Shinju stood at the center of the deck.
From the outside, he looked as if he were resting with his eyes closed, simply feeling the sea breeze.
Behind him, Hashirama and Madara had fought a few battles since coming to this world.
They had roughly grasped the so-called "strong" power system here, absorbing it and tempering themselves. After all, this world also had a degree of rule suppression—no one dared to be careless.
Inside Shinju, a torrent of data was surging wildly.
The first system fragment had completely dissolved, turning into pure energy and rule-code, merging into every inch of his body.
The sensation was strange.
It didn't feel like his body had been filled with power. It felt more like some shackle that had always been placed on him had snapped.
His sense of rejection toward this world was fading.
On his retina, pale-blue data streams flickered.
Valhalla System data update complete.
Rule analysis increased: 15%.
Current status: Assimilation complete.
Shinju clenched his fist.
But he knew that the current him had a completely different level of chakra control precision.
He could even try, in a world filled with seawater, to forcibly rewrite parts of the physical rules.
That was the true value of the fragment.
Not just stacking strength—
but acquiring authority.
Not far away, Luffy was shouting noisily.
He was packing his bag, stuffing meat into every seam and gap he could find.
Usopp was checking his slingshot, and Chopper was grinding medicine powder.
Everyone was preparing to head to Skypiea.
That legendary nation in the clouds was their next destination.
Vivi walked over.
She pinched a rolled-up newspaper in her hand.
The paper was crumpled tight, its edges slightly torn.
Her expression looked awful, lips pressed together.
Shinju noticed the abnormality.
The system panel closed on its own.
He turned around to look at the princess of Alabasta.
Vivi didn't speak. She went straight to Luffy.
Luffy was still stuffing a bone-in piece of meat into his mouth.
"Luffy," Vivi called.
Luffy answered through a mouthful of food, swallowed, then turned to her.
"What is it, Vivi? You bringing us meat?"
Vivi didn't smile. She handed the newspaper over.
"The News Coo just dropped this."
Luffy wiped the grease off his hands.
He took the paper, looking confused.
"I don't read newspapers. It's all words."
"Look at that photo."
Vivi pointed to a corner of the front page.
Luffy followed her finger—and froze.
The goofy grin vanished from his face in an instant.
His whole body stiffened in place.
Nami sensed something was wrong. She walked over, leaned in for a glance—
and then clapped a hand over her mouth.
Zoro was wiping his sword.
Seeing their reactions, he stopped, sheathed Wado Ichimonji, and came over.
Sanji also set his tray down.
The Straw Hat crew formed a circle.
The newspaper lay spread out on the deck. The front-page headline itself wasn't some earthshaking news—
but in the lower-right section, there was a photo.
The person in the photo was bound in chains, kneeling on the ground.
Ace.
A bold black headline read:
Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division Commander Ace Defeated and Captured on Banaro Island!
Below it, a smaller line:
Defeated by: Newly appointed Warlord of the Sea, Blackbeard.
The World Government announced:
In the near future, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, criminal Ace will be publicly executed!
No one on the deck spoke.
Luffy stared at the photo.
Stared at the man kneeling there, covered in blood.
That was his brother.
The brother who was always confident and strong, always shielding him from wind and rain.
Lost? Captured? Going to be executed?
Nami broke the silence.
"T-This… this is fake, right?"
She looked at Vivi, trying to find a denial.
"Ace is so strong—he's a commander in Whitebeard's crew! How could he be captured?"
Vivi shook her head.
"This is the World Economy News Paper. They won't forge something this big."
"And the World Government has already issued an official notice."
Zoro frowned.
"Public execution… the Marines are going to wage an all-out war with Whitebeard?"
Sanji lit a cigarette. The lighter clicked again and again.
"Whitebeard is that guy they call the 'world's strongest man,' right? They captured his commander and want to execute him in public—there's no way that old man just sits and watches."
"This is going to be a war."
Shinju walked over.
He had long known this would happen.
From the moment Ace went after Blackbeard, this ending was set.
This was also the timing Shinju had been waiting for—Marineford.
The curtain call of the old era of this world, and the opening of the new era.
And, more importantly, the moment when the rules here would be the most turbulent, and the strong would gather the most densely.
If he wanted to take the system fragment on Whitebeard…
this was the only chance.
"Luffy," Shinju called.
Luffy didn't react. He was still staring at the paper.
"The Vivre Card."
Shinju reminded him.
Luffy jolted awake. He frantically searched himself.
He turned pockets inside out, took off his hat—finally, from a hidden layer in his pants, he pulled out a scrap of paper.
It was what Ace had left him when they parted in Alabasta: a paper that represented life.
Luffy opened his palm—
and everyone sucked in a cold breath.
The paper that had once been palm-sized was now only about the size of a fingernail.
The edges were smoking.
There was no open flame, but the paper was still burning.
It was shrinking before their eyes, bit by bit, turning into ash that drifted away.
Nami clutched her chest.
"How can it be burning this fast?"
Lola had once said that a Vivre Card reflects its owner's life force.
Getting smaller meant weakening. Burning meant near death.
Or rather…
he was walking step by step toward the abyss of death.
Luffy tried to cover the Vivre Card with his other hand.
As if he could press the smoke back in.
It was meaningless.
A life force made visible wasn't ordinary fire.
"Ace…"
Luffy's voice trembled.
"Is he going to die?"
That question was directed at Shinju.
In Luffy's eyes, Shinju was omniscient—powerful and mysterious.
Shinju looked at the card that was about to burn away.
"If you don't go save him, he will die."
"Public execution isn't a joke."
"If you don't go save him, he will die."
"Public execution isn't a joke."
"Marine Headquarters will gather every elite they have—three admirals, a hundred thousand troops—waiting at Marineford."
"That place is the Marines' fortress of justice."
"They want to use Ace's blood to end the Great Age of Pirates."
Shinju's words were blunt.
There wasn't a trace of comfort in them.
Giving Luffy false hope at a time like this—
that would be the cruelest thing.
Luffy clenched his fist.
He squeezed the Vivre Card tight in his palm.
"I'm going to save him."
Luffy raised his head.
"I'm not going to Skypiea. I'm going to Marineford."
Nami knew Luffy's personality. At a time like this, no one could stop him.
Zoro rested a hand on his sword hilt.
"Then we change course."
"Skypiea isn't going anywhere. We can go later."
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring.
"Perfect. I also want to see whether Marine Headquarters' cafeteria is a bit more high-class."
Chopper was scared, but still raised a hoof.
"I'm a doctor! If Ace is hurt, I'm going to save him!"
Usopp's legs were shaking, but he forced himself to stand straight.
"If the captain's decided, then this great me—this great me—has no choice but to risk my life with you!"
Luffy looked at his companions and gritted his teeth.
(End of Chapter)
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