Marine Headquarters – Summit War Battlefield
The battle burned with unrelenting fury.
The sudden appearance of not one, but two members of the Straw Hat Pirates had sent ripples of shock and curiosity through friend and foe alike—
But war would not halt for wonder.
This was a battlefield.
No one had the luxury to stand around in awe.
Facing the fierce assault of the Straw Hats' raiding squad,
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood upon the execution platform, his expression stern.
His hawk-like eyes swept across the entire field, taking in the grand situation,
His brilliant tactical mind running at full speed as he issued orders to all fronts.
At his command, the Marine officers and elite soldiers quickly steadied their formations.
Wave after wave of troops surged forward, forming an iron wall to halt the Straw Hats' advance.
Every Marine here, to even set foot in this battle, was at least of Ensign rank.
One or two such soldiers might pose little trouble to a man with a 300 million bounty like Monkey D. Luffy—
But when dozens, even hundreds attacked together, Rokushiki techniques flashing in all directions,
Even the "Super Rookie" Luffy could not move unscathed.
In less than a minute of fighting,
Luffy's body was already marked with shallow and deep cuts along his arms and legs.
Though only minor wounds, the accumulation was anything but comfortable—
Especially for someone who had already pushed himself to the brink during the Impel Down escape.
Only the stimulant hormones from the okama king, Ivankov, allowed him to ignore his fatigue and pain for now.
"Damn it! These guys just won't quit… I've gotta be the first one to reach Ace!"
Luffy clenched his teeth, unwilling to lose to his "other self" racing to his brother's side.
"Luffy, don't rush! Let me clear the way for you next!!!"
The deep, steady voice came from behind him.
"Franky!"
Seeing the cyborg roaring in on his Black Rhino motorcycle, Luffy's eyes lit up.
"What's that bike?! So cool! And the tank behind it—can I ride it?!"
If he could ride a motorcycle—or better yet, control a tank—
He'd be able to advance much more easily.
At least, so he thought…
"Sorry, Luffy!" Franky said with a sheepish grin,
Turning down his captain's request.
"When this war's over, you can ride them all you want. But right now—
It's time for the Black Rhino and Brachio Tank to combine!!!"
Franky's grin widened, his perfect white teeth flashing.
"Combine?!"
At that word, Luffy's disappointment vanished, his eyes shining even brighter.
"That's right! It's the moment for the Steel Pirate to go wild—SUPER!!!"
Franky leapt high, striking his signature pose.
A second later, the No. 4 Black Rhino and No. 5 Brachio Tank slammed together.
A dazzling light flared—
—And the towering figure of General Franky stood revealed!
"Whoaaa! So cool! That's way too awesome!!!"
It was Luffy's first time seeing General Franky, and he jumped three feet into the air, letting out strange excited cries.
"Uwooooh!"
"It's here!"
"The Steel Pirate—General Franky!"
Even Usopp, Chopper, and Brook, who had seen this before, couldn't contain their excitement.
Not just the Straw Hats—
For men, giant robots were the ultimate romance.
To see the Steel Pirate's magnificent combination and transformation with their own eyes…
Even the men of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't help but shout in awe.
"Not bad! As expected of Ace's little brother's crew!"
First Division Commander Marco praised with admiration.
"No one can be underestimated!"
"Yeah! That robot's amazing!"
"I'd kill to have one of those big robots myself!"
"Hey, maybe after the war, we can ask the Straw Hats to custom-build one for us!"
"Haha, you trying to work your shipwright to death?"
Even some Marines found their eyes sparkling, momentarily entranced,
Until their officers' shouts brought them back to their senses—
And to the fact that this flashy mecha belonged to the enemy.
"Everyone! The priority is to stop the Straw Hats from breaking through! Give it everything you've got!"
Major General Yukimora—known as the Slayer of a Thousand Men—shouted,
Leading his elite squad straight at the distracted Luffy.
