Sabo's eyes were bloodshot, his heart burning with anxiety.
He had finally recovered his lost memories—
Only to find that his little brother Luffy was dead?
No.
That couldn't be!
He was on the verge of breaking down—
Until his Observation Haki faintly caught something.
A pulse.
Weak.
But there.
Sabo's eyes widened in disbelief.
"He's alive!"
Tears streamed down his face.
"I knew it… you were always the toughest out of the three of us!"
Among the three sworn brothers—Sabo, Ace, and Luffy—Sabo and Ace had once been stronger as children.
But when it came to sheer stubborn vitality—
Luffy was unmatched.
After all, Garp had tossed him into bottomless ravines and savage jungles for brutal training countless times.
An ordinary person would've died a hundred times over.
Yet Luffy always came bouncing back.
Sabo quickly wiped his tears and examined him more closely.
"His pulse is extremely weak. He needs immediate treatment, or he'll still die!"
"What do I do? I'm not a doctor…"
Then it struck him.
"Dragon! Dragon will know what to do!"
Without hesitation, Sabo lifted Luffy and rushed toward Dragon's office.
Inside were several Revolutionary Army commanders, including Koala.
When they saw Sabo carrying a blood-soaked Straw Hat, everyone froze.
Koala gasped. "Who is that? He's severely injured!"
Before Sabo could answer—
A voice rang out, filled with shock—and suppressed fury.
"Luffy?!"
It was Monkey D. Dragon.
Sabo blinked in surprise.
"Dragon… you know Luffy?"
Dragon had left Windmill Village before Luffy was born. Even Luffy himself did not know Dragon was his father.
Perhaps only Garp knew.
True to his reputation as the world's most dangerous criminal, Dragon regained his composure swiftly.
Even before his dying son—
He suppressed his emotions.
"Luffy is my son," Dragon said quietly. "I hadn't told you."
The room fell silent.
Sabo stood stunned.
He had once been Luffy's sworn brother.
Lost his memory.
Then was taken in by Luffy's own father.
Some bonds truly could not be severed.
"We'll speak of that later," Dragon ordered calmly. "Bring him here. Call the medical unit immediately."
His commands were steady.
Decisive.
Dragon was not only a leader of unmatched will—his power was equally terrifying.
His mysterious Devil Fruit seemed capable of controlling wind and storms—an ability rivaling earthquakes and magma.
Under Dragon's coordination and the Revolutionary Army's elite medics, Luffy's pulse stabilized.
Slowly—
A heartbeat returned.
Breath followed.
Of course, much of this was thanks to the overwhelming vitality of the Mythical Zoan—Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika.
But the X-shaped scar across his chest would never vanish.
It had been carved by Enma.
Permanent.
The wound resembled the scar Akainu had once inflicted in another timeline.
Luffy stirred briefly.
His lips moved faintly.
"Damn… Fifth Emperor… my crew…"
Then he lost consciousness again.
He would not awaken for five full days.
By then—
The Summit War and countless world-shaking events would unfold without the Straw Hat's presence.
But those murmured words did not go unnoticed.
Dragon, Sabo, and Koala exchanged glances.
Sabo clenched his fists.
"It was the Fifth Emperor Luo Xing!"
Koala shuddered, recalling the man in Dressrosa—the one wearing a demonic Hannya mask.
He had casually taken Doflamingo's head.
Toyed with the Revolutionary Army, the Marines, the World Government, and even the other Yonko crews as if they were chess pieces.
A man whose strength and schemes were beyond comprehension.
"Why would someone like him target Luffy?" Koala asked softly. "Compared to a figure of his level, Luffy is just a rising rookie."
Sabo's jaw tightened.
"Kaido wants to become Pirate King. Luffy does too. Luo Xing is Kaido's son-in-law. Why wouldn't he eliminate a rival?"
Dragon shook his head.
"It's not that simple."
"There are countless pirates seeking the throne. The Beasts Pirates cannot kill them all."
"If he targeted Luffy, it's likely because of the Straw Hat—and the Nika Fruit."
Sabo and Koala exchanged confused looks.
The Straw Hat was understandable—it carried the will of Roger, passed down through Shanks.
But the Nika Fruit?
Wasn't Luffy's fruit the Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit?
Dragon spoke gravely.
"The Gum-Gum Fruit's true name is the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika. Also known as the Sun God. It is said to be the fruit destined to change the world."
"For eight hundred years, the World Government has sought it."
"They once obtained it—but Red-Haired Shanks stole it. Then, by chance, Luffy consumed it."
He paused.
"Frankly, Luffy has been active for years. The World Government's lack of decisive action against him is… strange."
Indeed.
Both Dragon—and Luo Xing—found that puzzling.
If the Five Elders had long known the truth about the Nika Fruit—
Why not eliminate Luffy early?
Why allow him to storm Enies Lobby?
To infiltrate Impel Down?
To appear at Marineford?
A single CP0 unit—or an Admiral—could have ended him.
Yet they did not.
They allowed him to grow.
And only at Wano did they panic.
It made little sense.
…
While the Revolutionary Army guarded Luffy—
His grandfather, the Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp, arrived at Impel Down.
With Sengoku's approval, Garp passed unimpeded into Level 6—Eternal Hell.
Portgas D. Ace sat there, bound in Seastone chains, head lowered.
Not far away sat Jinbe, shackled as well.
Hearing footsteps, Ace looked up.
"Old man… why come now?"
Garp sat before him, sorrow etched across his aged face.
"Will you still not call me Grandpa?"
"You may be Roger's son… but I raised you. Just like Luffy—you are my grandson."
"I wanted both of you to become great Marines."
"Yet you chose piracy."
"Do you know how much this pains me?"
Tears streamed down Garp's face.
Ace's expression trembled.
After a long silence—
"It's the fate of this cursed bloodline…"
Ace had always hated the blood of the Pirate King within him.
Only Whitebeard had ever given him peace.
Garp exhaled heavily.
"Tomorrow is your execution."
"The Whitebeard Pirates are coming—all of them."
"The Marines have assembled one hundred thousand troops."
"This will be a war unlike any before."
"No matter the outcome… the era will change. The world will spiral out of control."
There was more Garp did not say.
The growing threat of the Beasts Pirates.
Their possible encroachment on Whitebeard's territories.
Luffy nearly being killed at Sabaody by Kaido's son-in-law.
His heart was heavy with fear.
Soon after—
Ace was escorted back to Marineford.
The curtains rose on a war that would shake the seas.
The Summit War—
Had begun.
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