After leaving Echo Valley, the Joint Fleet obtained a disturbing coordinate—a time anomaly that was replaying the Paramount War that changed everything.
"This energy signature..." Sabo analyzed the data, his face pale, "Is completely consistent with the day Marineford sank!" Ace clenched his fists, flames erupting uncontrollably. " Paramount War... why..." Luffy's rubber body trembled slightly. "No... don't look anymore..." Allen's Time Perception expanded, his pupils suddenly contracting. "It's not a replay... it's a time rift! The real Paramount War is being replayed on some timeline!"
When Pluton broke through the barrier of time, the scene before him froze everyone's blood— Marineford Square, the Execution Platform, the Three Admirals of the Navy, the Whitebeard Pirates... every detail was exactly the same as that day in their memories!
" Ace--!" Luffy's scream was heart-wrenching, exactly as he remembered! Akainu's magma fist was slamming towards Ace, exactly as he remembered! Whitebeard was desperately trying to save him, exactly as he remembered!
"No!!!" Ace and Luffy in the real world roared simultaneously, trying to rush in and intervene! But they were blocked by Allen and the time rift. "You can't go in! This is a closed time loop; intervention will cause spacetime to collapse!"
They could only watch helplessly as history repeated itself: Akainu's fist pierced Ace's chest, exactly as they remembered! Luffy broke down in tears, exactly as they remembered! Whitebeard died a heroic death, exactly as they remembered!
"Why... do you have to make us see this again..." Ace knelt on the ground, the flames flickering in agony. Luffy limp, tears streaming down his face. "Enough... enough is enough..."
But Allen's Time Perception detected an anomaly. "Something's not right... there's a subtle difference... the timeline has branched off..."
Sure enough, when history repeated itself to its most crucial point, the rift suddenly forked! Another possibility emerged:
Whitebeard timely blocked Akainu's fatal blow!
Marco successfully rescued Ace!
• Red-Haired even arrived early and stopped the war!
Different possibilities unfold simultaneously, like countless parallel worlds unfolding before our eyes!
"These are... possible futures?" Sabo asked in shock. Hope rekindled in Ace's eyes. "In some worlds... I survived..." Luffy's rubber finger trembled as he pointed to a scene. "In that world... everyone is alive..."
But soon, these possibilities began to crumble! The time rift could not withstand so many paradoxes and began to vibrate violently!
"The rift must be stabilized!" Allen activated his Power of Time to its fullest extent, " Time Weaving - Possibility Convergence!" He painstakingly converged countless possibilities back into the main timeline, but discovered a terrifying truth—no matter which possibility, it would ultimately lead to some kind of tragedy:
Ace survived, but Blackbeard became even more powerful after acquiring two Devil Fruits;
Whitebeard is not dead, but the New World order is stagnant, and the revolution cannot proceed;
Even though Red-Haired successfully mediated ahead of time, a coup d'état by radical factions within the Navy led to a more brutal crackdown...
"No matter what choice you make... there will be a price..." Allen broke out in a cold sweat, "That's the cruelty of time..."
Just then, Imu's projection suddenly appeared in the time rift. "Do you understand? This is why I chose absolute order—only by eliminating all choices can all suffering be avoided."
He presented every possible tragic ending. "Behold, no matter how hard you try, suffering cannot be avoided. Only my order can bring eternal peace."
The Joint Fleet wavered. Seeing so many tragic possibilities, some began to wonder: Perhaps Imu was right? Perhaps sacrificing freedom for peace was worthwhile?
Just as his belief wavered, Allen's Time Perception broke through to a deeper truth. "No! These possibilities have been filtered! You've only shown the tragic possibilities, hiding the happy endings!"
Imu's projection fluctuated. "Those tiny possibilities... are insignificant..." Allen roared, "Every possibility deserves respect! That's the meaning of life—to find hope in uncertainty!"
He unleashed the full Power of Time, forcefully breaking through Imu's selection process and revealing those hidden, wonderful possibilities:
Ace survives and changes the world together with Luffy;
The Whitebeard bears witness to a new era;
• The Navy and the pirates reached a reconciliation;
Even World Government are taking the initiative to reform...
These possibilities, though small, do exist!
"Look!" Allen shouted to the wavering crowd, "Hope always exists! That's the meaning of our fight!"
Faith reignited! The Joint Fleet roared in unison, the sound waves shaking the rift in time!
The Imu projection coldly said, "Foolish. Since you have chosen suffering, then bear it." The projection disappeared, but the time rift began to collapse at an accelerated pace!
"The crack is about to collapse!" Sabo exclaimed. "We must get out of here!"
But Allen made a bold decision. "No! I'm going to do something!" He overloaded his Power of Time, not to escape, but to inject a sliver of "possibility of hope" into the main timeline!
"Although we can't change our past..." Blood streamed from his seven orifices, but his eyes remained resolute, "We can give us, in that time,... a Seed of hope!"
When Pluton finally burst out of the time rift, everything behind him vanished in a flash of light. No one knew whether that seed of hope could change anything, but everyone felt a weight of its own.
Ace looked at his hands. "At that time... I really..." Luffy tightened his Straw Hat: "Yeah... another me... do your best..." Sabo pushed up his goggles. "All possibilities are real, in some world."
Standing at the bow of the Pluton, looking back at the now-calmed Sea of Time, a wisp of golden sand of hope appeared in the Hourglass of Time in Allen's hand.
True courage is not about avoiding pain, but about choosing hope even when you know pain is possible.
The weight of this choice will guide them forward.
Pluton sails toward his ultimate destiny, carrying with him the hope of all possibilities.
And this hope may illuminate even the darkest future.