared, his chest pierced by Akainu's punch!
"Ace!"
The pirates stared in disbelief at Ace, who had been pierced by Akainu's punch, and many felt as if their hearts had been struck by a heavy hammer.
Especially Ace's grandfather, Navy Vice Admiral Iron Fist Garp.
Looking at Ace, whose chest had been pierced by Akainu, Garp unconsciously took a step forward, walking towards Akainu step by step.
The Navy Fleet Admiral, Buddha Sengoku, who was by his side, suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing Garp's abnormality. He quickly rushed out, forcefully pressing Garp's head into the ground and shouting in his ear, "Garp, have you lost your mind? What do you want to do up there?!"
The force made Garp's head sink deeply into the ground, but Sengoku still felt a tremendous force emanating from Garp's head, a feeling of desperately controlling himself while constantly trying to break free.
"Yes, that's right, press me down hard. I'm afraid that if you let go, Akainu's life won't be spared!"
Garp's head trembled continuously, and the words he spoke were almost gritted out, one by one from his mouth.
The hatred and ferocity in his eyes were among the few times Sengoku had seen them in such intensity.
Upon hearing this, the grip in Sengoku's hand tightened further, for he knew what Kapu was saying was true. If he let go, Kapu would indeed hesitate not a moment to rush forward and kill Akainu.
Among those present, only he himself had the power to restrain Kapu!
Kapu was the hero of the Navy and the spiritual pillar for the vast majority of its members. If he were allowed to attack Akainu, the Navy's faith would collapse utterly in this very moment!
"Oh my God, Ace's chest has been pierced through!"
"With injuries like these, there's no coming back!"
"I'm going to kill Akainu!"
"Fool, come back! If we could kill him, we would have already. Don't go and get yourself killed!"
The pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were on the verge of madness over Ace's death, and many of them, like Kapu, intended to attack Akainu. Had they not been held back by their comrades, they would have met a tragic end.
Luffy, who was closest to the scene and had witnessed Ace's death firsthand, had fallen into a state of madness. The overwhelming grief felt as though his brain was about to split apart, engulfing him completely and rendering him immobile.
"Tsk tsk tsk, those injuries are truly fatal. With the medical capabilities of this world, there's no way to save him."
A light chuckle echoed through the air, and everyone suddenly widened their eyes. Beside Ace and Luffy, three figures had appeared at some unknown point.
"Han?"
Upon seeing the vaguely familiar figure at the forefront, Whitebeard's eyes flickered with surprise. The person who had suddenly appeared was none other than Han Yu, the owner of the general store he frequently visited!
"Eh, is this the world of One Piece? It's quite interesting. The body proportions of these people are so strange!"
Upon arriving in the world of One Piece, Quicksilver, who stood beside Han Yu, looked around curiously.
Every time they traversed to a different realm, the General Store System would transform Han Yu and the appearance of those he brought with him to fit the artistic style of that world, albeit without altering their body proportions.
Therefore, to Quicksilver and Wanda, the body proportions of the people in the One Piece world were still quite odd, tall and slender.
Han Yu turned to Wanda beside him and said, "Wanda, this kid seems to have lost his senses in grief. Help me bring him back to reality. It's damaging his mind."
"Alright."
Wanda nodded, and a red glow flickered on her slender fingers. She extended her index finger, and a thin red light entered Luffy's brain. The latter's eyes, which had lost their luster due to sorrow and pain, gradually regained their shine.
Luffy asked confusedly, "What just happened to me? Did you save me?"
Wanda smiled and nodded.
"Who are you? Can you save Ace? Can you? You must be able to, right? Please, I beg you, save Ace!"
Luffy, now conscious, didn't know who Wanda and the others were, but the fact that they had brought him back to his senses made him think.
Perhaps they could save Ace!
Han Yu stepped forward and patted Luffy's shoulder, chuckling lightly.
In an instant, a flash of light appeared in his hand, revealing a golden Senzu Bean that emitted a strange fragrance. With a flick of his finger, the Senzu Bean transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Whitebeard.
"I'm going to help Ace heal. I don't want anyone to disturb me."
Although Whitebeard didn't know why Han Yu was here, he wasn't foolish enough to ask questions like "Why are you here?" or "Who are you?" At this moment, he simply took the Senzu Bean and swallowed it whole.
As soon as the Senzu Bean entered his mouth, it turned into a warm current that flowed throughout his body. Whitebeard's face gradually contorted in shock.
His injuries and exhaustion were rapidly healing!
"Hmph, where did you come from, little brat? Talking nonsense like that, die!"
A new eruption of lava burst forth from Akainu's arm, condensing into armor, and he hurled himself towards Han Yu with terrifying heat.
Yet, Han Yu remained unmoved.
Just then, a sharp chill cut through the air from behind Akainu.
A simple, unadorned horizontal slash sliced through Akainu's body!
"He said he didn't want anyone to disturb him. Don't you understand?"
Not even Admiral Sengoku, who was not far away, had reacted in time. Everyone stood there, stunned, staring at the man who had suddenly appeared between Akainu and Fire Fist Ace.
The one who had sliced through Akainu's body was none other than the seemingly dying Whitebeard.
"This bean is incredible. My injuries are completely healed, and I feel even stronger than before!"
Whitebeard clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through his body. He had never felt so refreshed, so invigorated. He felt like shouting out in triumph.
"How... How is this possible? What did you do?!"
Akainu retreated several steps, disbelief etched on his face. Though his body had been sliced, he could still regenerate thanks to his Magma Fruit.
Others might only see the surface, but as an equal opponent, Akainu could tell that Whitebeard's body had fully recovered to its prime, and even surpassed it!
"Hmph, just fight. Why talk so much?"