What's this? A chapter on a day that's not Friday? What madness as infected the mind of the author to bring about this unexpected phenomenon? The answer, my dear readers, is cabin fever. I'm going stir crazy and I'm sure many of you are as well, so I'm trying to inject your quarantined lives with a little more fun! Onto the War!

Chapter 136:
Truth and Lies

Steam exploded from Luffy's skin, clouding the surrounding area. Moria charged in, swiping his swords through the steam, but it dissipated without a hint of the pirate.

"Where did you go, little monkey~?" Moria called, trying to cover his nervousness.

"Jet Rifle."

"Grh!" Moria's swords fell from his hands, the appendages inching toward his neck where the twisted punch threatened to cave his throat. The fist opened, grabbing the vulnerable Warlord before Luffy yelled, flipping him. Moria groaned from where he'd been buried in the ice, the stolen shadows leaking from his mouth before dissipating into the air.

"You're weak, Moria. Without your army, you're nothing." He turned to the crowd, cracking his knuckles. "Who's next? I'm royally pissed off now."

"You aren't the only one, Straw Hat," a voice responded, its white-haired owner stepping through the scared ring of marines. Smoker eyed Luffy with a calm, if irritated, expression, smoke billowing from his duel cigars. He tapped his jitte against his shoulder lazily, accepting the glare Luffy leveled at him. "I've heard some things today I didn't want to. Now I've got some questions for you."

"Oh, Smokey," Luffy muttered, steam still rising from his glistening, pink skin. "I don't have time for that. Can we do it next time?"

"No," the commodore responded, leveling his jitte at the pirate as smoke started to billow from his sleeves. "We'll do this now. White Launcher!"

The marine's top half separated from his legs, leaving them behind to disperse while his torso shot toward Luffy. The pirate responded just as quickly, flinging supersonic punches at the approaching Logia. They were, of course, ineffective, doing nothing to slow the man's charge as they punched through his coming smoke body. Luffy growled, blurring away from view before Smoker's jitte stabbed the ice where the pirate had been standing.

"You're fast," the White Hunter commented. "Far faster than when we met in Loguetown."

"Thanks," Luffy grunted behind him, hands clenched to attack or defend at a moment's notice. "You're not going to let me pass, are you?"

"Of course not!" Tashigi yelled, forcing Luffy to duck under her slash from behind. Ripping a move from Sanji's playbook, Luffy pushed into a handstand, spinning a mule kick into the woman's gut. She grunted, sliding back over the ice, but this gave her commander an opening, smoke surrounding the pirate and carrying him into the sky.

Luffy renewed his Second Gear with a growl, the steam pushing Smoker's smoke away enough the free him from the gaseous binds. Again, the pirate's form blurred, dodging each of Smoker's grasping tendrils. Luffy pushed back, a snarl growing with each forced dodge. Losing some momentum, Luffy fell to a more-or-less empty part of the battlefield. The marines and pirates who were there backed away from the angry pirate. Some foolish marines, seeing a chance at promotion, charged the pirate only for a Gum-Gum Jet Gatling to beat them black and blue and into unconsciousness.

"That's enough," Smoker commented, landing several paces from the pirate. "Men, he's too much for you, so focus on the small fry." His warning given, the Commodore turned back toward Luffy, lowering his voice some. "That should be good. No one should hear us here."

"What, you want to talk now?" Luffy asked, defensive.

"You should be able to tell how strong I am. Do you really think my smoke would have let you go that easily?"

That brought Luffy up short. He knew Smoker was a dangerous opponent considering his Logia powers that didn't have a direct weakness like water or rubber, which made the pirate hesitant. A talk he could run from might be better than a fight he couldn't win.

Normally Luffy wouldn't have even considered the possibility, but there was a lot he needed to get back to. He could feel it.

"So what do you want?" Luffy asked.

"I talked to Tri-Horn before this all started," the marine began, lowering his weapon. "He told me you pirates have been doing the Marines' job for them, so I want to ask you... why aren't you a marine like your grandfather?"

Luffy blinked. "I... I don't hate them. And though I might have told Grandpa I hated him, that's not quite true, either. Thing is, I can't do all the ranks and protocols the Marines demand. I want to pick my own friends and go where I want to go. That and I have a lot of bad blood with the Celestial Dragons since they killed mine and Ace's brother when we were younger. Our dream was to be free, and he... He had it for only a moment. My dream is to be the King of the Pirates because that title carries the freedom to do whatever I want. That and a pirate saved my life when I was little. Why?"

"Alabasta... shook my faith," Smoker admitted, pressing down his anger at the story of a third brother. "The Government lied about you taking down Crocodile and gave me a promotion for it. A promotion I didn't earn. I wanted to understand why you did it. Why act like a hero?"

