"Eh?"
Stella's eyes began to tremble. Facing the dark-golden light shining before her, she instinctively covered her belly.
It was the most instinctive reaction of a mother.
"Watch out!"
That laser originally would not have fully hit Luffy, who possessed Observation Haki. At most, it would have grazed him.
But he saw Stella inside the tower behind him.
In midair, he immediately inflated his body into a rubber balloon.
A rubber balloon wrapped in Armament Haki.
The beam brushed across the surface of Luffy's body and shifted slightly, flying toward a higher part of the tower.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted at the top of the tower. Flames filled the sky, and the entire tower began to shake as if it might collapse at any moment.
Fire instantly swept through several floors. Even though it had not directly struck the floor Stella was on, the collapsing tower and spreading flames still trapped the poor pregnant woman in place.
"Damn it..."
Even though the powerful beam had only grazed him, one side of Luffy's body was still torn and bloody.
Unable to hold on, he fell downward.
And Tesoro saw that scene perfectly.
"Stella!"
He roared, his eyes widening. He immediately tried to control the gold and save Stella.
But faster than his ability was the fire that had already spread and risen.
He was too far away. Even if he could control the gold, he could not stop that intense heat.
Inside the flames, Stella looked at the golden giant.
The two gazed at each other from afar.
Stella still wore that golden necklace. In the light, she gave Tesoro a faint smile.
Just like when they were young, one inside the cage and one outside it, two young lives giving each other warmth.
"Tesoro, I love you."
"Stella!"
As the flames rose, Stella stood against the burning backdrop, holding her belly. Inside was their child.
In the end, she smiled and was swallowed by the fire behind her.
The flames spread until they consumed the entire tower.
Yet the people standing at the top of the tower remained unharmed.
They watched as a black box flew out from the tower and was picked up by Luffy.
Ozz rubbed his chin and nodded, as if he had not seen Tesoro's expression of utter despair, his eyes already turning white and his mouth hanging open.
"With this, I suppose the game is complete."
"To lose what you treasure most..."
Mihawk stayed silent and merely lowered the brim of his hat.
Crocodile openly wore her displeasure on her face.
"Ozz, you bastard. You're becoming more and more rotten."
"For some reason, I really don't like looking at you right now."
Ozz paid no attention to Crocodile's complaints. Instead, he looked into the distance.
"It's really lively out there."
...
"Report! For some reason, Tesoro has stopped moving!"
Lucci had no time to listen to the Marine's report because the Den Den Mushi in his hand carried a Celestial Dragon's plea for help.
"Launch the attack immediately!"
"...Yes!"
Even though there were civilians aboard the Gran Tesoro, they had no choice. They gritted their teeth and opened fire.
But at that moment...
"Fish-Man Karate."
As the sea churned, undercurrents surged. The Marines sensed something was wrong.
"Tsunami Shoulder Throw!"
A massive, terrifying current rose like a true tsunami, swallowing every cannonball into the water.
A figure was moving beneath the sea.
Rob Lucci's expression darkened as he looked at the tall cloaked figure who had sunk several warships and now stood on the deck.
"Did you come here this time to take revenge on the World Government again?"
"Fisher Tiger!"
Beneath the cloak, a weathered fish-man face slowly appeared. He stared at Rob Lucci.
"No. This is simply my responsibility."
At that moment, another voice sounded from a different direction, accompanied by flames shooting into the sky.
"I can't let you interfere with my brother's fight however you like!"
Lucci was startled and slowly turned his head.
More strong enemies?
"It's you. Fire Fist Ace and Revolutionary Army Sabo."
The two brothers had arrived together. They did not want anyone interfering in Luffy's battle.
Sabo faced Lucci.
Ace faced Tiger.
"You're one of Uncle Ozz's people, right? I really don't want to fight you."
Ace spoke coldly, but Tiger ignored him. Water droplets appeared in his hand.
"What?!"
Under the disadvantage of being countered by water, wounds appeared on Ace's body.
Even when he used Haki, facing Tiger, the peak of the fish-man race, he still struggled against that bottomless flowing Armament Haki.
Conqueror's coating was indeed a power beyond the normal scale.
But in this world, there were also monsters who had no Conqueror's Haki, yet still reached the level of admirals and emperors.
...
Elsewhere, Tesoro, who had lost all will to fight, was knocked to the ground by an enraged Luffy, who knew nothing of the truth.
The golden giant broke apart. Luffy's Armament-coated fist struck Tesoro's face, but Tesoro seemed unable to feel anything.
He simply stared blankly, allowing himself to be beaten.
"That's enough!"
Carina and Nami walked over.
Carina explained the relationship between Stella and Tesoro, as well as what had happened. The Straw Hats finally understood the situation.
They looked at Tesoro, who lay there as if his soul had died, his face covered in blood yet completely unresponsive. They could not help feeling pity.
"Let's go, Luffy. The Marines are here."
Luffy's feelings were complicated. His body was covered in wounds from Tesoro's attacks.
He looked at the black box in his hand, then finally tossed it into Tesoro's arms.
After a moment of silence, he lowered the brim of his straw hat.
Then he turned and left.
Only Tesoro remained, lying there alone as several warships reached the shore and Marine soldiers surrounded him.
Tesoro did not resist. It seemed he wanted to end everything here.
Until a bloodstained fish-man appeared and unleashed a Haki Strike, blasting all the Marines away.
"Why... save me?"
"I'm nothing but a complete failure."
Tiger said nothing.
He merely sat down cross-legged in silence.
"No reason... I just felt like I was destined to save you once."
"..."
At that moment, footsteps came from within the Golden City.
At some point, Ozz had appeared, seated on the ruins beside him. He looked at Tesoro with a smile.
"Well... I really am soft-hearted after all."
"Take a look at the black box in your hands."
The black box in Tesoro's arms slowly turned into a cubic black space.
A pregnant woman appeared inside.
After going through the greatest rise and fall of his life, Tesoro was still dazed. Yet tears kept rolling down his face.
"Stella!"
The two embraced each other tightly.
"Well... what a cliché ending."
Ozz sat on the ruins, watching the two cry their hearts out, and could not help smiling.
"This wasn't free, Tesoro. From now on, work even harder to make money for me."
"I've never had the habit of checking prices when I buy things."
One Piece: Gold City movie arc complete.
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