A circular hole appeared in the solid ice next to Whitebeard's flagship, and five figures quickly emerged from the frozen depths. Water droplets scattered from their clothes as they surfaced, gasping for air after their underwater journey.
"Finally! We made it!" Carrot exclaimed, her rabbit ears twitching with relief. "Thank goodness for Jerry's water bubbles, or we never would have—"
"Carrot, keep your voice down!" Carina hissed, grabbing the young mink's arm. "Do you want every Marine on this island to start shooting at us?"
"But Kotatsu said Jerry told us to get on this ship," Carrot whispered back, pointing at the massive ship beside them.
"Meow!" The Cheshire, perched regally on Bonney's head, nodded with the authority of someone delivering official orders.
Usopp glanced around nervously at the chaos surrounding them. "Then let's get aboard quickly! Staying out here is way too dangerous!"
"Agreed," Nami said, already calculating the safest route up the ship's side. "The longer we stay exposed, the worse our chances get."
"Come on, Bonney," Carrot encouraged the young girl. "Maybe you'll be able to see your dad once we're up there."
Bonney's eyes lit up with hope. "Really? Okay!"
They climbed aboard the deck with surprising stealth, only to discover the ship was almost completely empty. The only figure present was an impossibly tall old man standing at the bow, a massive bisento planted beside him like a ceremonial staff.
"Hm?" Sensing footsteps and whispered conversations behind him, Whitebeard turned his enormous head to regard the newcomers.
The moment Usopp saw that legendary face clearly, he let out a shriek that could have woken the dead. "AHHH! It's— it's— it's WHITEBEARD!"
Carrot, noticing that Carina and Nami had gone completely silent with shock, decided to handle the diplomatic situation herself. She stepped forward with the serious expression of someone conducting important negotiations.
"Hello, tall old man with the white beard!" she said formally. "Jerry asked us to stay here temporarily. Is that okay with you?"
Whitebeard's booming laughter filled the air, a sound both warm and intimidating. "Gurararara! That kid sent you here, did he? Then you're welcome aboard my ship."
"Thank you very much!" Carrot bowed politely, remembering every lesson about proper manners she'd ever received.
Whitebeard nodded approvingly at her courtesy, then returned his attention to the battlefield. He lifted a Den Den Mushi and began issuing fresh orders to his scattered forces, his experienced eye tracking multiple conflicts simultaneously.
"Damn it! Where did this annoying guy come from?" Ace rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the lanky figure who had suddenly appeared to block his path. Vice Admiral Tokikake stood between him and the plaza, hands casually tucked in his pockets and a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Annoying guy?" Tokikake looked genuinely offended. "That's harsh! My mother always said I was handsome!"
"Fine, you're handsome," Ace said impatiently. "Now can you please move? I'm in a hurry here!"
Tokikake took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled with an exaggerated sigh. "Sorry, can't do that. I need to impress Vice Admiral Gion, and beating the son of the Pirate King would definitely get her attention."
"Then let's get this over with!" Ace's flames flared as he realized there was no talking his way out of this fight.
Looking at the plaza ahead and the execution platform beyond it, Ace understood his situation clearly. Most of the high-level fighters on both sides were locked in their own battles, leaving him to handle this obstacle alone.
On the outer seas, Revolutionary Army and pirate forces found themselves under increasingly heavy bombardment.
"The Marines just increased their firepower!"
"Something big is happening!"
"Good thing Pops told us to keep our distance from the harbor!"
The combined fleet was forced to pull back as Marine artillery opened up with devastating precision. At the crescent-shaped gap that formed Marineford's harbor mouth, Marine officers led coordinated strikes that cleared out or drove back every enemy fighter in the immediate area.
Then, something unprecedented appeared.
A massive figure in a red vest and shorts, carrying an enormous axe over his shoulder, led a formation of tall, imposing men toward the harbor gap. They moved in perfect synchronization, their identical faces and uniforms creating an unsettling sight.
As they formed a horizontal line across the harbor entrance, they effectively separated the Revolutionary Army and pirates in the bay from their allies in the open sea.
"Wait... isn't that Bartholomew Kuma from the Seven Warlords?" a pirate shouted in confusion. "But why are there so many of them?"
The question echoed across the battlefield and around the world. People stared in shock at the dozens of identical "Kumas," then turned to look at the original who was still engaged with Jerry, their minds struggling to process what they were seeing.
On Sabaody Archipelago, a veteran reporter suddenly snapped his fingers in recognition. "Those are the Pacifistas that Vegapunk developed! This is huge news!"
His colleague was already frantically dialing his Den Den Mushi. "Chief! You need to see this! We've got a major story breaking!"
Among the Revolutionary Army forces, confusion reigned supreme.
"What the hell is going on?"
"How are there so many of them?"
The veteran commanders, including Ivankov and Karasu, stared at the Pacifista formation in bewilderment. This was clearly some kind of advanced technology, but none of them had been prepared for multiple versions of their former comrade.
Ivankov turned his attention to the real Kuma, still fighting Jerry in the distance. "Kuma-boy! What is this? Explain yourself!"
Aboard Whitebeard's Ship
"Look, Bonney!" Carrot called out excitedly, pointing toward the harbor gap. "More of your fathers are showing up!"
Bonney's expression soured. "Those aren't my father. My real dad is over there," she said, pointing toward Jerry's ongoing battle with the original Kuma.
"Oh, sorry!" Carrot looked genuinely apologetic.
Bonney shook her head. "It's okay. But... what the heck are Dad and Vegapunk up to?"
The question hung in the air, unanswered. None of them understood the full implications of what they were witnessing.
At that moment, a bald man with distinctive spider tattoos on his forehead emerged from the ship's cabin. He moved with mechanical precision, his expression completely blank as he headed toward the deck.
Noticing the strangers gathered near the rail, he paused momentarily. His jaw clenched with what might have been internal struggle, then he continued forward with renewed determination.
High on the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku watched the deployment with grim satisfaction. When he noticed the shocked reactions from around the world, he lifted his Den Den Mushi with decisive authority.
"Cut the live broadcast," he ordered quietly. "The public doesn't need to see what comes next. When they wake up tomorrow, all they need to know is that we won."
The feeds to screens around the world went dark, leaving millions of viewers staring at blank displays just as the most crucial phase of the battle was about to begin.
Still dancing around Kuma's attacks with practiced ease, Jerry suddenly stopped his evasive maneuvers. He looked directly into the cyborg's mechanical eyes and spoke with quiet intensity.
"Bartholomew, Bonney is watching you right now. If you've had enough of this charade, we can stop here."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "I might not be able to keep you company much longer."
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Kuma's wooden expression flickered, and his smooth, programmed attack patterns stuttered to a halt. For a brief moment, his face contorted as if two different personalities were fighting for control.
Jerry grinned with satisfaction. "I knew it. The password really is 'Bonney,' not something random like 'Pikachu' or 'password123.'"
He studied the cyborg's internal struggle with clinical interest. "The question is, how long will it take you to fully break through? And how much of yourself will you be able to recover?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~