Chapter 275: Happy New Year!
The rumbling of the earth gradually stopped. A molten fissure extended from under Ace's feet, cutting across half of Raijin Island.
The mountain peaks along its path were all split in two, glowing with a scorching red light.
"It should be over..."
"...After all, Ace even used that kind of move."
"To think it would come to this."
The pirates gathered on the mountain cliff all held their breath, their gazes fixed on the valley below, not daring to look away for a moment. Instead, they started to worry a little about Luffy.
Although when Pops was around, he and Roger could also fight for days and nights, and they were all used to it.
But Luffy and Ace were brothers, after all. At first, no one had expected the two of them to fight so intensely.
They were comrades who had fought side by side just two years ago. They were genuinely afraid that Ace would directly kill Luffy.
Having seen the battle on Onigashima, they knew that this was a move powerful enough to heavily injure Kaido and force him to retreat.
At that time, Ace, in a desperate situation, had unleashed his full power, using this level of move twice in a row, and had almost died of exhaustion there.
Just now, when Nami and Robin were fighting Yamato, Reiner had been watching the battle while chatting with a few pirates from the second division.
From them, he had roughly learned about what their group had experienced in these two years.
After the Summit War, Ace had fallen into a slump due to Whitebeard's death, and the others were the same.
The outside world had begun to spread rumors that the Whitebeard Pirates were about to fall apart. But when various powers began to vie for and invade their territory...
...Ace was the first to stand up, leading everyone across the seas to protect their territory.
For Ace, the footprints of Whitebeard's life were the most precious treasure he had left, and he would absolutely not allow anyone to desecrate them.
At that time, everyone thought he had pulled himself together.
But only Marco knew that Ace was actually still living for Whitebeard, and had been worried about it all along.
Just like that, half a year passed. The situation in the New World had just stabilized a bit when they encountered a powerful enemy on an island.
The Marine Hero, Garp...
"If I had known you'd be like a living dead man now, I might as well have let you die on the battlefield back then."
At that time, Garp had seen through the confusion hidden deep in Ace's heart with a single glance.
When the two sides were at a tense standoff, Garp had not made a move.
"Since you were lucky enough to pick up a life, go back and see her when you have time."
"In this world, it's not like there's no one left who cares about you two brats."
After leaving these two sentences, Garrp had left with his men.
Later, the other members continued to guard the New World.
Marco had accompanied Ace to the East Blue, back to the place where he grew up, the mountain bandits' home on Mt. Colubo, and stayed for a full year before returning to the New World.
The others didn't know what had happened to Ace during his time in the East Blue. They only knew that when he returned after a year, he seemed to have changed completely, and had become much stronger.
But it also seemed like he hadn't changed. He was still as heroic and unrestrained as before, and still did foolish things often, and would still suddenly fall asleep in the middle of a meal.
They couldn't describe the change, but they just felt that his aura was different.
An old-timer on the ship said that they saw the shadows of both Roger and Whitebeard in Ace at the same time.
After returning to the New World, Ace suddenly said he wanted to go to Wano Country.
He had promised a little girl that one day he would return here and let everyone eat their fill. He had also promised Yamato that one day he would take her out to sea with him.
So they went, and started a war with the Beasts Pirates on Onigashima.
Furthermore, many pirate crews in the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet, such as Doma the Knight, the Thunder Lord, Little Oars Jr., etc., had all joined Whitebeard's camp back then after being won over by Ace.
After learning the news, they all rushed to Wano Country without any hesitation. A war of such scale naturally attracted the attention of the entire world.
The battle between the two pirate crews was extremely tragic.
Although Ace was defeated by Kaido, he had also erupted in a near-death situation and successfully heavily injured the other.
Coupled with the support of powerful commanders like Marco, Jozu, and Vista, as well as Yamato and Jinbe, the Whitebeard Pirates successfully retreated from Onigashima.
In that battle, although they were ultimately defeated by a narrow margin, the Beasts Pirates also suffered heavy losses and were greatly weakened.
