Luffy's fist effortlessly destroyed Marineford.
For hundreds of years, the fortress of justice that had protected the world had been attacked many times — but never had it been destroyed like this.
The stronghold was utterly annihilated.
The force of Luffy's punch caused a massive earthquake that leveled everything around him.
Boom!!
The shockwave traveled for thousands of meters, shattering even the ice in the inner bay and creating giant waves that reached hundreds of meters in height.
---
Aboard the Moby Dick
"Luffy...?" Ace stared in disbelief at the scene in the distance.
"Your little brother is strong, Ace... Maybe even as strong as our father," Marco said, eyes fixed on the destruction.
The tremor had lasted only a moment, but it sent a clear message about Luffy's strength.
---
Doflamingo pushed aside a chunk of rubble, stood up, and stared at the devastation.
"What absurd destructive power..."
"This isn't the ability of an ordinary Zoan. Could it be a Mythical Zoan? But I've never heard of a Devil Fruit like that…"
Doflamingo had read the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and as far as he could remember, none matched these traits.
Sure, some fruits granted gigantification, but none of them were white — much less with Paramecia-like abilities.
Could he be some kind of special race?
Doflamingo was lost in thought.
Suddenly, he laughed. "The new era is going to be a lot of fun!"
---
Elsewhere...
Mihawk also rose from the rubble. When he looked up at Luffy's enormous form, he recalled their brief encounter back in East Blue.
"Straw Hat Luffy..."
He thought to himself.
If he's already this strong, then his vice-captain — the swordsman who seeks to surpass me — will truly become powerful, sooner or later.
The corners of Mihawk's lips curved into a small smile of anticipation.
With that, he turned and walked away.
"You're leaving?" Doflamingo frowned.
"This war is over. There's no reason to stay."
Without another word, Mihawk departed without looking back.
Cough, cough...
From beneath the rubble behind Doflamingo, a cough rang out.
Then, with a loud crash, Moria crawled out from the endless debris.
His forehead was bleeding, and his expression was twisted in anger.
"That damn kid hit me too!!"
"Furfurfur... If you're that upset, he's right there. Go settle it with him yourself!"
Moria was speechless.
Settle it?
That kid's a monster — just like Whitebeard!
And there's a high chance he'll take Whitebeard's place as one of the Yonko.
---
Ivankov stood up, mouth agape, staring in horror at the ruined land.
"Who is that boy?"
He shook his head in disbelief.
Suddenly, a calm voice came from behind him.
"His name is Monkey D. Luffy, and he's Dragon's son."
Ivankov froze completely, whipped around, and assumed a battle stance.
"I see... Dragon's son? Wait! Dragon?!"
That Dragon? The leader of the Revolutionary Army?
Ivankov was utterly stunned by the shocking revelation.
The next moment, Bartholomew Kuma passed by him and whispered:
"He asked me to deliver an important message, but I'm running out of time. After this war... I fear I will no longer be myself."
Ivankov's pupils shrank.
What he was hearing was terrifying, to say the least.
"Is what you said true?"
"Farewell."
Kuma remained expressionless and tapped Ivankov with his open right palm.
"Wait—!"
Before he could say anything else, Ivankov vanished from the battlefield in an instant.
---
In front of Whitebeard's body.
Shanks had protected the corpse with Haki and now looked up at the massive Luffy, stunned.
"It's just like Captain Roger said…"
He touched his missing left arm with a smile.
(This is the beginning of a new era...)
He couldn't help but remember that day long ago:
---
[Eh? You want to be better than we are?]
[Alright then... Until then... Take this hat.]
[This is my favorite hat, you know? Come return it to me once you've become a great pirate...]
---
Luffy, you've already become a great pirate...
"Hahahaha... Hey, Luffy!"
Shanks shouted, "Don't you think you overdid it just a little? That was the Marine Headquarters. If you do something like that, the World Government will come after you!"
