The entire Sabaody Archipelago had already descended into chaos.
Pirates scattered in every direction, scrambling to escape as panic spread like wildfire. The reason was simple and terrifying.
The Straw Hat captain had struck a Celestial Dragon.
And once that line was crossed, the Marines would respond with an Admiral.
Just thinking about it was enough to make even seasoned pirates break into cold sweat.
Yet the Straw Hats, the very center of the storm, followed Rayleigh calmly into the Rip-off Bar.
Luffy was unusually quiet along the way.
His expression grew heavier with every step, his eyes carrying a seriousness that did not belong to his usual self.
Now, sitting on the sofa, everything in front of him felt disturbingly familiar. Even the arrangement of the room, even the coming conversation, matched his memories exactly.
"Luffy, what's wrong with you?" Nami asked. "You've been acting strange since the auction."
Emma studied him closely. Her perception was sharp, and she could clearly feel it. Luffy felt different, more composed, more grounded, as if he had suddenly aged several years overnight.
It was not just Emma.
Nami, Robin, and the others felt it too.
Facing their concern, Luffy did not try to hide anything.
What he had experienced was far too real.
The deaths of Ace, Emma, Nami, and the others were burned into his soul. Even if this was only a dream, the fear it left behind was real.
He did not want to lose them again.
Several minutes passed.
The bar was so quiet that even breathing felt loud.
Rayleigh sat with a sake bottle in hand, brows deeply furrowed. Shakky leaned behind the counter, calmly exhaling smoke rings. Nami and the others wore expressions filled with disbelief, curiosity, and unease.
Only Emma's face was dark and serious.
At first, she had doubted Luffy's words.
But when he described his own death, followed by the appearance of a strange coin that revived him, her skepticism began to crumble.
No matter how one looked at it, that object functioned like a resurrection coin.
And Ace's death being the fuse that ignited the Marineford War was not something Luffy could have fabricated.
The level of detail was far too precise.
It was as if he had lived through it all personally.
More importantly, the one responsible for killing them all was very likely Darkness.
"Luffy, you're not still half asleep, are you?" Franky said, crossing his arms. "This is way too unbelievable."
The others felt the same, half believing, half doubting.
"Luffy," Emma said seriously, "you're saying that after we leave here, Marine Admirals Silver Dragon and Kizaru will appear, and during that battle, someone will ambush me?"
"Yes," Luffy replied without hesitation.
"Emma, you can't seriously believe this," Nami muttered, rubbing her forehead.
"Luffy has no reason to lie," Robin said calmly. "Even if this overturns everything we know."
"Whether it's true or not," Emma said coldly, "we'll find out soon."
Her eyes gleamed with resolve.
At this moment, her thoughts aligned perfectly with Lucien's, to test the truth.
"Mr. Rayleigh," Emma said, turning to him, "I'll need your help."
Rayleigh chuckled, lifting his sake. "I'm very interested in what Luffy described. And besides, I made a promise to Ace."
When the time came, the group left the bar and headed toward the Twelfth Mangrove.
Everyone was on high alert.
If what Luffy said was true, then what awaited them would be madness.
Boom!
Lightning split the sky.
Everyone looked up as violent arcs of electricity gathered together, forming a humanoid figure in mid-air.
"We finally meet."
The moment those words were spoken, Nami and the others froze, panic spreading across their faces.
Even the words were exactly the same.
"How is this possible?" Chopper screamed, hugging Emma's leg tightly, just as Luffy had described earlier.
"Yohoho."
"This is truly unbelievable."
Silver Dragon hovered in the air, bewilderment flashing across his eyes. The way these people reacted was as if they already knew he would appear.
What did that little reindeer mean by that?
Everything that followed unfolded exactly as Luffy had said.
Everyone moved according to the future he described, deliberately following the script Emma wanted to test.
Then Kizaru arrived.
Ethan clashed with Silver Dragon, their battle shaking the area, though this time they did not stray far from Sabaody.
Luffy and Emma joined forces against Kizaru, while Zoro, Brook, and the others fought Gion and the surrounding Marines.
From a distance, Lucien rested lazily in Stussy's arms, holding a telescope in one hand as he watched Luffy and Emma bombard Kizaru together.
His brows slowly knit together.
Something felt off.
It might have been an illusion, but Luffy felt stronger than he should be.
More precisely, his evasion ability was abnormal.
Several of Kizaru's near guaranteed attacks were avoided with frightening precision.
This was Kizaru, a master of speed and mass.
And yet, his strikes were being dodged.
It looked exactly like advanced Observation Haki, future sight.
Lucien's gaze sharpened.
Luffy's movements overlapped eerily with Katakuri's.
Kizaru was the one who felt it most clearly.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he wiped his face, his expression turning grim. The way he looked at Luffy changed completely.
That sensation reminded him of someone he had fought before.
Charlotte Katakuri.
As the vice captain of the Big Mom Pirates and the strongest Sweet Commander, Kizaru had clashed with him in the past.
Compared to Katakuri, Luffy was still inexperienced, but the feeling was unmistakably the same.
Kizaru's heart sank.
He decided to test it.
A laser forced Emma back.
In the next instant, Kizaru appeared to Luffy's right, a cross-shaped sun forming beneath his foot as it swept toward Luffy's head.
Time seemed to slow.
A red light flashed in Luffy's eyes.
He saw the attack before it landed.
Without hesitation, he bent low, planting one hand on the ground as his legs compressed.
Golden light tore through the air as explosions erupted.
Kizaru blocked with one arm, taking Luffy's double kick head-on. The impact sent him flying, transforming into light as he smashed through multiple mangroves before crashing into the distance, earth splitting beneath him.
Golden light gathered again in mid-air.
Kizaru reformed, blood covering his face.
Now, he was certain.
"Advanced Observation Haki."
Luffy stood silently, his expression calm and resolute.
Perhaps because of his rebirth, the future sight he awakened during the Marineford War had matured ahead of time. He could now actively predict attacks instead of reacting instinctively.
He might not rival Katakuri yet, but he was unquestionably second.
Even Lucien would have to acknowledge it.
"This is troublesome," Kizaru muttered, wiping the blood from his forehead.
Troublesome, but not impossible.
"It seems I can't hold back anymore."
Golden light flooded the sky, converging around Kizaru until his entire form became a radiant humanoid figure.
Much like Silver Dragon's full power state at Marineford.
One made of lightning.
One made of light.
"Speed is weight."
In one moment, Kizaru stood in mid-air.
In the next, he appeared behind Luffy.
The words reached their ears only after the attack had already landed.
A red flash crossed Luffy's eyes.
He had predicted it.
But his body could not keep up.
Blood burst from his mouth as his body bent violently, his waist struck by a devastating kick. The ground exploded beneath him, a massive gully tearing through the earth as debris flew.
Luffy was swallowed by the destruction.
Emma's expression tightened.
This was wrong.
Kizaru was far stronger than what Luffy had described.
This must have been his true strength.
Standing there as a pure humanoid body of light, indistinct and overwhelming.
Perhaps the rumors were true.
Among the Admirals, Kizaru might truly be the strongest.
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