The shichibukai's were getting annoyed with Goku's cockiness, especially Doflamingo who took it personally when Goku made a fool out of him moments ago. Doflamingo was seething with rage but was hiding it with an evil smile.

"HAHAHAHA! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT US!" Doflamingo said while dashing towards Goku who wasn't moving from his fighting stance. "YOU'RE NOTHING COMPARED TO US!" Doflamingo said as he punched Goku in the face causing a pile of smoke and rocks to go scattering around the two making it difficult to see them. Luffy was watching opened mouth as he saw his friend take the hit head on and not try to dodge it. 'What was he thinking?!' Luffy thought in disbelief, even Hancock had been shocked to see Goku not try and dodge the attack.

The dust was clearing up and Doflamingo was seen first by everyone and he was smiling his evil smile. "What a waste, couldn't even take a single punch? And that wasn't even my full power!" Doflamingo said while laughing. "You were saying?" A voice said in the dust. "Hmm?" Doflamingo said looking back at where his fist was surrounded by dust. The dust finally cleared and everybody had their mouth opened and their eyes widened in shock.

There Goku was, he took the punch all right but he didn't even seem to notice the punch that was connecting to his face, he was just staring right back at Doflamingo "Who the hell is he?!" Doflamingo thought to himself. Now everyone was staring to see what Goku would do next.

He just backed up a bit and slowly retracted his arm back in a position that looked like he was going to punch Doflamingo. But Goku's fist never hit Doflamingo at all. Goku just thrust his arm forward and immediately Doflamingo was sent flying backwards afar and crashed down heavily. The other shichibukai's just stood there in disbelief of what Goku did.

'It was like Goku never even touched Doflamingo, but Goku did something to him but what?' Hancock thought to herself. Doflamingo gets up and yells towards the other Shichibukai's "END HIM!" Immediately all 6 shichibukai's dashed towards different sides of Goku trying to surround him. "This technique isn't going to work on me." Goku smirked while preparing himself for their attack. The shichibukai's rushed at Goku from all sides throwing punches at him constantly but he kept blocking them all even from behind him. The faster they punched the faster Goku was adapting to their speed to counter them.

"Enough!" Goku yelled throwing his arms outward to his side causing all the shichibukai's to be pushed back. Goku glared at the 6 shichibukai's and then smiled which really put everyone in a state of confusion. "Impressive, there's no doubt in my mind that you people are really the strongest in the world, but you got one problem that's really destroying your power." Goku said looking at all the shichibukai. They all just stared back at Goku wondering what it is that was destroying their power.

"You lack team work; I can see it in you all. You all want to take me on but it's not to defeat me, it's to see who is the stronger warlord, am I correct?" Goku asked staring at all the Shichibukai's who weren't saying anything but knew he was right. "I thought so." Goku said.

"Who is this guy? He's not only stronger than them but he's teaching the Warlord's of the Seas how to work together to take him on?!" A marine whispered to his other comrades. "Wait a minute! I know him, he's the guy we brought to Impel down to be locked up!" another marine said. "W... What?! How! It's impossible for anyone to get out of that prison especially him since we put him on the lowest torture chamber!" A marine said. All the marines were wondering who Goku was and how he can easily take on all 6 warlords of the seas simultaneously. Their thoughts quickly died when they continued their battle with the pirates.

"If you work together you will be able to fight efficiently and makes you 80% more powerful than you are already, and I know this as you should too." Goku said. "He's right." One of the Warlords said, "It's time we work together for once at least to take him on." Quickly the Warlords worked together coming at Goku with a faster speed and more coordinated punches at him. "Good! Now I can fight you at your full power!" Goku said smiling still blocking their attacks.

Soon one of the shichibukai landed a punch on Goku which took him by surprise that one of them managed to get past him. 'Their powers are rapidly increasing.' Goku thought. He disappeared out of sight and reappeared behind one of them and kicked them heavily on the side causing the Shichibukai to go flying into another shichibukai.

(BTW no one is watching their fight anymore because it's a war... so... you can't always watch a cool fight right?)

"Put me down on the ground!" Doflamingo yelled to Goku who grabbed him from behind and both were floating now "Poor choice of words..." Goku said, he sped downwards slamming Doflamingo onto the ground which caused Doflamingo to wheeze since all the air left his lungs during the impact. Goku looked up to see Mihawk coming at him with his blade, so he repeatedly back flipped away from Mihawk's sword range causing him to get annoyed that his sword wasn't connecting with Goku.

"TAKE THIS!" Mihawk yelled as he used his sword to create a slash beam towards Goku, "Crap! Why can't I move from my position?!" Goku said, his legs felt like it just fell asleep on him, he turned slightly to see Doflamingo was still on the ground but was using his hands to stop Goku from moving. "At this rate the slash beam will chop me in two!" Goku thought until he remembered something, he put his fingers to his forehead and I.T away from the sword, a split second more and Goku would have definitely been hit by the sword.

"Where did he?! – ERGH!" Doflamingo was kneed in the gut by Goku causing him to roar in pain. Goku chopped at Doflamingo's pressure point causing him to go limp, he was doing this to the other Warlords as well until they were all on the ground defeated. Goku just stared at them from up above until he heard a shichibukai.

"Well what are you waiting for? Kill us already! You beaten all of us so just end us we're no match." Goku just shook his head side to side saying no. "You guys are very powerful, it's just I had to study all of your fighting styles that really helped me out, if I hadn't who knows how long this battle would have taken." Goku said. "Don't take this defeat badly but take this defeat as a purpose, a purpose to keep training and allow yourselves to be pushed beyond your limits, then you will truly know what it feels like to be the very strongest you can be." Goku said smiling and giving them a thumbs up before dashing away to find his friends.

"What a weird guy Heh..." Mihawk said before passing out along with the other shichibukai's.

After what felt like forever, Luffy finally reached the wall. He quickly used his power to stretch his arms, ready to rocket himself into the plaza.

"Ace, I'm coming now!" Luffy yelled. He allowed his arms to snap and he was flying towards the wall. At the last second, a metal wall suddenly came shooting out of the ice and knocked Luffy off-course.

"Where did those walls come from?" Goku asked himself.

"I see. Their plan was to seal off the pirates in the bay using those walls," The saiyan mutter. "What a simple yet brilliant plan."

The walls were so high that it completely covered the cannons the marines were using. The area where mini Oars had fallen. The wall in that area didn't raise.

The pirates attempted to break the walls, but their weapons shattered on impact against the strong metal. Shooting it also did no good. It didn't even bend the metal.

Magma started to shoot into the air like fireworks. It was eerily pretty.

"The lava's shooting into the air...." Luffy murmured, not quite believing what he was seeing. The magma kept flying until it disappeared into the clouds. The sky immediately darkened.

"This...this isn't good..." Goku whispered. He felt his mouth grow dry.

Everything was completely silent and the wind blew harshly across the ice field. After a couple of seconds, a loud rumble filled the air. It almost sounded like thunder.

Not long after the rumbles started, large fists of magma descended like meteorites upon the trapped pirates.

"We are not letting you escape!" Sengoku yelled from the plaza. "Melt the ice and take away their footing!"

The magma fists hit the ice and exploded like bombs across the ice field, blasting several pirates off their feet. The pirates barely had time to dive for cover as rain of magma fell on their heads. Within seconds, the entire bay began to look like Level 4 of Impel Down.

Luffy could only watched with wide-eyed horror as everything caught on fire and burned around him.

Screams of pain and panic could be heard across the bay as the ice melted from under the entrapped pirates.

Goku watched people fall into the sea. There were several cries of pain as the water boiled the pirates.

Luffy was left in terrified awe at the display of power as he watched the magma rain down. Between this and seeing Whitebeard's ability, he started to truly see the scope of what he had gotten himself into. In this war, he was even less than an ant. Despite everything he had done since becoming a pirate, this was what he amounted to against the strongest in the world.

Things got much worse for the pirates when the marines began to shoot their cannons into the bay. They were now dealing with attacks from above, the sides, and the front. Things went downhill even further when an army of Pacifistas moved into the bay and blocked the pirates' backs, trapping them on all sides. Lasers were fired, blasting all pirates within range.

It was a mass genocide. Pirates fell by the dozens as people were hit with cannonballs, lasers, and magma. Those who were unlucky enough to fall into the water were boiled alive. The marines had the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies caught in a death trap.

Luffy did his best to keep the magma from hitting him, but even he was blasted around, knocking him further away from the wall. He also had to watch his footing since falling into the water meant death.

When he did manage to catch his breath, Luffy was left horrified at the massacre. He had never seen so many people butchered.

"Got to give the marines credit," Goku said as he looked at the living hell around him. "Their trap was nearly flawless. Even with the hole mini giant made, that would be guarded heavily. I can't see any way for them to escape."

Whitebeard attempted to break the walls with his ability, but they wouldn't budge even to him.

"Not even the old tough guy can break that metal wall!" The saiyan exclaimed. What kind of metal were those walls made of?

Whitebeard's ship took a direct hit from the magma fist and burst into flames. There were several loud panic screams from the pirates. It sounded like someone had been killed. All the Whitebeard Pirate were devastated to watch their precious ship being destroyed and they did everything within their power to put the flames out.

"Whitebeard, your era is at an end!" Akainu proclaimed as he mercilessly destroyed the Moby Dick with several well-placed magma balls.

Timber flew everywhere and the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies yell and scream in distress.

Whitebeard, who was still standing near the Moby Dick, slowly turned around and looked over the remains of his beloved ship.

"Forgive me," Whitebeard said so softly that it was amazing that Luffy even heard from where he stood.

It was getting harder to see as steam occurred the view of the bay. All that could be clearly seen was flames and the silhouette of mini Oars. Ash also floated in the air like falling snow.

Since the execution platform was so high, Ace also could be seen in the distance. He could only look on in horror as everyone he knew was being murdered before his eyes.

"The plan is proceeding smoothly," Sengoku yelled through the speakers. "The execution of Portgas D. Ace will proceed immediately!"

The two executioners got into position as Garp sat cross-legged next to his grandson. His head was down, hiding his expression from everyone.

Ace steeled himself for his fate. There was no fear in his eyes, only sadness and regret for dragging his family into all of this. He closed his eyes.

The announcement snapped Luffy out of his daze as he looked up in horror. There was no way he could reach his brother in time if he didn't escape from this trap. There was only one way. He turned towards the opening that mini Oars had made and narrowed his eyes.

Flames surrounded the path. It was almost daring Luffy to break through.

"Ace!" Luffy shouted as he made his charge towards the open path.

The pirates behind him were shocked, but they too took their fate in their hands and charged with Luffy.

Cannonballs and magma rained on them, but they couldn't stop. Time was not their friend.

"That route is far too obvious! It's definitely a trap!" Iva screamed from the back, but no one listened.

Pirates flew as cannonballs hit them. Some seemed to melt as the magma got to them, creating a horrible image that Goku would never forget. Most of the more timid Goku started to get physically sick from the sight of war.

Still, Luffy didn't let anything stop him as he avoided the cannonballs and the rain of death from above. He was almost halfway to the opening that would take him into the plaza. Without warning, a piece of cannonball shard broke and nicked Luffy in the face, causing him to stop as blood ran down his cheek.

Another cannonball nearly hit Luffy and the memory shook violently and a loud ringing could now be heard, blocking all other sounds. It was almost like the cannonball had ruptured Luffy's eardrum. The blood coming out of his ears seemed to confirm that fear.

Luffy's run was reduced to a slow walked as he kept pushing himself forward. His body wanted, begged him to rest, but his mind kept it going despite all the pain he was in. Through the fog of fire, and steam, he could see Ace's silhouette, posed to be killed at any moment.

"Ace..." Luffy mumbled brokenly as he pushed himself forward.

Goku felt his heart bleed from seeing Luffy push himself this hard. He was practically killing himself and in the end, his efforts could end in tragedy.

"Ace!" Luffy shouted just as several cannonballs hit him at once and exploded.

The boy captain was blasted into the air and knocked into a half-conscious state. He kept flying until he landed into the steaming seawater. As Luffy sank into the depths of the sea.

After a few minutes and Luffy was lying on his back on a remaining patch of ice. Jimbei and Iva were there and they knelt by him worriedly.

"Are you alright, Luffy-kun?" Jimbei asked worriedly.

"Really, how reckless can you be!?" Iva scolded.

Luffy was too out of breath and tire to answer.

A loud roar got the Goku's attention away from Luffy.

Goku turned towards the source of the roar, which was coming from the metal wall. "Oh, look who woke up."

In the background, the saiyan saw that mini Oars was awake and causing chaos among the marines, who had thought for certain that the giant was dead. They were so busy dealing with Oars that they stopped firing into the bay and the magma rain had ceased.

"How can they pass those indestructible walls?" Goku asked. "They may be spared for now, but they're still stuck in this death hole."

"I've got to do something," Luffy said softly. It took more effort than it should for him to sit up. "I've got to hurry. They're going to execute Ace!"

"Yes, we must act quickly!" Jimbei yelled. He too appeared close to panicking.

"Jimbei!" Luffy yelled as he grabbed the ex-Warlord's kimono. Luffy stared at him desperately. "I've got...a favor to ask!"

https://youtu.be/Sqq2_RXdKC0

Luffy's favor amounted to him having Jimbei use his Fishman Karate to create a waterspout to launch Luffy over the steel wall. As a weapon, Luffy carried a piece of a wooden mast with him.

The plan worked perfectly, and Luffy finally made it into the plaza. However, whether Luffy planned it or he just had terrible luck, he made his grand entrance right in front of the three admirals.

"LUFFY!" Ace shouted in shock and horror. Luffy stood no chance against the three powerhouses.

The admirals seemed mildly surprised to see Luffy. Aokiji appeared somewhat impressed while Kizaru seemed mostly amused. Akainu had a hardened expression as he looked over Luffy.

For some reason, Akainu was the one that sent chills up the Strawhats' spines. Unlike the other admirals who seemed all business, Akainu had an aura of malice around him.

Luffy glared at each of the admirals. If he was afraid, which he should be if he had any sense, he didn't show it.

"Oh my, you finally made it here," Aokiji mused.

"Quite an entrance, Dragon's son," Akainu said, slightly impress.

"This youngster sure is scary," Kizaru said in his usual easy-going manner.

"If nothing else, I praise your tenacity," Akainu said.

"But you are not ready for this stage yet," Aokiji stated.

"There is no way you can beat us, you know?" Kizaru informed casually.

Luffy still showed no fear, even though he knew that he was correct. Even on a good day, he couldn't beat one admiral. Still, he trained his eyes on Ace. He was so close. He couldn't stop even if it meant facing the monsters of the marines.

"Give Ace back!" Luffy screamed as he threw the mast at the admirals.

Aokiji effortlessly froze the mast, but that was exactly what Luffy wanted. He jumped and hit the mast repeatedly with a Gatling Stomp, shattering the frozen mast and creating a fog of ice that obscured the admirals' vision.

With the ice-fog made, Luffy wasted no time going into Gear Second and running like hell away from the admirals.

"I don't have time to fight these guys!" Luffy yelled as he past the admirals.

Luffy leapt towards the execution platform as fast as he could, but he was cut off by Kizaru.

"Too slow," Kizaru mocked before he light-kicked Luffy in the face.

Luffy screamed as he went flying into a nearby building and crashed into it. It took him a few seconds to regain his bearings and he finally realized the deep trouble he was in. Not only did the admirals block him, but he was also surrounded by elite marines from all sides.

"If I didn't know Luffy would have any energy left, I would say that he was pretty much screwed," Goku said as he looked at all the marines, ready to attack Luffy if he so much as twitch.

"Dammit!" Luffy growled as he saw the danger he was in.

Sengoku barely glanced at Luffy before he turned to give the order. "On my mark!"

