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Whooosh—
Two bikini-clad hostesses pulled back the shimmering curtain on the countdown stage.The entire world held its breath as the prize was revealed inside a crystal-clear glass case.
It was a fruit—its surface flickering and pulsing like living fire.
The strongest of all Devil Fruits…A Logia-type.
The Flame-Flame Fruit!
"Huh?""Wait—what!?"
For a few seconds, every world fell silent, then erupted in disbelief.
"The… the Flame-Flame Fruit!?""You're kidding! That's a Logia-type!""Wasn't that the power of Luffy's big brother—Ace!?""Yeah, the one who could turn into fire itself and burn everything to ashes!"
Group chats and forums across countless worlds exploded.
"But hold on—aren't Devil Fruits supposed to be unique? Only one of each can exist!""They are—but they also reincarnate. When the user dies, the fruit is reborn somewhere else in the world!"
Silence. Then the realization hit everyone at once.
"So that means… Luffy's brother—the former user of the Flame-Flame Fruit—Portgas D. Ace… is dead."
The moment that truth sank in, shockwaves rippled through every universe.
Ever since Ace first appeared during the Alabasta incident, people had joked—half in fear—that he was doomed to the "Big Brother Sacrifice" trope. But when he left the Straw Hats unharmed after just a few days of travel, everyone had sighed in relief.
They thought the curse was broken.They thought maybe Luffy's happy-go-lucky crew would escape tragedy.No knives. No tears.
They were wrong.The knife had just been waiting.
It struck when no one was ready.
Even though the footage didn't show Ace's death directly, the fact that the Flame-Flame Fruit had reappeared was all the proof anyone needed.
Ace had fallen.
The First Law of Anime Brothers remained unbroken:
"The big brother's sacrifice may be delayed… but it never fails to arrive."
"W-why… why did it have to be him?"In the world of Demon Slayer, Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, looked crestfallen."He was such a good brother—just like Rengoku-san… Why do good big brothers always die!?"
Obanai Iguro silently slid a plate of sakura mochi toward her."Here."
Her eyes lit up instantly. "Thank you, Iguro-san!"
In the world of Naruto, Jiraiya stroked his chin thoughtfully."According to the arena announcer's intel, Ace died two years ago… So that must've been not long after Alabasta, huh? Hmmm. Not enough info to piece it all together."
Then a thought struck him."Wait a sec… If Naruto's the Chosen One of his story—the main hero—then doesn't that mean I'm the big-brother-figure destined to die to inspire him? Oh, crap…"
Over in Reborn!'s world, Reborn himself—pacifier in mouth—nodded knowingly."So the Straw Hat's brother, Ace, must've died during a skipped arc. And knowing how these things go, Luffy was definitely there to witness it. Which means… we can look forward to one hell of a power-up after the timeskip."
Meanwhile, in the world of Dragon Raja, Lu Mingfei puffed out his chest smugly."See? I told you! Philosopher Wolski-Sod was right—every big brother is doomed to die for character development!"
Cesar gave him a sidelong glance. "You do realize both Chu Zihang and I count as your big brothers, right? Which one of us is supposed to die to motivate you, huh?"
Lu Mingfei flailed. "Come on, boss, spare me! I'm not some hot-blooded shonen protagonist like Tanjiro or Luffy—I'm just a loser!"
Back in the One Piece world, the impact was seismic.
"The Flame-Flame Fruit has reappeared!""That means Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace, is dead!""Luffy's brother couldn't escape the curse after all!""But… when did he die?"
Then came the newsflash that shook the seas:
"Ten days from now—the Navy will publicly execute Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
The marines planned to make a spectacle of it.And everyone knew what that meant.
"If Ace dies at the Navy Headquarters, then Whitebeard won't sit still.""So… ten days from now… are we looking at a full-scale war?""Could it be… the Emperor Whitebeard loses?"
The world buzzed with dread and disbelief.
New World — Sphinx Island Whitebeard's homeland.The stronghold of his pirate crew.
The once-clear sky had turned black with storm clouds.The calm sea churned into monstrous waves.
The very world seemed to tremble——all because of one man's rage.