(The government wasn't planning to let me go anyway...) Luffy thought.
"How about we team up and sink Marineford?" Luffy laughed as he spoke.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Shanks laughed. "Sink Marineford, the fortress that has kept order in the seas for centuries? That's a great idea!"
---
As the two were talking...
A burst of magma suddenly erupted from the ground.
Akainu stepped out from the pillar of magma, his face cold.
Crimson magma dripped from his body, and with each step he took, the ground beneath his feet turned to molten rock.
"Sink Marineford? Straw Hat Luffy, you disgrace justice!"
Then, a golden light flashed beside him.
Kizaru's body materialized quickly.
"Ohh~ This is bad. Two pirates with Yonko-level power joining forces?"
Kizaru spoke lazily, as always.
At the same time, Aokiji walked over slowly, a pained expression on his face.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about after wrecking our headquarters?"
In the blink of an eye, all three admirals were standing side by side.
With a serious look, Shanks began releasing his Conqueror's Haki.
BOOM!!
Black and red lightning filled the space around them.
"How about we stop? This war is already over."
Luffy returned to normal in an instant, walked to Shanks' side, and laughed.
"Haven't seen you in ten years. You look even stronger now, Shanks."
The next moment, all of the Red-Haired Pirates appeared behind them.
Beckman spat out his toothpick, raised his short gun, and pointed it at the three admirals.
"If this continues, we'll fight to the end, Marines."
Suddenly, the situation became even more tense.
Whitebeard's death was not the end — it was the beginning.
Kizaru's body began to glow golden.
Aokiji's cold air spread across the ground.
Akainu's eyes were ice-cold, and magma surged beneath his feet.
"So be it."
Suddenly, Sengoku's voice came from behind them.
His cape was gone, the upper half of his uniform torn, revealing a bruised body.
"That's enough. If we keep fighting, the losses will be too great. Our primary objective has already been achieved. The conflict... ends here."
Sengoku clenched his fists, glaring at Luffy, full of suppressed rage.
How dare you destroy the fortress that has stood for centuries as a symbol of Marine justice!!
But for now, Sengoku had to swallow that hatred in silence.
All of Marineford was filled with the sounds of groaning and crying. There were pirates too injured to escape in time.
Many Marines had also been caught in the destruction.
"The war is over," he said tiredly. "Straw Hat Luffy. Shanks. Leave this place!"
Hearing this, Shanks' Haki dispersed. He smiled and said:
"That's for the best. I'll be taking Whitebeard's body."
He turned to his crew and said:
"Hurry and take the body. Luffy, let's go. Hahahaha — don't tell me you actually wanted to sink this island?"
He reached out, ruffled Luffy's hair, and led him away with a grin.
Luffy laughed, though in truth — that had been his plan.
"Luffy, haven't seen you in ten years. You've gotten really strong," said the big, round Lucky Roux with a smile.
"Luffy, you're finally not that crybaby kid anymore, hahaha!"
"I was surprised to see you become a Shichibukai before!"
Shanks' crew gathered one by one to greet Luffy, whom they hadn't seen in so long.
"Since when was I a crybaby, you idiots?" Luffy replied.
"He won't even admit it, Captain. The brat's completely forgotten."
"It's fine. We'll help him remember — over drinks!"
They laughed as they pulled Luffy toward the Red Force, Shanks' flagship.
Only Beckman and Gab remained behind.
(Those idiots...) Beckman muttered.
With a sigh, he said, "Gab, help me carry Whitebeard's body."
Soon, under the eyes of Sengoku and the three Admirals, they all departed.
Pirates are like weeds — they can never be completely destroyed. They always spring back overnight.
One of the Yonko had fallen, but a new one would rise.
Luffy didn't have that title yet, but it was only a matter of time.
---
Aboard the Red-Haired Pirates' ship
Whitebeard's body was placed gently upon the deck.