"Yes, sir!" the executors exclaimed as they ready their blades.

Ace had his head down, prepared to face his death.

Luffy attempted to get up, but his body was too weakened to move. He collapsed back into the rubble and slumped onto the ground.

"Do it!" Sengoku ordered as he brought his hand down.

The executors brought their blades down to behead Ace.

"ACE!" Luffy screamed as he was about to watch his brother die.

Ace was unexpectedly saved at the very last second by none other than Crocodile. He used his ability to knock out both of the executors with one blow.

"Who did this!?" Sengoku yelled in surprise.

Crocodile stood smugly among the crowd of marines.

"He must have flown over the wall using his powers," Goku surmised. "Everyone was so focused on Whitebeard and the other pirates that they must have lost track of him."

"Bastard!" Sengoku yelled in fury at the former Warlord. "Considering your old grudge with Whitebeard, I had thought we were lucky, Crocodile!"

"Him?!" Luffy shouted as his dislike for the man resurfaced.

"You were hell-bent on killing the Old Man!" Jimbei yelled from the bay. "What is this sudden change of heart?"

"That dying old man? I will eliminate him later," Crocodile said nonchalantly. "Right now, however, I do not want you to enjoy victory."

Sengoku sneered in rage. He looked ready to jump down from the platform and strangled Crocodile.

Goku titled his head. "He did all of that just to mess with the marines?"

Crocodile suddenly lost his head as Doflamingo beheaded him from behind. It was not fatal, since the Warlord didn't use Haki. The other shichibukai's were back up on their feet from their little nap.

"Hey now, Crocodile-man! So, you're ditching me to team up with Whitebeard?" Doflamingo asked teasingly. "It's enough to make a guy jealous, you know?"

Crocodile reformed his head and stared at the other Warlord in annoyance. "I do not team up with anyone."

"That's the same as brushing me off," Doflamingo said in amusement.

"More or less," Crocodile admitted.

The two Warlords started to fight, knocking away several marines who were unfortunately in their way.

"I don't know what happened...but we were saved," Luffy sighed in relief.

The marines took notice of Luffy again and attempted to attack him. Since he had a moment to rest, he was able to handle the average marine without too much problem.

"Get out of the way!" Luffy screamed as he kicked an entire group of marines away from him.

He ran into some problems with marines who knew Rokushiki, but even in his weakened state he was able to handle them even when they used Tekkai. After all, their mastery of the style was nothing like CP9's.

Luffy's luck ran out, however, when an ice spear came out of nowhere nailed him in his upper arm. It was a not a lethal blow, but it undoubtedly hurt given how Luffy was rolling on the ground, screaming in pain.

Aokiji approached the fallen captain.

Aokiji reached over Luffy's body and pulled the spear out. "I am indebted to your grandfather, but I have no choice!" He raised the ice spear to kill Luffy. There was a slight look of regret on his face. "You have chosen your own death!"

The fatal blow never came as Marco flew in and kicked Aokiji away from Luffy. The admiral went flying into some buildings, much to the marines' shock.

Luffy took a moment to catch his breath and nursed his wounded arm. He looked up toward his savior and gave grateful smile. "Thanks for saving me."

Marco smiled back at him. "Don't mention it."

"Three Devil Fruit users have crossed into the plaza!" someone screamed in the distance. Guns and cannon fire could be heard as the marines attempted to keep any more pirates from breaking through.

Screams were suddenly heard about a second-coated ship coming out of the water before mini Oars lifted a ship over the steel wall, allowing the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies through into the plaza.

It was a fairly big paddleboat that was in the shape of the Moby Dick. Despite its size, Oars held it like it was a model ship.

Goku looked at his friend with concerned eyes. "Luffy."

Luffy struggling to get back on his feet. His breaths came out as harsh puffs and he coughed up some blood.

He looked horrible. His cheeks were a burning red as his fever got worse, and he was littered with wounds from both the war and Impel Down. He was literally soaked in his own blood. He appeared only seconds away from collapsing completely.

Luffy's vision was fuzzed and refocused several times as Luffy attempted regained his senses. Luffy was so out of it that he leaned heavily on the rubble as he attempted to stay awake.

"Old Man!" Ace screamed at his captain.

"Still got your head, Ace?" Whitebeard asked.

"We made it!" mini Oars exclaimed as he gasped for breath. He appeared close to passing out again. "Now, Ace can be rescued..."

Marines ruthlessly shot at the injured giant, causing him to scream in pain.

When the firing stopped, Oars was left shaking and barely conscious. Before he fell, he turned towards his fellow pirates with pleading eyes. "Save... Ace..." He then collapsed and didn't move.

Goku looked at the crowd of pirates. "To think that one person is so valuable that so many groups would come together and shift the world and risk everything they have to save them."

Whitebeard moved forward and stood on the front of his ship. Everyone waited for him to make his move, including all the Warlords, admirals, and Luffy.

After only a moment, Whitebeard jumped down from his ship and landed hard on the stone ground, cracking it under his weight.

"Whitebeard has entered the plaza!" A marine screamed as the soldiers quickly took aim at the aging pirates.

"Stand back, my sons," Whitebeard warned. He raised his bisento and struck it across the air. His powers cracked the air around him and sent every marine within his range flying. Only the stronger marines remained standing.

With the way cleared, all the Whitebeard commanders jumped to join their captain.

"Men, rescue Ace and destroy the marines!" Whitebeard yelled into the sky.

All the commanders gave their war cries as the as the remaining pirates jumped off the ship.

The battle started again and both sides charged each other. It was an all-out war, with the marines being pushed back during their efforts to protect the execution platform. This time, there was no retreating for anyone.

Luffy used the chaos to his advantage and ran through the horde of marines. The memory blurred as it reflected Luffy's state of consciousness. He was truly on his last legs. Regardless, the boy captain kept going and glanced up to see Ace, who was still awaiting his death.

"Ace..." Luffy muttered breathlessly.

Up ahead, the vice-admiral that had escorted Boa to Impel Down, Momonga, approached Luffy. He jumped forward and brutally cut Luffy across the stomach with his saber. Luffy was too tired to dodge and fell hard on the ground.

"Strawhat Luffy, I, Momonga, stake my pride as a marine vice-admiral on stopping you right here!" he declared as he readied his blade.

Luffy lay on the ground, barely bothering to get up as he gasped for air. "Vice-admiral...the same as gramps, huh?" he muttered as he forced his body up.

Momonga appeared to disappear and attempted to blindside Luffy. The Strawhat captain sensed him and attempted a spin kick, but he missed Momonga, who disappeared again. The vice-admiral jumped high into the air and did a downward slash. Luffy managed to avoid a mortal hit, but he was cut badly across his chest.

Luffy grunted as he went into a horse stance. "Gear Second!"

He pumped his legs, but nothing happened. Instead, Luffy cried in pain as he grabbed his chest and the memory went red for several seconds. By the way Luffy was grabbing his chest; it looked like he was having a heart attack.

Luffy was almost on his knees as the chest pains pulsed through his body, robbing him of his remaining strength. He was gasping for air as he attempted to recompose himself.

Goku knew it was obvious that Luffy was in no condition to fight as the rubberman desperately attempted to catch his breath.

"Looks like you're out of energy!" Another vice-admiral with a dalmatian Devil Fruit yelled as he ruthlessly stabbed Luffy with his clawed finger, piercing his chest several times.

"LUFFY!" Goku screamed.

Luffy's eyes rolled back into his head as he was knocked back and sent sliding across the stone ground. This time, no matter how hard he tried, Luffy couldn't will himself to stand up. He coughed violently and blood came rushing out of his mouth. His stab wounds were also bleeding heavily, soaking the stone ground.

"I'm not surprised. He's just a rookie, after all," the dog vice-admiral said in a dismissive tone.

"But he is still as persistent as ever," Momonga said as Luffy slowly forced himself up.

Luffy was out of it. He stared dim-wittedly at the ground as he looked at his own blood with dull interest. His eyes were glazed and the memory faded in and out. Everything within ten feet of Luffy was a complete blur.

As Luffy lifted his head, a bright yellow light blinded him. He didn't have a chance to figure out what was happening before he was blasted by Kizaru. The laser pierced his chest and he was engulfed in a huge explosion.

Luffy landed hard on the stone ground and his eyes rolled back into his head. The attack happened so fast that he didn't even have the chance to scream.

Luffy laid face down on the pavement, unable to move at all now. He could just barely twitch his fingers. He was totally spent as his remaining vision faded. The faint sounds of footsteps got Luffy's attention and he was soon looking at the white shoes of Kizaru.

Kizaru hummed at Luffy like he had found an interesting bug on the side of the road. "You have to have more than just courage. Willpower alone means nothing without strength. Strawhat, without enough strength, you cannot save anyone no matter how hard you try."

Luffy winced at the admiral's words. Kizaru's speech had hurt their captain more than all of his laser blasts and kicks. What made it worse was that Kizaru spoke the truth. Without the strength to even move, what was all of Luffy's willpower worth?

Luffy forced his eyes away from Kizaru and looked towards his brother. Ace caught his eyes and seemed to be sharing in Luffy's pain. It almost looked like that Ace was apologizing to Luffy for bringing him into this hellhole.

"Ace..." Luffy whispered weakly, nearing tears. The battlefield around him began to fade into darkness and the sounds of fighting dulled, but he kept focusing on his brother.

"Now, will you please disappear?" Kizaru asked nonchalantly before he ruthlessly kicked Luffy in the face with his power.

Luffy went flying and could still hear sounds of the war.

"Ace's little brother!" Several people screamed.

"Ace..." Luffy whimpered in a broken tone. He sounded like a dying dog.

"Oh, Whitebeard's command has been dulled," Kizaru mused. "To think that a man like you would let such reckless trash lead your attack."

Kizaru charging a laser.

"Don't let him touch the Old Man!" Someone ordered.

"Oh, how admirable," Kizaru teased.

"There he is! It's Straw-boy!" Iva screamed from somewhere. It sounded strangely far away. "There he is, Jimbei!"

"Who's that?" Someone asked.

There was suddenly a noise of surprise and shock.

"Don't you see me!?" Iva screamed. "I'm Ivankov, dammit!"

"Up there!" A pirate screamed. "What's with the size of his face!?"

"Luffy-kun!" Jimbei yelled. He sounded panic.

"Are you still alive, Strawhat-boy!?" Iva screamed.

"What a noisy guy," Whitebeard said after a giant commotion. It sounded like something big had fallen.

The vision of Luffy returned as he willed his eyes open. Everything was extremely blurry and it was hard to tell what was going on. Most of the people around Luffy looked like deformed blobs.

Luffy was being held upside down by Whitebeard. Luffy looked like a doll in the great pirate's hand.

"Iva... Jimbei..." Luffy murmured softly. It sounded like he had forgotten where he was. He quickly remembered a few seconds later and struggled weakling in Whitebeard's grip. "Let me go, Old Timer! I'm...I'm...let me go...!"

"He has done more than enough, treat his wounds," Whitebeard ordered as he tossed Luffy to his men.

They caught Luffy and gently lowered him towards the ground.

"I don't need that! There's no time!" Luffy continued to scream as he struggled vainly to stand.

Luffy's vision was going blurry and out-of-focus and he could barely see what was happening. It almost like Luffy was going blind.

"I got to save him! Don't get in my way!" Luffy yelled frantically as stumbled around. "Ace...Ace is...Ace IS MY ONLY BROTHER IN THE WORLD!" He suddenly lunged at one of the pirates and grabbed their shirts. He shook the poor man violently. His eyes were wide with fear and he was delirious from his wounds and fever. "I'll...I'll definitely...definitely...SAVE HIM!"

He got up and ran. Luffy collapsed with a loud thud that seemed to reverberate.

"How is he?" Goku heard the voice of Iva suddenly ask, startling them.

"How, you ask? In his condition, my emergency treatment will not be enough!" A man exclaimed. "He needs proper medical care!"

"Hurry and bring Strawhat-boy to the ship!" Iva ordered.

The vision returned to Luffy and Goku could see Luffy grabbing Iva's boot desperately. It was obvious that Luffy was seconds away from passing out completely. How he managed to drag himself back to awareness given the state of his body was a miracle in of itself.

"Iva..." Luffy whimpered so softly that Goku could barely hear him. He sounded so weak, almost like a child.

"You're still conscious!?" Iva exclaimed in surprise.

Only one of Luffy's eyes was opened and he was quivering badly. He was also drenched in sweat and dry blood. It almost looked he fell into water. "I...have one last favor to ask you..."

By the tone of Luffy's voice, Goku knew that he was going to hate the favor.

"One last favor? Don't say such ominous things!" Iva yelled.

Luffy took several deep breaths. "Please, give me...adrenaline...like before..."

Goku shocked by the request.

"Please...Iva..." Luffy begged as he squeezed Iva's boot tighter.

"Are you sure about this?" Iva asked in disbelief before his eyes narrowed as anger overtook him. "You want another shot of the Tension Hormones!? That's too reckless! It's hopeless! You and I fought our way out of Impel Down together, didn't we!? You body had been fatally poisoned and then brought back from the brink of death! It's way beyond its limits!"

Luffy continued to try to sit up, but failed each time. He no longer had the strength to even lift his head.

"Didn't I tell you before? The Tension Hormones are nothing but emergency treatment! If you keep deceiving your body, you really will die after all of this is over!" Iva continued to scream as he flailed his arms.

Luffy suddenly stretched his arm and grabbed Iva by his collar. He looked directly at Iva with his fading vision. "As long as I've done all I can, then I don't mind dying!"

Iva was horrified by his words.

"Please let me fight, Iva!" Luffy pleaded as he pulled Iva closer. His eyes became teary as he carefully spoke his next words. "If...I don't fight here...if...I can't save Ace...I...I WOULD WANT TO KILL MYSELF!" He shouted in a choked voice. His blood-shot eyes were looking directly into Iva's eyes.

Iva's mouth dropped in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Goku was left equally horrified and speechless. Hearing Luffy willing to risk his life and die to save a loved one was normal. Here, Luffy wasn't just talking about risking his life. He knew if he did this, if took more adrenaline, he was going to die. He was literal when he said that he would want to kill himself if Ace died.

To save his brother, he was going to give up everything but said that life wasn't worth living if he failed to save Ace.

"Please, give me the power to fight!" Luffy screamed at the top of his burning lungs.

Iva stared at him for a moment. "And I'm telling you, if I allow you to die, I won't be able to show my face to Dragon again! You ignorant fool!" He slowly calmed down and stared at Luffy again.

Luffy reached out his hand towards his brother. He was close to fainting again. "Ace..."

Iva knew he was defeated. "Fine, do whatever the hell you want!" he yelled as he grew his spikes and stabbed them into Luffy's side.

'Hey, what are you doing to Strawhat!?' someone yelled.

Luffy's vision became more vivid and clearer as Iva pumped Luffy full of adrenaline. Soon, everything was crystal clear as Luffy stood up and gave a loud battle cry. His eyes were white with focus and determination.

"ACE!" Luffy screamed as adrenaline rushed through his body, filling him with energy.

Ace looked down at his brother in shock. He wasn't sure how Luffy was able to stand.

"The Tension Hormones only deceives your body! Your injures haven't been healed!" Iva yelled. He looked close to tears. "If you fall again, no matter how persistent you are, you won't wake up."

Luffy was sweating hard and face was nearly completely red. Still, he stood as strong and as tall as ever. "I...I will not fall again!"

"Another empty boost," Iva sighed.

Luffy's eyes widened when he saw that they had two new executors to replace the ones that Crocodile had attacked. "Those guys!"

He ran off, knowing that he didn't have any time left.

"Wait!" Iva screamed.

"They're trying to execute Ace again!" Luffy yelled.

