Water 7 - The Scrap Coast
The evening air over the Scrap Coast was tranquil, a stark contrast to the absolute chaos that had consumed the city over the past few days. The Going Merry rocked gently in the secluded cove, her lanterns casting a warm, inviting glow over the wooden deck.
Most of the Straw Hat crew were below deck.
Up on the grassy main deck, four figures sat in a circle, passing around a massive barrel of Galley-La's finest ale.
Dory the Blue Ogre, Brogy the Red Ogre, Oimo, and Kashii were engaged in a boisterous storytelling session.
"Gebabababa! And then, the little Magician just waved his stick, and POOF! We were mountains again!" Dory roared, slapping Oimo on the back so hard the younger giant nearly tipped over. "You should have seen the look on the Marines' faces!"
"It was glorious, Captains!" Kashii wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. "For fifty years, Oimo and I stood at that gate. To finally smash it down... it was the greatest day of my life!"
"Drink up, little ones!" Brogy laughed, pouring more ale into their tankards. "We are free warriors of Elbaf once more! And we sail under the banner of the future King!"
Suddenly, the jovial atmosphere vanished.
All four giants stopped laughing. Their Warrior's Intuition—a primal, battle-honed form of Observation Haki—spiked simultaneously. The air pressure on the deck shifted violently. The smell of the salty sea was abruptly overpowered by the scent of ozone, burnt wood, and dried blood.
THUD.
A heavy body materialized out of thin air, dropping onto the grassy deck with a sickening clatter of heavy iron chains.
The giants stood up instantly, their hands instinctively reaching for their weapons. They looked down at the center of their circle.
Lying on the grass was a man. He was massive, his back facing the sky, revealing a large, purple tattoo of a cross with a crescent moon mustache—the mark of Whitebeard. He was stripped to the waist, covered in horrific bruises, dark purple welts, and dried blood. His wrists were bound together by thick, marine-grade Seastone cuffs attached to a heavy chain that trailed uselessly behind him.
The man was unconscious, his breathing shallow and ragged.
Dory squinted, leaning down to get a better look at the man's face. The unruly black hair, the freckles, the sheer, undeniable presence of the man even while beaten to a pulp.
"By the gods," Dory rumbled, his eyes widening in shock. "Brogy... look."
Brogy leaned in, his jaw dropping. "It's him. The Fire Commander. The one we met in the desert of Alabasta."
"Portgas D. Ace," Oimo whispered, recognizing the famous Second Division Commander from the bounty posters. "What is a man like him doing here? And in this condition?!"
"Never mind that now," Dory said, stepping forward. He gently grabbed Ace by the shoulders, lifting the heavy, muscular commander with ease. He dragged him over to the main mast and carefully propped him up against the wood, ensuring his airway was clear.
Brogy looked up toward the ship's main speaker system.
"Merry!" Brogy bellowed, his deep voice carrying through the ship. "Alert the Magician and the Captain! The Fire Commander is here! He is gravely wounded!"
BZZT.
"I'm already on it, Uncle Brogy!" Mini Merry's sweet, clear voice chimed through the intercom, sounding anxious but entirely dropping her usual gangster slang. "Biometric scanners are detecting a medical emergency! Paging Brother Chopper to the main deck immediately!"
---
The door to the lower cabins burst open so violently it nearly tore off its hinges.
"ACE?!"
Luffy rocketed out onto the deck, his eyes wide with a mixture of hope and terror. He saw the giants gathered around the mast. He saw the figure slumped against the wood.
"Ace!" Luffy scrambled across the grass, dropping to his knees beside his brother.
Luffy's breath hitched. He had never seen Ace like this. Ace was always the strong one. The invincible older brother. But right now, Ace looked broken. His skin was pale, his trademark fire completely absent.
"Ace! Wake up! It's me!" Luffy grabbed Ace's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Who did this to you?!"
"Luffy, please step back!"
Chopper came sprinting out of the cabin, carrying his oversized medical backpack. He skidded to a halt, taking in the scene. The sheer amount of trauma on Ace's body made the little reindeer freeze in panic.
"Oh my god! He's bleeding! He's bruised! His breathing is failing!" Chopper started running in tight, frantic circles around the mast, clutching his head. "WE NEED A DOCTOR! SOMEONE CALL A DOCTOR! HE'S GOING TO DIE!"