Luffy's sharp battle instincts kicked in—
But before he could move,
A massive sword suddenly cleaved down between him and the Marines.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my captain! From now on, your opponent is the Steel Pirate—General Franky!!!"
Franky's voice boomed as General Franky's eyes lit up.
"Special Weapon—Franken!!!"
The enormous blade swept in a wide arc,
Its overwhelming force scattering dozens of elite Marines in one blow—
Including Major General Yukimora himself.
Some, too confident in their Tekkai, tried to take the hit head-on.
They ended up coughing blood, knocked unconscious, their bodies unable to endure the mech's crushing power.
"Luffy! Leave the vanguard breakthrough to me—just follow right behind!"
Franky gave a thumbs-up from inside General Franky's cockpit.
"Yeah!!!"
Luffy's fist slammed into his palm in agreement, trusting his crewmate completely.
"Let's go!!!"
The Steel Pirate's blade danced,
Crushing all resistance.
Even the combined attacks of Marine Headquarters' Major Generals couldn't slow him for a second.
"Damn it!"
"What the hell is that monster?!"
"No human could stand up to that!"
"Even Vice Admiral Stainless got knocked flying!"
"Do we need an Admiral to take him down?!"
Fury and frustration filled the Marines' shouts—
But they simply couldn't stop him.
Normal artillery couldn't even scratch General Franky.
Even slashes infused with Busoshoku Haki left only faint marks—
Which healed almost instantly thanks to the special memory-metal alloys built into his frame.
"Another humanoid combat robot… Even Vegapunk hasn't finished developing one, and yet the Straw Hats somehow have it?"
On the execution platform, Sengoku ground his teeth.
"Sengoku-san, should I take care of them?"
Admiral Kizaru smirked, volunteering.
"Robots should be handled by robots," Zephyr said calmly.
"Indeed…"
Sengoku's eyes lit up, turning toward Tyrant Kuma among the Shichibukai stationed in the plaza.
"Borsalino, inform Sentoumaru—deploy the Pacifista units immediately!" Sengoku ordered.
Originally, the Pacifista were meant to be used in coordination with the encircling walls—
To completely cut off the pirates' retreat and annihilate Whitebeard's forces in the bay.
But now…
Under the pressure of General Franky's rampage,
Sengoku was forced to change his strategy early.
Deploy the Pacifista—have them join the battle immediately.
The order was given.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku put away the Den Den Mushi, intending to continue observing the overall situation—
But at that moment—
Blue~ Blue~ Blue~
A low, urgent Den Den Mushi call rang out from the special inner pocket of his coat.
Its black shell marked it as a line reserved for the World Government's highest-priority, top-secret communications.
Sengoku frowned slightly.
Silently, he stepped down from the execution platform and moved to a secluded, empty area before answering.
"What is it? Five Elders, I'm in the middle of a battle!" Sengoku's voice was deep, but edged with impatience.
"Sengoku, what we are about to tell you is our…,"
came the solemn voice of one of the Five Elders from the other end of the line.
When they finished giving their instructions—
"What did you just say?!" Sengoku was stunned.
Their latest directive:
Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates was now the top-priority elimination target.
If necessary—
Even if Fire Fist Ace and Whitebeard himself escaped—
Luffy must not be allowed to leave Marineford alive.
What kind of order was this?!
The World Government had been preparing for this war for years.
Its main objective was to wipe out the Pirate King's bloodline and the remnants of the previous era—
Fire Fist Ace and Whitebeard were supposed to be the ultimate targets of this battle.
And now… with the flick of the Five Elders' fingers, everything had been rewritten.
As long as the Straw Hat boy could be eliminated,
even allowing Ace and Whitebeard to escape was acceptable?
This…
Sengoku could not accept such reasoning.
"Five Elders, do you realize what you're saying? That Straw Hat boy is nothing more than a half-baked 'Supernova.' Is it really necessary to—"
"Silence, Sengoku!"
The blond-haired Elder's stern voice cut him off.
