Boa Hancock turned around stiffly.
She first glanced at the Den Den Mushi, then turned her head to look at Ian. The wild joy that had just surged from her sisters' radical transformation faded slightly.
An order issued by Marine Headquarters.
If she refused, her title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would be stripped, and her country and people would be plunged into war.
In the past, she naturally wouldn't have feared this, but now the citizens of Amazon Lily were Lord Ian's property. How could she allow them to be casually lost?
Hancock was caught in a fierce internal struggle.
Just then, a hand gently rested on the top of her head. The warmth from the palm instantly smoothed away the anxiety in her heart.
Ian walked up beside her, glanced at the Den Den Mushi, and chuckled.
"A summons?"
"Perfect timing."
He turned around with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the boundless azure sea, the ocean breeze fluttering the hem of his clothes.
"Just accept it. We'll go together."
"This world is a stagnant pool with no future in sight."
"It's about time someone flipped the board and ended the tedious rule of those pigs."
Boom!
These few words were directly branded into the depths of the three sisters' souls.
They abruptly looked up, staring intently at his back.
At this moment, a blazing light erupted in their eyes.
In their eyes, this man not only possessed overwhelming strength but also harbored such magnificent ambitions!
From this moment on, they would become Lord Ian's most fanatical believers.
"However..."
Ian changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the two sisters who had just been reborn with skyrocketing power.
"You aren't even familiar with your own strength yet. Even if you went, you wouldn't be able to stir up any waves."
"The most urgent task at hand is for you to undergo some training."
This assessment shattered the tiny sliver of complacency that had just sprouted in Sandersonia and Marigold. They lowered their heads alongside Hancock.
"We are entirely at your command, My Lord!"
At this time, Lu Mingfei, who had been standing to the side, suddenly whistled and squinted at the sky.
"Boss, a package has arrived. It's an expedited delivery from Kuma Express."
Everyone looked up at the sound.
On the horizon, a translucent, giant bear paw print was rapidly flying toward Amazon Lily, trailing a long trajectory. Inside the paw print, a blurry human figure was encased.
"Enemy attack!"
"Protect the Lord!"
The Amazon warriors instantly drew their bows and nocked their arrows, aiming at the bear paw in the sky.
But Ian simply raised a hand. The bear paw in the sky vanished, and a young man wearing a red vest and covered in injuries fell out of it.
"The protagonist makes his entrance. Quite the dramatic flair."
Ian shot Lu Mingfei a look.
"Mingfei, catch him and pry his mouth open."
"You got it!"
Lu Mingfei vanished in a flash, appearing right where the boy was falling, and caught him effortlessly. He then ruthlessly yanked Luffy's mouth open.
Ian pulled out a Golden Apple and tossed it straight into Luffy's mouth.
The next second, a miracle occurred.
The bone-deep gashes, charred burns, and hideous bruises on the boy's body rapidly vanished. His previously faint life force surged explosively!
"Ugh..."
The boy suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He stared blankly at his perfectly intact hands, then patted his uninjured body, looking completely bewildered.
"Where... is this?"
"This is the Island of Women, Amazon Lily," an Amazon warrior replied instinctively.
Luffy gradually recalled what had happened earlier.
Sabaody Archipelago... the unbeatable Tyrant... his crewmates being swatted away one by one right in front of him...
"My crew! Where are my crewmates!"
Luffy sprang up from the ground. Seeing that his friends weren't here, he turned to dash off, intending to search the island.
Lu Mingfei extended a single finger and pressed it against his forehead.
Luffy's legs churned wildly in place, kicking up a cloud of dust, but he couldn't move forward a single inch.
"Save it, Straw Hat," Lu Mingfei said. "Your crew got swatted to different parts of the world by Kuma for a vacation. Don't worry, they're all perfectly safe. Right now, they're probably enjoying the local specialties."
"Stop rushing to find them. You have more pressing matters to deal with here."
