Luffy, a rubbery cannonball of sheer will, hurtled through the chaos. His focus was a pinpoint of light in a hurricane of violence: reach Ace. He dodged cannonballs with an instinctual elasticity, his cries of "ACCCEEEEEEE!" growing louder, more desperate with every yard he gained. His progress was a chaotic trail of groaning, downed soldiers who had been utterly unprepared for an enemy who fought with the logic of a cartoon.
On the platform, Ace thrashed against the Sea Prism Stone chains that bit into his flesh. The sight of his idiotic, reckless, beloved little brother shattered his composure.
"LUFFY! STOP IT! GO BACK!" Ace roared, his voice hoarse, cracking with a love that felt like agony. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME! THIS ISN'T YOUR FIGHT!"
He remembered their childhood, the promises made in the sweltering jungle heat. He had always been the protector. To see Luffy throwing himself into this meat grinder for his sake was an unbearable torment.
"I don't need your help! This is my punishment!" Ace screamed, tears of rage and fear stinging his eyes. "GO AWAY, LUFFY! PLEASE!"
Luffy, battling his way through a particularly dense line of Marines, heard his brother's desperate pleas. He paused for a split second, a flicker of pain crossing his face, before his jaw set with even fiercer determination. He smashed a Marine Captain in the jaw, sending him flying.
"SHUT UP, ACE!" Luffy yelled back, his voice a firm, unwavering anchor in the storm. "YOU'RE MY BROTHER! OF COURSE I'M GONNA SAVE YOU! WHO CARES ABOUT ANY OF THAT?! I'M HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO BE!"
He stretched an arm, grabbing a distant flagpole. "GOMU GOMU NO… ROCKET!" He slingshotted himself forward, soaring over a group of Vice-Admirals.
The raw, simple conviction in Luffy's voice resonated deeply with the Whitebeard Pirates.
"That kid…" Marco murmured, a look of grim admiration on his face. "He really is Ace's brother, through and through."
The Marine leadership, however, was growing increasingly alarmed. "He's broken through another line!" an officer reported to Sengoku. "He's heading directly for the plaza!"
Sengoku slammed his fist on the railing, his face a thundercloud. "That brat… Straw Hat Luffy! Is he TRYING to mock the World Government at every turn?!" His gaze fell from Luffy to Ace, and a chilling parallel formed in his mind. The unyielding will, the disregard for overwhelming odds…
An aide, sensing his unease, asked, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, sir?"
Sengoku's gaze hardened. He had already revealed one truth to justify this war. Perhaps another was needed to underscore the true danger they faced. He took a deep breath, his amplified voice booming across Marineford once more.
"MARINES! PIRATES! CITIZENS OF THE WORLD, LISTEN WELL!"
All ears turned towards him.
"We have already revealed the truth of Portgas D. Ace's lineage – that he is the son of the Pirate King, Gold Roger! A cursed bloodline that threatens the very peace of this world!"
He then pointed a stern, accusing finger directly at the small, straw-hatted figure battling relentlessly below.
"BUT THERE IS ANOTHER HERE TODAY! ONE WHO CARRIES A LEGACY JUST AS DANGEROUS! A MAN WHOSE VERY EXISTENCE IS A SPARK THAT COULD IGNITE A REVOLUTION TO TOPPLE THE WORLD ITSELF!"
A hush fell. Garp closed his eyes, his face a mask of pain. He knew what was coming.
"STRAW HAT LUFFY!" Sengoku's voice thundered, each word laden with dread and accusation. "YOUR FATHER… IS NONE OTHER THAN THE WORLD'S MOST WANTED CRIMINAL! THE LEADER OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY… MONKEY D. DRAGON!!!"
The revelation hit Marineford like another of Whitebeard's earthquake punches.
"DRAGON'S SON?!" a Marine screamed, his voice cracking. "THE REVOLUTIONARY DRAGON?!"
"NO WAY! THAT LITTLE BRAT?!"
Shock, disbelief, and a new, deeper level of fear rippled through their ranks. The son of Gold Roger was bad enough. But the son of the man who directly opposed the World Government, whose very name was synonymous with global upheaval… it was unthinkable.
Even among the Whitebeard Pirates, there were gasps of astonishment. "Dragon's kid?!" "So that's why Ivankov-san is with him!" "What a crazy family!"
"HEEE-HAW!" Ivankov's laughter boomed. "So the old goat finally spills the beans! YES, STRAW HAT-BOY IS THE SON OF MY DEAREST FRIEND, DRAGON-BOY! A TRUE REVOLUTIONARY APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY TREE!"
Jinbe nodded gravely beside him. "Indeed. The blood of rebellion flows strongly in him."
"DRAGON?!" Buggy shrieked, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. "HE'S THE SON OF THAT MONSTER DRAGON TOO?! I'M SURROUNDED BY THE CHILDREN OF LEGENDARY NIGHTMARES! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Luffy, however, just blinked, looking momentarily confused by all the fuss. He scratched his head. "Dragon? Who's that?" He genuinely had no idea who his father was, or the significance of the name. His focus snapped back to Ace. "Doesn't matter! I gotta save Ace!" And he resumed his charge, utterly unfazed.
On the platform, Ace stared, a fresh wave of shock washing over him. Luffy… is Dragon's son…? That… that explains so much… and makes everything even worse.
