Silence.
For the first time since the war began, Marineford stood still. Smoke curled from shattered towers. The sea no longer roared, and the thunder had ceased. Only the distant cry of seagulls remained to remind the world that life still moved forward.
But the old era had died that day—buried beneath the ash and blood.
Marineford — Aftermath
The wounded were carried away. Ships burned. Bodies covered. Craters smoldered.
Luffy lay unconscious, resting in Jinbe's arms. His body had endured more than it ever should have. Beside him, Ace sat quietly, watching over his brother with red, tired eyes.
He was free—but the weight of what had been lost bore down heavily.
Whitebeard was gone.
And a part of Ace died with him.
Arkan stood at the harbor's edge, watching the sea, his back to the ruined battlefield. Blood still stained his coat, but he showed no pain. Only stillness.
Shanks approached, his footsteps soft.
"He gave everything to protect this future," Shanks said.
Arkan nodded. "He believed in us. In what comes next."
Shanks looked toward the retreating ships. "What will you do now?"
Arkan's voice was low. "Disappear."
Shanks raised an eyebrow.
"The world isn't ready to follow a man like me," Arkan said. "But it will remember me. And that is enough."
On the Moby Dick II — the escape ship
Marco tended to the wounded. Jinbe applied medical care to Luffy. Crocodile brooded on the deck. Buggy gave a dramatic speech to prisoners who still thought he was a hero.
Ace stepped onto the deck, the sea breeze brushing his face.
He looked back at Marineford one last time.
Then turned away.
Within Marine Headquarters
Sengoku sat alone in the war chamber, his head in his hands.
Tsuru entered quietly.
"You did what you could," she said.
"The world didn't end," he muttered, "but it changed."
"Maybe that's what it needed."
Sengoku sighed. "Roger's sons live. That shadow will never fade."
On a cliff overlooking the battlefield
Garp stood silently, arms crossed.
A single tear fell.
Days later — a hidden island
In a quiet cove, far from the world's eyes, Arkan removed his cloak and sword. He placed them in a sealed vault within the stone, along with a torn photo of three smiling boys: himself, Ace, and Luffy.
He lit a fire, and for the first time in decades, sat without armor.
Not as a warrior.
Not as a shadow.
But as a man.
In the distance, voices rose. Children training. Laughing. Learning.
A new age was beginning.
And in the ashes of war, the legend of Gol D. Arkan became more than myth.
He became legacy.