Drake's gaze hardened behind his mask. He channeled his inner energy into his blade, gathered his strength, and leaped into the air, spinning gracefully.
"Eight Desolations Sweep!"
A crescent moon of compressed sword intent, spanning dozens of meters, tore through the air, sending the surrounding Marines flying.
Drake didn't pause; he hurtled toward Luffy's location. But thanks to Jinbe's aid, Luffy had already breached the plaza and was charging toward the execution platform.
FLASH! A beam of light solidified, and Kizaru appeared directly in front of Luffy.
Luffy's eyes widened, but he was too slow. Kizaru delivered a light-speed kick, sending Luffy tumbling back across the ice. Jinbe rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground.
Luffy gasped for air, his body trembling from exhaustion. Kizaru looked down at the rookie, his expression one of lazy contempt. "Regardless of your 'potential,' you're still just a rookie, aren't you? It seems you've reached your limit."
"Without strength, no matter how hard you struggle, you still won't be able to protect what matters."
"Still... you might as well just die here. The Celestial Dragons will keep pestering me every day if you escape, and that's just so tiresome..."
Kizaru advanced on the fallen Luffy, raising a leg that shimmied with blinding light, preparing to deliver the final blow.
CLANG!
A figure materialized before Luffy, stopping Kizaru's leg with a sword. The blade hummed with energy, glowing a deep, fiery red.
Behind his mask, Drake's eyes burned. The standard rules of strength didn't apply to him. The "Brother-Protector System" was a specialized, high-tier entity. Its logic was simple: how can you protect your little brother if you're weaker than he is?
Therefore, every time Luffy grew stronger, Drake's baseline power increased in parallel. The specific mechanism was a system secret, but the result was guaranteed: he would always be stronger than his brother.
So, when Luffy's Conqueror's Haki had finally awakened, Drake's own dormant potential had surged in resonance, fully igniting his Conqueror's Haki as well!
With that awakening came the true power of the Spirit Sword, Rainbow's Remnant. The system finally revealed its true nature. The sword possessed four specialized element affinities: Wind, Fire, Ice, and Lightning!
The fiery red glow on the snowy-white blade signified that Drake had unlocked the power of Fire!
SHOVE! With a roar, Drake channeled his Haki into the blade, physically shoving Kizaru back.
"I can't say I agree with your philosophy, Admiral."
"Hmm?" Kizaru looked at the masked man, slightly amused.
"We will rescue Ace, and I won't let you lay a hand on Luffy!" Drake slowly raised his left hand, grasping the edge of his mask. He looked over his shoulder and offered a wide, confident grin.
"Isn't that right... Luffy!"
GASP! Luffy's pupils constricted. He stared at the face beneath the mask, his mouth working silently before he managed a single, stuttered word: "Y-Y-You... You're..."
CRUSH! Drake squeezed his hand, shattering the mask into dust.
He raised Rainbow's Remnant, pointing it directly at Fleet Admiral Sengoku on the platform. "TELL THE WHOLE WORLD! This sea holds no power that can take a brother from us! Right... Sabo!"
"YEAH... That's right!"
Sabo emerged from the Marine ranks, his path marked by a trail of crushed bodies. Anyone who tried to stop him was swiftly neutralized.
He walked to Luffy's side, slowly pulling him to his feet. Sabo picked up the straw hat—Luffy's most precious treasure—and gently placed it back on his head.
Then, he stood before his younger brother like an unbreakable shield.
"Marines... you're going to pay for hurting our little brother!" Sabo declared, his voice cold and steady. He slowly removed his top hat, looking up at Ace on the platform.
"Ace! Look at you! That's an unbefitting look for you! You're supposed to be our big brother!"
In that moment, Sabo's heart was full of pure, unadulterated joy. I nearly missed it all. If it weren't for Drake, I might never have seen Ace again...
"Hahaha..."
"Aaaaah..." Ace opened his mouth, staring with eyes wide enough to pop out of his skull. He tried to speak, but the words were trapped in his throat. Even though his heart had whispered that it was possible, seeing the reality before him was too much. Tears leaked from his eyes, tracing a path through the grime on his face.
"Y-You guys... you're really..."
"Hahaha..." Ace finally broke. A laugh tore from his chest, growing louder and more manic by the second.
"What is wrong with him! Fire Fist, control yourself!" Sengoku roared, a deep frown creasing his brow.
The twin laughter of Sabo and Ace echoed through the harbor, leaving the entire battlefield stunned.
"What's wrong with Ace?" The Whitebeard Pirates looked at the platform in total confusion. They had never seen him laugh like that. They didn't know what was happening, but they knew that laugh came from a place of pure happiness.
"Ace..." Whitebeard looked at his manic son, and a faint smile touched his own lips. In that moment, he felt a sense of peace.
"Ace..." The Division Commanders simply watched. He was happy; that was enough.
But on the Marine side, the mood was one of utter befilderment.
The top-tier powerhouses looked on with grim expressions. For a few seconds, the laughter was the only sound on the battlefield, the actual war seemingly grinding to a halt. Everyone was frozen, processing the visual.
Only five people on that battlefield knew the full truth: the four brothers and "Gramps" Garp.
Garp stood there, his eyes popping out in total shock, his mouth a perfect 'O'.
"Drake, Sabo! It's you two!?"
"YOU!" Akainu and Aokiji shouted in unison. It was probably the only time in their entire lives that those two had spoken with such perfect, unintended synchronization.
Both Admirals knew Drake. They had run into him, fought him, and he had escaped. The very memory made their blood boil.
Unlike Aokiji's surprise, Akainu's face was as black as the smoke from his magma. Drake had nearly gotten him killed. If I don't kill him, I'm not a Marine.
Drake ignored the Admiral Kizaru standing right in front of him and directed his voice toward the execution platform. "The world must learn this: nobody hurts our brothers! NOBODY!"
"The pirate 'Straw Hat' Luffy... he is our little brother. Ours and Ace's. And we are watching over him!" Drake's gaze turned razor-sharp.
"Today, you plan to execute our big brother, Ace. I hope every one of you has already accepted that you will die on this battlefield!"
Drake's voice was like thunder, echoing through every corner of Marineford. Every soul on the island heard him.
The Marine ranks shifted in discomfort and fear.
"What did he say? He... he said him and Ace... that they're brothers? Are they... four brothers?"
"What is this story!?"
Chaos erupted. Even the Whitebeard Pirates were baffled. What is happening? It feels like the plot thickens every second.
Whitebeard looked at the paralyzed Garp, and a glint of understanding lit his eyes. His signature smirk returned. "These brats... Gurararara..."
"GARP! What is the meaning of this!?" Sengoku couldn't hold it back anymore. He had never expected these dangerous newcomers to have such a connection with Ace. He glared at Garp, his face purple with rage.
But Garp was in his own private hell. He was too stunned to answer Sengoku. He stood there, holding his head, caught between conflicting, impossible emotions.
People he had mourned as dead were standing right in front of him, alive and well. He should have been happy. But they were here to break out a prisoner on death row. And his entire job was to make sure that prisoner stayed on death row.
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