On the deck, Shanks and the others warmly welcomed Luffy. Food and drinks were served generously, and everyone sat on the floor talking and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Yasopp, your son Usopp is part of my crew. He's currently in Water 7."
"Really?! Usopp went out to sea too? Hahaha, a man can't resist the call of the ocean!"
Luffy looked at the man in disbelief.
How could a guy who abandoned his wife and son have the nerve to say that? If it were him, he would've just taken his wife and son along.
"Come on! Drink, drink, Luffy! You're 17 now — you can drink as much as you want!"
They kept pushing drinks at him nonstop.
Luffy quickly got swept up in their excitement, drinking along with them.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
"By the way, Shanks... do you know where Elegia is?"
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Shanks went still. He was stunned for a moment before smiling and asking:
"Elegia? Why?"
"Shanks, I already know what happened ten years ago. I know you left Uta there, and I'm going to find her."
Luffy said calmly.
Uta wasn't just his childhood friend — she had also eaten the Uta Uta no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows her to transport people's consciousness into an imaginary realm called the "World of Songs" through her singing. Within that world, she is essentially omnipotent and can do anything she wants until her energy runs out.
Luffy planned to go there when he had the time.
Shanks stayed silent for a few seconds.
"Captain—"
"Luffy, there was a reason for what happened back then—"
Someone tried to explain but was stopped by Shanks.
He smiled slightly, pulled out an Eternal Pose, and tossed it to Luffy.
"This is the Eternal Pose to Elegia. Luffy, if you find Uta... could you apologize to her for me?"
Luffy looked surprised at first, but then smiled.
"Of course. But I think it would be better if you apologized to her yourself, Shanks."
"...You're right."
"Now then, let's find Whitebeard's crew and return the body to them. Luffy, what are your plans now?" Shanks deliberately changed the subject — he didn't want to talk about Uta.
"I need to get back to Water 7 as soon as possible."
"My crew is still there, and thanks to my little stunt at Marineford, I'm sure there'll be trouble coming."
The power of his fruit had been exposed to the entire world — from now on, his journey wouldn't be as peaceful as before.
He stood up, stretched a bit, walked to the side of the ship, and immediately activated Gear Fifth.
"See you later, Shanks! I'll meet you in the New World!"
"See you in the New World!"
Their reunion had been short, and when it came time to part, no one tried to make him stay.
Everyone had their own adventures to follow — there was no reason to hesitate.
In the next moment, Luffy used his powers to soften the side of the ship, then jumped off and flew away instantly.
"Captain, is Luffy in danger?"
"With his strength, he can handle it easily." Shanks downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and said, "That kid's already so strong... maybe I couldn't even beat him now."
As soon as he said that, everyone burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha~"
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Luffy locked onto a direction and flew off immediately.
He reached for the Gura Gura no Mi hanging at his waist.
"A person can only eat one Devil Fruit. Eating two is supposed to kill you..."
"How the hell did Blackbeard gain the power of the Gura Gura no Mi? It's still a mystery to me..."
With a flash of white light, a healing-type Devil Fruit appeared in Luffy's hand.
That's right — a healing fruit!
He had previously given one to Hancock, claiming it was his last, but that had been a lie.
He still had one more.
During the seven days he spent at Marineford, he had refreshed the system store every day.
That's how he got it.
"Originally, I was planning to have a 'talk' with Blackbeard about how he stole Whitebeard's Gura Gura powers... but he escaped thanks to Akainu."
"But it doesn't matter. This Gura Gura fruit evolved from a blank fruit, so it has no side effects."
"If my own Devil Fruit causes conflict, I can endure it with my physique!"
"And if I can't... I'll just eat this healing fruit."
Everything was going exactly as planned.
Without hesitation, Luffy opened his mouth and bit into the Gura Gura no Mi.
The next moment, he almost threw up from the horrible taste.
"Damn system! Why didn't you warn me about this?! Blergh!!" Luffy roared as he fought the urge to vomit.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."