One Piece: Starting at the War of the Best

"Pops!"

Countless people cried out in anguish at the sight of Whitebeard being injured. They couldn't accept what was happening—how could their pride, their invincible "old man," get hurt?

"Akainu! Get the hell out of here!"

Suddenly, a figure appeared and charged fearlessly toward Akainu.

Though the attack came without warning, it wasn't fast enough to catch Akainu off guard. He confidently raised his fist to meet the blow. Akainu had absolute faith in his strength—no matter who the enemy was, no one could ignore a punch from him.

The clash erupted in the next instant, the shockwave powerful enough to shatter the frozen ground beneath them. But neither party pressed on—it was a single exchange, then they retreated.

The mysterious third figure moved to stand in front of Whitebeard, cautiously watching the surrounding Marines. Akainu glared darkly at this cloaked man who, once again, had appeared at a critical moment to protect Whitebeard.

"Who the hell are you? Why do you keep interfering? Do you even understand what this means?"

To Akainu's question, the cloaked man gave a simple seven-character response:

"Because he's my old man."

Hearing that, Akainu's expression darkened to the color of charcoal. That meant there was no room for negotiation—they were enemies, plain and simple.

But something confused Akainu: when did the Whitebeard Pirates gain another powerhouse like this?

Even though the earlier strike was rushed, Akainu could tell that this cloaked figure's strength was no joke—easily above the average elite, likely on par with a division commander. Someone like that should be known.

"You go back. I don't need you here."

After a brief rest, Whitebeard spoke up, ordering the cloaked man to stand down.

"Pops, Ace has already been rescued. As promised, I can fight now."

But this time, the cloaked man refused Whitebeard's command.

Sensing his resolve, Whitebeard didn't argue further. Though he permitted him to fight, he still shielded him with his own body, not letting him confront Akainu directly.

In the chaos, everyone overlooked an important detail—this "Ace" also had the powers of the Flame-Flame Fruit.

Akainu grew more suspicious. Why was Whitebeard giving such special treatment to this man? Their bond seemed as deep as with his core division commanders.

"Just a sneaky coward hiding behind a mask."

Unable to guess the man's identity, Akainu's mood worsened. All he could do was sneer bitterly.

"Hahahahahaha… Akainu brat, does talking make you feel better? You're just proving how helpless you are!"

Suppressing the pain in his body, Whitebeard resumed his fight with Akainu.

Meanwhile, the cloaked man didn't sit idle. He helped fend off all the incoming Marine officers.

"Ever been kicked by the speed of light?"

Just then, as the cloaked man was blocking attacks, a sly voice whispered in his ear, followed by a blinding flash of light in his peripheral vision.

"Watch out!"

Marco's warning came too late. Even though he was desperately fighting to stop Kizaru, the admiral managed to slip away. After all, if Kizaru truly wanted to move, there were few in the world who could stop him.

The moment he heard Kizaru's voice, the cloaked man's body tensed. A powerful sense of danger surged through him.

Just in time, he managed to cross his Haki-covered arms in front of himself—

BOOM!

With a loud crash, a figure was sent flying and slammed into a pile of rubble.

"Bastard!"

A furious roar came from the rubble. No one liked getting sneak-attacked.

"Aw, what happened there?"

Suddenly, the battlefield went silent. Everyone froze, stunned, their eyes locked on the figure buried in the debris. Shock was etched on every face—no one could speak.

And it wasn't just Marineford. People around the world watching the broadcast were equally stunned.

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

A second Ace?!

All eyes turned to the two identical faces, less than a kilometer apart.

Exactly the same appearance. Exactly the same build.

Not even Whitebeard's pirates, who had lived and fought with Ace for years, could tell who was who based on looks alone.

A cool breeze blew.

On the face of one Ace, a chilly sensation made him realize something—the cloak that had been covering his head had been blown off by the shockwave.

In that instant, his expression shifted.

Things just got complicated.

"Who the hell are you?!"

At that moment, Akainu was truly enraged. After all this time, the Ace who was supposed to be executed had not only been rescued, but now another Ace had appeared out of nowhere.

If this was true, then everything they'd done had been for nothing.

But the second Ace didn't answer. He wasn't sure if Katie's plan had fully succeeded, and if he revealed his identity now, it might ruin everything.

The brutal, chaotic war paused—because of the second Ace.

Until everyone figured out who was who, there was no point in continuing to fight.

"You're the real Ace, aren't you?"

Though the two looked identical, their Devil Fruit powers couldn't lie. Aokiji noted that only the Ace in front of him had used flames. The other Ace had never demonstrated any powers, suggesting he was likely a fake.

"Flame powers? Huh, I can do that too."

Ace seemed to guess what Aokiji was thinking. A small fireball ignited in his palm.

He hadn't used it before just to avoid exposing himself. But of course, he could use it too.

Aokiji fell silent. So did Akainu.

Even as admirals, they couldn't comprehend what they were seeing.

Looks and appearances could be imitated, sure.

But Devil Fruits were unique.

There had never been a case of two people with the same fruit at the same time.

So how could this be?

"What, dying to know who I am?"

This development hadn't been part of the original plan, but it didn't matter.

He was no longer on the execution platform, and his real identity had to be revealed eventually.

He couldn't complete the system's mission without it.

"Will you tell me?" Aokiji asked calmly, though inwardly he was deeply shaken.

"Why not?"

Ace—or whoever he was—grinned.

"If you want to know, I'll tell you."