One Piece Thundergod Marine

"You are…"

Luffy stared blankly at the figure that had suddenly stepped forward.

He felt that the young man in front of him looked familiar, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall where he had seen him before.

It was Kuma, however, who reacted. Upon seeing the young man, his pupils contracted, and in a mechanical, emotionless voice, he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The plan… was not like this…"

"I know."

Sabo, looking sorrowfully at the fallen Kuma, slowly pulled down his hood. "But I believe the Celestial Dragon isn't so easy to deal with. That's why I prepared all of this without telling you."

"I'm sorry, Kuma!"

Sabo's apology wasn't for keeping his arrival a secret from Kuma, but for exposing himself— Revolutionary Army's new leader—in front of the Marines, potentially endangering the entire movement.

"…"

Kuma didn't respond. He just lay there motionless, as if he were dead.

"Now, please take a good rest. I'll take care of things with Luffy."

Sabo spoke softly before turning around to face Luffy, who suddenly burst into tears, his nose running and emotions overflowing.

"Why? Surprised to see me?"

"Sabo!!"

Luffy wailed loudly, rushing forward. "We all thought… we thought…"

"That I was dead, right?"

Sabo smiled. "Sorry for keeping it from you for so long. Actually, I met Ace a few years ago, and we wanted to surprise you, so we didn't tell you."

"Ace knew too?!" Luffy shouted in disbelief, his face scrunching with frustration. "That jerk! When I see him, I'm gonna beat him up real good!"

"Oh? Someone wants to beat me up? My little brother, no less?"

At that moment, a lighthearted voice rang out.

Luffy looked up in shock. The young man tossing a knife back and forth in one hand as he walked toward them— wasn't that his older brother Ace, who had set sail three years before him?!

The long-awaited reunion of the three brothers, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy— a moment left unfulfilled in the original story— was happening now.

"I should have known he'd come too… Well, since Sabo is here, it's only natural Ace would come as well," Rowen mused quietly.

Just like how Luffy had desperately tried to save Ace when he was captured in the original story, if the roles were reversed, it made sense that Ace would rush to save Luffy now.

This also explained why Sabo had shown up so late—he had likely been tracking Ace in the first half of the Grand Line with the help of the Revolutionary Army's intelligence network, bringing him along to save their foolish little brother, Luffy.

However…

Just the two of them? That's a bit too arrogant, isn't it?

Bang!

Suddenly, Haoshoku Haki burst into the air. Dark purple lightning crackled through the sky, filling the space with an oppressive force that made everyone feel like a giant weight was pressing down on their chests, making it hard to breathe.

The trio paused in their reunion. Sabo pulled his hat down low and retrieved the weapon slung on his back— a simple iron pipe (yes, really)— with a grin. "Alright, enough catching up."

"Luffy, take this!"

With that, Sabo pulled a straw hat from behind him and tossed it to the stunned Luffy.

"Our people have already taken your crewmates, Nami and Sanji. Now get on your ship and leave. We'll handle the rest."

"What?"

Ain, one of the Marines present, was taken aback.

"That's impossible!!"

Rowen blinked, a bad feeling stirring within him. "Ain, by the way, where did you imprison them?"

As mentioned earlier, Rowen's Heavenly Network couldn't detect what was hidden behind thick walls. When he had gone to the "roof," Sanji and Nami had already been taken away, and since he hadn't found them, he hadn't thought much of it.

But now…

"Naturally, I had them locked up at my place. I asked Monet to keep an eye on them."

Ain's face darkened, her teeth clenched in frustration as she demanded of Sabo, "What did you do to Monet?!"

Rowen: "…"

**Σ(д;)!!!**

Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!!

She was staying with you?! When did that happen?! And why didn't I know about it?!

Fall, you sly fox!!

The only thing that comforted Rowen slightly was that Ain didn't seem to hold any grudges against him at the moment; instead, she was concerned about her… roommate? 

Sabo chuckled. "Don't worry, Ain, we didn't harm her. She chose to step aside, so we naturally didn't attack someone who wasn't an enemy."

Then, recalling the report from his subordinates, Sabo couldn't help but twitch.

After all, Monet, in her meditative, detached state, had likely only been halfheartedly fulfilling Ain's request. Once she realized that the Revolutionary Army was determined to take Sanji and Nami, she had simply sat back down and continued her painting, even telling them:

"Close the door behind you, it's windy."

Leaving the Revolutionary Army members utterly dumbfounded.

How could someone like that be trusted to guard prisoners?

Sabo really wanted to ask, **"Are you out of your mind?!"**

But perhaps he had forgotten that he wasn't the only one losing his mind here.

"No, I'm not leaving!"

Suddenly, Luffy stepped forward, placing himself between Sabo and Ace.

"I'm happy you guys came to rescue me, but this is our Straw Hat Pirates' problem!"

"So…"

Luffy raised his head, grinning widely.

"We'll all leave together!!"

"How arrogant!!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the sky above darkened, and bolts of silver lightning twisted wildly. Thunderous bolts as thick as barrels slammed down like towering trees connecting the sea and sky, illuminating the world with a blinding white light.

"Danger!"

Among the three, Ace was the most familiar with Rowen. Realizing the incoming attack, he crossed his arms and shouted.

**"Enjomo - Blaze Net!"**

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap resounded as a massive wall of flames appeared over the trio's heads. In a flash of thunder, the fire was shattered, but it brought enough time for the other two to dodge the lightning strike.

"Luffy, now's not the time to be stubborn. Take your crew and leave! Otherwise, we're all going to die here!"

(End Of Chapter)

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