"CHOPPER, YOU ARE THE DOCTOR!" Usopp yelled, running onto the deck behind him alongside Nami, Sanji, and Zoro.
Chopper stopped mid-spin. He blinked. "Oh. Right! I am the doctor!"
Chopper instantly transformed into his Heavy Point, slapping on a pair of sterile gloves. "Give me room! Everyone back up!"
Sanji quickly moved Luffy back. "Let the reindeer work, Luffy."
Chopper knelt beside Ace, pressing a stethoscope to his chest. "His heartbeat is erratic. He has massive internal blunt-force trauma. But... his cells... they're moving incredibly fast."
"It's the Super Soldier Serum," a calm voice said.
Ben walked out of his workshop, wiping grease from his hands with a rag. He took one look at Ace, his eyes locking onto the heavy, gray metal binding his wrists.
"The Serum is trying to heal him," Ben explained, walking closer, "but it's fighting a losing battle against those cuffs. That's pure Seastone. It's draining his stamina and actively suppressing his regeneration."
"Seastone?" Zoro frowned. "Where are the keys?"
"We don't have them," Ben said simply. He tossed his rag aside.
He waved his at the complex lock mechanism of the heavy Marine cuffs.
CLICK. CLACK.
The impenetrable, unbreakable Seastone cuffs sprang open as if unlocked by the original master key. They fell to the grassy deck with a heavy thud.
The moment the Seastone lost contact with Ace's skin, a visible change occurred.
Ace took a sudden, deep, rattling breath. The color began to return to his pale face. The deep purple bruises on his torso seemed to lighten just a fraction of a shade as his suppressed, enhanced biology roared back to life.
"His vitals are stabilizing!" Chopper reported, amazed. "The cellular regeneration is kicking into overdrive now that the drain is gone! But he still needs intensive care. We need to move him to the infirmary! I need to set his fractured ribs and start an IV!"
"Sanji, Zoro," Ben nodded.
The two rivals didn't bicker. They stepped forward, carefully lifting Ace between them, and carried him down the stairs toward the ship's state-of-the-art medical bay that Ben had built. Luffy followed closely behind them, his face a mask of quiet, terrifying focus.
Ben watched them go. He bent down and picked up the Seastone cuffs, tossing them into his spatial pocket. He looked at the spot where Ace had appeared.
"He used the Portkey," Ben murmured to himself. "Which means Blackbeard pushed him to the absolute brink. The timeline is shifting."
"Papa," Mini Merry appeared beside him, her small hands clasped together worryingly. "The patient is secure in the med bay. Chopper aniki is taking care of him. Should I lock down the ship? In case the bad guys who hurt him followed the signal?"
"No," Ben smiled faintly, patting his daughter's head. "Whoever had him is currently staring at an empty raft, very confused."
Ben checked his pocket watch.
"Keep an eye on him, Merry. I have a meeting to get to at Dock 1. We have a ship to build."
The Builders' Brawl
Deep in the heart of Water 7, inside the massive, cavernous hangars of the Galley-La Company headquarters, the air smelled of sawdust, burning flux, and pure, concentrated ego.
Building the "Dream Ship" for the Straw Hat Pirates out of the legendary Adam Wood was supposed to be a harmonious collaboration between the greatest shipwrights in the world.
Instead, it was a warzone.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T INSTALL A COLA FOUNTAIN IN THE HELM?!" Franky roared, waving a massive monkey wrench at Iceburg. "IT'S ESSENTIAL FOR CREW MORALE! SUUUUPER ESSENTIAL!"
"IT'S A STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS, YOU SPEEDO-WEARING MORON!" Iceburg yelled back, slamming his own blueprint down on the table. "You want to run pressurized carbonated liquid lines directly over the main navigation console?! Do you want the ship to explode?!"
"I can shield it with scrap iron!"
"WE ARE USING ADAM WOOD, NOT SCRAP IRON!"
While the two brothers screamed at each other, the rest of the Galley-La foremen were having their own issues with Franky's "artistic vision".
"Hey! Cyborg!" Paulie shouted, holding up a rope. "What the hell is this drawing?! You want me to carve a giant neon star into the side of the hull?! We're building a galleon, not a casino!"
