Leo scrambled through the wreckage, his lungs burning and his mind racing. The fallen battleship had created a new zone of chaos, and he was using the twisted metal and shattered masonry for cover, heading toward the quieter edges of the bay. He needed a place to lie low, observe the timer, and let the storm pass.
DING!
The system screen flashed into view, unwelcome in its timing, but necessary.
$$SYSTEM INITIALIZING... 40\%$$
Time Until System Online: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Remaining
"One hour and twenty minutes," Leo muttered, crouching behind the hull of a small, sunken Marine ship. "I need to hide until then. This is the final hour. This is the Climax Phase."
He watched the central plaza. Luffy was battling through Marine forces with frantic, almost reckless energy, his eyes fixed on the execution platform.
Suddenly, a pressure hit the battlefield, not physical like a cannonball, but mental, like an invisible hand squeezing the air out of the world. It was a wave of pure, overwhelming willpower that washed over the plaza.
Marines and pirates alike, those with weaker wills, froze. Some dropped to their knees, foam dripping from their mouths. Even Leo, protected by his distance and his mental preparation, felt a stunning jolt—a sudden, deep-seated urge to submit to whoever was unleashing that power.
Leo's eyes widened as he saw Luffy, panting and exhausted, slump for a moment. He had unconsciously deployed the ultimate weapon of the chosen few.
"Wow," Leo whispered, completely awestruck. "What strong pressure. That's Conqueror's Haki."
A pang of bitterness hit him, quickly followed by a weary acceptance. If this system was truly good, could it give me Conqueror's Haki? He shook his head. No, forget it. That's for protagonists. He recalled the iconic quote from the anime, its meaning painfully clear now. "Conqueror's Haki is the power of those destined to stand above others."
I was a soldier, but I am not that lucky. I'm just the side character who needs the system to even survive.
The Unavoidable Meeting
The battlefield roared back to life after the moment of silent domination. Luffy surged forward one last time, an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, and finally—CLANK!—the sea prism handcuffs shattered. Ace was free.
Leo felt a surge of genuine, unadulterated joy. "Yes! He did it! The mission is complete!"
But the joy was immediately poisoned by memory. Leo knew the story didn't end here. He knew exactly what was coming. The elation in the plaza was a cruel, short-lived trick.
As he was deep in this miserable internal conflict, a small, trembling voice came from right beside him.
"H-hey… who are you? What are you hiding for?"
Leo jumped, spinning around to see a young man no older than eighteen, wearing a low-ranking Marine uniform. He had distinctive pink hair and large, round glasses that magnified his wide, terrified eyes.
Koby.
Leo's survival instincts screamed, overriding his fear. Koby! This guy is the main reason the war stops! He's got ultimate Plot Armor! If I stick close to him, my chances of surviving are 90 percent!
Leo immediately dropped the soldier persona and played the role of the shell-shocked civilian.
"I—I don't know. I'm just terrified. I'm not built to fight this war," Leo stammered, making his voice shake. "I don't know how to use any of this. I just want it to end."
Koby's face softened immediately. He saw a kindred spirit—someone overwhelmed by the violence and scared of his own lack of power.
"Me too," Koby whispered, his glasses fogging slightly. He nodded toward the battle. "Helmeppo and I… we're trying to stay alive. We're not strong enough to fight these monsters."
Leo internally celebrated. Yes! He already trusts me.
Koby extended a trembling hand. "Let's stick together until the war ends. We'll survive."
Leo grabbed Koby's hand tightly. "Of course. We will survive." Because you will, and now so will I.
The Wall of Fire and the Fall
The chaotic fighting began to funnel toward the retreat point. Ace and Luffy were fighting back-to-back, creating a beautiful moment of brotherly solidarity that made the fans cheer.
Then, the air temperature spiked.
Admiral Akainu. The gigantic Marine stepped into the thoroughfare, his face a mask of cold fury, his body wreathed in boiling red magma. Akainu launched his attack, a colossal fist of magma aimed past Ace, towards the exhausted Luffy. Ace did the only thing he could—he blocked the blow.
The magma fist punched straight through Ace's chest.
There was no sound, only a sickening SPLAT and the immediate, terrifying reality of a clean, molten hole appearing in the chest of Portgas D. Ace.
The sight of the massive, smoking wound was a thousand times more brutal than any animation. Leo immediately turned and stumbled away from the wreckage, dropping to his knees and retching violently onto the ice.
"Oh, no, no, no," Leo choked out, bile rising in his throat. "Akainu is too brutal. Seeing that made me want to vomit."
He forced himself to stop. Ace was falling, but Luffy was the main focus now. Luffy stared at his dying brother, his eyes wide and vacant. His body went slack, and he fell backward, entirely unconscious from shock.
Akainu, relentless, stepped over Ace's dying body, his magma-fist reforming, aimed straight for the vulnerable, unconscious Luffy.
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over the Admiral. The ground beneath Akainu CRACKED with an unholy sound.
Whitebeard was behind him, his body bleeding profusely but radiating a terrible, final, world-ending rage. He grabbed Akainu by the throat with one colossal hand.
Leo let out a breathy, morbid laugh. "Yes! Now the old man will make him feel the ground-shaking headache he deserves!"
Whitebeard unleashed his final, devastating power. The air shattered with a blinding KRA-KRA-KABOOM! The ground split open, magma and ice flying in every direction. Akainu's body was slammed into the crack in the earth, and he fell, sinking into the newly formed, hellish pit of magma and rubble.
The immediate threat was removed. Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea, appeared, scooped up the unconscious Luffy, and began the desperate scramble toward the water.
Leo, realizing the momentary lull, glanced at the inner clock visible only to him.
DING!
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Time Until System Online: 40 Minutes Remaining
SYSTEM INITIALIZING... 70%
"Forty minutes!" Leo groaned, rubbing his temples. "I've survived the worst of it. Just forty more minutes and I can get the hell out of this mess. Just need to find a boat, heal up, and make a plan."
He watched Jinbei carrying Luffy, knowing the protagonist was now safe. His tactical alliance with Koby, however, had to wait. Koby was still reeling from the sight of Ace's death.
As Leo was about to move toward the small Marine tenders, the atmosphere of the entire bay shifted. It wasn't the powerful silence of Shanks, nor the rage of Whitebeard—it was something cold, dark, and utterly wrong.
A massive shadow fell over the Marineford plaza as a gigantic hole appeared in the air above the bay. From this swirling black vortex, men began to fall. Loud, crude laughter echoed across the battlefield.
A hulking man with a menacing smirk and a mess of dark beard landed with a sickening THUD in the center of the square. His crew followed, their dark, ominous flags snapping in the wind.
Blackbeard.
Leo froze, his blood turning to ice. This is the real Final Boss Phase!
The war wasn't over. It had just changed masters, and the true nightmare had only just begun.