As the Straw Hat crew left the bar and headed toward Grove 41, the location of the coating shipyard where the Thousand Sunny was docked, they passed near Grove 25, where a three-way battle was raging. Even from a distance, the earth-shattering explosions and the sheer intensity of the aftershocks made the immense power of the combatants clear.
Through the haze of battle, Luffy and the others could faintly see figures being blasted into the sky, crashing into surrounding buildings or the massive trunks of the Yarukiman Mangroves. The brutality of the fighting told them one thing: this was a life-or-death struggle.
"Luffy, we're very close to Marine Headquarters here. We should hurry and move on," Nami reminded him. she was genuinely worried that Luffy would take a sudden whim to "go check it out"—a situation they had encountered all too often on their journey.
"Yeah," Luffy nodded. Although he was usually carefree and impulsive, he possessed a keen intuition for priorities in critical moments.
BOOM!
But they had barely run a few paces when another massive explosion erupted. This time, as soon as Luffy looked back, his feet felt like they were glued to the ground.
He had seen that spiraling tornado of fire and wind once before in Alabasta. It was the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit, belonging to his sworn brother, Portgas D. Ace!
Nami recognized the ability at the same moment, her eyes widening. "No... it can't be? You don't mean the one fighting is...?"
Tatap-tatap-tatap!
The sound of urgent footsteps reached their ears. Looking over, they saw Luffy already sprinting toward the battlefield.
"Hey! Luffy, don't be reckless!" Nami and the others cried out, but it was too late to stop him. Luffy showed no sign of slowing down; left with no choice, the rest of the crew gave chase.
…
"Harley! Use your ability! Everyone, retreat with Ace!" Sabo shouted, signaling for an immediate withdrawal.
Currently, the Golden Hair Pirates were holding the line, but the clash between Ace and Ivalis was repeatedly turning against them. Hearing Sabo's order, Ace felt a flash of frustration, but he didn't argue.
"Harley" was a brown-haired man with a constant, wide-toothed grin who had previously fought Van Augur. Upon hearing Sabo's command, Harley's grin grew even more exaggerated. His body began emitting a thick mist that rapidly began to envelop the grassy clearing of Grove 25.
"Is that the Smoke-Smoke Fruit?" Teach muttered, watching the surroundings blur, but he quickly shook his head. "No... that's that Marine Smoker's power. Is this fog? Or steam?"
Teach made another guess, but that wasn't right either. The Steam-Steam Fruit was an ability held by Aranea, the "Female Dragon Knight" under Alucard's command.
"Obstructed vision is no big deal," Ivalis said coldly. "Just use Observation Haki to sense them."
"Hm?" Ivalis suddenly noticed a figure approaching through the dense fog beside him. Judging by the silhouette, it was one of Sabo's crew members he had wounded earlier.
"Hmph!" Ivalis swung a horizontal slash, unleashing a wave of sword ki. To his surprise, the opponent actually managed to block the strike with a weapon.
"What?" Ivalis was stunned. Does this guy have the level to block my attack? When he cut him earlier, the man felt like a pirate with a bounty barely over a hundred million. Logic dictated he shouldn't be capable of this.
Similar confusion was spreading through both the Golden Hair Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates. Everyone felt that the enemies they were clashing with inside this thick fog felt... wrong.
While the Golden Hair and Blackbeard factions were busy fighting each other in the mist, Sabo had already hoisted Ace onto his back and was charging out of the fog with his twenty-odd men.
"Hey, what's going on back there?" Ace climbed down from Sabo's back and glanced toward the fog, where the two pirate crews were seemingly slaughtering their own.
Harley chuckled. "I'm a Mirage Human who ate the Mirage-Mirage Fruit. I can create a space where people misidentify their targets. Right now, the Blackbeard and Golden Hair Pirates are killing each other because the environment I created makes them mistake their own comrades for us."
"In that case, I'm going back to finish off Teach!" Ace was impatient; this was a golden opportunity to kill that traitor, and he didn't want to let it slip away.
"No, Ace," Sabo blocked him. "Those are first-rate pirates; they'll realize something is wrong very soon. Besides, as Harley moves further away, the effect of the illusion will weaken. We need to move fast. We still don't know if the Immortal Pirates have other forces on this island besides the Golden Hair Pirates."
Seeing Ace and Sabo running further away, Alucard uncrossed his legs and thought to himself, Do I really have to step in?
Just as Ace and the others were nearly out of sight, Ivalis's pupils constricted. He thrust his sword violently into the earth. In an instant, the ground collapsed, rocks flew, and the illusionary environment shattered under the force of the strike.
Everyone looked at the "enemy" they were facing, and for a moment, total confusion reigned.
"Why is it you?"
"Wait... have I been fighting you this whole time?"
"Lafitte, what was that? Is it the same as your hypnosis?"
Teach noticed the fleeing figures in the distance and screamed in panic, "Hey, hey! Ace and the others are getting away! After them, quick!"
Ivalis, Benn Beckman, and the others looked in the direction Teach was pointing. They could just barely make out the retreating backs of their targets, who were fleeing at high speed. Catching up would be difficult.
"This is becoming a bit of a problem," Lafitte said, pulling his hat down low. "If we fail again, the Immortal won't let us off easily."
Thinking of this, Lafitte transformed his arms into wings, intending to give full chase. Even if his strength didn't match Ace or Sabo's, he had to give it his all this time.
"Ace~~~~!"
Just then, a long, melodic shout drew everyone's attention. Sabo and Ace, who were in the middle of their escape, suffered a massive change in expression. They looked back to see a group led by a youth in a straw hat charging into the middle of the two battlefields, shouting Ace's name at the top of his lungs.
"Where are you, Ace?!" Luffy yelled, completely oblivious to the current situation.
"Luffy...?" Ivalis and Beckman both recognized the little brat they had met ten years ago in Foosha Village.
"Heh," Alucard, sitting on the tree trunk, chuckled at the sight. "Another 'pig teammate'?"