"Strawhat!" The marines exclaimed in shock. Their surprise didn't last long before a group of marines attempted to intercept him.

"Take down Strawhat!" The marines yelled.

Luffy wasted no time taking down those marines with a vigor and strength since Impel Down.

Luffy quickly got surrounded by elite marines, but Iva came to his aid and knocked all them away with a Death Wink.

"I will back you up!" Iva yelled.

"I will you too Luffy!" Goku screamed.

"Thanks, Iva and Goku!" Luffy yelled as they both ran towards the execution platform.

As they ran through the smoke Iva's Death Wink left behind, Luffy saw a familiar figure standing in front of him. The marine was young, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. What stood out the most about him was his short pink hair.

Luffy's eyes widened as he recognized the person in front of him. "Coby!"

Coby stood firmly against Luffy with a look of unspoken determination. They were friends and Coby owed Luffy his life and his dream, but none of that matter in this war. He was a marine and Luffy was a pirate. No matter what bond they shared, they were on the opposite side of this conflict. It was the path they had both chosen and accepted. At that moment, they were enemies.

"Back then... If I hadn't met Luffy back then, I wouldn't be here today," Coby muttered to himself. He seemed closed to tears as Luffy quickly approached him. "Alright...in order to be a real marine I have to fight, or I won't progress."

Luffy stared at Coby as he got closer to his friend. There was inner conflict in his eyes, knowing that he had to railroad his friend. As much as he loved Coby, the life of his brother came, and would always, come first.

"This is a battlefield," Coby continued to talk to himself as his body tense. "I must be prepared to kill him!"

Luffy narrowed his eyes as he threw his arm back. "Gum Gum..."

Coby disappeared as he rushed towards Luffy.

Either Coby failed to realize where Luffy's fist was heading, or Luffy predicted his movement, the 'battle' didn't even last a second. Coby literally ran into Luffy fist, causing his face to cave in.

"Bullet..." Luffy shouted as he finished his attack.

"Well... that was sort of anticlimactic," Goku muttered as Coby went like a sack of bricks.

As soon as Coby went down, Luffy ran passed the young marine. He didn't even spare Coby a glance, knowing that he was strong enough to take one of his hits.

Luffy looked up and saw the executors were readying their blades.

Ace stared blank-faced, showing neither fear nor anger. If anything, he wished fate would just make up its mind about whether it would kill him or not.

"Dammit!" Luffy yelled, knowing that his time was limited and he still was too far to do anything.

He was so distracted by Ace that he was nearly blasted by a laser. Both Luffy and Iva were knocked off their feet, but neither of them was harmed.

Luffy glanced up and saw several bright lights coming from his right. He realized that he was in the line of sight of a row of Pacifistas.

Pacifistas were ready to fire upon Luffy and Goku. Suddenly, Hancock seemingly came out of nowhere and jumped in front of the row of cyborgs, blocking Luffy from their view.

"That's dangerous!" Luffy yelled at her.

"Hancock move!" Goku warned her.

She didn't even flinch as she stared at the Pacifistas with a cold expression.

Apparently, the Pacifistas were programmed not to fire on their allies and they stopped charging their beams.

"Oh right...you're these guys' ally," Goku said, forgetting that she was a Warlord. "Thanks, Hancock!" He ran off again.

Iva was left baffled by what just happened. "Is that not the Empress!? Why on earth do you know her!?"

"Goku, you said my name again..." Hancock coo.

The Pirate Empress blushing with a peaceful look on her face. She was daydreaming.

"Hancock, move," One of the Pacifista ordered.

Hancock's face became cold immediately after hearing the command. She looked very much like the woman Goku met before she fell in love.

"When did I give you permission to say my name!?" Hancock yelled as she jumped and preformed a roundhouse kick into the Pacifista's head. The cyborg's head turned to stone and shattered.

Luffy was still running and he glanced to his side to see Whitebeard taking out an entire unit of marines who had stabbed him. Whitebeard was undoubtedly hurt, as one could judge by the giant hole in his chest along with several stab wounds, but he was still taking down elite marines like they were rookies.

"What a tough guy. I would to have a fight with him one day. Even with that big hole, he still mauling down the marines like they're weaklings," Goku said as Whitebeard did a quake attack using his bisento.

An entire section of marines were sucked into the quake and thrown into the air. They literally covered the sky and fell like fallen stars.

Whitebeard slumped over a little from the exertion of using his ability. He was taking several deep breaths and appeared to be having trouble breathing.

"Do not hesitate; he is fatally wounded!" Sengoku yelled.

Despite hearing the command from their fleet admiral, no marine moved to attack Whitebeard. They were all frozen in place and quivered before the old pirate like he was the devil himself.

It took several seconds before the marines picked up the shattered remains of their courage and charged Whitebeard.

"Fatally wounded, am I?" Whitebeard mused as he caught his breath. "Do not make me laugh! Do you really think I would die that easily?" He stood straight. "Do you...really... Do you not understand what it would mean if I died? I know...if that happened...my eyes would not see the bright future of my sons. I cannot let myself die, can I? Right, Ace?"

Ace stared at his captain with tears in his eyes as the executors' blades posed at his neck. "Old Man!"

An entire army of marines surrounded Whitebeard's back.

"You just refuse to die!" A marine yelled.

A loud crash was heard and Goku saw that Jimbei was throwing marines into the crowd. He was soon joined by the Whitebeard commanders, who covered their captain's back like a shield. They all glared at the marines, daring them to attack.

The saiyan had to admire all of them. They were going to stay by their captain's side to the bitter end.

"Wh... what's with these guys!? Covering Whitebeard's back like that... Do they intend to die together with Whitebeard!?" One of the commanding marines yelled in shock and disbelief.

Jimbei growled at the marines. "You people will never understand!"

"We will protect the Old Man's pride!" Vista declared.

Whitebeard side-eyed his crew and Jimbei. "You are getting too worked up, you fools!"

Sengoku was unimpressed by all of this. "If you want to see the future, I will show you right now, Whitebeard!" He turned his head towards the executors. "Do it!"

The executors moved to execute Ace, who once again prepared himself.

The entire plaza exploded with the screams from the Whitebeard Pirates and the allies screaming Ace's name.

"ACE!" Luffy screamed as he ran faster, knocking marines aside.

Ace closed his eyes and he awaited his fate.

Luffy ran faster, but he wasn't going to make it. "Stop it!" he screamed, trying to fight of the marines in his path.

"That will not work!" Whitebeard yelled as he raised his bisento. "Do you really think that would stop me..." He stopped short and the pain that shoot through his body. His body stiffened before he fell on his knees, coughing up blood.

The executors brought their blades down.

"STOP IT!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, unconsciously releasing his Haki across the plaza.

The Haki wave was powerful enough that hundreds of elite marines and pirates from across the plaza were knocked out instantly, including the two executors.

Sengoku looked like he was going to piss himself as he stared at Luffy in disbelief. Ace was also left shock as he stared at his little brother.

Everyone from both sides stared at Luffy. There was dead silence across the plaza as the full impact of what just happened hit everyone.

Luffy took no notice of the sudden drop in numbers or the sudden silence and he kept running towards the platform. "Here I come!"

The marines didn't move to stop Luffy. They were too shocked to move.

"What did you just do!?" Iva asked as he ran beside Luffy.

All the remaining marines began to look at Luffy differently. They no longer saw a stubborn yet weak rookie. They saw a man who would become a powerful enemy to them if allowed to live.

Mihawk didn't seem surprised at all. Although, Mihawk was somewhat impressed by the strength of the Haki.

Goku looked worriedly at the marines. He could see Aokiji, too, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. He saw the man shaken. He also caught a glimpse of Akainu, whose eyes honed in on Luffy. His intentions were all too clear. Akainu was going to make it his personal mission to make sure Luffy did not leave this place alive.

Goku looked around and saw the looks in the marines' eyes.

"Weak-willed men, stand back!" Someone ordered frantically. "Don't take him as an ordinary rookie! The Conquering King Haki... He's the son of the Revolutionary Dragon! I suppose we should have known he had it!"

"About what you just did..." Iva asked again. "Where did you learn to use that power?"

"Huh, use what?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"Never mind," Iva said quickly.

"Don't let him escape this war alive!" The marine continued to yell. "If we let him go, he'll become a terrifying enemy! Take down Strawhat without fail!"

The marines yelled as Luffy had an entire army on him within seconds. They didn't have the chance to touch him before Whitebeard blasted them away with his quake power, surprising Luffy and Iva.

Whitebeard chuckled. "You cowardly marines. Are you really that afraid of one kid? What happened to taking my head?" he asked before he used his quake ability again to knock several more marines into the air.

"He's earned his reputation of being a monster! Take him down at all costs!" The marines yelled as they faced Whitebeard.

Whitebeard grinned at them. "Fine by me."

"We will back up the Old Man!" One of the Whitebeard commanders yelled as they, and Jimbei, guard Whitebeard's back.

The marines charged the Whitebeard Pirates, leaving Luffy opened to run through.

"Strawhat-boy, now's our chance!" Iva yelled as they both ran out of the line of battle.

"Don't let Strawhat get away!" Someone ordered.

Marines attempted to attack Luffy, but he easily fought them off as he kept running. Still, they were severally slowing him down.

"MEN!" They suddenly heard Whitebeard yell, causing the battle to cease for a second. "As of this moment, lend Strawhat Luffy all of your strength!"

Everyone, including Whitebeard's own crew and allies, were surprised by the order.

"Take down Strawhat, now!" Kizaru ordered.

Luffy had two of the vice-admirals from before charging him from the front. He would have been hit if one of allied pirates hadn't blocked Momonga. The vice-admiral with the Dalmatian Fruit was intercepted by two twin pirates with cat claws.

Within seconds, Luffy was surrounded by allies of the Whitebeard Pirates who protected him on all sides.

"W...what is this?" Iva asked in confusion.

"We New World Pirates will lend you a hand!" One of them exclaimed.

"Ace is right in front of us! Let's go, Strawhat!" Another one yelled.

Any marine that got within range of Luffy was brutally mauled by the New World Pirates. There was no mercy.

"What's with these guys!?" Luffy asked as he kept running.

"We got backup at least for once!" Goku laughs.

"Hurry, Ace's brother and you too gi guy!" One of the allies yelled. "The marines are currently focusing on the Old Man! If you miss this chance, you'll never make it past the admirals!"

"We'll charge through their defenses, so come with us!" One of the pirates ordered.

Luffy was stunned by all the help he was suddenly getting.

"This is serious, Strawhat-boy!" Iva yelled. "The world's mightiest pirate is trying to test you! Whitebeard has put faith in you! This amazing! I'm asking if you have the resolve to live up to his expectations!?"

"I don't care about that Whitebeard-guy!" Luffy yelled. He sounded more than annoyed over the thought of impressing Whitebeard. "I've only had one reason to come here since the beginning!" He stared at his brother.

Iva gasped when he saw who was ahead of them. "That's...Hawk-Eye!"

Mihawk was as stoic as ever he stood in the way of Luffy.

Mihawk released a wave of energy at Luffy. Before Luffy could dodge, the wave was blocked by Mr. 1, who shielded Luffy with his body.

"Who's that guy!?" Goku exclaimed in shock.

"You're..." Luffy started.

"Orders from the boss. For the time being, we will confront the marines," Mr. 1 said. "Now go!"

Luffy took this chance to run just as Mihawk took down Mr. 1 with one slash.

Mihawk was on Luffy's back, ready to behead him. Before Mihawk could get within range, he was intercepted. This time, he was stopped by Crocodile himself, who blocked Mihawk's sword with his hook hand.

"Crocodile..." Mihawk muttered, looking more than a little surprised by this new development. Even he could not have calculated this.

"How long are you going to sleep, Mr. 1?" Crocodile asked his subordinate.

Mr. 1 slowly pulled himself off the ground. "It seems my body has gone soft during my prison life."

"You are in the way, Strawhat," Crocodile said, not even bothering to turn his head. "Get lost already."

Luffy didn't look too happy to have Crocodile's helped again, but he took it regardless and continued running.

To Luffy's far side, Goku saw the Snake Princess take out an army of Pacifistas with little to no effort. Sentomaru was understandably not happy with her.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Sentomaru demanded. "Are you not a Warlord, Boa Hancock!?"

"You have destroyed dozens of Pacifistas! Are you not with the government!?" Sentomaru continued to yell.

Hancock sat passively on her snake. "Such an unrefined man. It seems you do not understand anything."

"What!?" Sentomaru yelled.

"Let me tell you something. Love is always a hurricane!" Hancock proclaimed.

After much fighting and pushing himself past his limits twice, the path to Ace's execution platform was clear.

"The path...is open!" Luffy yelled, almost not believing what he was seeing.

"The execution platform is right in front us, Strawhat-boy!" Iva yelled. "Just keep running straight ahead!"

"Right!" Luffy yelled.

Iva suddenly stopped running, allowing Luffy to past him.

From out of nowhere, Inazuma suddenly came running from behind Luffy, cutting the stone ground as he went.

With a gesture of his arms, Inazuma sent the stone path he had cut up towards the execution platform. With the stone slab in place, a pathway that led straight to Ace was formed.

The marines attempted to stop Luffy, but all the New World and Whitebeard Pirates kept them at bay. The marines who did manage to get through were easily dealt with by Luffy.

"Luffy, go!" Inazuma ordered as Luffy ran passed him.

"Sure, thanks!" Luffy shouted as he ran up the bridge. He was almost to his brother.

The cries of the pirates cheering Luffy on could be heard across the plaza.

"Luffy..." Ace whispered, making Luffy grin ear to ear.

"Here I come, Ace!" Luffy yelled happily.

https://youtu.be/8ZZ1IAhDOLY

The exhilaration, however, was short lived as the middle of the bridge suddenly began to collapse. Standing on the bridge was Vice-Admiral Garp.

"Grandpa, please move!" Luffy pleaded to his granddad.

"There's no way I'll step aside!" Garp screamed. His face was filled with rage. "I am a Vice-Admiral from Marine Headquarters! I was fighting pirates long before you were born!"

"Gramps!" Ace yelled as he helplessly watched.

"If you want to get past me, then it will be over my dead body, Strawhat Luffy!" Garp exclaimed.

Luffy was left stunned. His grandfather had never used his pirate name.

"That is the path you chose!" Garp yelled.

Goku was silent. To see how this war was tearing apart a family couldn't be put into words. Luffy and Ace, they all knew he cared for his grandsons. Could he really murder one of his grandsons in order to allow his other grandchild to be executed?

Luffy kept running as he looked conflicted about what to do. "Please, Grandpa, let me pass!"

Garp stood firm as the bridge cracked and began to collapse from under them.

"Luffy!" Ace screamed desperately as he pulled on his chains.

Luffy continued to run as he stared pleadingly at his grandfather. He didn't want to fight his grandpa.

"Strawhat Luffy, I've already told you, if you want to get past me, then it's over my dead body!" Gasp yelled.

"I can't do it, Grandpa!" Luffy yelled, desperately looking at his grandfather. "Please, move!"

"If you don't kill me, Ace will die!" Garp yelled in absolution.

"Never!" Luffy screamed.

"It will happen no matter how much you hate it!" Garp shouted. "I'm not holding back! Luffy, I now regard you as my enemy!" He screamed as he raised his fist, readying to punch Luffy.

Luffy looked heartbroken, but his resolved hardened. He went into Gear Second and charged his grandfather.

Ace yelled for both of them, but the two men were ready to fight.

Goku saw Garp's eyes widen as memories undoubtedly flashed through the already-unsure man's eyes. Before his fist reached Luffy, he closed his eyes, readying himself for the punch.

Luffy nailed Garp with a powerful punch to his jaw, sending blood flying out of Garp's mouth. Luffy's eyes were also closed as he landed the punch. Garp went flying off the stone bridge and he opened his eyes to stare one last time at his grandson before he fell.