Ian took out the newspaper he had bought from the News Coo and handed it to Luffy.
On the front page was a photo of the imprisoned "Fire Fist" Ace, with a headline written in blood-red font below it.
"In Ten Days, Marine Headquarters Will Publicly Execute the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—Fire Fist Ace"
"Ace!"
Luffy's body trembled violently as he gripped the newspaper with shaking hands.
"I have to go save him!"
"I'm going to Marineford!"
"He's in Impel Down right now, you idiot," Lu Mingfei deadpanned from the side.
Luffy turned to Lu Mingfei as if grabbing onto a lifeline, urgently asking for the direction to Impel Down.
"Bro! Do you know where Impel Down is?"
Lu Mingfei looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Hey, listen to yourself. You couldn't even beat that Kuma guy who swatted you away, and you want to break into the most heavily guarded prison in the world? You want to rescue someone from the hands of even stronger Marine Admirals and the Fleet Admiral?"
"Are you planning to win them over with your naivety, or knock them out with your headbutts?"
These words seemed to drain all the strength from Luffy's body.
The color drained from his body, turning him into a grayscale sketch.
Powerless, weak, despairing...
His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Finally, he curled up into a ball, clutching his head tightly as his body trembled uncontrollably.
Ian looked at the trembling Luffy.
"You are too weak, which is why you can't do anything."
Luffy's body stiffened abruptly.
"However, you're very lucky to have run into us." A faint smile appeared on Ian's face. "We just so happen to be heading to Marineford to join the fun. We don't mind bringing you along for the ride."
Luffy's head snapped up.
A spark reignited in those eyes that had just lost their light. He wiped the snot from his face and asked.
"You're willing to help me?"
"Are you friends with Ace?"
Ian didn't answer, only smiling mysteriously.
"Don't worry about all that."
"We can take you with us, but you can't go looking this weak."
He gently placed his palm on the top of Luffy's head.
In the next instant, a sudden mutation occurred!
A massive surge of energy poured from Ian's palm into Luffy's body! Luffy felt as if a sun had exploded inside his brain!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
A bizarre and wild drumbeat pounded from his heart!
Luffy's black hair rapidly lost its color, burning and ultimately transforming into a head of arrogant, untamed, pure white hair that rose like flames!
His red vest and blue shorts were similarly bleached, turning pure white!
Most bizarrely, a "feathered flame" made of white clouds appeared out of thin air around his neck and shoulders, looking divine and ethereal.
Luffy slowly stood up.
The pained, despairing expression on his face was replaced by an exaggerated grin. His eyes sparkled with a sun-like radiance.
His entire aura had undergone an earth-shattering transformation!
"Shishishishi..."
He let out a peculiar laugh, his body constantly bouncing and stretching in place, ricocheting back and forth between the ground and the clouds, leaving behind a series of afterimages in a bizarre art style.
"Shishishi, I feel like my body is overflowing with power!"
"I feel like I can do anything! Haha!"
"Holy crap, Boss, what kind of cheat code did you just install in him?" Lu Mingfei stared, his eyes practically bugging out. "This look is pretty badass, it's got a real mythological vibe to it."
Ian retracted his hand, looking at him in amusement.
"Little Lu, if I remember correctly, the manga in your world has only just reached the Summit War arc, right?"
Lu Mingfei nodded, confused. "Yeah, why?"
"In my world, One Piece is almost over."
Ian pointed at the white Luffy, who was currently bouncing up and down in all sorts of exaggerated poses.
"See that? Luffy just awakened the 'Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Nika'."
"In the manga, he becomes one of the Four Emperors, and right now, he's about to go to war with the World Government."
Lu Mingfei's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
The expression on his face shifted from shock to blankness, and then to the twisted look of his entire worldview collapsing.
"Nani?!"
"Doesn't Luffy have the Gum-Gum Fruit? What the hell is the Nika Fruit!!"