Loguetown burned behind them.
Not with fire—but with chaos.
Boots thundered through streets. Rifles cracked. Smoke curled between buildings as Marines flooded every alley and intersection, desperate to contain what had already escaped their grasp.
Luffy ran at the front.
Zoro and Sanji flanked him, moving like predators—no wasted steps, no hesitation.
A squad of Marines burst from a side street, weapons raised.
Sanji moved first.
A blur of motion—
a kick snapped upward, sending the lead Marine crashing into a wall.
Zoro followed, the flat of his blade knocking two others unconscious before they even understood what hit them.
They didn't stop running.
Another squad charged from ahead.
Luffy slowed.
"They're mine."
He stepped forward, lightning crawling over his skin like living veins.
"Lightning Vortex."
Luffy leapt.
His body spun violently, faster and faster, blue-white electricity erupting outward as the air screamed in protest. The lightning wrapped around him, forming a massive rotating funnel—
a drilling storm of raw electrical force.
The vortex slammed into the Marine formation.
Men were lifted off their feet.
Weapons flew.
Walls cracked as bodies were hurled backward, electricity ripping through ranks without mercy—yet carefully restrained.
When the storm dissipated, Luffy landed lightly on one knee.
Before him—
A field of fallen Marines.
Some unconscious. Some twitching. None dead.
Zoro whistled. "Efficient."
Sanji grinned. "Show-off."
Luffy shrugged as they resumed running. "Non-lethal. Mostly."
They rounded a corner—
And stopped.
A girl stood in the road.
Sword drawn.
Wind tugged at her coat, her stance tense and furious as her eyes locked onto Zoro.
"I didn't know you were a pirate," she said, voice trembling with restrained hatred. "Roronoa Zoro."
Luffy glanced sideways. "Your girlfriend?"
Zoro's jaw tightened.
He drew one blade halfway.
"You two go," he said. "I'll catch up."
Luffy nodded without argument and dragged Sanji away by the collar as he protested loudly.
They ran only a short distance—
And then Luffy stopped.
A man stood ahead.
Motorbike parked casually.
Two cigars burned steadily.
White smoke rolled from his body like a living thing.
Smoker.
Luffy exhaled slowly.
"Sanji," he said without looking back. "Go."
Sanji hesitated—then nodded and sprinted past.
Smoker didn't move.
"I don't think that's going to happen," he said calmly. "This is the end of your journey, Monkey D. Luffy."
Smoke thickened, coiling around him.
Luffy smiled.
"I don't think so, Smokey. I've got an appointment with the Grand Line."
Lightning flared.
Blue sparks danced around Luffy's arms as his stance lowered.
"You won't reach it unless you beat me," Smoker replied, his body dissolving further into smoke.
"Sounds easy."
Luffy vanished.
He reappeared in front of Smoker in a blink, fist already drawn back—
blackened with Armament Haki.
Smoker's eyes widened.
Fast—!
The punch landed.
Not explosively.
Precisely.
Smoker's body compressed as the blow drove into his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. He staggered forward—
—and Luffy's kick snapped upward, cracking against his jaw.
Smoker hit the ground unconscious.
Silence.
Luffy straightened and turned away—
Then stopped.
"…You gonna come out," he said calmly, "or stay hiding, Dad?"
A figure stepped from the shadows.
Cloaked.
Smiling.
Monkey D. Dragon.
"So you know," Dragon said lightly. "Good. Means your grandfather didn't turn you into a Marine."
Luffy snorted. "He tried."
Dragon studied him. "Red Hair raised you?"
Luffy nodded. "About ten years."
Dragon blinked—rare, genuine surprise flickering across his face.
"…I see."
Luffy tossed him a small card.
"That's my Den-Den Mushi number. Call me if you need me."
Dragon stared at it.
Then laughed quietly. "You really are his."
Luffy turned away, then paused.
"The D clan's been hiding too long," he said, voice steady. "That ends soon."
Dragon's smile faded—replaced by steel.
"I agree."
Lightning swallowed Luffy.
He vanished.
The docks erupted.
Cannons fired.
Marines swarmed the shoreline.
Zoro, Sanji, Johnny, and Yosaku fought desperately to hold them back while Nami, Nojiko, and Usopp struggled to push the ship free.
Luffy appeared overhead.
"Raging Thunder!"
Bolts slammed down, tearing through Marine lines.
He descended on a cloud, shouting, "Everyone aboard—NOW!"
They didn't argue.
Moments later, the ship surged forward.
Luffy settled onto his throne as the harbor fell away behind them.
Ahead—
The Grand Line.
The wind shifted.
Johnny and Yosaku rolled out a barrel of liquor.
Sanji stepped up first. "I'm going to find the All Blue."
Zoro followed. "World's greatest swordsman."
Johnny and Yosaku grinned. "Greatest bounty hunters!"
Nami smiled softly. "I'll map the world."
Nojiko laughed. "And keep her out of trouble."
Usopp swallowed. "I'll be a brave warrior of the seas!"
Luffy stepped last.
"I'll become King of the Pirates."
They smashed the barrel.
The sea roared.
And the Going Merry sailed forward—
into legend.