The scene shifted back to the opening of the great war—
the moment the signal for battle truly rang out.
One of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, unleashed the full might of his Gura Gura no Mi, shaking the heavens and the earth with a single cataclysmic blow.
The shockwaves tore through the air, triggering violent quakes beneath the sea. Moments later, they surged upward into a towering tsunami—vast enough to swallow the entirety of Marine Headquarters.
In response, Admiral Aokiji made his move.
With the ultimate power of his Hie Hie no Mi, he froze the oncoming tsunami solid—Ice Age.
But no one knew…
that atop the frozen waves sat a battleship from the great underwater prison Impel Down.
On that warship were none other than Straw Hat Luffy, the clown Buggy, the "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe, Crocodile, and Okama King Ivankov—leaders of the team that had staged the great breakout from Impel Down.
After escaping the prison, they had passed through the Gates of Justice, aiming straight for Marineford to join the war.
But just as they drew near, Whitebeard unleashed his apocalyptic attack. Swept up by the colossal tsunami, the Impel Down team found themselves stranded atop the frozen crest, unable to advance or retreat.
As the group racked their brains for a way down—
"Hey, look! Isn't there… a ship flying through the sky?!" a prisoner shouted in disbelief.
"Flying? Don't be ridiculous!" Buggy scoffed, waving a hand.
But before the words had left his mouth, his eyes bulged, jaw dropping so far it nearly hit the ice.
"The ship… it really is flying!!!"
"What the hell is going on with that ship?!"
"Did some giant throw it here?!"
"Wait—that flag… it looks familiar!"
The Impel Down prisoners erupted into noisy speculation.
Then—
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Luffy suddenly let out a startled cry.
"What is it, Luffy?!"
"Straw Hat boy, what's wrong?" Jinbe and Ivankov hurried to his side.
"T-that… that ship… it's our Thousand Sunny!" Luffy declared.
Even with just a glance, he knew—without a shred of doubt—it was theirs. The Straw Hats' own ship.
"Oi oi oi, Straw Hat boy—how did your ship end up flying straight into this battlefield?" Ivankov asked, bewildered.
"No idea!" Luffy shook his head, eyes locked firmly on the scene ahead.
"Could it be that your crewmates have arrived?" Jinbe suggested.
For a heartbeat, Luffy's eyes lit up—then dimmed again.
He wanted to believe it, wanted to see his crew again more than anything… but reality was harsh. Ten days ago, Tyrant Kuma's ability had scattered them to the far corners of the world—some even to the South Blue. Reuniting so soon was all but impossible.
"Whoever sailed the Sunny here—if it's a thief, I won't forgive them!" Luffy clenched his fists.
The airborne ship descended into the chaos of the battlefield.
And just as Luffy had said—it was the Thousand Sunny.
But the people aboard… far exceeded anything Luffy could have imagined.
When he saw those familiar faces, his entire body froze.
"Who are those people on that ship?"
"And that boy at the bow… he looks kind of familiar!"
"Not just him—look at the helmsman, too!"
The prisoners clustered at the frozen edge of the battlefield murmured in confusion.
Those who had been locked away in Impel Down for years didn't recognize the Straw Hat crew. But others—like Buggy, Crocodile, Mr. 1 (Daz Bones), and Mr. 3 (Galdino)—had crossed paths with them before.
"No mistake—that's them! The ones on that ship are the Straw Hats!" Mr. 3 blurted.
"Zoro, Nami, Chopper, Sanji, Usopp, Robin, Franky, Brook… You're all safe! Thank goodness… thank goodness you're all safe!"
Luffy's voice cracked with emotion, his eyes red.
Right now, all he could see were his friends.
"They really came… charging straight into the battlefield!" Jinbe muttered in astonishment.
"But Luffy… now's not the time to relax. Your friends are in serious danger!" he warned.
"Hey, Knight of the Sea! Straw Hat! Is this really the time for chit-chat?!" Buggy cut in.
"What?" Jinbe frowned, confused by everyone's strange looks.
"Muhahaha~" Ivankov's jaw dropped. "Luffy boy, Jinbe—look closely at the boy standing at the bow… and the fish-man at the helm. Who are they?"
Luffy and Jinbe turned their eyes toward the figures—
And froze.
"That… that's me!!!"
"And that's… me!!!"
The Luffy and Jinbe from two years ago stood stunned, eyes wide as saucers, jaws hanging open.
"What the hell is going on?! Why is there another me?!" Luffy clutched his head in confusion.
Buggy smirked knowingly. "Heh… obviously, you two are twins!"
Luffy, Jinbe: "…"
Before they could argue, the battle below took a turn.
The Luffy from two years later moved—
and in a single strike, took down long-serving Vice Admiral Dalmatian.
"That's Vice Admiral Dalmatian! And Luffy boy just one-shotted him?!" Jinbe exclaimed.
"Is… is that really me? I'm that strong?!" Luffy scratched his head, dazed.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Crocodile shook his head. "There's no way that brat could one-shot a Marine Vice Admiral!"
