I Don't Want to Start a Second Summit War for Your Sake!
"Uncle will handle this matter properly," Natsu readily, then turned to Ace, who was still reeling from the sarcastic attack, and said, "Oh, and by the way, I should tell you something. Sabo is still alive."
Ace's pupils dilated sharply, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. His expression shifted from bewilderment to disbelief in a single breath. "What? You—you mean—"
"That's right, it's the Sabo you're thinking of. Your sworn brother, Sabo."
"Really? Really! Sabo, he... he's really still alive?" Ace's voice cracked, his fists clenched tightly, his whole body trembling slightly with excitement, as he bombarded him with questions.
"Where is he? Why hasn't he come looking for me and Luffy all these years? That bastard, how is he doing now?"
"I don't know the exact location. As far as I know, he lost his memory after being seriously injured back then, and was rescued by Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. He is currently serving as the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. As for whether his memory has been restored, the intelligence didn't mention it."
Natsu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and added slowly,
"Don't rush to find him. If he gets captured and thrown into Impel Down again, I don't want to go through the trouble of waging a second Summit War for you."
Ace's expression, which had been so excited he was about to cry, instantly cracked.
"You bastard! Is this never going to end?! Damn it!"
Natsu put down her teacup, a rare, faint smile appearing in her eyes. Her tone remained as indifferent as ever. "This matter will benefit me for the rest of my life."
"Damn it! How awful! This can't be stopped—!"
Ace's furious roar echoed in the side hall. Fugaku helplessly rubbed his forehead, and in Setsuna, he had given up on pretending to be serious, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook as he held his teacup.
Marco leaned against a pillar with his hands in his pockets, unable to suppress the smug smile on his lips.
Newgate leaned against the pillar, watching his son, whose face was flushed from being teased but who was radiating energy, and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
After struggling for most of my life, this is probably the kind of life I'll be living from now on.
The aftermath of the Summit War left its mark far beyond the ruins of Marineford and the shipping lanes of the West Blue.
For Monkey D. Luffy, that war was a watershed moment—splitting his previous "win and run" adventures apart from the true, cruel reality of the sea.
On an unnamed island off the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh stood on a reef, a half-empty bottle of liquor in his hand, his white hair disheveled by the sea breeze.
He looked at the Straw Hat boy in front of him, whose body was wrapped in bandages, yet who still stubbornly clenched his fists, refusing to show the slightest weakness, and sighed softly in his heart.
He was there on the day of the Summit War.
He arrived too late and only saw the end—he saw the towering, dark golden martial god, the ripple that silently erased everything, and the invincible Admiral-Emperor Level powerhouses on the battlefield.
Every scene tells this young man, who has only recently come from the East Blue: You still have a long way to go.
"Rayleigh." Luffy stood on the beach, his Straw Hat pulled low, obscuring most of his face, revealing only his tightly pursed lips.
"I'm too weak. That guy named Natsu looks a few years younger than me—but he can fight Marine Admiral all by himself and can split an entire island in two with a single slash."
Those Admiral, those Emperor of the Sea... each one of them is as strong as a monster. If I continue to be this weak, my comrades will be dragged down with me."
Rayleigh didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly jumped down from the reef, put the bottle aside, and carefully examined the boy Shanks had chosen with his experienced yet still sharp eyes.
"Then become stronger. Not by sheer willpower, not by desperate measures—but by truly starting from scratch, grasping all the power you can control." Rayleigh's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, as if he were solemnly placing something heavy on the beach.
"Straw Hat Boy, this ocean is more brutal than you imagine, but also more vast. If you want to protect those you care about, and if you don't want to watch your companions get hurt because you're not strong enough—then stay here, and I'll teach you."
Luffy knelt on the beach, his forehead slamming heavily against the rough sand, and with all his might shouted, "Please!"
Several days later, the Straw Hat Pirates received the same message through different channels.
There were no lengthy explanations, no elaborate narratives, just a single line of text, yet it caused everyone who saw it to stop what they were doing and remain silent for a long time.
"3D, 2Y."
The news News Coo, and Luffy himself had already followed Rayleigh to a nearby deserted island teeming with ferocious beasts.
His training began with the most basic theories of Haki — Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki, which he had been born with and which was beginning to show signs of.
Rayleigh's teaching method was simple and brutal: let his fists do the talking.
Every time Luffy gets beaten down, he lies in the mud for a long time before gritting his teeth, getting up, and getting back into his fighting stance.
He recalled the despairing disparity amidst the ruins of Marineford, and then charged forward again.
On the other side of the island, Rayleigh sat by the campfire, watching the boy in the distance being chased all over the mountain by wild beasts but still refusing to admit defeat, a slight smile playing on his lips.
He thought of Roger, Shanks, and that afternoon when he was young and in the Rocks Pirates, he was first punched away by Whitebeard.
This vast ocean will always bring the right people to the right places at the right time.
He raised his head and looked towards the West Blue.
The boy who cleaved Marineford with a single stroke probably didn't realize that he had become the figure another boy was desperately trying to catch up with.
That's good, though; people with goals won't get lost when they run.
After the smoke of the Summit War cleared, the remaining members of the Shichibukai scattered and chose completely different paths in life.
Crocodile disappeared from the ruins of Marineford after the war ended.
This former King of the Desert did not align himself with any faction. Instead, with his signature cold smile, he sailed alone in a small boat into the vast fog of the first half of the Grand Line.
His Baroque Works had long been destroyed, and his former ambitions needed to be reconsidered after witnessing the devastating attack by Uchiha Natsu and Saint Imu.
Boa Hancock's demeanor upon returning to Amazon Lily was completely different from the arrogant and haughty Snake Princess she usually was.