Ace had also proven himself in the battle with Kaido, letting the whole world see his strength and potential.
Coupled with the support of countless powerhouses, the new Whitebeard Pirates undoubtedly possessed the strength to contend with the other four Sea Emperors.
After this battle, he once again ascended to the top of the sea and was recognized by the outside world as the Fifth Emperor.
The rising white steam in the valley gradually thinned. Reiner's thoughts were pulled back. He could vaguely see a motionless figure lying inside.
Luffy's eyes had rolled back, his body was charred black and his skin was torn open. The blood on the ground had all dried up under the high temperature.
"It seems this Fifth Emperor has some substance after all," Reiner murmured.
When the original Luffy was called the Fifth Emperor, he had only fought Katakuri in Totto Land and had fled in a sorry state under Big Mom's pursuit.
Who knows what nerve Morgans had struck to publish the news of the birth of a Fifth Sea Emperor in the World Economy News Paper.
"It's... it's over!"
"Well done, Ace!!"
"Woohoo~~"
"Quick, prepare the victory banquet!!"
Seeing Luffy finally fall, the Whitebeard Pirates' camp erupted in a chorus of excited cheers. One by one, they proudly shouted at Reiner and the others.
"Come and join us, Straw Hat crew! We don't mind!"
"That's right, that's right! The defeated are welcome too!"
"You actually called us the defeated!"
"I clearly won, you bastards!"
Some were happy, some were sad.
Faced with their taunts, Nami and the others gritted their teeth in anger, veins popping on their foreheads, wishing they could immediately rush over and beat them up.
"What can we do? Just endure it," Zoro said lightly. He closed his eyes and leaned against a rock, unmoved by the taunts.
"Each of us has our own opponent. It can't be helped that the captain lost. Just think of it as training."
"Damn it!" Usopp's face was full of unwillingness as he shouted resentfully, "These guys are too arrogant!"
"I'm so angry!"
Faced with the jeers, Nami was so angry she stomped her foot. She could only swallow her anger and say fiercely, "When that idiot wakes up, I'll definitely give him a good beating."
"Forget it. Let's see how Luffy is first."
Reiner waved his hand unconcernedly, then his gaze shifted to the distance. The battle between his undead and Marco and the other commanders had not yet ended.
"Zoro is right. We each have our own battles. So..."
A cold smile lifted a corner of Reiner's mouth. "The undead aren't very smart. It should be understandable if they don't know how to hold back."
In the distance.
Marco suddenly felt a jolt. Along with the several commanders entangled with the undead, they inexplicably felt a chill run down their spines.
The Frieren undead, treading on flying sand, floated into the sky, raised its hand, and drew a bolt of lightning from the sky.
In an instant.
The thunder and lightning-filled dark clouds began to churn rapidly, turning into a deep, bottomless vortex.
A giant thundercloud ball, comparable in size to half an island, its surface wrapped in swimming, snake-like lightning, slowly broke free from the vortex!
No, bro. Were you just playing with us?
You had a move like this and didn't say so earlier?
"..."
Alright—alright—alright. So that's how you want to play.
Marco looked at Reiner with a blank expression.
Amazing. You're amazing—!
Marco raised a finger that represented friendship and directly gave up struggling, welcoming his fate.
"Raigo!!"
Boom!!!
Before the desperate eyes of the group, the black thunder ball crashed down.
A dazzling white light instantly lit up the entire sky, turning the sea area around Raijin Island into a vast white world.
After the light, the world was quiet.
A crescent bay was directly opened on the shore of Raijin Island, and the sea rushed in fiercely.
"How petty..."
Ace, paralyzed and sitting on the ground against a rock, shook his head and sighed with a helpless smile.
Even if the commanders had Armament Haki, this level of power was not something they could easily resist.
Besides Marco, probably none of the others would be well off.
"That bastard!"
"Captain Marco!"
"Quick, go down and save them! Medical team, get ready on the shore!"
Gulp! Gulp!
The pirates cursed as they hurriedly jumped into the water to fish people out.