They both caught each other's eyes and time seemed to stop for a moment. So many words and feelings past between the two men that Goku couldn't catch them. What he could see was the regret in both of their faces.

The trance was soon broken and Garp fell out of sight.

At last, Luffy reached the execution platform. After so much struggle, sacrifices, and heartache, he had reached his brother.

"Finally...finally!" Luffy yelled, completely ignoring Sengoku, who had his arms crossed, beside him. "I finally made it!" He grinned widely. He looked almost ready to dance in happiness.

"Luffy!" Ace yelled. He was both happy to see his brother alive and surprise to see that he had actually made it this far. He broke into a huge smile. "You're one hell of a guy..."

"Ace!" Luffy yelled. He returned his brother's smile. He looked younger than the Strawhats had seen him in a long time. Luffy quickly reached into his pocket to get the key that Hancock had given him. "Here's the key!"

Sengoku's eyes widened when he saw the key.

Ace was completely surprise. "Luffy...you..."

Luffy began to work the lock, once again, completely ignoring Sengoku who had turned towards him.

Sengoku started to glow as he glared at Luffy.

"Huh, what's happening to him?" Goku asked, "An ability?"

Sengoku grew to a massive size, but Luffy was so focused on Ace that he somehow failed to notice any of this. Within seconds, Sengoku completely towered over the two brothers. He looked like a golden Buddha.

Ace's mouth dropped when he saw the transformed Fleet Admiral.

Luffy finally took notice of Sengoku and his mouth also dropped. He attempted to clear his head and returned to opening Ace's handcuffs, but his plan was foiled when a laser beam came out of nowhere and shot the key, breaking it in half.

Now Luffy began to panic. "This is bad! The key..."

Ace gave a Luffy a look that pretty much said 'you didn't think this through.'

"Strawhat Luffy, you are a renowned criminal worthy of the death penalty!" Sengoku proclaimed. "Now, as your brother, I will execute you myself!" He pulled his hand back, ready to punch Luffy.

As the brothers stood lost as to what to do next, one of the executors chose that moment to wake up. To Luffy's surprise, as well as the Strawhats, the executor was Mr. 3 in disguise.

"What happened? I lost consciousness all of the sudden," Mr. 3 complained as he rubbed his head. He looked at Luffy, still dazed. "Strawhat?"

"Three, what are you doing here!?" Luffy yelled in shock.

Ace was just lost by these latest developments.

Before Mr. 3 could answer Luffy question, he noticed Sengoku. The wax user screamed in utter horror as the entire platform was bathed in golden light. It was like god himself had come down from the heavens to pass judgment on them.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Mr. 3 shouted.

Luffy had no time to answer as he put his thumb in his mouth. "Hey, Three, protect Ace with a wall!" He bit his thumb and blew his torso up, shielding Ace from Sengoku. Mr. 3, after getting over his shock, created a wax wall between Ace and him for extra protection. Goku used a ki barrier around them.

Sengoku's fist descended upon Luffy and slammed into his enlarged chest. The punch released a shockwave that caused blood to spill out of Luffy's mouth and his eyes to roll back from the pain.

"He became huge," Sengoku noted, mildly surprised by Luffy's Gear Third.

The force of the shockwave became too much for Luffy and he was forced to release the air from his body. The attack was also so powerful that it broke the execution platform like it was a toothpick, sending all the pirates falling to the ground.

Despite all that was happening, Ace appeared fairly calm. If anything, he just seemed mildly irritated about his situation.

Luffy shrunk and was falling parallel to Mr. 3 and his brother.

"I will make a key! Those shackles will be off in no time!" Mr. 3 yelled to Luffy as he started to make a wax copy of the handcuff key.

"Got it!" Luffy screamed.

"Why are you doing this!?" Goku could hear Buggy scream from the ground.

https://youtu.be/64r8jZ6rOmQ

"If I were to tell you that I am here to honor the will of my late brother, would you laugh at me!?" Mr. 3 yelled as he finished making the key.

Goku was taken aback by the question.

"I would never laugh at that!" Luffy yelled as cannon fire was heard.

"Save your brother, Strawhat!" Mr. 3 yelled as he tossed Luffy the key.

"I'm on it!" Luffy screamed. He went to his brother's handcuffs and swiftly unlocked them.

It didn't happened a moment too soon before the cannon fire hit them. The explosion blinded Luffy, but he wasn't hurt. His brother was there to protect him.

"You never change, Luffy," Ace scolded as he used his power to create a fire barrier around the three of them. He looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Luffy beamed in joy at his brother.

"Never listening to a single word I say," Ace continued to scold. Despite his somewhat harsh words, he was smiling as he grabbed his little brother and lowered them to the ground. "Always doing the dumbest things."

A roar could be heard from the pirates as they cheered Luffy's success. They were screaming Ace's name.

"Ace!" Luffy screamed as tears of happiness ran down his eyes. His brother was finally free.

Goku watched the triumphant scene in awe, sadness, and confusion. Luffy had succeeded. Against all the odds and challenges, Ace was saved from execution. He was free.

"Fi...Fire Fist Ace... is free!" Most of the marines screamed in disbelief and panic as Ace drifted towards the ground with his little brother. Luffy was also holding onto a shell-shocked Mr. 3, who appeared to be close to passing out.

Despite the disbelief of Ace somehow getting out of his handcuffs, the marines were not about to let him go, and they quickly aimed their cannons at him.

"Stay sharp, Luffy!" Ace warned as he glanced over the marines surrounding them. "Let's take them out!"

"Right!" Luffy yelled with a huge grin on his face.

"Are you crazy!?" Mr. 3 screamed. Fighting the marines was the last thing he wanted to do.

Ace lit himself on fire and used his ability to create a column of flames that exploded, throwing the marines aside like they were dolls.

When Ace landed, he was surrounded by his own flames as he protected his brother and Mr. 3.

Luffy landed safely beside Ace and dropped Mr. 3 to the ground. Without any prompt, Mr. 3 quickly got himself out of the line of fire. His courage had long since been spent.

While that was happening, both of the brothers quickly got into battle position as they faced down the marines. They were standing close to each other, but not quite back-to-back. They were closer to a 'V' formation, like they were expecting someone else to fill the opening.

"They're strong, be careful!" A marine warned.

"Can you still fight, Luffy?" Ace asked in concern as he glanced at his brother. He frowned when he saw how red Luffy's cheeks were and how he was drenched in sweats and blood.

"Of course I can!" Luffy answered without a shred of doubt. Luffy really seemed to have come back to life.

Ace didn't seem convinced but held his tongue. It wasn't like he could order Luffy not to fight. Until they escape, Luffy was neck-deep in this war.

"Got it! Fire Fist Ace is made of fire! He's a logia type!" A marine yelled to the troops.

"I never even dreamed that the day would come when I would be saved by you," Ace humored with a wide smile, getting his mind off of Luffy's condition. "Thanks, Luffy and your friend."

Luffy laughed as he rubbed his nose. He looked almost embarrassed by the thank you. "It's because that old Whitebeard guy and his men helped me out."

"Don't think you're safe yet!" A marine shouted as they surrounded the two brothers and pointed their guns. "This is your execution stand!"

The marines open-fired on the two fruit users and naturally it didn't work. Despite knowing that Ace was an logia, they shot him with regular bullets that passed harmlessly through his body. They also failed to take into account that Luffy's rubber body also made him immune to bullets.

Ace gave the marines a deadpan expression as the bullets went through him while Luffy politely returned all their ammo back at them, freaking out the poor fools.

The marines finally wised up and attempted to attack Luffy with their sabers. This failed to hit the boy captain since Ace did a handstand on Luffy's head, pushing him down and out of harm's way. The sabers went right through Ace's body and he grinned at the marines.

"He's my little brother. I would like you to back off of him," Ace said politely before he jumped off his brother's head.

Once he was in the air, he fried the marines with his signature Fire Fist.

While Ace was taking care of his group of marines, Luffy went into his Gear Second. He was currently fighting an unit of marines who knew Rokushiki, and they had used Soru to disappear. Even with their increased speed, they were slow compared to Luffy and he easily beat them all with a well-placed Jet Stomp.

Ace pointed his index finger like it was a gun and began to shoot fire at the marines in his line of sight. A marine attempted to take Ace's back, but Luffy covered him by kicking the marine in the face.

Goku's eyes widened slightly as he watched the one-sided beat down. Ace and Luffy's teamwork was very similar to when him and Vegeta fought together. The biggest difference, however, was that Ace and Luffy were able communicate without even glancing at each other. While Luffy had to at least make eye contact with him to communicate orders, Luffy could tell what Ace was going to do by feeling and knowing the other man. It was like the two shared a spiritual bond.

The brothers' superior teamwork put the marines on edge as they realized that they were outmatched.

"Get moving, Luffy!" Ace yelled when he saw an opening. "Let's hurry up and get out of here!"

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted as he smiled at his brother.

Luffy and Ace ran as the Whitebeard's commanders and allies cleared their escape path. Ace also covered their backs by releasing several flaming fireballs at the attacking marines while Luffy handled the front with a Jet Gatling. Between the two brothers, the Whitebeard commanders, and the allied pirates, none of the marines, save for the vice-admirals and admirals, stood a chance.

The Strawhats could tell by Luffy's beaming face that their captain was truly enjoying himself for the first time since he was separated from his crew. Fighting by his older brother's side had completely renewed his spirit. The scene would have been almost perfect if the crew didn't know just how ill Luffy was. Despite all of Luffy's joy, there was no hiding the blood dripping from his injuries.

During their run out of the plaza, Ace glanced at Luffy and smiled. "You've gotten strong, Luffy."

Luffy turned to face his brother and stared at him in surprise. He was so shocked by Ace's compliment that his mouth dropped. That was the first time Ace had ever acknowledged his strength and growth. He had always been the weak or dumb little brother.

Luffy quickly got over his shock and smiled. "Someday...I'll even surpass you!"

Ace chuckled as if saying, 'that would be the day'.

The brothers stopped running when they saw Aokiji walking towards them. Without a thought, Ace put his hand in front of Luffy.

"Well then, let me protect you a little longer," Ace said as he calmly looked over the admiral.

Ace's choice of words made Goku flinch for an odd reason.

"You will surpass him someday? How can you when there is no tomorrow for you?" Aokiji asked in his usual laid-back manner. Despite the coldness in his words, there was no real malice behind them. "There is no way you will ever escape from here, is there?"

Luffy looked nervously at the admiral, remembering what happened the last time he challenged that man. "He's..."

Aokiji's arm froze and he took aim. "Ice Block!"

"Stand back, Luffy," Ace said confidently before he set his body on fire.

Luffy took his brother's advice and got out of the way of the two superpowers.

Aokiji shot ice in the shape of some type of bird, while Ace sent a wave of flames at the admiral. When the two powers met, they canceled out each other's abilities. Regardless, the clash left an explosion of steam that blinded everyone in the area.

Luffy could only watch in awe, amazed that his brother could fight evenly with one of the admirals. Even the surrounding marines were surprised that Aokiji's invincible ice was melted so easily by one of Ace's attacks.

Ace used this chance while they were surrounded by steam to grab Luffy and run away from the admiral. Even though Ace could handle Aokiji, he didn't have time to fight anyone all-out. Not with every marine in the area wanting him dead.

He also had to be mindful of Luffy. He was a high target too and wasn't strong enough to handle the real monsters in this war.

The marines got ready to attack the brothers again when they were taken off-guard by ship heading towards them. It was the paddle ship that the pirates had used earlier to enter the plaza with mini Oars.

"Hey, who's steering that thing!?" Someone yelled.

At the front of the ship was Squardo and several other pirates from what the Strawhats assumed was his crew.

"Old Man! Guys! Run away!" Squardo screamed. "We'll stay behind and cover you!"

The other pirates onboard the ship yelled in agreement, lifting up their sabers.

"Don't be a fool, Squardo!" One of the pirates screamed in horror.

"Are you planning to die!?" Another person shouted.

Squardo lowed his head in shame, undoubtedly thinking about what he had done to Whitebeard. "Well, of course... I did something terrible to the Old Man. Even if this won't atone for my sins, I would never be at peace if I didn't do this!" After a moment of talking to his crew, he raised his sword into the air. "Take Ace with you and flee!"

Ace looked at his friend in horror. "Squardo!"

Squardo's plan to go out in a blaze of glory was stopped short by Whitebeard. Even in his weakened, half-dead state, he stopped the massive ship effortlessly with one hand, halting it in place like it had hit a stonewall.

How was Whitebeard even still standing? What he was seeing was medically impossible. By everything known to science, he should be dead or at least unconscious. He was almost as bad off as Luffy and he was only able to move around because he was doped up on adrenaline.

"Old Man!" Squardo yelled in shock

"Do you not realize how painful it is for a father to see his own son die before him, Squardo!?" Whitebeard exclaimed.

Squardo trembled when he heard those words.

"I am not so weak as to die from your stab, but everyone dies someday!" Whitebeard turned away from the ship and began to approach the marines. "We have completed our objective. We no longer have business here!"

All the pirates stared transfixed at Whitebeard. They all stood ready to follow any command he gave.

Even the marines stood silence as they waited for Whitebeard to speak.

It still amazed Goku how Whitebeard could freeze an entire war with his presence alone. He just had an aura that demanded everyone to listen to him regardless if they were friend or foe.

"Listen up, Whitebeard Pirates! The order I am about to give will be my final order as captain!" Whitebeard shouted.

This immediately got the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies murmuring in disbelief.

"Old Man!" Ace screamed. His eyes were wide with terror. He knew what his captain was thinking.

"You and I will be parting here!" Whitebeard shouted. "All of you, make sure you survive and reunite with each other in the New World!"

All the pirates went silent as they listened to the order. They all seemed to be in a trance, not believing what they were hearing.

"Old Man!" One of the commanders yelled after several seconds of silence had past. "Do you plan to die here!?"

Whitebeard put his foot down, silencing all protests. "I am the one at the top of this era. There is no ship that can carry me in the new era!" He shouted as he used his quake power to summon a huge earthquake, shattering the marine's base even more. "Go, my men!"

The marines screamed in panic as they were knocked off their feet and some fell into the earth.

"Whitebeard!" Sengoku screamed as he watched his men be thrown by the earthquake like they were toys. Only the admirals remained standing through the chaos. Not even the vice-admirals, except Garp, could withstand Whitebeard's power.

"No way, Old Man!" A pirate screamed in denial.

"It's the captain's orders! Get going!" A Whitebeard commander ordered, although the Strawhats could hear the anguish in his voice.

"Old timer!" Luffy shouted.

"Old Man!" Ace screamed, not wanting to leave his captain. It was his fault that this was happening.

Whitebeard gave his signature grin. "Now, let's finish this, marines!"

The entire island appeared to crumble as Whitebeard's last quake destroyed everything. It looked like the world itself was coming apart.

"Marineford is in danger!" A marine shouted. "Stop, Whitebeard!"

"Old Man!" The pirates screamed in dismay.

"I don't want to leave you behind!" A pirate yelled desperately. "Let's go back together!"

"Are you disobeying your captain's orders!?" Whitebeard asked fiercely. "Get going, you imbeciles!"

"Old Man!" the Whitebeard Pirates cried again.

The marines shot at Whitebeard, loading him with even more lead. Regardless of his wounds, he took out the marines with one well-aimed quake shot.

The pirates struggled with obeying Whitebeard's final order, wanting to stay to fight by their captain and father's side. After much heartbreak and tears, the pirates eventually started to retreat from the plaza.

Ace was one of the few who wouldn't move from his place. Luffy stood by his brother's side, knowing that Ace needed a moment. It was because of him, losing to the man that used to be one of his subordinates, that Whitebeard was going to die here. Luffy couldn't even imagine his brother's guilt and pain.