"It adds flair!" Franky posed, throwing his forearms together. "Pirates need flair!"
"It's tacky!" Tilestone bellowed, his bald head turning red. "I'm not hammering my beautiful nails into a neon sign! I refuse!"
CLANG! CRASH!
Lulu, another foreman, was currently trying to put out a small fire in the corner because Franky had casually used his 'Weapons Left' to weld a steel plate, accidentally setting a pile of sawdust ablaze.
"No weapons in the drydock!" Lulu yelled, swatting the flames with his coat.
Ben stood at the entrance of the hangar, sipping a cup of coffee, thoroughly enjoying the show. He watched as Iceburg threw a wooden plank at Franky's head, which bounced off the cyborg's metal skull with a loud DONK. Franky retaliated by spitting a small fireball.
Eventually, they settled down enough to actually work, finding a chaotic but brilliant rhythm. When Franky's insane, over-the-top ideas met Iceburg's flawless, elegant engineering, the result was magic.
They argued over every plank, brawled over the mast placement, and nearly destroyed the office debating the figurehead (Franky wanted a centaur; Iceburg flatly refused until they compromised on a lion that looked suspiciously like a sun).
"It's going to be a masterpiece," Ben muttered, taking a sip of coffee. "As long as they don't kill each other first."
---
The next morning, the sun broke through the porthole of the Going Merry's infirmary, casting a warm beam of light across the sterile white sheets of the medical bed.
Ace's eyes snapped open.
Instantly, the combat instincts honed by years of surviving the New World kicked in. He tried to lunge forward, his hands curling into fists to summon fire.
"Gah!"
Pain shot through his ribs, forcing him back down onto the pillows. His flames didn't ignite.
He blinked, his vision clearing. He wasn't on the wooden raft. He wasn't staring at Blackbeard's ugly, grinning face. He wasn't chained to a mast.
He was in a room. A clean, quiet room that smelled faintly of antiseptic and cherry blossoms. He looked down at his wrists. The heavy, abrasive Seastone cuffs were gone. In their place were neat, white bandages.
His memory was a blur of violence, pain, and a sickening spinning sensation.
"Take me to Merry."
The words echoed in his mind. The locket. The magic.
"It worked," Ace whispered to the empty room. He let his head fall back against the pillow, a profound, shuddering wave of relief washing over him. He was alive. Pops was safe. The war was averted.
Click.
The door to the infirmary swung open.
Chopper trotted in, carrying a clipboard. He was looking down at his notes, muttering to himself. "Okay, so the cellular regeneration rate increased by 400% overnight. The fractured ribs are already fusing, which is biologically ridiculous, but I guess the serum—"
Chopper looked up. He locked eyes with Ace.
"Oh!" Chopper gasped, dropping the clipboard. "You're awake!"
"Hey there, little guy," Ace managed a weak, trademark D. family grin. "Guess I owe you my life."
"I... I didn't do much!" Chopper did his wiggly, happy dance, blushing furiously. "Shut up, you bastard! Your body did all the healing! I just set the bones and gave you some fluids! That doesn't make me happy at all! Ehehehe!"
Before Ace could respond to the bizarre reaction, a cheerful voice echoed from the corner of the room.
"Papa! Papa! Big Brother Ace is awake!"
Ace turned his head. Sitting on a small stool in the corner, holding a storybook, was a little girl in a yellow dress.
"Uh," Ace blinked. "Who's the kid?"
"I'm not a kid, I'm the ship!" Mini Merry said proudly, walking over to his bedside. "I'm Mini Merry! Nice to meet you, Big Brother Ace! Chopper aniki and I were watching over you!"
Ace stared at her. He looked at Chopper. "Did I hit my head harder than I thought?"
"It's a long story," Chopper sighed with a smile.
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway. The door was practically ripped off its hinges.
"ACE!"
Luffy burst into the room, his straw hat flying off his back. He didn't care about the medical equipment. He lunged forward, throwing his stretchy arms around Ace in a massive, crushing hug.
"Oof! Careful, Luffy!" Ace grimaced, but he returned the hug tightly, burying his face in his little brother's shoulder. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
"You looked dead!" Luffy yelled, tears streaming down his face. "You were all bloody!"