In truth, such a feat was beyond even Crocodile. To instantly defeat an opponent of that caliber meant surpassing them by an entire tier—Admiral level… or even Emperor.
The idea that Straw Hat Luffy could fight on par with an Admiral—or even possess the power of a Yonko—
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Crocodile wasn't the only one analyzing the implications of what they had just witnessed.
The well-informed "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe and the Okama King Ivankov reached the same conclusion, quickly explaining it to those around them.
The result was unanimous—
every single Impel Down prisoner on the scene was left in stunned, slack-jawed disbelief.
"You're telling me that kid down there can already stand on equal ground with the Marines' highest combat force? That's impossible!"
Mr. 3, Galdino, gaped and muttered unconsciously.
"No, that's not right! Straw Hat is standing here with us! The one down there just looks exactly like him!" Buggy pointed out.
"Could it be… Bentham?"
One of the okama prisoners guessed, thinking of Bon Kurei's clone-copying powers.
But the thought was dismissed immediately—Bentham had stayed behind to hold the Gates of Justice open, sacrificing his freedom so the rest could escape…
"Luffy boy, are you absolutely sure you don't have a twin brother?"
Ivankov's eyes glittered with hope.
If it were true—if Straw Hat Luffy had a twin brother who was also the son of Dragon—it would mean another Emperor-class ally for the Revolutionary Army. That would be monumental news.
"My only brothers are Ace and Sabo—no, I… I don't know," Luffy said, confused.
"Regardless of whether Luffy has a twin or not, I can say with certainty—I have no brothers."
Jinbe's voice was firm, his gaze locked on the battlefield, expression unreadable.
"Nguh… ooohhh…"
At that moment—
"A Marine Vice Admiral's been taken down!"
"This time it's a young woman!"
"Who is she?!"
"She just beat Strawberry like it was nothing!"
"Could she be Admiral-level?!"
Seeing Yamato crush Vice Admiral Strawberry in a single blow sent another wave of shock through the Impel Down prisoners.
"Even if that girl isn't quite Admiral strength, she's close," Ivankov said gravely.
"Seriously… what is going on in this sea? Monsters just keep showing up," Crocodile muttered, face dark.
Luffy slapped both cheeks, forcing his mind to clear.
"Anyway, the most important thing right now is figuring out how to get down there!" he said.
"Luffy's right—once we're down there, everything will become clear!" Jinbe agreed.
Buggy, lying lazily on the ice and picking his nose, clearly had no intention of charging into danger. Watching from up here was far more comfortable.
Time ticked by.
The Summit War raged on, the fighting surging fiercely around the Straw Hats' position as the center of both Marine and pirate assaults.
Up on the ice wall, Luffy pressed his fingers to his temple, deep in rare concentration—
"Straw Hat!"
"Come look!"
"All your friends are fighting now!"
"Oi, that green-haired guy and the blond—what are they doing?"
"Wait, don't tell me… they're going to take on an Admiral?!"
The uproar from the prisoners snapped Luffy, Jinbe, and Crocodile out of thought. They rushed to the ice wall's edge and peered down at the center of the battlefield, where the Thousand Sunny was stationed.
Sanji was gone—completely vanished from sight.
And there—standing atop an Usopp-grown plant platform—was Roronoa Zoro.
All three swords were drawn.
His killing intent and sword aura towered into the sky, the black sheen of advanced Busoshoku Haki swirling along the blades. On Kokuto Enma, faint arcs of lightning crackled.
"So strong…"
Mr. 1, Daz Bones, who had once crossed blades with Zoro, felt a cold sweat drip down his forehead. In Alabasta, he had been cut down by Zoro's steel-slicing swordsmanship.
But now—
Even from a distance, just sensing this aura made his steel-hardened skin prickle in warning.
He knew without a doubt—if he faced this Zoro now, he'd be killed in an instant.
"When did Zoro get this strong?!"
Two-years-ago Luffy's mind filled with question marks.
His instincts told him—Zoro might even be stronger than him now.
And not just Zoro. Every single one of his crewmates had grown immensely—not by a little, but by leaps and bounds.
In the battlefield's heart—Zoro moved.
Using Usopp's plant platform as a springboard, his coiled body shot forward like a cannonball, target locked on Admiral Kizaru.
"Roronoa Zoro… really scary~" Kizaru drawled, lips curling in lazy amusement. Of course, he had noticed Zoro's killing intent locking onto him.
Golden light flared as a radiant blade materialized in his hands.
"Man… Ace's friends really are reckless," Marco muttered, tasked with keeping Kizaru occupied.
Sensing Zoro's unshakable resolve, Marco didn't try to stop him. He simply stepped aside, opening a path.
In the blink of an eye, the gap between them closed to less than ten meters.
Zoro's swords flashed—
his aura, honed to the limit, erupted like a surging ocean.
This was the same strike that had once cut down King the Conflagration—
unleashed in full force.
"En-Ō Santōryū: Ippyakusanjo Hiryu Jigoku!!!"
(King of Hell Three Sword Dragon: 103 Emotions – Flying Dragon Samurai Extreme)