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Shanks' gaze moved from Ace—kneeling on the ground and sobbing—to Rayleigh's body lying not far away. A faint nostalgia flickered in his eyes as he murmured, "Rayleigh-san…"
The Red Hair Pirates stood in silence behind their captain. Shanks shrugged off his cloak and gently draped it over Rayleigh's body, already resolved to bring him back to the Sabaody for burial.
"By the way, Shanks, how did you find your way here?" Marco asked, looking over at him.
Shanks didn't bother to hide anything. "Luffy and I met eleven years ago," he answered. "Back then, I made a vivre card for him. He just never knew about it."
"So that's how it is." Marco finally understood.
Luffy was the man of the new era—the one Shanks had staked an arm on. In a sense, Shanks had been the one to guide Luffy onto the path of piracy.
Marco's eyes shifted to Ace, still weeping on the ground. "Ace, make a decision, quick," he urged. "Luffy only has two hours left to live. Are you gonna let him die like this, or should I use my Regeneration Flame to heal him a bit, so you can at least hear his last words or what he still wants to do?"
"At the very least, we can't let him die with regrets."
Marco's words snapped Ace back to himself. He scrubbed at his tears. It was unbearable—but he had to face the reality of Luffy's impending death.
He couldn't change that. All he could do now was try his best to make amends. He didn't want Luffy to leave this world with regret. Bowing his head slightly, Ace said earnestly, "I'm counting on you, Marco."
Marco gave a small nod, stepped up to Luffy, and sent a stream of Regeneration Flame into his body.
In that moment, for Luffy, who had been drifting in deep darkness, it was like a single ray of light breaking through. As Marco's flame flowed into him, it was as if a surge of adrenaline hit his system. His withered features twitched faintly, and his eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Luffy… Luffy…!" Ace called out, voice trembling with excitement as he saw Luffy awaken.
"A…" Luffy parted his lips, but no other sound came out.
He could feel the crushing weakness in his body. He couldn't even move a single finger.
Seeing that Luffy was struggling to even speak, Marco pushed more of his Regeneration Flames into him. After a moment, Luffy's condition steadied just enough for him to resurface. The haze in his eyes cleared a little, but his body was still frighteningly weak.
Feeling his life slipping away with every breath, Luffy turned to Shanks and whispered, "I'm sorry, Shanks… I'm afraid I'm gonna break my promise to you."
At those words, tears instantly filled Shanks's eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, forcing them down as he put on a bright, familiar grin. "No, Luffy. You've already become an incredible pirate."
Luffy gave him a faint, tragic smile, then shifted his gaze to Ace, who was already in tears. "Ace… my crew and I promised to meet up at Sabaody Archipelago in two years. I'm leaving it to you."
"Wuwuwu… I'm sorry, Luffy. It's all because I'm such a useless big brother… I'm sorry…" Ace sobbed, before roughly wiping his face and forcing a smile. "Don't worry, Luffy. I'll take good care of them."
Luffy's voice grew even weaker. "Also… tell Grandpa I'm sorry. I didn't listen to him and become a Marine. But… I don't regret it."
Ace's tears flowed even harder at that. "Okay… if I see Grandpa, I'll tell him," he cried.
"Then… I'm counting on you." With those final words, it was as if Luffy had emptied out everything in his heart. His lingering attachment to this world faded, and his eyes slowly drifted shut.
His body began to feel lighter and lighter, as if he were floating. In that weightlessness, memories flickered through his mind: the days he spent with Ace and Sabo, and the adventures he shared with his crew. It had all been short—but every moment had been truly fun.
It was just a shame he never managed to become Pirate King.
A few minutes later, Luffy's heart fell completely still.
Ace clutched Luffy's body to his chest and wailed. Around them, the Red-Haired Pirates who knew Luffy also shed sincere tears, their chests aching with the pain of his death.
And so, Monkey D. Luffy—who, in the original tale, should have reached the very end, defeated Imu, liberated the world, and become the Pirate King—ultimately fell in battle on Amazon Lily at just eighteen years old.
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