Marine Headquarters. The Paramount War.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the battlefield had been a whirlwind of unpredictable events. Following the arrival of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates, a third Supernova crew made their grand entrance.
Unlike Luffy or Law, who had clear objectives, the Captain of the Kid Pirates, Eustass Kid, was there for one reason only: to steal the spotlight. He couldn't stand the thought of the Straw Hats getting all the glory while he stayed in the shadows.
To ensure his debut was unforgettable, Kid had spent half an hour meticulously planning his entrance. The result was the metallic titan now looming over the battlefield—a colossal Magnetic Monster forged from countless machines, weapons, and iron scraps from destroyed warships. This was a form far superior to the standard Punk Rotten.
Everywhere the Magnetic Monster stepped, the battlefield turned into a landscape of scrap and chaos.
"Damn it!" "Those annoying Supernova brats!" "Is that bastard Kid just here to cause trouble?" "What the hell is he trying to do?!"
Screams of terror and curses echoed through the air. Whether they were Marines or Pirates, everyone was being ruthlessly crushed by the titan's advance.
"Hahahahaha!"
Standing atop the head of the Magnetic Monster, the arrogant young Kid let out a roar of pure delight, soaking in the world's attention.
"Right now, we are the center of the world, and we're going to stay in the spotlight! Do you see this, me from two years ago?" Kid laughed wildly.
The Kid from two years ago remained silent, his eyes narrowing. For someone as prideful as him, there was nothing more irritating than seeing someone else—even himself—being more flamboyant. Looking at his future self's smug, "show-off" attitude, even the younger Kid felt a sudden urge to punch his own face.
"Take notes! Watch closely! On this battlefield, I'll show you the essence of Awakening. And when you get back, go find Apoo and Hawkins to practice. We left them for you as punching bags!" the future Kid smirked.
"Got it!" the younger Kid grumbled, pouting with a hint of annoyance.
"Faffaffaffaffa!"
The future Killer let out a low, melodic laugh, his eyes scanning the chaos. "Kid, isn't this a bit too much? Maybe we should tone it down a little?"
Killer, ever the voice of reason (and perhaps the only one who could handle Kid's explosive ego), didn't want them to become the target of every single person on the field. But Kid was currently flying high on his own hype.
"Tone it down? What are you saying, Killer? We survived the Onigashima War! Even that monster Big Mom was taken down by my Damned Punk! What is there to be afraid of?" Kid boasted, his chest puffed out with pride.
A wave of shock rippled through the crew on the Victoria Punk.
"What?!" "Monster Big Mom? You mean the Yonko Charlotte Linlin?" "Future Boss actually took down an Emperor of the Sea?!" "He's incredible! We really have nothing to fear!" "Everyone, let's get wild!"
The tension in the Kid Pirates vanished, replaced by a surge of arrogance.
Future Killer: "..."
He realized his Captain was getting way too ahead of himself. He knew the truth—Big Mom wasn't defeated by Kid alone. Future Law played a massive role, breaking her defenses multiple times with his Kroom. And most importantly, she wasn't finished by the railgun; the Damned Punk simply pushed her into a pit filled with explosives.
But Killer wouldn't ruin the moment. He simply sharpened his focus, his Observation Haki spreading out to guard against threats. His intuition told him that overconfidence usually led to a painful reality check.
And he was right.
A second later, a brilliant golden light flickered in the sky. A tall man in a yellow-and-white striped suit materialized out of thin air.
"Admiral Kizaru!!!"
The cheers on the ship died instantly. Looking at that familiar, nonchalant figure, the members of the Kid Pirates subconsciously held their breath. The Sabaody Incident from ten days ago was still a fresh nightmare. Compared to the Pacifista, Admiral Kizaru was the true embodiment of terror.
With a lazy "How scary~", he could take down a Supernova with a single kick. To an average pirate, Kizaru was an invincible wall.
"He... he's attacking already!" "It's okay... we have the future Boss!" "Yeah... definitely okay!"
The crew's voices were trembling, their stutters betraying their fear.
"Admiral Kizaru? Perfect timing!" Kid grinned, his eyes burning with excitement instead of fear.
Clang! Clang!