At the same time, he was impatient to get moving. The marines were still coming and his strength was going to give. There was no time for long goodbyes.

Ace continued to stare at Whitebeard with a broken expression. It was like he couldn't form words without breaking down into tears.

"Strawhat-boy, what are you standing around for!" Iva screamed as he prepared to make his escape.

"Ace, let's go!" Luffy yelled almost pleadingly. He knew that despite everything Ace's moment was gone. "The Old Timer made his choice!"

He was upset too about leaving Whitebeard behind, but the safety of his brother came first. He could mourn Whitebeard's sacrifice after they had escaped.

The small pirate crew couldn't help but being somewhat amused that Luffy seemed to be the voice of reason at the moment. When was the last time Luffy was sensible?

Ace still refused to move as he watched his captain fight against several marine units. "I know. I won't waste his efforts."

Ace shot a Fire Fist at the marines who attempted to stab Whitebeard in the back. "Get out of the way, all of you!"

Whitebeard turned his eyes towards Ace. Just as he did, Ace got on his knees and bowed his head before his captain.

For a moment, Ace was a man who bowed his head to no one. He was very much a free spirit, much like his brother. Whitebeard was undoubtedly a great man to get someone like Ace to willingly put his pride aside.

"There is no need for words," Whitebeard said softly. "Just answer one question for me, Ace. Was I a good father?"

Ace lifted his head and stared directly at his captain before he bowed his head again. Against his own will, he began to cry. "Of course you were!"

This made Whitebeard smile and laugh.

With their final goodbyes made, Ace got up and joined his brother. With nothing more said, they made their escape.

"Run, run to the ship!" A pirate yelled.

"Ace, Luffy-kun, run forward!" Jimbei screamed as he covered the brother's backs.

"Jimbei!" They both yelled.

"They are aiming for the two of you!" Jimbei yelled. "The Old Man is hoping as many survive as possible!" He teared up as he mentioned Whitebeard, but he refused to allow any of his tears to fall.

"We've stolen a battleship! Get on-board!" A pirate screamed as he waved down his comrades from the bay.

Luffy and Ace were getting closer to escaping. The bay was only a couple yards away.

"Do you really think I will let you escape?" Akainu's voice suddenly rang out, causing the Strawhats' hearts to jump. "How optimistic." He shot a magma fist that took out an entire row of pirates.

Ace gritted his teeth as he watched his friends and comrades die, but kept running.

Luffy took a quick glance behind him to see what had happened.

Akainu was slowly walking behind him. Strangely, he wasn't running. In fact, his stance was completely relaxed.

"You two, keep running straight to the ship!" Jimbei yelled at the brothers.

"So you think you can free Fire Fist Ace and simply retreat to safety? What a bunch of imbeciles you Whitebeard Pirate are!" Akainu mocked.

"What!?" Several pirate yelled as they glanced back at the admiral. They were ready to go back and fight.

"He's trying to provoke you!" One of the Whitebeard commanders yelled. "It's obvious he wants us to stop!"

"Well, I suppose it is no surprise, your captain being how he is," Akainu said in a casual manner. "After all, Whitebeard is nothing but a loser from a dead era!"

Luffy's eyes widened when he heard Akainu's taunt. Goku could practically see him mouth 'oh, no'.

Jimbei also had a similar reaction, except he used much stronger language than Luffy.

The crew was confused by their reaction until they saw that Ace had stopped running. The older man's eyes burnt with rage and anger that was hotter than his flames.

"Ace stop!" Luffy yelled as Akainu walked towards them. He obviously didn't want to deal with the admiral.

"Dammit, Ace! Why did you turn around!?" Goku growled in frustration. Knowing when to run had its merit over blind courage.

Ace stood still for a moment as he took several deep breaths. "A loser!?"

"Huh?" Akainu said as if what he had stated was an obvious fact.

Ace's fists burned as he turned to face the admiral. He was closed to snarling at the magma user. "Take back what you just said!"

"Don't do it Ace! Don't stop running!" One of the allied pirate screamed desperately.

"Just let him blabber on!" Another pirate pleaded as he grabbed Ace's arm, trying to pull him away from Akainu.

"Listen to them, Ace! It's not worth getting yourself killed over!" Goku yelled, although he knew his voice isn't reaching Ace. He was far behind them as he was dealing with some marines and vice-admirals.

Ace knocked his comrade aside and moved closer to Akainu, leaving the safety of his comrades. "He badmouthed the Old Man!"

"Ace!" Luffy screamed almost desperately. He looked like he wanted to yell at his brother to run. To not let this man egg him into an unnecessary fight.

"Take it back, you say?" Akainu scowled before he smirked. He took off his hat and casually brushed his hair with his hand. "I have absolutely no intention of doing so. Why would I? Your father, Gold Roger, conquered the entire Grand Line. He gave his life to open the door on a new age. The Great Age of Pirates. A marine man like me probably should not say this, but that man truly deserved the title of Pirate King. What is Whitebeard when compared to that?" He put his hat back on.

Ace was beginning to burn brighter as flames surrounded him. He looked ready to burn Akainu's tongue off.

"I mean, did he even have the guts to fight against Roger? All he has ever done is hide in some safe corner of the world and keep himself out of trouble, right?" Akainu asked nonchalantly. "These days, some fools may claim Whitebeard's name alone upholds peace on various islands, but as far as I am concerned, he just intimidates the small-fry and believes himself to be hero for it. Ridiculous!"

This made Goku growl in anger. His hair went up a bit.

"Roger maintained his honor as long as he lived, and even in death, his fellow pirates hailed him as a king. In other words, Whitebeard is an eternal loser who will never surpass Roger! That is all he is. Everything that I have said is true," Akainu finished in a matter-of-fact voice.

Ace slowly approached Akainu, getting further away from his comrades.

At the end of the day, Akainu was talking bullshit.

Luffy stood behind, but he was obviously upset that Ace was going to fight. But there was nothing he could do. It wasn't like he could restrain his brother.

"Now that I think about it, he sure is one pitiful man," Akainu said after a moment in thought. "Making all his underlings call him their 'father' or 'Old Man' or whatever, and sailing the seas playing house."

"Stop it," Ace hissed.

The other commanders were also pissed, but they refused to indulge the admiral and fall into his mind game.

Akainu, however, was relentless. "He reigned the sea for decades, yet he never became a king or gained anything. He got himself stabbed because one of those foolish 'sons' of his believed every word I said and now he will die to protect that same fool. Truly, an empty existence."

Goku tightened his own fists and narrowed his eyes. It was one thing to mock someone's supposed life goals, but it was another thing to make fun of someone else's sacrifice. Especially a father figure dying for his children. He wanted to cut the bastard's lungs out for belittling the bonds of family.

Ace kept approaching the man as flames danced around his body. "Cut it out!"

"Don't fall for it Ace! Turn back!" One of the commanders screamed. He was close to begging.

"Ace!" The other pirates also yelled, but Ace didn't even glance at them.

Luffy could only watch helplessly. He knew there was no stopping his brother when he got like this.

"The Old Man gave us a place to belong! What do you know of the Old Man's greatness!?" Ace yelled defiantly.

Akainu looked down his nose at Ace. "If a man does not live righteously, he does not deserve to live at all!" His fists filled with magma. "You rogue pirates do not deserve a place to belong!"

"Cut it out!" Ace screamed in fury.

"Whitebeard will die a loser! A fitting end for a little fish in a big pond and the leader of a bunch of scum!" Akainu sneered.

"Whitebeard is the great pirate who created this era!" Ace yelled. "Don't make fun of the man who saved my life!" His entire body lit up like a torch.

"Stop it, Ace!" The pirates pleaded, but it was all in vain.

"The name of this era is Whitebeard!" Ace screamed as he prepared his Fire Fist.

Akainu raised his hand and charged Ace. The two met in the center and a huge explosion blinded everyone. Even outside the current event, the Strawhats could imagine the heat generated between the two logia users.

Luffy had to partly cover his eyes to see what was happening.

Even the Whitebeard Pirates were surprise by the result. How could Ace be burnt?

Ace picked himself slowly off the ground and stared at his injured arm in shock.

"You were overconfident because we are both logias, right?" Akainu asked mockingly. It sounded like he was lecturing a child as he sneered at Ace. "You are merely fire. I am magma, that which will burn even flame! My ability is a natural enemy to yours, boy! There is an enormous gap between your strength and mines!"

Ace remained on the ground, trembling in pain. Through his anguish, he continued to glare daggers at the admiral.

"Ace!" Luffy screamed as he rushed to help his brother, breaking away from the safety of the group.

Before Luffy could get close to Ace his legs completely gave and he fell to his knees. He coughed weakly and fought to regain his breath. He also appeared to be having chest pains again.

Luffy was extremely pale and his fever had reached dangerous levels, judging by the redness in his face. Luffy was slowly dying.

"Hey, Luffy-kun, you have reached your limit!" Jimbei yelled in distress.

Luffy knelt on the ground, shaking in fatigue. Luffy's vision was blurred again and blackened. It was getting harder for the crew to see. Regardless, there was one thing that remained completely clear. Ace's Vivre Card had fallen out of Luffy's hat and it was moving towards Ace.

"Ace's Vivre Card..." Luffy murmured in an almost a zombie-like voice as he reached for the paper, which kept moving out of his reach.

"The son of the Pirate King, Roger, and the son of the Revolutionary Dragon. To imagine that these two have become brothers is a frightening thought," Akainu said as his arm burned with magma. "Your very bloodlines are a crime of the highest order. Your fates have been decided. No matter if I let every pirate escape; I will not allow you two to leave here."

Goku felt his heart stop and his hair stand as he listened to Akainu's vow. This man was insane. He did not see Luffy and Ace as people or pirates who would someday become a threat. He didn't even see the crimes they committed as pirates. He actually saw them as pure evil, demons that had to be erased from existence because of the blood that flowed through their veins.

The aura of hatred that shone in Akainu's eyes were the same ones that haunted her throughout her life. There was also something else. The admiral was terrified of Luffy and Ace. He feared that the 'evil' that they carried within their blood would spread and was willing to do anything and sacrifice everything or anyone to make certain that the two brothers died on this battlefield. He was going to eradicate their bloodlines.

Akainu gave Ace a look of utter contempt and sneered. "Now watch." He suddenly turned his eyes towards Luffy, who was still reaching for the Vivre Card, unaware of the admiral's murderous intentions.

Ace's eyes widened in horror as he realized what Akainu had planned. "Wait!" He screamed desperately.

Before Ace could move to stop the admiral, Akainu jumped over the fire user and ran straight for Luffy with his fist raised.

Luffy almost had the Vivre Card in his hand just as he heard Ace scream his name. He looked up to see Akainu almost right on top of him with his hand ready to punch through his face. Luffy could only stare wide-eyed as he saw his fiery death approach him. The memory seemed to slow, like everything was only running at half-speed.

At even half-power, Luffy would have sensed and evaded Akainu's attack. Now, completely drained and on the verge of dying from exhaustion, Luffy could no longer will himself move. He was helpless as a child.

Akainu's fist descended upon Luffy, but the fatal hit never reached him. Instead, faster than most of the Strawhats could even see or even thought possible, Ace jumped right in front of Luffy. His arms were spread opened and his stance was wide, acting as a shield for his baby brother. Some on the crew could see Ace willing his body to remain solid, despite knowing that Akainu could burn through his logia's defense. They also saw Ace brace himself for impact.

Until a red ki seem to have a tranquil, flame-like stopping Akainu's attack. Both Luffy and Ace were shocked that something stopped Akainu. The tranquil flame-like revealed Goku in his super saiyan god form holding Akainu's lava fist.

"Goku! You..." Luffy was shocked that Goku stopped an admiral with his fist. Goku kicks Akainu away from Luffy and Ace.

"Get going you two!" Goku told them. The two brothers ran towards the ships. The three admirals go to get the two brothers but Goku focused his ki into his hands and slowly let it go. He was using the God Bind technique on the admirals and it's actually works. It enveloped his opponents confusing them.

(A/N: It's that one move that Goku stopped broly before he got beat up by broly and then went blue.)

"You three won't be touching them at all!" Goku yelled at the admirals. Goku put more pressure to the technique. "Just what this is?" Aokiji asked. "Is this guy's haki ability?" Kizaru questioned.

"I don't what this haki thing is. But this is a technique I used on someone way stronger than you three." Goku said as he does a back flip and creates a red ki ball at his left hand. He disappeared so fast and he was in front of them and blasts them far away and the ki ball exploded and when the smoke clears the marines saw how the three admirals were barely even moving.

Akainu got back up and he looked very angry. He charges right at Goku but suddenly a marine tried to cry out a warning to Akainu... but too late.

Akainu suddenly stopped dead, and what had stopped him had slammed his giant weapon down hard enough to create a shockwave that carried with it the feeling of cold hatred. A massive shadow stood behind him, the shadow of the ruler of the sea himself. Whitebeard towered over even the tall Admiral, blood still dripping from the hole in his chest and his face as he slammed his weapon into the ground.

The look on Akainu's face said it all... he knew that he was screwed. And for the first time, they saw fear on his face as the shadow of death was literally standing right there.

"Holy shit..." A random pirate said his eyes wide and sweats falling from his face. The power and rage that was emitting from him was so great that he could feel it. It was so overpowering that he felt ill, like he just wanted to run and keep running to the ends of the world if that was what it took to get away from him... but even the ends of time don't seem like it would be enough to protect him from Whitebeard's wrath.

Akainu slowly turned his head to look at him and they watched as Whitebeard's eyes were filled with a fury and grief that seemed to shake them all to the core. He raised his fist, his eyes showing no mercy as he threw his punch, with Akainu unable or too scared to move. His punch, glowing with power, actually warped Akainu's head, making it bend and twist from the impact before he was slammed into the ground by the quake.

The force of the impact shook the ground and tore everything within a hundred foot radius around them into rubble. Wreckage from the blast flew as Whitebeard's anger knew no bounds... he was just forcing Akainu's head down deeper and deeper into the solid concrete.

"TAKE HIM OUT!" Goku roared, and though it was disturbing to see someone's head warp like that but he's seen worse, it was more than satisfying to see that bastard get some payback for what he did.

Whitebeard's attack was nowhere near done. Whitebeard's anger only seemed to grow as he continued to try and force Akainu even deeper into the ground, as if determined to bury him.

"The Old Man is pissed!" Someone screamed in terror behind them.

And the pirates seemed to know this, yet they didn't want to risk it as they began to move back.

"All of you!" One of them shouted over the explosion, "Get away from here!"

And the pirates were all running back as fast as they could, despite the earthquake, they were able to stay upright as Whitebeard continued to unleash his fury on the man who took one of his sons away from him. But Whitebeard suddenly jumped up, high into the sky, with Akainu still lying in a pool of his own blood. He tried to lift himself out, but Whitebeard was falling down towards him fast, his foot already creating another quake and about to finish him off.

Though injured, Akainu wasn't beaten just yet and managed to roll out of the way just as Whitebeard crashed into the ground, creating another crater. He looked ticked off that he managed to roll away, but that wasn't going to be enough to survive his wrath. He then went running after him, his bisento swinging high, and this time he was going to slice him apart.

But Akainu coated his arm in magma before he launched flaming fists right at him. Over and over Whitebeard took each blast, and not evening bothering to stop as they were exploding all over him; he kept going forward even has half crescent moon mustache was taken off.

Akainu seemed to lose it and charged ahead, ready to fight him and do whatever it took to beat him. He started to throw punch and kick one after the other, like how a kid would unleash a tantrum. But all Whitebeard had to do was hold up one massive arm and was able to block him before he swung his hand down in a punch and it was enough to send Akainu backwards, rolling over like a toy.