Edward Newgate, the strongest man alive, the Emperor of the Sea known as Whitebeard, was furious.
They'd learned the truth from the news not long ago:Ace had been captured.He was to be executed publicly by the Navy.
Whitebeard understood perfectly well what the World Government was trying to do—They wanted war. A show of power.
And the Whitebeard Pirates had no intention of backing down.
For hours, the entire fleet had been preparing for battle—burning with righteous anger, ready to storm Marineford to rescue Ace.
But then…
Just as their spirits reached their peak—the worst possible news arrived.
"No… It can't be… Ace… Ace is dead?"
First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix stared in shock, unable to process it."We were ready to move out… How could we be too late!?"
Diamond Joz clenched his fists. "Damn it… we had everything planned!"
Flower Blade Vista's voice was low and grim."Maybe… maybe we weren't too late. Maybe that's just it."He paused."The war ten days from now… maybe we already lost."
Marine Headquarters — Marineford
"UOOOOOOOOOH!"
The roar of the era was coming.
"Did you see that? The Flame-Flame Fruit has reappeared!"
"Which means Fire Fist Ace is dead!"
"So the public execution ten days ago really happened!"
"What about Whitebeard? Did the Whitebeard Pirates show up?"
"If they did, that's even better—it means the Marines defeated the world's strongest pirate crew!"
"This'll be a crushing blow to all those arrogant pirates out there!"
Across Marine Headquarters, voices buzzed with excitement. Every soldier was talking, cheering, celebrating.
But in the upper conference room, the mood couldn't be more different.Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp, sat in silence, lips pressed tightly together.
Windmill Village, East Blue
Inside Makino's little bar, the Dadan Bandits—there to celebrate their local hero Luffy—were in total chaos after hearing the news.
Baltigo, the White Earth Island — Revolutionary Army Base
"Ace... Ace is dead... Fire Fist Ace is really dead... Aaaahhh!"
The young Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo, clutched his head and collapsed, screaming in agony.
"Sabo! What's wrong?! Pull yourself together!"Koala and the others panicked, rushing to his side.
Sabaody Archipelago
At Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, the once lively, noisy atmosphere had completely vanished. The place was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Straw Hat Luffy sat staring blankly at the glowing image of the Flame-Flame Fruit floating before him, his expression dazed—confused, scared, trembling with disbelief.
"Luffy..."Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji all watched their captain, worry written on every face. They all knew how deep his bond with Ace ran—more than brothers by blood.
"Ace... why is Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit showing up there? That's impossible. He's my brother. Ace's way too strong—there's no way something could've happened to him!"
Luffy's face twisted, his voice shaking between denial and horror. He didn't want to accept it—no, he couldn't accept it.
From behind the counter, Shakky exhaled a slow ring of smoke."I guess there's no point hiding it anymore, little Monkey. News about your brother Fire Fist Ace came out hours ago."
She slid a freshly printed newspaper across the counter.
"Whaaaat?!"
"Ace's been captured by the Marines?!"
"No... not the Marines. It was Blackbeard—Marshall D. Teach, the new Warlord!"
"The important part is this: in ten days, Luffy's brother is going to be publicly executed at Marineford!"
The Straw Hat crew froze, eyes wide. None of them needed to say it—they knew this was the moment Ace's death became real.
"Ace... where's Ace now? I have to save him! I won't—I can't—lose another brother!"
Luffy's eyes burned red, his voice trembling as he shouted.
"Calm down, little Monkey," Shakky said seriously. "If your brother's still alive, then right now he's probably being held in Impel Down—the Deep Sea Prison."
"I got it! Then that's where we're going!" Luffy said, practically leaping up. "Everyone, we're heading to Impel Down!"
"???"
That was not what Shakky meant, and she couldn't help but stare in disbelief.
Luckily, his crew still had their senses.
"You idiot captain!" Nami clenched her fist, shaking but stopping just short of hitting him.
"Luffy, do you even know what kind of place Impel Down is?" Zoro asked.
"Impel Down? What's wrong with it?" Chopper blinked.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette. "Impel Down, Enies Lobby, and Marineford—the three pillars of the World Government."