"Your only duty is to obey orders and execute our directives!" barked the scarred warrior Elder.
"Do not question matters beyond your station. This is not something you have the authority to investigate,"
the silver-bearded Elder said in a low, meaningful tone.
"…Understood!" Sengoku replied gravely, a haze clouding his mind.
No matter how he tried, he could not understand why the Five Elders valued Luffy so highly—
Even more than Ace and Whitebeard combined.
But right now, all he could do was obey.
Obeying orders from above was something he had done since the day he joined the Marines.
"Now, pass down my order: at all costs, with every available force—kill Straw Hat Luffy!!!"
With that, Sengoku returned to the execution platform, casting a sidelong glance at Garp.
Garp still didn't know about this order.
If Luffy really were to die here today—
If Garp had to watch his grandson perish before his eyes—
What would happen then?
Sengoku couldn't imagine.
For now, he could only take things one step at a time.
On the Frozen Bay – Battlefield
Gunfire still roared across the icy battlefield.
Flames of war and smoke billowed in all directions.
"Charge, General Franky! Full speed ahead!"
Luffy stood proudly on the Steel Pirate's shoulder, shouting with full force.
Suddenly—
Right behind him, Zoro, Sanji, and Yamato's expressions shifted at the same moment.
Their Kenbunshoku Haki had picked up a dangerous threat emerging from the smoke.
"Franky!"
"Watch out!!!"
"Something's coming!!!"
Their warnings rang out together—
A heartbeat later,
dozens of brilliant golden points of light pierced through the thick, heavy steam and gunpowder haze.
"All units—alert!"
On the flanks, First Division Commander Marco and Third Division Commander Jozu both shouted warnings to their men.
The next moment—
The golden lights erupted.
Dozens of laser beams blasted through the smoke, detonating into searing spheres of fire across the frozen battlefield.
With just one volley,
the Whitebeard Pirates' assault formation was torn apart,
the scene thrown into chaos.
"Wha—what the hell is that?!"
"Shichibukai… Bartholomew Kuma?!"
"Damn it! Why are there so many Kumas?!"
"Two of them at Sabaody were bad enough—but here there are dozens?!"
Shouts of shock and disbelief rang from every corner of the Whitebeard Pirates' forces.
From the smoke marched a silent army of identical, heavy-stepping figures—
The Pacifista Corps.
"Luffy, are you okay?" Zoro and Sanji rushed over.
"I'm fine—thanks to the Steel Pirate, General Franky!" Luffy nodded, though his expression had grown uncharacteristically serious.
"These Kumas… they're the same as back at Sabaody…"
His mind flashed back to the incident just ten days earlier—
Before Admiral Kizaru appeared,
these same Kuma lookalikes had hunted them down mercilessly.
Even one had been enough to push the Straw Hats to the brink of defeat.
Now there was a whole army.
---
To Ivankov, the shock was even greater.
As a Revolutionary Army veteran, he had once fought side-by-side with Bartholomew Kuma as a trusted comrade—
But after being imprisoned in Impel Down, they had lost contact for years.
Never had he imagined their reunion would be like this.
"What in the world is going on here?! Why are there so many Kumas?! Did he… copy my face as a special attack?!" Ivankov's jaw dropped.
"No, Ivankov," Jinbe said gravely,
"These aren't the Kuma you know—they're human weapons developed by the World Government: the Pacifista. I can't explain all the details now, but one thing's certain—they're the enemy!"
"Human weapons… Pacifista?" Ivankov repeated, stunned.
But the enemy's attack left no time for answers.
"Pacifista units—fire at will!!!"
At Sentoumaru's command,
every Pacifista raised its arms and opened its mouth—
palms and throats glowing with the deadly gold of charging lasers.
"Don't think you've got the monopoly on firepower! It's our turn now!"
The Steel Pirate, General Franky, rose to his full imposing height,
facing the entire Pacifista Corps head-on.