"Hope it broke something," Goku hissed.

Whitebeard continued to walk towards him, going to finish him off. Akainu was lying flat on his back, blood dripping down his face, and seemingly struggling just to move. Whitebeard approached him and stood over him, his eyes narrowing dangerously... there was no mercy in his gaze. And Akainu's face was filled with fear as Whitebeard readied himself to deal the finishing blow.

Yet Akainu's body burst into magma once more, ready to keep fighting. This time, his mark did its job.

"DARK DOG!" He bellowed out, his hand colliding against Whitebeard's chest and with another cry of determination, his magma-covered fist broke through the skin and he created a kind of explosion inside Whitebeard's body, the fire burst and roasting his insides.

There were screams coming from the Whitebeard Pirates. All of them horrified to see something so atrocious and knew that his insides all had to be chard black if not burnt to a crisp.

Akainu pulled his fist right out of Whitebeard's chest, his fire still burning hot, and at last... the great Whitebeard fell to his knees.

"NO! HE'S DOWN!" Goku cried out, "HE'S FINISHED!"

It was a painful fact, but one that no one could disagree with. Not that it stopped the Whitebeard Pirates still behind him. They were staring open mouthed, and it only got worse when Whitebeard remained where he was, down on one knees and the fire continue to burn away at his insides.

"OLD MAN!" They all screamed out, pain in each and every voice, all of them looking desperate to do something, anything, to help him. Over and over they called out to him; they had come to see as their father, all of them crying for some kind of miracle to help him. But Whitebeard remained slumped over, his head down, and they weren't sure if he could even hear them.

But as they watched, clearly thinking that it was over, Goku spotted Whitebeard's hand curl up into a fist and his eyes widened. He wasn't done yet, and he was sure that he was going to let everyone know it. And through the fire, that same hand shot out and grabbed Akainu by his throat and front of his shirt

As Akainu stared down in shock at him, ready to keep fighting, but then Whitebeard slowly raised up his head and stared into those cold eyes. Whitebeard pushed himself right back up to his feet, and actually lifted Akainu into the air in front of him. He slowly raised him up so that he was eye-level and they could see those eyes looking at him. There was no mercy there as they narrowed in hatred.

Akainu's own eyes widen in terror as Whitebeard suddenly tossed him high into the air. As he started to fall, Whitebeard took his stance and held his arm at ready... the rage in his face seemed to sink in around them and when he finally reached him, Whitebeard struck. He used his powers to create a quake right to Akainu's gut.

There was a deep dent right in the Admiral's stomach, the air cracked all around them as blood gushed out of his mouth. It seemed to freeze then and there for a moment...

But that was just the start of it all. The attack shook the entire world before it cracked and broke apart. The ground shook and crumbled as if made of cardboard and that was when all hell seemed to break loose. It was like the end of the world as everything fell and all nearby marines were lost or swallowed up by the breaking ground. Fissures and cracks appeared all over, eating anything that they could as the tremors reached the buildings and they fell as if kicked down by a giant.

The ground rose and sank in giant slabs, the marines desperate to hold onto anything to keep themselves from falling, but it was a loss cause in this giant chain reaction. The quake was making its way to the town, destroying any and every structure that stood in its way, and reached the main HQ of the marines. The massive, palace-like building was no match. It broke apart and burst at the seams as everyone staring in both awe and alarm.

Whitebeard was doing this for revenge... they took something that he cared about away from him... and so he was returning the favor by taking what they cared for. The town was going to be reduced to nothing but rubble.

At last, Akainu collapsed and he laid there... no longer able to move on his own from that last attack. Yet, as he laid there, the ground began to give way underneath him, with giant chunks twisted and broken up as chasms and gorges were formed now. But no longer able to help himself any longer, Akainu was helpless as he slipped among the slabs. Blood poured out of his mouth. However... he was determined to have the last word.

"Damn you..." He snarled as Whitebeard just looked on pitilessly.

"WHITEBEARD!" He screamed as he was taken and taken by the ground itself. The fissure beneath them continued to widen and swallowed everything as marines all over were taken down with him.

Everything was turning to hell as the largest crack yet opened just in front of the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates, but behind Whitebeard at the same time.

And that was when the full extent of his powers finally settled in and he did what he wanted to do. The earthquake broke the island right in half. As if the mouth of some ancient beast beneath them had finally awoken and his jaws were opening, a deep chasm appeared, splitting Marineford apart. The marines were screaming, panicking as they desperately tried to hang on for dear life, some of them practically stepping over each other to get out. But most of them ended falling right into it, unable to save themselves. The pirates were also in danger of falling, but they were mostly safe behind Whitebeard, and the few who were threatening to fall into the chasm as well were grabbing onto the ledge, their friends and comrades trying to pull them out.

Goku was stuck close to Jimbei and Luffy and Ace, terrified that something would happen to them even though they were nowhere near the ledge anymore. Jimbei had to stop moving, and instead held tightly onto Luffy as Whitebeard's rage continued to destroy the island. At last... it finally calmed down as the tremors stopped... it was almost silent compared to before.

There was now an enormous gorge right in front of Goku, one that was so large and deep that it was unreal that any human could do something like this. But that was when he looked up and realized that even though it looked like most of the Whitebeard Pirates were still on this side with them... Whitebeard stood on the other side, completely alone, and against the marines.

"Old Man!" One of the pirates next to him screamed out in horror.

"We've been completely cut off from him!" Another shouted.

"I'm not done yet!" Whitebeard proclaimed and they looked up, his back to them all, as he held up his massive weapon once again to show that he was still willing to go another round. The marines all looked ready to wet themselves before he slammed the end of his bisento to the ground and declared, "From this moment on... I will take you all on!" He swung it around as he yelled, "Come!"

And some fools never learn. The marines charged, flying at him and ready to try and take his head—with Whitebeard more than able to take them out and send them flying off. The pirates could only watch helplessly from where they stood trapped... it was clear that they wanted to go running in and help, but what could they do against a direct order from their captain? For a few long moments no one said anything as they watched Whitebeard continue to fight this war on his own, but then Marco, who had tears in his eyes, but had lowered his head in acceptance, yelled out, "All men, get aboard the ships!"

The pain written all over Marco's face as he continued to give orders for the remaining pirates and allies to head to the shore where their ships were. They were to take all sea-worthy vessels and get out of here without looking back. A lot of them didn't want to listen, continuing to cry and fight their way to get back to Whitebeard even when there was a gorge in the way. Some of them were forced to restrain others to stop them from running back.

"Think of the reason he stayed behind!" One of the Commanders shouted to his comrade, "Of the dreams he's entrusting us with!"

"If you're gonna grieve him, then do it on the ship!" Another one of Commander shouted to a inconsolable pirate, looking ready to hit him if he didn't hurry up and leave with them, though he was also crying hard.

"Old Man!"

"Hurry up!"

And finally, one by one, they began to turn and make their way back to the bay where the ships were, though most of them were forced to limp away, or lean on the shoulders of comrades to stay upright.

But still, Goku couldn't help but look back at Marco, who had stayed where he was. He kept his eyes on Whitebeard as tears continued to fall from his face. He thought that he could understand. Marco felt it was his duty to watch over his captain and make sure that he survived as the second-in-command. Goku guessed that he must feel that he had failed his captain and his duty. Perhaps that was why he chose to stay behind for a moment longer... to just fulfill his duty and see it through to the end. To just watch over him one last time.

Just then, the sounds of bullets rang through the air and he looked up to see that some of the marines were still trying to target the fleeing pirates by firing at them from the other side of the gorge.

"Do you really think we'll let you escape?!" They demanded as they continued to fire.

However, even though the pirates may be retreating, they weren't just targets. Some of the Commanders were staying behind as well to try and cover them and deal with the bullets, continuing to give orders to escape and help the stragglers. Vista was one of them, and was deflecting the bullets, continuing to shout at them all too just make it to a ship.

Goku looked back as well to where the legend was continuing to fight on his own. Despite all the wounds, despite his age, despite the fact that he was fighting all on his own, he was still holding his own and fighting the marines.

Goku thought that this was going to be the end... that they would get on a ship and just sail away... but like everything else, he was wrong. It started when he heard several other marines shouting out in panic.

"There's something hiding in the shadows behind Navy HQ!"

At first, Goku didn't want to pay any attention to anything but making sure that Luffy and Ace got out of here in one piece. Yet, it was Jimbei who stopped, something about that call made him unable to continue until he saw what was going on. And when he looked as well, there were more screams of shock.

He looked up and through the dust and smoke left by Whitebeard's last attack, they could see it. It was a massive form of a giant... a giant of extraordinary size, towering over the buildings... even larger than the giant Oars Jr. In fact, he was so big, that he was about the same size as the Marines HQ. He had large round eyes with dark lines around them as well as eyelashes only pointing downward. He had light-brown hair, but a black beard covering the sides of his face... and though most of his body was hidden behind what remained standing of Marine HQ, they could see that he was wearing black and white striped clothes... the same type of clothes used in Impel Down.

"Ah," He said, his big voice surprisingly soft, "They saw me."

"They finally noticed us," Blackbeard said with a dark chuckle.

"How did you get here?!" Sengoku demanded furiously.

"What are they all doing here?!" A marine shouted, pointing to several members that the Straw Hats hadn't seen before. Excluding Blackbeard, they recognized several other members as the ones who were there when Ace confronted Blackbeard back when he was hunting him for killing Thatch. But the others were complete strangers to their eyes.

Yet before they could begin to ask questions, it was Whitebeard who got their attention. Even from this distance, they could see his hands curling up into fists and the rage that he was emitting was hitting high levels once again.

"You little brat..." Whitebeard snarled venomously and it sent waves of cold down their spines.

"He's angrier than before," Goku said. Now he knew that Whitebeard was well-aware of the fact that this all started with Blackbeard. None of this... Ace getting captured and killed here, this whole war... it never would've happened if it hadn't been for Blackbeard stealing that Devil Fruit and killing one of his crewmates. There was no way that Whitebeard was going to ignore this. Blackbeard was either extremely confident, or stupid, for coming here.

But the marines were all focusing on the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates and what he heard made him feel angry again.

"They're all criminals so villainous that their very existences have been erased from all records!" a marine shouted. "There's no one else that huge!" He then pointed to the giant, "It's the pirate... The Giant Battleship, Sanjuan Wolf!"

"Ah," He said, "Not only did they see me, they know who I am."

They then turned their attention to another new member... and unlike the other prison escapees, he wasn't dressed in a prisoner's uniform. He was wearing a long, white and brown fur coat with many purple necklaces. His eyes were slitted like a cat, and his hair fell in a wild mane around his head... even his mustache looked like whiskers while there were white horns attached to his head and black metal plates underneath.

"The Corrupt King, Avalo Pizarro!"

"How refreshing it is to be back on the outside," Pizarro stated in amusement, looking at them all like they were all toys for him to play with.

He was a very large, round man, probably the largest of the ones standing on the platform, but he also had a very long nose and a drunken smile with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Strange enough, his nose looked like it was higher up on his face than even his eyes—like an elephant's trunk. On either side of his neck were two sets of three rings pierced on, and he tilted his head back as he began to down the entire contents of a gourd.

"The Great Drinker, Vasco Shot!" The marine declared.

But Vasco finished his drink as he hiccupped a little and asked drunkenly, "C'n I kill them guys down there?"

The next person was also the only woman in the crew. She was roughly middle-aged, but her hair had been done in a set of pigtails. There were wrinkles on her face and a long nose and a devilish grin. But she also had a body that looked full and strong, and she was smiling down at them all when she heard her name.

"The Crescent Moon Hunter, Catarina Devon!"

She giggled a little darkly and said, "I like you, too."

That line sent shivers of disgust down the men's bodies, suddenly feeling the urge to take a bath. Even Goku was having a difficult time finding any beauty in this woman. But his eyes were drew to the devilish look of the last man.

He had devil-like wings on his back, much like Magellan and Hannybal, as well as a rather smug look on his face. He was smoking a cigar like how Smoker would, and was dressed with a black officer uniform that resembled Magellan's... the symbol of Impel Down on the front of his jacket.

"And that's the Head Jailer of Impel Down! Shiliew of the Rain!" The marine shouted. "It's the Blackbeard Pirates!"

Blackbeard showed up to let out dangerous criminals, and Blackbeard laughed hysterically. As if he could imagine seeing anything funnier than this destroyed battlefield.

"Long time no see!" He said loudly, "Glad I could see you before you died, Old Man!"

"Teach..." Whitebeard growled.

"Take him out!" Goku shouted out, hoping that Whitebeard would unleash another quake and take that guy out like before.

"The two people I both hate the most are both here," He said, thinking of Akainu and glaring up at Blackbeard.

"It's like fate is just mocking the marines and the Whitebeard alliance now," The saiyan snarled as well, unable to believe that he could hate anymore as much as he hated those two.

And it turns out, he wasn't the only one. Sengoku glared up at him, his eyes full of rage as he barked out, "Shiliew! You..." He seemed too angry for words but managed to demand, "What happened to Magellan?! What happened to Impel Down?! How did you all get here?!"

Shiliew only smiled darkly, taking his cigar out of his mouth and let out a steady stream of smoke.

"Doesn't the very fact that we are here answer your questions?" He asked. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"

Blackbeard only laughed, obviously enjoying seeing the anger in Sengoku's face as Shiliew continued talking. "If you want to know the details," He said, "You can go find out yourself later on. At any rate, I've decided to join up with these guys. Keep that in mind."

Just then, a marine came running up, falling at Sengoku's feet and tried to tell him hurried what had just happened. The Gates of Justice had opened up and an identified warship had been seen going through. Sengoku was baffled, demanding to know just how that happened and glared up at Blackbeard for answers. That was when the tap-dancing mime told him the truth. He hypnotized the marines in the control room for the Gates of Justice shortly before they left and ordered them to open the gates for every warship that approached the gates.

Goku looked to Jimbei, only a few yards away, and he was glaring at Blackbeard as he fully understood what happened as well. He was shaking with rage, like he wanted nothing more than to run back and fight him as well, and she could tell the only reason he wasn't doing that was because he was the one taking charge of protecting Luffy and Ace.

"For a pirate, an enemy of the Government..." Blackbeard said, "Breaking into Impel Down would've been impossible since the Gates of Justice would never open. That's why I increased my reputation and became one of the Seven Warlords! But now I don't need that rank anymore!"

Sengoku looked close to breathing fire as he demanded, "So your goal was to free those guys?"

Blackbeard only laughed louder than ever, his arms up in the air as if he couldn't believe that his plan had gone through as well as it did. "Indeed! That was all I wanted! Now do you get it?!"

"Is he trying to make everyone here hate him?" Goku asked bitterly.

Sengoku could only continue to look furious, as if his outrage was so great that he couldn't think of what to do first. Blackbeard had all but said that he used him and the marines to unleash some of the worst criminals in history.

"None of that matters!" Called out a furious voice and Whitebeard raised up his arm, the muscles bulging out and a wind picking up. Bracing themselves, Whitebeard shouted out, "TEACH!" and he slammed his arm out to crack the air and though it wasn't as big as his last ones, it was still enough to create a straight line of devastation straight to the execution platform. Every marine unlucky enough to stand in the way were blown away and the Blackbeard Pirates were almost hit by the attack. It was so gratifying to see that those smug, stuck-up expressions wiped off when they saw that attack and dove out of the way to avoid it.

Just when they thought that the building couldn't possibly take any more damage, the smoke from the attack clouded their vision as even more of it crumbled. Though it was too much to hope for that attack would've taken out at least Blackbeard.

