Ace had never been a swordsman.
In truth, he barely knew how to hold a katana the "proper" way. When he was a child, his weapon had always been a metal pipe—simple, crude, and brutally effective. To him, a weapon wasn't a sacred art… it was just an extension of his will.
So when he picked up the katana, he didn't care about stances, forms, or sword styles. With his Haki, strength, and sharp instincts, even a cheap blade was enough. He treated the katana exactly like the pipe he used as a kid—swing, smash, break, cut.
And Ace had a simple philosophy about it, a twisted echo of something an anime character used to say:
"There's nothing that can't be cut. And if something can't be cut…"
He tightened his grip, flames flickering under his skin—
"…then I just wasn't using enough force yet."
---
Ace took a slow breath of the salty ocean air and used his transformation ninjutsu.
The disguise shimmered slightly as he activated it—Kyojin Rengoku now walked in his place.
He stepped toward the source of the gunshots.
People on the street whispered in fear as they pulled back.
"Hey—don't go there!"
"It's the Celestial Dragons! You'll die!"
"Run, idiot!"
But the wandering swordsman did not slow down.
His footsteps were calm.
Unhurried.
Soon, Ace—no, Kyojin Rengoku—stood before them.
The Celestial Dragons looked at him with disgust, as if he were a stain on their world.
A Fishman slave trembled under the sleigh, forced to keep walking.
Random civilians were being shot like carnival targets.
For a moment, even Kyojin Rengoku felt a strange quiet inside himself.
How could people like this stand above others?
He stepped forward.
The Cipher Pol 8 agent shouted,
"Halt! Do not approach the noble—"
Before he finished, Ace unsheathed the katana just a few millimeters.
The world's sound thinned out.
"My name…" he said softly,
"…is Kyojin Rengoku."
He vanished.
A clean sound cut the air.
The male Celestial Dragon's head lifted from its body, spinning upward like a pale balloon.
The female one didn't even have time to breathe and her head also few up with blood pouring out of her neck like a fountain."
The CP agents rushed forward, enraged, haki bursting.
But rage alone meant nothing.
Ace reappeared behind them—
The sword flashed six times in a single breath—
Six heads hit the ground.
The entire plaza froze.
No one screamed.
No one moved.
Even the leaves stood still, as if the island tried to hold its breath.
Kyojin Rengoku flicked the blood from his blade with a small twist of his wrist.
The crimson drops hit the ground.
He sheathed the sword.
And disappeared.
---
A moment later, Ace landed in an alley, undoing the disguise in a rush of heat and smoke.
His face returned.
His clothes shifted back.
The sword dissolved into scrap metal as he melted it with his ability—he wasn't about to risk Vegapunk tracing it back to him.
He sprinted.
Yamato was waiting exactly where he told her to stay.
"Ace?" she blinked, sensing his urgency.
"Come on," Ace grabbed her hand, "no time."
They ran straight to the boat they had docked at the back of Sabaody.
Behind them, the entire archipelago erupted into chaos—
Screams, alarms, Marines shouting orders.
The death of Celestial Dragons was a world-shaking crime.
But Ace didn't look back.
He and Yamato pushed the boat away and sailed hard, leaving the grove behind them.
The bubble trees grew smaller and smaller as they traveled toward the direction of Reverse Mountain.
The world had changed behind them.
But the sea ahead waited.
---
Marineford – Fleet Admiral's Office
Sengoku was buried under documents.
Garp, on the other hand, was happily chewing a sandwich, laughing at some joke only he understood.
Then—
"Purupurupuru… purupurupuru… KACHA!"
Sengoku answered the Den Den Mushi.
The moment he heard the voice on the other side, his face froze.
"M–Marshal Sengoku!!! Celestial Dragons—Celestial Dragons have been killed!!!"
The terrified scream echoed through the snail.
Sengoku tightened his grip.
Garp stopped laughing mid-bite.
Sengoku forced his voice calm.
"Explain. What happened?"
But the Marine on the other end was completely broken, screaming the same sentence over and over:
"Celestial Dragons have been killed! Celestial Dragons have been killed! Celestial—"
Sengoku slammed the receiver shut.
He inhaled sharply, then dialed the Rear Admiral stationed at Sabaody.
"Report. NOW."
The man answered immediately—shaken, but coherent.
"Marshal Sengoku! A swordsman… a swordsman named Kyojin Rengoku appeared near the auction house. He cut down two Celestial Dragons and several elite guards in a single breath… and then vanished."
Sengoku felt his heart stutter.
Two Celestial Dragons were dead.
His headache exploded.
"SEAL THE ENTIRE SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO!"
His roar shook the windows.
"Close every dock! No ship leaves that island! ANYONE near it—pirate or not—will be attacked! Find that swordsman at all costs!"
"Y-Yes sir!"
Sengoku hung up before the officer finished.
He immediately dialed Kizaru.
Five minutes passed.
No answer.
Sengoku's eyebrow twitched.
He slammed the Den Den Mushi onto the desk, stood up so fast his chair fell over, and stormed out.
"I'll find Kizaru myself."
Garp watched him leave… then burst into loud laughter.
"BWAAHAHAHAHA! It's been a long time since I've heard such good news!"
Outside, Sengoku finally found Kizaru's active line.
Kizaru answered lazily:
"Ooh… what's this? So scary…"
Sengoku barked:
"KIZARU! Two Celestial Dragons have been slain in Sabaody! Move immediately! The killer's name is Kyojin Rengoku!"
He didn't wait for Kizaru's reply—just slammed the Den Den Mushi shut and marched off.
Kizaru stared at the snail for a moment.
Even he couldn't hide his shock.
"…Ara ara… killing Celestial Dragons… what a troublesome man."
His calm voice carried a deadly edge.
"Well then… I suppose it's time I head out."
---
After their Ship cut through the waters, putting more than a dozen kilometers between them and the chaos of Sabaody, Yamato finally turned toward Ace. Her expression was somewhere between worry and curiosity.
"Ace… what are Celestial Dragons? And why did you kill them?"
Ace wasn't surprised she asked.
He also wasn't surprised she already knew he was the one who did it.
Yamato wasn't stupid—far from it. She had seen the rage in his eyes. She had felt the shift in the air.
Ace exhaled.
"Celestial Dragons are… the rulers of this world."
Yamato's eyes widened immediately.
"Rulers? But Oden's diary didn't say anything about—"
"I know," Ace cut in gently. "Some things weren't written there. Maybe Oden didn't know. Maybe he didn't have time to write it."
He looked ahead, watching the waves break against the bow.
"For eight hundred years, they've been sitting on the throne. The ones who call themselves the creators of this world."
Yamato's jaw clenched.
Eight hundred years… the same period as the Void Century.
Before she could ask more, Ace continued.
"And the reason I killed them is simple."
His voice turned cold—too cold, even for the sea breeze.
"They're parasites."
Yamato blinked.
Ace lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Do you know why there are so many pirates in this world?"
Yamato nodded confidently.
"Of course! To have adventures! To travel the seas! To see the world!"
Ace looked at her for a moment… then shook his head.
"…No. That's only the minority."
His tone grew heavier.
"Most pirates exist because the world is broken. Because the Celestial Dragons take everything—land, money, freedom, people—and leave the rest of the world to rot."
Yamato's breath hitched.
This wasn't in any diary.
This wasn't in any story she'd ever heard.
Ace continued, voice steady, almost too calm:
"People become pirates because the other option is starving. Or slavery. Or dying quietly."
He leaned back, arms crossed.
"So when I saw those Celestial Dragons treating people like toys… shooting at random… laughing at them…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…I simply removed trash from the world."
---