However, the water was very hot. From the shore, Reiner could hear a chorus of "waah"s.
"Let this old one do it!"
Gulp!
Just then, a steady, loud shout was heard. A dark shadow swam rapidly on the sea surface.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Immediately, several pillars of water erupted from the water, carrying one after another of the figures who had been electrocuted into unconsciousness, their bodies continuously twitching, and throwing them onto the shore.
After bringing everyone up, the water surface broke open, and the upper half of the blue fatty's body was revealed.
"Franky is unconscious over there."
Jinbe slowly walked ashore, pointed in a direction with an apologetic look, and said slowly, "My apologies, members of the Straw Hat crew. This old one cannot go against his position."
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Reiner waved his hand and said, summoning his falcon to go and bring Franky back.
Soon, Reiner and the others, with the injured Luffy, returned to the Merry.
With the fissure that Ace had split as a boundary, the Straw Hat Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates began their respective treatments and recuperation.
By late afternoon, Marco, covered in bandages, flew over.
The moment he landed, he heard a loud shout from within the ship's cabin.
"—Meat!!"
"So hungry! I want to eat meat, Sanji!"
Hearing the voice inside, Reiner held his forehead and walked out of the second-floor kitchen.
Sanji was wrapped up like a mummy, so for the time being, his undead was acting as the chef.
Just as he walked out, he happened to run into the visiting Marco.
"I smell something cooking."
Marco stood with one hand on his hip and said to Reiner with a displeased expression, "Stop messing around. Our captain is calling you all over for a banquet."
"A banquet!!"
Bang!
Triggering the keyword, Luffy broke through the door of the forecastle dormitory, his two nostrils puffing air like a bull as he looked left and right. "A banquet! Where!"
Bang!
A massive fist heavily knocked him on the back of the head, smashing him into the floorboards.
Nami came up from behind, her teeth itching with anger. "What banquet! To go over and be laughed at by others, you idiot? Do you think our skin is as thick as yours!"
"What does it matter!"
"Anyway, it's not the first or second time I've been beaten by Ace!"
Luffy turned his head back and said righteously, "I don't care! I want to go to a banquet!"
"You bastard..."
Nami raised her fist, her teeth itching with anger. "How can you say that so righteously!"
"Alright, alright. That was all just a joke before. Come on over."
With that, Marco cast a disdainful, dead-fish-eyed glance at Reiner and said with disgust, "We're not as petty as some people."
"..."
"Right, you're so noble."
Reiner sneered coldly and went back to the kitchen to pack things up.
A little while later, under Marco's lead, their group still went over.
The Whitebeard Pirates had already set up a camp here.
The banquet began. The sixteen divisions were each composed of a hundred people, totaling over one thousand six hundred people. It was extremely lively when they gathered together.
This deserted island began to erupt with waves of laughter and cheerful voices, even louder than the thunder in the sky...—
Easter Egg:
"Time for a photo! A group photo on the first island in the New World."
Reiner set up his camera and adjusted the angle. "Look at the camera, everyone!"
"Coming!"
Luffy jumped out from the crowd, his mouth stuffed full, still holding a handful of meat patties in his hand.
Nami, Robin, and the others also walked over. Zoro carried the bandage-wrapped mummy Sanji on his shoulder, and the group lined up in a row.
"Smile, smile."
"Hey, whoever that is over there, come and press the shutter for us!"
Reiner casually beckoned over a pirate, then ran to join the queue himself.
Luffy forcefully swallowed the meat in his mouth and grinned, revealing a mouthful of large white teeth.
"Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Wait a minute, you bastard!"
"And us, the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Ace grinned cheekily and flew over, directly stepping on Luffy's back.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't push me!"
"What does it matter? Together, together!"
The people from the two pirate crews squeezed together, trying their best to get their heads into the shot!
"Straw Hat Pirates!"
"And us, the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Smile! Grin! Yes, just like that!"
"Three, two, one!"
"Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!"
"Happy New Year!!"
(End of chapter)
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