Two massive mechanical arms, dozens of meters long, swung through the air, creating a localized hurricane.
"Punk Rotten: Magnetic Vice!"
The giant metal hands closed in from both sides like a pair of crushing pliers, aiming to squash Kizaru flat.
BOOM!
The sky shook, and shockwaves rippled through the atmosphere.
"Did we get him?" a crew member asked hopefully.
"No! Look!"
Every eye widened. A second later, countless golden particles leaked through the gaps of the mechanical fingers, reforming into Kizaru's unharmed body.
"Sengoku-san gave me thirty seconds to destroy you. Now that I've finished this sentence, I only have twenty seconds left," Kizaru said lazily, crossing his arms.
A blinding golden light ignited—thousands of glowing orbs filled the sky, blanketing the vision of everyone below. The Kid Pirates felt their scalps go numb with dread.
"Yasakani no Magatama!!!"
The Logia-type ultimate move exploded. Countless laser beams pierced the atmosphere, every single one raining down with pinpoint accuracy onto the Magnetic Monster.
The barrage lasted fifteen seconds. The giant was riddled with holes, its massive frame swaying on the verge of collapse.
"I'm not done yet!" the future Kid roared, gritting his teeth. He coated his last remaining mechanical arm in Armament Haki and swung it at Kizaru.
"Speed is weight... have you ever been kicked at light speed?"
Kizaru kept his hands in his pockets, his right leg glowing with intense radiance.
Light Speed Kick!
BOOM!
The light flared again, brighter than ever. This time, Kid's Magnetic Monster couldn't hold on. The mountain-sized body fractured and disintegrated into a pile of useless scrap.
"Thirty seconds exactly. Mission accomplished," Kizaru noted with satisfaction. "And I still have five days of vacation left. How wonderful."
Content with his work, Kizaru flickered back toward the inner plaza.
Sabaody Archipelago. Broadcast Square.
"Nice! Good hit! Too bad he didn't die! Cough cough!"
Watching Kid get dismantled, "Roar of the Sea" Scratchmen Apoo practically leaped from his sickbed in excitement. His face was flushed, and he slapped his thigh in pure catharsis. The frustration of being beaten up by Kid earlier was finally fading.
"That brat Kid... his arrogance finally caught up to him," Capone "Gang" Bege muttered, shaking his head.
"As expected, the Kid who appeared in the plaza is just like the Straw Hat boy—another version from the future," Mad Monk Urouge nodded.
"Future or not, they still can't stand against an Admiral... except for Straw Hat," X Drake added grimly.
"I wonder who's next. Maybe one of us?" Jewelry Bonney chuckled, popping a snack into her mouth.
The Supernovas all looked on with a mix of anticipation and dread. Meanwhile, in the plaza below, the crowd was roaring with laughter.
"All that hype for a thirty-second defeat!" "The Kid Pirates are just a comedy act!" "I thought he was going to do something legendary with that giant junk pile. Turns out it was just a paper tiger!" "He's nowhere near Straw Hat Luffy or even Trafalgar Law!"
The public's mockery was ruthless. If Kid had heard them, he would have exploded with rage. He wanted awe; he got ridicule. His reputation had taken a massive hit.
Marine Headquarters, Battlefield.
The defeat of the Kid Pirates was just a brief interlude in the grand war. As the mockery faded, the brutal slaughter between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates continued. No one cared much for the fate of a Supernova crew anymore.
"What was that spiky-haired guy even doing?" Fifth Emperor Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
"Well, he probably didn't die at least," Sanji remarked, adjusted his tie.
"Straw Hat boy, was that Kid guy with you too?" Marco, who was busy shielding Luffy from the freezing winds, asked with a frown.
"Yeah," Luffy nodded.
"Then besides you guys, is there...?" Marco wanted to ask if there was another "him" from the future. But before he could finish...
"Ahhh!" Luffy suddenly cried out in alarm.
Following his gaze, Marco saw the Moby Dick, where Pops was standing. And there, standing right in front of Whitebeard, was Squard.
"Straw Hat, what's wrong?" Marco felt a surge of unease.