Sengoku's voice rose again, filled with grim determination. "The son of Roger! The son of Dragon! These two represent the greatest threats this world has ever faced! Their continued existence cannot be tolerated! They must BOTH be eliminated here today! MARINES! DO NOT FALTER! CAPTURE STRAW HAT LUFFY! EXECUTE PORTGAS D. ACE! UPHOLD JUSTICE!"
The battlefield erupted with renewed ferocity. The stakes had been raised yet again. It was no longer just about executing one dangerous pirate; it was about extinguishing two terrifying legacies.
And through it all, Luffy, the oblivious son of the world's most dangerous revolutionary, continued his relentless, brotherly charge.
Luffy, his newly announced lineage a footnote in his own mind, was a rubbery cannonball once more. His entire world had narrowed to a single, burning point: Ace. He dodged a Pacifista's laser beam by a hair's breadth, his body contorting instinctively.
"This is taking too long!" he grumbled, retaliating with a "Gomu Gomu no Gatling" that sent a squad of Marines sprawling like bowling pins.
His path was a chaotic, zigzagging line of persistence. He was getting closer.
Meanwhile, Ragnar knelt on the ice, not from injury, but from a profound sense of annoyance.
Steam rose from his shoulders. He clutched his head, a splitting migraine pounding behind his eyes. Flashes of a life that wasn't his—a towering, white-mustached man, the taste of cheap sake, the sound of a pineapple-headed man calling him "brother"—were an irritating buzz he couldn't swat away. This whole war was a drag.
It was into this personal maelstrom that Luffy, in his typical fashion, blundered. Seeing a large, kneeling figure in his path, he didn't hesitate. An obstacle was an obstacle.
"Outta my way, Spiky-Hair!" Luffy yelled, his fist already cocked back for a "Gomu Gomu no Pistol."
Ragnar sighed, the sound lost in the din. The shout, however, was not. Without looking up, his hand shot out, a blur of motion. Luffy's fist, rocketing forward, was caught with a dull thud just inches from Ragnar's face. The force dissipated instantly. Luffy was left dangling in the air, his momentum completely neutralized, held only by his wrist.
"Yelling doesn't make you hit harder," Ragnar said, his voice a deadpan monotone. He finally looked up, his golden eyes bored and analytical. "And for the record, charging in a straight line is the stupidest tactic I've ever seen. Are you an idiot?"
"LUFFY!" Ace screamed from the scaffold, his voice raw with terror. He saw the Warlord—the one who wore Gunnar's face—holding his little brother. "GUNNAR! STOP IT! THAT'S LUFFY! HE'S MY BROTHER! DON'T HURT HIM! GUNNAR, PLEASE, IT'S ME, ACE!"
Ragnar's head twitched. Gunnar. The name hammered another spike into his migraine. His grip on Luffy didn't loosen. "He your brother?" Ragnar called back, his tone conversational but cold. "You should teach him some better moves, then."
"UNHAND STRAW HAT-BOY, YOU UNIMPRESSED LOAFER!"
Emporio Ivankov, seeing Luffy's predicament, was charging forward. "DEATH WINK!"
A powerful blast of pressurized air shot towards Ragnar's head. Ragnar, with a sigh of irritation, simply tilted his head. The blast sailed past. It was then that a streak of blue flame slammed into his side with the force of a cannonball.
BOOM!
"Gah!" Ragnar grunted, a genuine spark of pain cutting through his apathy. The unexpected impact sent him skidding, his grip on Luffy finally broken. Luffy dropped to the ice, rubbing his wrist but already scrambling back to his feet.
Marco the Phoenix landed gracefully between them, his body wreathed in ethereal blue flames. His expression was a mixture of sorrow and desperate hope.
"Gunnar!" Marco's voice was tight, pleading. "Snap out of it! What's happened to you?! It's me, Marco! Your brother, yoi!" He used the familiar verbal tic, praying it would be a key. "Look around you! This is your family! We're fighting to save Ace! Your brother, Gunnar!"
Ragnar pushed himself up, dusting off his side where Marco had struck him. He rubbed his temples. "Ah, that name again. It's really giving me a headache." He leveled a flat, unimpressed gaze at Marco. "Look, Pineapple-head, I don't know you, and frankly, I don't care to."
The insult, so casual and jarring, made Marco flinch. "Gunnar…"
"And this 'family' thing is a real drag," Ragnar continued, gesturing vaguely at the war. "Getting this worked up, fighting a losing battle, dying for some emotional nonsense… It's completely inefficient."
Marco's face fell, the hope in his eyes dimming. "Inefficient? Is that all we are to you now? You truly don't remember any of us? Pops? Ace? Me?"
Ragnar retorted. He glanced at Luffy, who was about to charge again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to remove this noisy little problem before he gives me an aneurysm."
As Ragnar took a step toward Luffy, Marco moved. He shot forward, a blue blur of fire, aiming a taloned kick at Ragnar's head.
Ragnar leaned back, the kick whistling past his nose. His expression was no longer just bored; a flicker of something cold and dangerous, the warrior's switch, had been flipped.
"Fine," Ragnar said, his voice losing its lazy drawl, becoming sharp and low. "You're the bigger pest. I'll get rid of you first."
Marco hovered in the air, his heart heavy but his resolve firming. "I don't have time for this, Gunnar! But I won't let you hurt my brothers!"
"Brothers, family… you all keep saying the same annoying words," Ragnar sighed, cracking his neck. He settled into a low, predatory stance. "Let's see if that 'family' of yours can put you back together after I'm done with you."