The pirates managed to avoid the attack, all of them looking irritated at having been knocked off their 'stage' just as they were getting into some serious bragging. For a moment though, it looked like Blackbeard had been taken out... at least until Blackbeard pushed himself up from the ground by shoving the massive boulder off him. There wasn't a scratch on any of them and that ticked the Straw Hats off even more.

Blackbeard gave his head a little shake, though he was still smiling as he yelled, "You aren't holding back! Well, I guess that's to be expected."

"No really?!" Goku yelled, knowing that blast was aimed directly at him. "After all that you did, you really think that he wasn't going to make you pay?!"

Though that one blast seemed to have taken the wind out of Whitebeard and they looked up at him to see him breathing hard and even more blood dripping down his body. But he still continued to stand tall as he proclaimed through narrow eyes, "You are the one person I will never call son, Teach! You broke the iron rule on my ship!" And he then pointed his bisento at him and declared, "You killed a member of the crew! And so that Fourth Division Commander Thatch may rest in peace, I will take this fool's life and settle the score!"

But the words were no sooner out of his mouth before he gave a grunt of pain, causing worry among the crew behind him.

Out of the corner of Goku's eyes though, he spotted Marco finally moving again, having shifted into his full phoenix form, the blue flames shining bright and it was clear that he was going to go flying in to help Whitebeard. Yet, without even looking—most likely knowing him well enough—Whitebeard bellowed out, "MARCO!"

At once, Marco stopped, landing automatically, returning to his natural form.

"Pops!" He shouted back anxiously, hating the fact that he was stopped like this.

"Stay out of this!" Whitebeard ordered him, still breathing hard and refusing to take his eyes off Blackbeard. This was a fight between him and a man that he once saw as his son and he was going to be the one to end it if given the chance.

"But Old Man?!..." Marco shouted, yet Whitebeard still didn't look at him.

"You got that?!" He snapped back, and he wasn't leaving room for a debate here. His mind was made up and there was nothing that Marco or anyone else could do to stop him here.

"But Old Man what about the Blackbeard Pirates there!" Goku shouted, pointing to all the pirates that were backing Blackbeard up.

"If he's a real man then he'll have them stand down as he fights Whitebeard," Vista stated crossly, though he was having a bad feeling that was far from the case here.

"Whitebeard wants it like this," Marco reminded them all.

And as if he heard those words, Whitebeard proclaimed, "Let's settle this, Teach!"

Blackbeard only laughed that annoying laugh once again.

"Fine by me!" He called him. And that was when darkness started to ebb out of his body. That darkness flew out of his very skin like smoke and began to drift almost lazily across his body before he drew it all to his right hand and slammed it to the ground. Like water it rushed out and started to cover the battlefield beneath their feet, the darkness starting to swallow up all the rocks and wreckage already.

"Black Hole..." Blackbeard said smugly, his darkness bursting out in a twister of black smoke before he stood up again. "This is the power of the Devil Fruit I stole after killing Thatch! The mightiest power, the Dark Dark Fruit!"

Goku watched in horror as Whitebeard slowly began to sink down into the darkness.

"Have a good taste!" Blackbeard laughed as Whitebeard looked down at his feet, as if he couldn't care less what Blackbeard did. "Hey, Old Man, Thatch is dead and you will be too then Ace and his little brother!"

"How dare he?" Goku hissed maliciously. It was his fault that he started this dam war... And he dared to rub that in their faces?! As if that guy didn't already deserve enough of an ass-kicking!

"I had always respected and admired you from the bottom of my heart," Blackbeard admitted to his former captain.

"Well, you have a shitty way of showing it!" The saiyan shouted out.

"But now, you've grown old. So rusty you couldn't save a single underling from execution! Even though I made sure to let Ace live after our battle on Banaro Island," Blackbeard laughed once again and all the Straw Hats had their eyes shadowed over at those words.

Goku never thought that there would be someone out there that he would hate as much as Frieza. But this guy... he was just pure evil. Whitebeard and every pirate here came to Marineford to try and save Ace and he was just mocking them for what happened. He must've seen it... she was sure of it now... he saw Ace trying to protect Luffy and almost dying and it wasn't for him that saved Ace's life. But he just went and ridiculed that sacrifice.

Whitebeard's own eyes were twitching horribly and they all knew that he was hitting a sore spot by mentioning one of his sons that he failed to protect.

The other Whitebeard Pirates were full of rage as well from listening to his talk. Vista, actually marched forward, looking ready to start fighting regardless of Whitebeard's orders, and only stopped when his comrades held him back.

Whitebeard held up his arm once more, preparing himself to use another quake, but Blackbeard merely held up his darkness covered hand.

"Now, now..." He scolded, "That won't work!" And he went charging at him as he declared, "All Devil Fruit abilities are useless against me!"

And he only laughed louder when Whitebeard's own fist glowed with his prepared quake. Blackbeard caught his fist right before he swung his arm out and it was then that the darkness seemed to swallow it right up into the palm of his hand.

"That's a cheap attack and everyone knows it!" Goku shouted out angrily, "Fight like a man here!"

"Be silent! Well, Old Man, what do you think of my darkness?" Blackbeard asked, truly wanting his opinion. "I can even suck in Devil Fruit powers, making the user defenseless! In other words, you can't make earthquakes anymore!"

Goku's anger only went up another notch when Blackbeard landed a solid punch right in Whitebeard's gut, causing yells of shock coming from the Whitebeard Pirates next to them, who couldn't have looked more stunned by what happened. Yet it was only made worse when Blackbeard landed an upper cut punch right to Whitebeard's jaw, actually causing him to leave a few feet off the ground.

He broke free from Blackbeard's grip and tried to use another quake against him.

"You still don't get it?!" Blackbeard laughed arrogantly, catching his fist once again and dispersing it like he did before. He rammed his fist right where the two holes were in Whitebeard's chest, causing the bisento to go flying off in a spinning motion high above them.

"What do you think of my power?" Blackbeard asked again. But Whitebeard was far from over and Goku was glad to see that he was proven right. He pushed himself up to his feet and used his quake powers once more. Blackbeard only laughed, calling him a foolish old man as he caught it and dealt with it... but that wasn't the point. It was merely used as a distraction for Whitebeard's bisento fell back down and he caught it. Spinning it expertly, like a real master of the weapon, and taking Blackbeard completely by surprise.

And with a cry of anger, Whitebeard brought it swinging down, leaving a deep wound in his shoulder, and finally knocking the cocky bastard to the ground with blood gushing out of his arm.

"Alright!" Goku cheered out. "Hit him again!"

"That hurts!" Blackbeard cried out, his eyes full of shock that he could be hurt and he clutched at his shoulder as he trashed around on the ground. "That hurts, damn you!"

Whitebeard seized this chance to finish the job. Having slammed the end of his bisento on one of his hands, and his foot on the other, he grabbed Blackbeard by the throat, holding him there and very well able to finish him off.

"Overconfidence... carelessness..." Whitebeard stated darkly with almost a sneer, "Those are your biggest weaknesses!"

"It doesn't matter how strong your powers are. They all have their weaknesses. Blackbeard was so confident that with the power to prevent those powers being used on him, he could fight them easily." Goku says.

And as Blackbeard spluttered for air, the glow another quake was starting to form around his head. Whitebeard was going to make sure that he wasn't going to miss this time. Chopper shrieked at the idea of someone taking a quake to the head and covered his eyes and hung on tightly to Robin, who patted his head gently, understanding why he didn't want to see this. As despicable as Blackbeard was, to see someone die in such a way... not just anyone could have the guts to watch it.

Blackbeard was thrashing worse than ever, panic sinking in as he realized what was about to happen. "Hey! S-Stop it!" He yelled out, "Old Man, please stop! I'm your son, aren't I? Are you really going to kill your own son!?"

Whitebeard didn't stop, continuing to build that attack. There was no sympathy in his eyes as he created that earthquake and the blast was enough to explode around them, digging Blackbeard into the ground as he screamed in agony. The dust created from that attack was so thick that no one could see through it...

The Whitebeard Pirates, however, sure seemed to think that it was over and they cheered at the thought of Blackbeard's death; all of them looking thrilled at the idea that Blackbeard got what was coming for him. That their friends had been avenged... but as the dust cleared... the cheering stopped when they saw what was there.

He was lying face-down, gargling up blood as he struggled to stand... but still at Whitebeard's feet. Even though he had taken that attack—literally head on—it wasn't enough to kill him. But it had done its damage.

"Damn! What is this guy made out of?!" Goku yelled in outrage and then spat on the ground. But he had a bad feeling that with Whitebeard in the shape that he was, that attack didn't do even half the damage that it would've done normally. He looked to Whitebeard to see that he had stopped moving. His one eye widen as he had a horrible kind of understanding go through him.

The other Whitebeard Pirates hadn't grasped on that fact yet, they just cheered on for Whitebeard to hurry up and finish Blackbeard off... seemingly not noticing that blood was dripping down his body worse than ever. But the Commanders certainly seemed to understand though... tears back in their eyes and some of them even turning their heads respectfully away.

"What's going on?! What's wrong with him?" A random Whitebeard pirate shouted as Whitebeard continued to just stand there still as a statue.

Blackbeard slowly raised up his head, blood gushing down and he wondered if he lost another tooth from that attack.

"That's not the problem," Goku told him as Marco stepped forward.

"It's not that he's not moving..." Marco said to them. "His health has been deteriorating... and he's taken a lot of damage in this fierce war. The Old Man's body has long since passed its limits." And he shut his eyes and looked away, as if fighting the howl of misery fighting to break out.

Whitebeard took a step forward. Yet it looked like it was costing him all the strength that he had left. He was slow... staggering almost... as if there was an enormous weight tied to his feet. But that was still enough to cause Blackbeard to start freaking out.

But what caused them all to start freaking out was when Goku saw the steam coming from Whitebeard's body, his skin turning red... he saw it once to recognize that.

"That... that's like...?" Goku gasped out, his eyes wide, "Luffy's Second Gear?!" He does not have a clue as to what was going on now.

If Whitebeard was scary before, it was nothing compared to right now. His skin was red with steam billowing out... his hulking form towering over a bleeding Blackbeard... but the worst was his eyes... they were nothing but white with the feeling of death coming from them. For that moment, he truly looked like the devil coming at him with all that blood dripping down his wounded body.

Blackbeard was screaming in terror... any smugness that was there was long gone. He was scrambling backwards, trying to get away from him. "Y-You monster!" he shouted, sounding petrified.

Blackbeard was fumbling for one of the pistols that he wore in his sash.

"You should be dead!" Blackbeard cried tearfully as Whitebeard held up his fist once more, this time, preparing for the final blow. And this time, Goku doubted that he could survive another quake head on once more.

"Can't you just die already?!" Blackbeard screamed as Whitebeard prepared to finish the job as Blackbeard finally found a pistol and pulled it out to fire. After all the damage that he took during this war and still kept going... you didn't expect a bullet to stop him. But it did. It was just finally the attack that was too much for him and Goku stared in horror as Whitebeard stopped moving.

At that very moment Goku's eyes turned silver and vanished so fast that not even with Observation Haki Marco couldn't follow the warrior's speed.

"KILL HIM, YOU GUYS!" Blackbeard bellowed out and his entire crew came charging up behind him, each one with a sword or gun in their hands and the attack was going to be brutal. But Goku appeared in front of Whitebeard. Bullets were fired and blades were being used left and right at Whitebeard but Goku was making sure that every single attack was missed. It would have been a bloodbath. There was no way that you could block the sounds of the guns firing... the blood splattering on the ground... just the insanity of it all...

But the worst part of it all was the fact that how many attacks Goku was removing for Whitebeard, it the arrogant cockiness back to Blackbeard for he started to laugh insanely once again. But Whitebeard never budged, never even took a step back or let out a cry of pain as he just stood there and waited the attacks come or he knew that the man in the orange gi was there. He didn't do a thing to protect himself... either too weak or injured to do so...

"Do it men!" Blackbeard laughed loudly, "Turn him into nothingness!"

Attacking the same man who took him in and let him be a part of his crew for who knows how many decades... and not even able to do so on his own just showed what a monster he truly was.

Screams from the Whitebeard Pirates rang out from around them as they cried and sobbed, every strike looking like they were the ones being hit instead. Their hearts went out to them, knowing that this had to be nothing short of torture to just stand there and watch. Some of them were just wanting to scream at them to jump in a help...

But at the same time they understood. They were following after the last orders of a man that they would've followed forever. There was nothing that they could do as they watched their... father, being murdered right in front of them.

Whitebeard just continued to stand there, the only sign of moment from him was when he tilted his head back as if looking up at the sky... but the attacks continued and Goku kept on deflecting them.

Until at last, they all stopped to catch their breaths or to try and find more bullets to load. There was too much dust to eve if Whitebeard was there or not.

Blackbeard kept trying to fire even though he was completely out of bullets. Angrily he tossed aside his pistol and shouted orders for someone to give him another one.

"There is no need," Shiliew spoke up calmly. "Whitebeard has lost consciousness. I am sure he would fall over if you so much as poke him."

"It is not you..." Whitebeard spoke up and caused shock to come from everyone.

"You mean he's still alive?!" A random Whitebeard pirate alliance screamed out, staring up. He couldn't see anything but Whitebeard's back at the moment but there was no way that he could see anyone taking all that and still be alive.

As the dust began to become more clear and everyone was shocked as hell. "GOKU!" Hancock yelled.

Goku was in front of Whitebeard and not a single attack landed on Whitebeard.

"Sorry to ruin your hopes Blackbeard but my body moved on its own." Goku says as he throws an air punch at them. Blackbeard's crew gets blown away from Teach.

"Old Man you okay?" He asked as he stays next to him. He powered down and released a little bit of ki.

"I've never asked for your help." Whitebeard said.

"I didn't want for you to get hurt beside my body moved on its own." The saiyan says.

Blackbeard let out a shriek of fear, his cockiness fading once again.

"You're still alive!" He cried out as Whitebeard continued to try and breath.

"The man Roger is waiting for..." Whitebeard said firmly, and true conviction in his voice. "At the very least, Teach, is definitely not you."

Goku was aware that Jimbei had started running with Luffy and Ace again, yet Whitebeard went on speaking once again. Though they were still running, they listened to his words loud and clear.

"Just like there are those who carry on Roger's will..." He panted hard, sounding almost dazed at this point, but his words still coming as if he had prepared this speech for a long time. "I am sure someone will appear to carry on Ace's will, someday."

"Even if you extinguish his bloodline, there is no way that their flame will ever burn out," Whitebeard proclaimed. "It has been passed down since ancient times... And in the future... someday... someone will appear, carrying the history all those decades on their back, and challenge this whole world to a fight. Sengoku, you guys in the World Government, all fear that immense battle engulfing the world that will eventually come."

Goku stayed silent as Whitebeard spoke directly to Sengoku now as he confessed, "I do not care myself... but as soon as someone finds that great treasure, the entire world will be turned upside-down. And someone will find it."

He wants to hear every word that Whitebeard said.

"And that day will definitely come sooner or later," Whitebeard said before he took a deep breath. And then he shouted out as loudly as he could, his voice echoing around the destroyed battlefield, "ONE PIECE... DOES EXIST!"

And that was it...

Whitebeard may not have been able to get revenge on Blackbeard for what he had done, but he at least managed to get even with the marines by about to make their lives a living hell. After Whitebeard's death, everyone knew that the number of pirates had increased by leaps and bounds... and this was the reason. Whitebeard knew Roger better than anyone else that they could think of, so if there was anyone out there who would know if that treasure truly real or not, it would be him.

And now he confirmed it all for the entire world. That treasure existed and was now waiting for someone lucky enough to try and claim it for themselves. That fortune was up for the taking... all they had to do now was find it.

The marines had hoped that by killing Ace and Whitebeard in this war, it would finally put an end to the age of pirates, but they just never learn. The spirit cannot die that easily and the harder that they try to beat it down; the more it rages onwards and engulfs everything and anything in its path.

