The battlefield was chaos incarnate.
Smoke filled the air. Fire raged across the shattered plaza. Screams and explosions echoed between broken walls. The ocean itself churned red.
But in the center, three figures stood like unshakable pillars—Luffy, Ace, and Arkan.
The Brothers D. had reunited.
And the world trembled at their presence.
Marineford — Lower Plaza
Admiral Kizaru flashed across the field in beams of light, his movements near impossible to follow.
"Yare yare… I guess we're doing this the hard way," he muttered, aiming a laser at Luffy's chest.
But before he could fire, a blur of flame intercepted him.
Ace.
The attack exploded mid-air. Ace landed, flames dancing at his fingertips.
"Touch him again and I'll burn your bones to ash."
Kizaru raised an eyebrow. "How scary~"
Near the central tower
Arkan clashed once more with Sengoku in his Buddha form. Each strike of Arkan's blade carved into the very structure of the execution platform.
"You are destabilizing the world!" Sengoku roared.
Arkan's eyes glowed. "The world was never stable. Just controlled."
He unleashed a wave of black lightning from his blade, sending Sengoku crashing into the base of the tower.
Blood trickled from the Fleet Admiral's mouth.
Elsewhere
Whitebeard and Akainu's battle reached its peak.
The sea quaked. Fist met quake in monstrous clashes that sent shockwaves across the battlefield. Each hit from Whitebeard fractured buildings. Each strike from Akainu melted steel.
Then it happened.
Akainu, bloodied and furious, landed a direct magma punch to Whitebeard's chest.
The giant stumbled.
Jozu shouted, "Pops!"
Whitebeard coughed blood… but did not fall.
With his last ounce of strength, he grabbed Akainu and hurled him through three marine towers.
But the wound was fatal.
Whitebeard fell to one knee.
"Arkan… protect the new age."
Arkan's head turned sharply.
He saw it. The moment. The fall of an era.
He moved.
Arkan appeared beside Whitebeard and caught his body before it hit the ground.
There was no time for words.
Only fire, and grief, and purpose.
On the battlefield
A burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded from Arkan like a shockwave.
Thousands collapsed. Even seasoned commanders dropped to their knees.
"ENOUGH!" Arkan roared, the sky cracking above him.
Even Akainu, staggering to stand, felt the chill of true wrath.
Then, a whistle pierced the air.
Everyone turned.
A single red-haired figure stepped forward from the smoke.
Shanks.
His cape billowed. His eyes were serious. Behind him stood his commanders.
"That's far enough," he said. "This war… ends now."
Sengoku staggered up. "You have no authority here, Red-Hair."
Shanks shook his head. "I didn't come with authority. I came with truth."
He tossed a bloodied marine sword into the dirt.
"Look around. How many more need to die for pride?"
Arkan stood between the marines and his brothers, blade still raised.
Shanks placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You've done enough."
For the first time, Arkan lowered his sword.
Ace nodded slowly.
Luffy collapsed to one knee, exhausted.
And so, the storm began to quiet.
The price had been high.
But the bloodline of Gol D. Roger had survived.
Not to rule the world… but to change it.