"It's a fortress in the Calm Belt, the most secure prison in the world. Once you're in, you never get out."
Shakky nodded. "Well... not never. There's been one escape in history—Golden Lion Shiki. He lost both legs to do it."
"Golden Lion Shiki?!" Nami gasped, shivering. She remembered that nightmare all too well.
Usopp's face turned green. If even a legendary pirate had to hack off his own legs to escape, what chance did they have?Normally, he and Chopper would already be clutching Luffy's legs, crying not to go.
But this time... was different.This was about Luffy's brother—his last remaining family.None of them could bring themselves to tell him to give up.
"Luffy," Robin said gently, "this is just my opinion, but the videos we've been watching—they show the old future. The one that would've happened without these events. But the world's changed now. The Demon Slayer Corps and Night Raid both got rewards from those videos... and we will too. There's still time. So please—wait a little longer."
"She's right," Franky nodded. "That's what we all want to say."
"Don't rush, Luffy. We'll get stronger. Then we'll save him," said Usopp.
"Yeah!" the others agreed.
Bit by bit, Luffy's rage cooled, replaced by quiet determination.
"Alright," Shakky said, watching the screen. "Here we go. Little Monkey's big debut—two years later."
The glowing screen shifted, showing the Corrida Colosseum and the fierce battle for the Flame-Flame Fruit.
The first round: Group A's all-out brawl of over a hundred fighters.A muscular man wearing a paper bag crushed the competition and claimed victory.When he pulled off the bag—gasps spread everywhere.
The announcer's voice boomed:"Captain of the First Ship under Emperor Blackbeard—Jesus Burgess!"
The seas trembled again.
"That bastard! Teach, that damn Teach! How could he ever stand equal to Pops as an Emperor?!"
The Whitebeard Pirates roared in fury, refusing to believe it.
"Ace dead... and Blackbeard becomes an Emperor. The future's even crazier than I imagined," said Red-Haired Shanks quietly.
"Wororororo! One of Whitebeard's flunkies turned Emperor? What a joke!"In Wano, Kaido howled with laughter.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Burgess laughed. "They're calling our captain an Emperor!"
"Emperor Blackbeard," Lafitte said with a thin smile. "Has a nice ring to it."
"Two years—from Warlord to Emperor. Truly impressive, Captain Teach... cough cough," Death God Doc Q muttered.
"Zehahahaha!"Blackbeard's laughter thundered across the seas.
Back on the screen, the battles continued.Group B's winner: a young man named Bartolomeo—unknown even among pirates of the Grand Line.
Two years ago, he'd just been a thug from Loguetown.
"Man, I can't believe this! I'm actually fighting in the same tournament as Senpai Luffy!" he sobbed, tears streaming down his face.
"Bartolomeo! Look—Luffy-senpai's fight's starting!" his friend shouted.
And then, in front of countless watching eyes across worlds and seas—
Straw Hat Luffy's first battle after two years began.
Group C's chaotic free-for-all.
Luffy rode in on a bull, instantly drawing all eyes to him.Soon, the giant Hajrudin targeted him. The bull went down under the giant's might.
People gasped—And then Luffy leapt high, steam rising from his body, fists coated in black Haki.
The air itself cracked.
Boom!
A single blow.
The giant fell like a collapsing mountain, shaking the arena.
One strike. One victory.
At that moment—The world witnessed the return of the Straw Hat.
All the worlds across the heavens went silent for a moment—then erupted in cheers.
"Unbelievable! He's so damn strong!"
"He took down that terrifying giant with a single hit!"
"Just how powerful has the Straw Hat kid become after two years?!"
"And this is only the beginning! I swear, that was just a normal attack!"
"The real finisher must be reserved for Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords!"
"The Straw Hat kid from two years ago and the one now—they're not even in the same league!"
"So this is the power born from a brother's sacrifice?"
"Ace offered to the heavens—Straw Hat's power knows no limits!"
Across countless worlds, people were in awe, their voices rising in waves of excitement and disbelief.
But—
The most shocking scene was still to come.
"..."
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