"Bring that here."
At Ivalis's command, a crew member of the Golden Hair Pirates produced a heavy iron chain. The thick, oppressive aura of Seastone radiating from it caused the expressions of Ace, Teach, and several other Ability Users to darken.
Ivalis took Luffy from Lafitte's grasp with a rough tug. Gripping Luffy's unconscious form, he walked toward Ace, followed closely by the subordinate carrying the Seastone chains.
"Ace, I guarantee the lives of both 'Straw Hat' Luffy and Warlord Sabo," Ivalis stated concisely.
Ace bit his lip. Nearby, Sabo roared, "Ace, stop! Run, quickly!"
Cavendish increased the pressure of his foot on Sabo's back. "Quiet, you commoner!"
After a brief glance at the captured Sabo and Luffy, Ace silently extended both hands.
Ace's wrists were bound tightly with the Seastone chains. Though he lost his Devil Fruit powers, he retained basic mobility. Seastone varies in purity; higher quality stone weakens Ability Users more severely. The grade Ivalis used on Ace was calculated perfectly—it suppressed his powers and drained his strength, yet left him enough energy to walk on his own.
Ivalis nodded to his subordinates, and they simultaneously released Sabo and the Straw Hat crew.
"Luffy too." Ace's focus remained fixed on Luffy, who was still being held by Ivalis.
Lafitte walked over to Luffy and snapped his fingers. Slowly, Luffy's eyelids fluttered open.
"Luffy! Are you okay?" Usopp cried out urgently, though he didn't dare step forward under the intimidating gaze of the enemies.
"A-Ah... what? How did I... fall asleep?" Luffy shook his head groggily. He looked up to see Ace and Sabo. "A-Ace? Sabo's here too? Everyone... why is everyone here..."
"I just heard Admiral Kizaru is patrolling nearby. Let's hand Ace over to them."
Teach walked to the bound Ace and grabbed the end of the chain. He looked at Ivalis and the others. "My thanks for this time, gentlemen of the Immortals."
With a sharp jerk of the chain, Teach prepared to drag Ace away.
"Hey! You weirdos! Let go of Ace!" Luffy charged forward, his face full of rage.
Suddenly, Sabo blocked Luffy with his arm. "Stop, Luffy! There's nothing we can do right now! We have to go back and formulate a plan to rescue Ace!"
"What are you talking about, Sabo?! Ace was caught by those strange guys! We have to save him now!" Luffy struggled against Sabo's grip.
"But we... we just can't!" Sabo cried out in grief and indignation.
Did he not want to save him? But he could only watch helplessly as Ace was led away.
"Mission accomplished." Ivalis and his men sheathed their weapons. "Now, we just wait for the news."
"Hey! Wait! Who even are you guys!?" Luffy shouted at the retreating backs of the Golden Hair Pirates.
After they had walked a certain distance, Alucard's silhouette suddenly appeared ahead of them. Nami gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "That man!"
"Captain," Ivalis and his group stopped, bowing to Alucard.
"It's looking rather worn out... that Straw Hat." Alucard glanced at the hat on Luffy's head, his gaze unreadable. "No time to catch up with old friends?"
Benn Beckman, surprisingly, replied to Alucard. "We belong to different pirate crews; that makes us enemies. There are no 'old times' to catch up on."
"Hehe..." A smile played on Alucard's lips. "The war is about to begin. You'd better go get ready."
By the time Rayleigh arrived, all he saw was Luffy kneeling on the ground, crying uncontrollably, while Sabo, Nami, and the others tried to comfort him. Rayleigh sighed inwardly. Am I too late after all?
…
Sabaody Archipelago was very close to Marine Headquarters. At full speed, a battleship could make the trip in just a few hours. Teach boarded Borsalino's warship and quickly delivered Ace into the hands of Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
The following day, a massive news bulletin shook the entire world:
[Sabo has been found to be in close contact with pirates, violating the Warlord code. He is hereby stripped of his position as one of the Seven Warlords, to be replaced by 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach.]
[The new Warlord replacing Crocodile has been chosen: Weevil.]
[Portgas D. Ace, Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, has been captured. Marine Headquarters has decreed a public execution.]
Heavy news hit the world in rapid succession. Everyone realized that Whitebeard would be furious. A full-scale war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Government was imminent.
While everyone's attention was fixed on the upcoming battle at Marineford, few knew that ten thousand meters above, another war, no smaller in scale than the Summit War, was about to erupt.
…
New World, Amazon Lily Territory. New Amazon Lily.
At the edge of the island, only three men stood: Alucard, Dr. Vegapunk, and Bartholomew Kuma. Surrounding them were the Boa sisters, Shirahoshi, the Riku sisters, and the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates.
Dr. Vegapunk explained, "To prevent sneak attacks from other pirates or the Government, the Blacklight Infected Beasts, controlled by Poseidon and myself, will serve as guardians for the sea and land. Everyone else, head to the Sky Island. Prepare to engage the massive combined forces of the Army and the World Government."
"Master, please come up quickly. I will be waiting for you," Hancock said lingeringly as she boarded the ship.
Kuma slapped the side of the vessel, encasing the entire ship in a massive paw-shaped air bubble. It rocketed into the clouds at a staggering speed.
"They are the World Government... will it be okay?" Scarlett, acting as a defender, asked worriedly.
"I will not lose." Alucard's tone was arrogant, radiating absolute confidence.
"Alucard-sama, latest intelligence: Marine Headquarters is transporting troops from branches all over the world. Preliminary estimates suggest a force of no less than 100,000," Dr. Vegapunk reported.
"Just like that day twenty years ago... I will give the Government a memory they will never forget." Alucard's eyes glowed red with anticipation. The moment the clarions of the Paramount War sounded would be the first step in his plan to deal a crushing blow to the World Government.