A second later, he understood. While Whitebeard's attention was fixed on Fleet Admiral Sengoku at the execution platform, their ally and brother, Squard, drew his massive blade. With a sudden burst of speed, he thrust the sharp steel toward Whitebeard's chest.
It was a betrayal no one saw coming. No one could react in time. If it wasn't for Luffy's sudden shout, Marco wouldn't have noticed until the blade had already pierced through. But even with a second's warning, he was too far away.
He could only watch in horror as Squard's blade drew closer and closer to Pops' heart.
"I won't make it!!!" Luffy bit his lip. He had been distracted by Kid for just a split second.
Time seemed to freeze. Squard's "filial" blade was inches away from its target.
SCREECH!
A piercing, majestic cry of a bird echoed across the sky. It was followed by a loud BANG!
A brilliant bullet streaked across the heavens with impossible speed, precisely striking Squard's blade and knocking it off course.
WHOOSH!
Blue flames blanketed the sky, and a majestic Phoenix wreathed in azure fire descended from above. He slammed onto the deck of the Moby Dick, pinning the traitor Squard to the floor.
"That... that's... ME!!!"
The current Marco's eyes widened to their limit. The Flames of Resurrection around him flickered wildly as his blood boiled in resonance.
SCREECH!
The second Phoenix hovered in the air before landing gracefully on the whale-shaped bow.
After a moment of stunned silence, the battlefield erupted in a deafening roar of shock.
"That... if I'm not mistaken... that's the Phoenix!!!" "I must be dreaming! My eyes are playing tricks on me! I see two Marcos!" "Is there a second Phoenix in the world besides the First Division Commander?!" "No! Look at the signs... that second Phoenix is definitely..."
The high-ranking Marines had already guessed the truth.
"Commander Marco!!!" the Whitebeard Pirates cheered in unison.
"There's no doubt, that's the Mythical Zoan: Phoenix ability!" "A second Marco has appeared!" "Following Kid, the future Marco is here!"
"Wait! It's not just Marco!" "Diamond" Jozu shouted excitedly. "Look who's with him!"
"That man... it's Izo!" "Commander Izo is here too!" "A second Izo!"
The cheers of the Whitebeard Pirates grew even louder and more frantic.
"A second... me?" The current Izo, dressed in his traditional kimono, stared at his future self in disbelief.
Suddenly, he remembered his first encounter with the Straw Hats. The long-nosed Usopp had mentioned knowing him in the future. Everything clicked into place. In some future timeline, he and Marco would become close friends and allies with the Straw Hat crew!
"How can this be?!" "Even the Division Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates have counterparts appearing!" "Don't tell me a second Whitebeard Pirates crew is going to show up!" "We won't be able to hold them off!"
The Marine elites in the plaza were starting to panic. The pirates were receiving powerful reinforcements one after another, slowly eroding the Marines' advantage. What terrified them most was that they had no idea how many more enemies would emerge from the future!
At this moment, even the Supreme Commander of the Marines, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, was losing his cool. His carefully crafted plan to have the pirates turn on each other had just been utterly ruined by the sudden appearance of the second Phoenix.
"Damn pirates! They've ruined everything!" Sengoku roared in frustration.
Hearing his outburst, everyone on the battlefield snapped out of their shock.
"Sengoku-san seems really angry..." "What exactly happened?" "Did the second Phoenix do something?" "Wait, I remember now! Right before the second Phoenix appeared, Squard—the Captain of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates—went crazy and tried to assassinate Whitebeard!!!"
The revelation sent a shockwave through the crowd.
"What's going on, Captain Squard?!" "I don't believe it! There's no way!" "How could Squard try to kill Pops?!" The Maelstrom Spider Pirates shook their heads in denial.
"Hey, Squard! What the hell are you doing?" "I saw it! Were you really aiming your blade at Pops?" "If Izo and Marco hadn't arrived just in time, the result would have been..." "Why would you do this, Squard? He's our father!" "Have you lost your mind?!"
Jozu, Vista, Izo, and the other Commanders, along with Whitey Bay, Doma, and the Decalvan Brothers, all screamed in agony and confusion. Why would their brother betray their most precious father?
"Shut up! This is all because of you, the Whitebeard Pirates! You forced my hand!!!" Squard screamed back, his voice full of bitterness.