"Takes more than that to kill me," Ace chuckled, patting Luffy's back.
Behind Luffy, the rest of the crew filtered into the room. Zoro leaned against the doorframe. Sanji walked in holding a tray with a bowl of steaming, nutrient-rich soup. Nami, Robin, Usopp, and Vivi crowded in, looking overwhelmingly relieved.
Ben stood at the back, holding a cup of coffee. He met Ace's eyes and gave a small, knowing nod. Checkmate.
"So," Zoro crossed his arms, his single visible eye sharp. "Who did this to the famous Fire Fist? Must have been an Admiral."
Ace's smile faded. The memory of the darkness, the crushing weight, the betrayal, flooded back. He gently pushed Luffy back and sat up slightly against the pillows.
He looked down at his bandaged hands, his expression darkening into a mix of profound anger and exhaustion.
He shook his head slowly.
"It's a long story..." Ace said, his voice dropping into a serious, grave tone. "And a heavy one. I'll tell you all about it once my head stops spinning and I can stand on my own two feet."
He looked up, forcing a warmer smile as he looked at the faces of his brother's crew. He felt a deep, profound sense of gratitude. He was safe. He was healing. The war was averted.
"For now," Ace said softly, ruffling Luffy's messy hair. "I'm just really glad to see you, Luffy."
"Shishishi!" Luffy beamed, wiping his eyes. "We're glad you're here too! Now eat Sanji's soup! It makes you super strong!"
As the crew gathered around him, celebrating his awakening, the feeling of warmth and safety filled the small infirmary.
But miles away, across the ocean, the feeling was very, very different.
The Open Sea - The Raft
The midday sun beat down on the crude wooden raft.
Blackbeard walked up from the small cabin, wiping his mouth. He held a massive, freshly baked cherry pie in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other. He was feeling fantastic. His ribs hurt, his jaw was wired from the brutal beating he had taken, but victory was sweet.
"Zehahaha!" Teach laughed, stepping onto the main deck. "Hey, Commander! Time for lunch! I brought pie! Though I guess you'll need me to feed it to you since your hands are—"
Teach stopped.
He blinked.
He rubbed his eyes with his massive, hairy fist.
He looked at the main mast.
The heavy iron ring was still bolted securely to the wood. But the thick Seastone chains... the heavy, marine-grade cuffs... and the two-hundred-pound Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates... were gone.
Just... gone.
"Lafitte," Teach said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Lafitte, who was steering the raft, turned around. "Yes, Captain?"
"Where is the prisoner?" Teach asked, his eyes wide, unblinking.
Lafitte looked at the mast. His cane slipped from his grasp, clattering onto the wooden deck. His pale face turned chalk white.
"He... he was just there, Captain!" Lafitte stammered, absolute panic slipping into his usually composed voice. "I swear it! I only looked away to check the compass! The chains didn't even rattle! There was no splash!"
"Gone?" Teach dropped his cherry pie. It splattered against the deck.
Teach rushed to the mast. He touched the iron ring. He looked at the empty space. He looked at the sky. He looked at the water.
There was no boat. There was no bird. There was no trace.
A man bound in Seastone, incapable of using powers, incapable of swimming, had vanished into thin air in the middle of the open ocean.
The realization hit Teach like a physical blow.
No Ace.
No Warlord title.
No access to Impel Down.
No crew expansion.
His master plan. His grand, decades-in-the-making destiny. It was gone. Evaporated.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Teach fell to his knees on the wooden raft. He threw his head back toward the sky. The dark aura of the Yami Yami no Mi flared uncontrollably around him, his emotional breakdown causing the gravity to leak.
CRACK.
The sheer weight of the uncontrolled darkness crushed his dropped cherry pie, shattered his rum bottles, and snapped the thick wooden logs of the raft clean in half.
"CAPTAIN! THE RAFT!" Lafitte shrieked.
Teach didn't even notice as the broken halves of the raft began to sink into the ocean, sending him splashing into the cold water. He just kept screaming at the empty sky, thrashing frantically as his devil fruit anchored him down.
"WHERE DID HE GO?! HOW DID HE DO THIS?! ACCCCCCEEEEEE!"