Two years had passed like a crashing wave.
The island where Luffy had once collapsed in despair now bore the scars of endless training—shattered cliffs, cleaved forests, and craters gouged deep into the earth. The air was heavy with the lingering aura of Haki, as though the very land remembered the battles fought upon it. On this day, silence blanketed the clearing where a lone stone stood, marked with a straw hat resting gently upon it. The sun hung high, painting the sky gold as a tall figure approached.
Monkey D. Luffy.
No longer the boy who once cried out for his brother. He stood at a towering 6'6", broad-shouldered and powerful, yet lean and dangerous like a coiled predator. Across his chest lay the deep X-shaped scar, visible beneath the half-buttoned white shirt that clung to his frame. Over his shoulders draped a long black cape, sleeveless and high-collared, its ends fluttering in the breeze. A red sash tied around his waist held the cutlass that had been his training partner, its sheath worn from relentless battles. His pants cut below the knee swayed lightly as his sandals crunched against the earth.
He reached the stone, eyes steady but burning with purpose, and lifted the Straw Hat. His hands lingered on it for a moment before placing it on his head once more.
"Time to go," he murmured, his voice carrying both weight and fire.
The clearing erupted with voices and movement as his new crew—once the commanders of Whitebeard—emerged. Marco walked with a calm air, though his sharp eyes gleamed with renewed confidence. Vista adjusted the grip on his twin sabers, his mustache twitching with pride. Jozu, scarred but unbroken, carried himself with the solid strength of an unshakable wall. Izo stood tall and composed, with an aura of elegance around him.
Each of them had changed, reshaped by two years of training beside Luffy. No longer remnants—they were reborn as his crew, his family. And waiting among them, and smiling as sharp as ever, was Silvers Rayleigh.
The Dark King stepped forward, something long and wrapped in cloth held carefully in his hands. His eyes glimmered with nostalgia. "Luffy," he said, his voice deep, proud. "You've come further than even I expected. There's one last thing I've been holding onto… something only the right man should wield." Curious, Luffy tilted his head as Rayleigh extended the object toward him. With steady hands, he unraveled the cloth.
What he revealed stole the breath from every throat in the clearing.
A cutlass—its hilt yellow with a diamond-shaped pattern, a golden guard gleaming in the light. The blade curved elegantly, its sides bearing a saw-like hamon that shimmered faintly with an ancient aura. It rested in a black sheath, humming with a presence all its own. Rayleigh smirked, eyes narrowing with memory. "This blade was once my captain's. Gol D. Rogers. One of the twelve Supreme Grade Meito. Its name is Ace."
The Whitebeard commanders froze. Marco's jaw tightened, Vista's eyes widened, and Jozu actually staggered. Even hardened warriors like them couldn't believe it. They had seen it a few times in the past when Whitebeard and Roger Pirates clashed
Luffy, though—Luffy stood utterly still, the blade shaking in his hands. His chest tightened with emotion. Roger's blade. The weapon of the Pirate King. Named Ace. It felt like fate itself had placed it in his grasp.
Slowly, he unsheathed it.
The blade whispered as it slid free, catching the sunlight like liquid fire. Luffy's Haki surged instinctively, black and red lightning dancing across the steel, crackling at the edges like living flame.
With a grin breaking across his face, he swung. and shouted " Kamusari !! "
A single slash cut the air, sending a crescent wave of Armament and Conqueror's Haki roaring across the clearing. Trees splintered. The ground split. The sea itself in the distance rippled violently. Luffy lowered the blade, eyes burning with excitement. He laughed, wild and free, the sound echoing like thunder. "Shishishi… this feels amazing!" With care, he slid the sword back into its sheath, removing his old cutlass and tucking Ace into his sash.
Rayleigh smiled. He had taught Luffy those moves, and it reinforced his theory that Luffy was somehow connected to Roger ..
Luffy turned toward his crew—toward Marco, Vista, Jozu, Izo —and that feral, unstoppable grin stretched across his face. They grinned back at their Captain, "Let's go. We've got a whole world waiting for us!"
They headed to the shore, where Hancock waited on a ship with her sisters. Luffy and the rest boarded. Luffy looked back at His mentor and gave him a big Grin." See ya at Sabody, Rayleigh," he chuckled and wiped his eyes and shouted, " See ya, Luffy."
Rayleigh watched as the ship slowly disappeared on the horizon and spoke to the Wind," Ha, Roger, he reminds me of you too much, old friend." he headed back into the island preparing for his departure to Sabody