"What's wrong with Luffy?" Sabo and Ace asked urgently as they reached his side.
"I... I don't know..." Drake was equally confused.
What's the deal? Why did he suddenly...
Could someone have hit him with a hidden attack?
That shouldn't be possible. What on earth is happening!?
"Doctor! Get a doctor over here now!" Ace bellowed, his heart hammering against his ribs in panic.
Sabo and Drake were just as tense. For Drake, this was completely outside his expectations. Luffy shouldn't have been having issues right now—so why the sudden collapse?
The Whitebeard Pirates' ship doctor rushed over, clutching his medical bag.
"Check him, quickly! What's wrong with Luffy?" Ace urged the doctor.
"Right, right, let me see." The doctor didn't waste any time. He immediately began a rapid examination—flipping Luffy's eyelids, checking his pulse, listening to his heart...
The surrounding pirates watched with concern. In this war, these brothers had performed beyond brilliantly. The fact that Ace had been rescued was largely thanks to their intervention.
Whitebeard's gaze lingered on the fallen Luffy, his eyes reflecting a trace of worry. Everyone in the crew had developed a genuine fondness for the boy; though they hadn't spent much time together, they had fought side-by-side in the trenches of hell.
"How is he?" As they watched the doctor work with focused intensity, the hearts of the three brothers climbed into their throats.
They couldn't help but be nervous; the symptoms had appeared too abruptly.
Across the water, the Marines noticed the commotion on the deck of the Moby Dick, though they couldn't discern what had happened.
"This..." The doctor hesitated, opening his mouth to speak but then faltering.
"Just say it!" Sabo and the others were nearly frantic. Watching the doctor drag his feet was agonizing.
"Yeah, Doc, stop the suspense and tell us! We're dying over here!" the nearby pirates added, unable to bear the tension.
"It's... he..." The doctor started to explain, but a peculiar sound suddenly cut through the heavy atmosphere.
Zzzzz... Pshhh...
"Eh?" Everyone's brow furrowed simultaneously as they searched for the source of the sound.
Finally, all eyes converged on Luffy, who was cradled in Drake's arms.
When they saw a massive snot bubble slowly expanding and contracting at Luffy's nose, their lips twitched in unison. Even Drake was speechless.
The group turned their gaze back to the doctor. He shrugged helplessly, his expression saying: See? That's all it is.
"Hahaha!" Ace was the first to burst into laughter, his gaze softening. "Luffy, you really haven't changed a bit..."
"He really hasn't," Sabo added with a faint smile.
"Hahahaha!" The entire deck erupted in laughter.
"Ace's little brother sure is something else. He's just like Ace—falling asleep the second the pressure's off."
"Like brothers, like pirates, I guess..."
Drake nodded in agreement. It was the family specialty, after all—one they hadn't just learned, but mastered. And once mastered, it became a daily routine.
"However..." the doctor spoke up again.
The crew felt a sudden urge to tackle the man. Can't you just finish your sentences in one go? You're going to give us a heart attack!
"Er..." The doctor seemingly realized his mistake and hurried to explain. "It's actually quite serious. Ace's brother has hit his absolute physical limit. Every muscle in his body is severely overworked and beyond its load capacity."
"He must have absolute rest for several days. He cannot engage in any intense combat for the time being." The doctor's tone turned solemn.
In truth, he was being optimistic. He had realized it was a miracle Luffy could even stand, let alone storm through this battlefield several times over. An ordinary person would have been dead twice over by now.
He didn't know that Luffy's ability to move was largely due to Ivankov's Tension Hormones, which had forcibly masked his exhaustion.
Drake suddenly remembered. In the original timeline, Luffy was supposed to receive a second dose of hormones on the battlefield. But because Drake had changed the course of the war, that hadn't happened. Luffy's body had simply reached its natural breaking point.
Looking at the sleeping Luffy, who wore a faint, peaceful smile, Drake's lips curled upward. He must be having a good dream.
Rest up, Luffy. You've done enough...
"Luffy..." Ace and Sabo shared a silent look of understanding. They knew the sheer magnitude of effort their youngest brother had put in for the sake of his family.
"Alright, let's get him some rest. He has us beside him now," Drake said, breaking the silence.
"Right..." Ace and Sabo nodded. Ace suggested, "Let him sleep in my quarters for now."
After settling Luffy comfortably on the bed, Ace turned to Drake. "Drake, I'm leaving Luffy in your care. Don't worry about the situation outside."
"Eh..." Drake paused, then nodded. "Understood."
It was true—none of them would be comfortable leaving Luffy alone, and since Drake's own body hadn't fully recovered, it was a good opportunity for him to rest as well.
"Good. He's in your hands." With that, Ace and Sabo headed back out to face the Marines.
Outside, on the deck of the Moby Dick.
"Gurararara... Sengoku, we are leaving..." Whitebeard smirked, his eyes locked onto the Fleet Admiral.
Ten minutes had passed. It was time to go.
"Whitebeard, it won't be that easy." Sengoku gritted his teeth. The Navy had the ship completely surrounded.
Ace and Sabo emerged from the cabin to see the overwhelming blockade, their expressions turning grim. Whitebeard, however, remained relaxed, a trace of a smile on his face. Faced with this seemingly impossible entrapment, the Whitebeard Pirates stood firm; not a single man showed a hint of panic.
"Sengoku... do you remember the most terrifying power on the sea?" Whitebeard asked slowly.
"What!" Sengoku's pupils shrank as a realization hit him. His eyelid twitched.
The surrounding Marines were confused, some even thinking Whitebeard was being arrogant and failing to read the situation.
"Hmph..." Whitebeard smirked. He planted Murakumogiri into the deck and gathered his strength in his fists.
HUMMM—!
"Not good! Get back!" Sengoku roared. I was careless!
"Too late!" A sharp light flashed in Whitebeard's eyes as he slammed his fists outward into the air.
KABOOM!!
A colossal wave of vibration energy surged outward, space fracturing in its wake. The surrounding sea was forcibly driven back. The majestic Marine warships were tossed like toy boats in a storm, rocking violently as they were hurled backward.
"What's happening!?"
"It's Whitebeard! He's vibrating the very ocean!!"
"The ships are going to capsize...!"
CRASH! "AAARGH!"
Whitebeard's eyes glowed with a crimson hue. He suddenly yanked his hands inward, and space itself seemed to twist and distort.
The warships that had been rapidly drifting away suddenly hit an invisible "brake," the momentum causing several of them to flip over entirely.
SPLASH! SPLASH! One by one, the vessels capsized, filling the air with the screams of drowning Marines.
"WHITEBEARD!!" Sengoku struggled to steady his own flagship, his heart filled with bitterness.
He had forgotten the ancient, terrifying reputation of the man before him. This was the Overlord of the Sea—the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
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