Blackbeard just laughed, as if he knew this all along, but was glad for someone to confirm it for him. "Those are some magnificent last words!" He stated out loudly.

"Rotten bastard," Goku snarled.

But Whitebeard was still speaking, but this time it seemed to be more to himself than to anyone else. His words sounded calm... almost peaceful.

"It has been a good voyage," He said, and his words carried over to the wind to where they were still running, able to hear everything. "It has been a good journey. Farewell, my sons."

Everyone felt cold at those words and they stopped running almost at the same time as Jimbei as they turned back to look at the ruler of the sea one last time. Everything was deadly silent, as if they were all too scared to speak. Overhead, the only sounds came from the calling of a single seagull... and a single white feather fluttering down near Whitebeard.

No one paid any attention to that, but if they had... if they had been nearer, they would've seen how there was a bead from the red necklace that Ace wore lying at Whitebeard's feet. The feather touched down to the bead almost tenderly before a light breeze picked up and carried the feather on the wind and back towards them.

Goku main attention was still focused on Whitebeard, having not realized what happened as he continued to just stare ahead at Whitebeard's back. But the wind carried the gull feather straight at them and no one noticed how the feather reached Luffy, gently touching down on his chest... right over where Luffy's heart was.

"Old Man..." Jimbei whispered softly, breaking the silence for the first time.

And that was when everyone knew... but it was Blackbeard who said it all first.

"H-He died... while still standing!" He shouted out in disbelief.

"No way!" Goku gasped, his eyes wide and they continued to look at Whitebeard, the wind blowing the coat he wore around his shoulders like a cap. But there was no doubt about it now...

The Whitebeard Pirates all knew it... and they broke down completely. There wasn't a dry eye among any of them, in fact, Marco fell to his knees and then onto his hands as he sobbed in a heart-broken way.

Even in death, his body would not fall. His figure, taking down enemies, while covered in blood was truly monstrous. They thought of all the wounds he had gotten in this war... he fought against all three Admirals and every marine out there, the sword wounds, the bullet wounds, his insides all fried to a crisp. Yet despite all of this, as his coat fell off to reveal his back... there wasn't a single mark there. Over the course of his entire life he never got a wound to his back...

Proof that he never ran from a fight. He never once ran away.

Goku was glaring to where the Blackbeard Pirates were grinning triumphantly at the fact that Whitebeard had died and they had done it.

"That damn bastard," Marco hissed, shaking in rage.

Vista put a hand on his shoulder. "Marco," He said, "We all feel the same way. But we have to retreat."

"I know, Vista," Marco stated darkly, but they could tell that the thought of leaving this place without some kind of payback for all that Blackbeard had done was too much for him. Pain in his face, Vista turned and yelled at everyone who was still alive to hurry up and head to the ships, demanding to know if they had already forgotten about their captain's final order.

Goku looked back one last time to where Whitebeard still stood, wanting to remember everything that man had done, before he joined with Vista and began to run, hopefully for the last time.

Vista quickly caught up with Jimbei, and he told him hurriedly, "Jimbei, hurry and take Ace and his brother to safety!"

Vista bravely wiped the tears from his eyes as he ran on ahead, Jimbei looking just as miserable and they could guess the guilt he was feeling. He broke out of prison for the faint hope of being able to save Whitebeard... but in the end he wasn't able to do so. The guilt he must've been feeling must've been heavy indeed. But He seemed determined not to fail again, and was going to make sure that Luffy and Ace, at least, made it off this battlefield alive.

But they were far from safe. The marines had started opening firing on them once again... this time using cannons to try and reach them this time.

"Don't let the pirates escape!"

"Finish off every last one of them!"

"What are they doing to Whitebeard?!" Goku shouted out, looking back to see the Blackbeard Pirates pull out a large black sheet. The others looked to what he was talking about and they saw them drape the sheet over Whitebeard's body, with Blackbeard cackling as he stepped under as well.

Goku went super saiyan and flew back towards Whitebeard dead body to stop Blackbeard from whatever he is doing. "I won't let you touch him!" Goku shouts.

Marco and the rest of the sons of Whitebeard and the navy stunned by what their eyes saw that Goku was flying towards Blackbeard and his crew. He appeared so fast in front of Blackbeard and crew. He punched Black so hard that it send the bastard to the navy wall. He kicked Burgess so hard that the kick send the so called champion to the sky. He stops a bullet from Van Auge's gun. He sent the bullet back but with greater speed and it killed the shooter.

Shiryu tried to attack Goku but the super saiyan stop the swordsman by stopping the sword with a pinky and wasn't even looking at Shiryu. He punched the swordsman and the swordsman was dead. He let out a yell so loud that it sends the other crew members of Blackbeard far away from him. He picked up the shooter's weapon and the swordsman sword. He took them as his own.

Goku removed the large black sheet leaving only the saiyan face to face with whom he was once considered the strongest man in the world.

Goku grabbed Whitebeard by the shoulder use I.T away from Blackbeard to Marco and the others. "I'm sorry Marco but at least I saved Ace. I would have liked to fight him. If he was still alive. But I promise you this; I will get you and the others safely off the island! I give my word." Goku tells Marco.

Whitebeard's body began to and little by little the light was concentrating on a single point on his chest, suddenly a fruit came out of it surrounded by a bubble of energy.

"So this is Whitebeard's Devil Fruit." Goku says as the saiyan began to float until he was at the level of the fruit with his left hand. He grabbed it and stared at it for a few seconds while that happened every living being in Marineford saw how terrified a man that saved both Portgas D Ace and Monkey D Luffy. This man had the devil fruit in his hand that once belonged to Whitebeard.

"He must be stop!" A marine yelled. Blackbeard came out of the rubble bloody and bruised from the blow of the saiyan although our warrior held back not to kill him.

Goku descends in front of Marco. He puts his hand out with the fruit. "Here you go! It was your father's power so I'm giving it to you." Goku smiles at Marco. The first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates, Marco the phoenix shook his head. "No. I can't. I believe Pops' spirit chose you as the next user. It has to be you Son Goku." Marco tells Goku.

"Garp! We must stop this man!" Sengoku shouted. He started to run in the direction of Son Goku but it was too late the legendary warrior took the fruit to his mouth and took a bite.

A Visual Den Den Mushi was recording everything and it transmitted it to Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone on Sabaody was watching as the Proko is receiving the signals from Cameko onto the bigger video screen.

"This taste awful!" He said. The saiyan did not like the taste of the fruit, he had his tongue sticking out while he had a comical face, but enduring the bad taste, he put the rest of the fruit into his mouth and swallowed it.

"How weird I don't feel different at all..." Goku said as he removed his weighted orange gi and the dark blue undershirt because it was already damaged. He was shirtless and still wearing his wrist bands. Goku looked at his hands and he did not feel any change in him. While the warrior kept checking one of Whitebeard's sons looked astonished at what happened and at the exact moment that the saiyan warrior swallowed the fruit, Marco could see the silhouette of his father Whitebeard. The man that was like a father to him and took him in as his own son. He could see that behind Goku.

"It can't be..." Marco said as he let himself fall to his knees to the floor and tears came from his eyes because Son Goku was like Whitebeard, he cared about people he didn't knew and he had a good heart. Marco can see why his father's spirit chose the saiyan.

"Marco! Hurry and leave this place! I will give you the time that is necessary." Goku told them. "Okay but we won't leave the body of our father!" Marco tells Goku. Marco was representing everyone and the others just nodded their heads.

"Okay go get his body while I fight the marines off!" Goku ordered. Nobody said anything at all because they saw how the warrior flew towards a group of marines who themselves were seeing the warrior just extended his towards them and a strong gust of wind came from his fist and the marines flew up in the air. The pirates upon seeing this opportunity they went as a group to go for the corpse of Whitebeard.

"I'm almost done here! I need to rest for a bit and continue to mop the floor with these marines!" Goku commented. The saiyan kept floating in the air taking care with sight that the group brought the corpse.

"I can't you go on in life!" A voice yelled. Goku had already felt the energy of someone coming towards him alone. He waited for his opponent calmly when he felt it from his back and turned to the person. He stopped the blow with his hand.

"It will be better that you calm down! I ain't done anything to you." Goku replies at the man.

The saiyan still had some pity and warned the man to calm down right now. "You're very existence is already a danger to the government as the fleet admiral it is my duty to stop you here and now!" Sengoku yelled. Sengoku tried to Goku with another shot with his free arm since his fist was still grabbed by the saiyan.

"You're stupid! I gave you a chance and you didn't take it!" Goku shouts. The super saiyan caught the other fist and now had the two grasped tightly but as an angered saiyan he clenched his fists much harder, at that moment Sengoku screamed from pain he felt that his bones were slowly pulverized by this man until the super saiyan got bored and he gave the fleet admiral a headbutt then released his fists and kicked the fleet admiral in the stomach that sent Sengoku flying and crash into some rubble.

"Give me back what is rightfully mine!" A loud and irritated voice screamed.

Blackbeard also arrived and reached the saiyan after he recovered from the blow he got earlier and wanted the most powerful devil fruit powers for himself and not this guy that was annoying him.

"Don't bother. Get out of here if you don't want to die." Goku had a disinterest look on his face when he saw the pirate called Blackbeard and the words that were spoken by the blonde haired warrior made Blackbeard angry but before he could attack the saiyan grabbed him by the neck and he was slowly lifted up but it was much higher the pirate began to levitate until his feet did not touch the ground.

"Get lost insect." Goku said in a dark tone. He gave Blackbeard a slap that took him flying into the sea and he feel into the water without him being able to do anything.

Meanwhile in Universe 7

(A/N: I know a dickmove right?)

Vegeta was watching the sky and the sunlight made him stand out even more than usual. "For some odd reason Kakarot fills me with pride." He says a small tear came out of his left eye.

Back to the main plot. Goku noticed that Marco and the others already have the body of Whitebeard. "Now it's time to leave." He muttered.

Goku being in the air notice someone who reminded him a lot of Frieza and Zamasu. That was Akainu that prevented the escape of the Whitebeard pirates.

"That damn..." Goku muttered with rage as he clenched his fist. Admiral Akainu threw a torrent of lava over Macro and the others but before it reached them. Goku got in the path of the lava torrent with a sphere-shaped energy field surrounding his entire body.

"I won't let you hurt anymore innocent people you dammed bastard!" Goku shouted. "You!? Why do you help them?" Akainu asked.

Goku came out at an incredible speed that not even Akainu can see only felt an indescribable pain in his face that caused was the saiyan warrior that had hit the admiral in the face and breaking his nose in the process.

"Why can you touch me?! When I'm in my logia form?!" Akainu asked in rage. Goku didn't responded the question. "Take this you damn killer." Goku says.

At that moment Goku the super saiyan began with a massacre of blows against the admiral. Fists and kicks were sent to Akainu's body and each of them gave his objective had broken his arm and several ribs. The marines who saw the massacre were terrified and the pirates were stunned until Son Goku stopped and looked at the body of the admiral fell to the floor.

"Marco, get going to the ship!" Goku spoke at the first commander. Jinbei gets on the ship as well with the other commanders of Whitebeard.

"Thanks for everything!" Jinbei yelled. "Go away now!" The saiyan shouted.

The pirate ships were sailing away when they all heard the voice of the saiyan and nobody said anything they just obeyed the saiyan gave. Goku saw Hancock's ship and he followed her closely flying behind her ship.

"That man is scary..." Kizaru the other admiral said. He was left to watching the fight or rather the humiliating defeat of Akainu. Sengoku and Aokiji didn't want to be finish like Akainu. They both knew that if they got in they would end up the same.

 "Hahaha look at them run away! They're pathetic pirates!" A marine said. Goku just turned around to look at the marine with an angry glare, Hancock came after seeing Luffy and Ace got away and saw Goku was shaking violently.

Goku turned to see the man called Whitebeard had died standing up and the marines were making fun of him as well. "How dare you make fun of them!" Goku yelled at the entire marine, "They just save this man" pointing at ace. "And yet you continue to laugh at them when they tried?! I won't let their purpose die in vain!" Goku yelled.

"AHHHHH!" A golden explosion came from Goku causing everyone who looked at him to go blind momentarily, after their visions came back they stared at Goku horrified to see he had transformed. He had golden hair sticking upwards, his body glowed and glistened under the sun ray and his body was engulfed in a golden flame. Lightening sparks were around him.

Goku was in his super saiyan 2 form.

Even though Hancock has seen Goku turn super saiyan 2 before it still brings chills down her spine whenever she sees him transform. He turned to Hancock and says, "Hancock I need you to listen very carefully, you must leave now and run towards the docks you got it?"

Hancock just stood there in shock still amazed at his transformation. Goku was getting angry "THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M GOING TO TELL YOU GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW HANCOCK!" Goku yelled this snapped Hancock out of her daze and she quickly ran towards the ship carrying Luffy over her shoulder. He dashed towards both of them at the edge of the docks where they were waiting.

All of Whitebeard's crew were evacuating the site as told by their captain. Goku gritted his teeth and pulled his hands next to him "KA ME HA ME..." Goku said "HAVE A TASTE OF THIS! HAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku fired a 50% powered Kamehameha at large building that was behind the marines and the elites and completely annihilated it. "I can't it anymore..." Goku said as he already had a blurred vision and flew over the ship of Hancock and he returned to his base form as he fell. He had already fainted but before he crashed he was caught by Hancock.

It caused them to lose their visions again momentarily, and once they got their visions back, they saw that every pirate including Hancock Luffy and Goku were gone. "Let's go full speed to Amazon Lily! He's hurt and he needs a doctor!" Hancock ordered. 'Please don't die Goku' She thought.

(A/N: Skipping the dialogue at Marineford about how they were just amazed at Goku's power. Sorry readers I just got lazy in this part please don't hate me for it.)

Goku had barely any energy left but he used I.T back to Amazon lily where he teleported in the middle of the city. The Kuja village ran up to see what was going on and was horrified to see their Empress in bad shape and Luffy in a worse shape. Goku had taken some hits here and there in the battle but he would manage. Luffy was put into the kuja village's best care and was being treated for his injuries. Goku was staying by Luffy's side the entire time until Hancock came in to room. Goku noticed she had been bandaged up from the attacks she endured from the war and then returned to look after Luffy.

"It's fine Goku, The kuja people say that he will be fine in a few days you can go and get some rest now." Hancock said Goku just ignored her and still was staying by Luffy's side. "Goku..." Hancock said.

"It's my fault, I couldn't save Whitebeard." Goku said closing his eyes. "Don't say things like that Goku!, you didn't have anything to do this but you chose to act and help Luffy try saving his brother, if it wasn't for you Luffy might have been in a worse condition. That was a very noble thing that you didn't even need to do and I know that Luffy respects you for what you did, even I respect you for what you do..." Hancock said.

Goku just smiled and looked at Hancock. "It looks like you've grown into a very wise person Hancock, thank you." Goku just smiled at Hancock which made her blush slightly. "He called me wise! Is this his form of saying I love you?!" Hancock said which made her blush hard.

"In fact you sound like a good friend of mine Bulma." Goku said casually which made Hancock spin her head towards his quickly. "Eh?! Bulma? Who's Bulma, How do you know her? Is she a very close friend? How close are you with her?" Hancock said barraging the saiyan with so many questions about who Bulma was.

"She's just a close friend I know of since I was a little kid in fact we went on an adventure as kids, it was fun!" Goku grinned; as he tells her all about his journey to find the dragon balls. He slowly got up and started walking out the door. "I guess I'll go catch some sleep then, I'll see you and luffy tomorrow then." He I.T back into the palace leaving the Empress wondering who was Bulma and was she going to steal him away from her.