"I'm no hero," Luffy chuckled mirthlessly. "Heroes share their meat and I want it all for me and my crew. Truth is, I'm selfish, Smokey. I do what I do to protect my friends so I don't lose them like I lost my brother years ago. That's why."

"Are you telling me that every big name you took down was because someone asked you to?"

"Or they attacked us first," Luffy answered with a small shrug. "You want a list?"

"'Ax-Hand' Morgan?"

"For Coby and Zoro."

"Kuro of a Thousand Plans?"

"Usopp and Syrup Village."

"'Commodore' Don Krieg?"

"Sanji and the old chef guy."

"Arlong?"

"For Nami and her village."

"Buggy the Clown and 'Iron Mace' Alvida?"

"Buggy attacked us and Alvida held Coby hostage for two years."

"Crocodile?"

"For... Well, I'm probably not supposed to say."

"It was the princess, wasn't it? She befriended you somehow." Luffy didn't answer, which was all Smoker needed. He nodded. "So that's how it is. And I know you attacked Enies Lobby for Nico Robin and defeated Gecko Moria shortly thereafter..." He paused. "And 'Golden Lion' Shiki?"

"Again, for Nami," Luffy growled, his hands fisting at the memory. "That bastard asked for it. He abducted my wife and left us to die on his crazy islands, so we ruined him. That and he wanted to destroy the East Blue. That's my home and the home of half my crew. Their families live there. I won't let them get hurt if I can help it. That's why I claimed their islands as my turf."

"So all your heroic acts were for selfish causes?" Smoker thought aloud.

"The closest thing you'll find to a hero is Coby," Luffy responded. "He's the one who wants to protect everyone. He's the one who demanded we fight slavers near Sabaody. He's the one who had to be held back from storming Maris-whatever to free the slaves there... You know, everyone on my crew has a big dream."

"Yeah?" Smoker quirked an eyebrow. Information on wanted pirates was always welcome. "Do tell."

"Well, I want to be King of the Pirates, right? And Zoro wants to beat Mihawk and be the World's Greatest Swordsman. And Nami want's to make a map of the whole world. We have dreams like that, and we chose to fulfill those dreams together."

"Where are you going with this?" Smoker pressed, circling Luffy to give off the impression they there weren't just talking.

"Coby wants to be strong enough to right every wrong he sees," Luffy answered, moving in tandem without thinking about it. "He wants to be the sort of person who does what's right, no matter what happens to him. That's why, when I'm the King, we're going to run through that Holy Land place and free all the slaves. Not because I care about that, but because Coby does, even if I want a shot at the bastard who killed by brother. That's Coby's Dream."

Silence stretched between them for several seconds, growing heavier as Smoker considered the pirate's words. He couldn't say he agreed with the motives, but good works born of selfishness still brought about good in the end. A "salvageable hypocrisy" one could call it. Still, one thing didn't sit well.

"You've killed good marines," Smoker said.

"I hate killing," Luffy sighed, lowering his defenses slightly. "I even had to ban killing as a rule because of Gin, but I won't let my friends die because they were holding back when the stakes get high. Wouldn't you do the same?"

"I've killed, yeah..." The silence returned as the marine came to a decision. "I won't help you, Straw Hat, but... I want Tri-Horn to live. There's a good in him I can't help but admire. A good the Marines are poorer to not have in their ranks. So... punch me."

Luffy blinked. "What?"

"Punch me. I'll go down and you can push ahead. What are you waiting for?"

"Whatever you say, Smokey," Luffy replied, throwing his arm back. "Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Smoker willed himself to stay tangible, and his face hated him for it. Luffy's fists were just as hard as the marine suspected they would be, but he'd underestimated the force Luffy's rubber powers granted him. Despite saying he'd act, the marine was hard pressed to stay conscious as the pirate ran by.

'I keep letting you go, Straw Hat,' Smoker thought as he fell to the ice. 'Why are you so... decent?'

Luffy, however, had no thoughts of such matters because he was about to experience another delay. Something clicked in his mind, the teen skidding to a stop inches away from a green wall that slashed through the air, bisecting pirates and marines in a line across the battlefield where he would have been. Turning toward the attack's origin as it faded, the pirate's eyes widened in recognition.

"It's you," Luffy said as the man approached, his massive black sword resting on his shoulders. "'Hawk-eye' Mihawk. The World's Greatest Swordsman."

"You may be all but the ward of Shanks, but we find ourselves on opposing sides," Mihawk stated as he stopped, his cold, yellow eyes doing their pierce Luffy with just a look. "It is time for your fate to clash with mine, let's find whose destiny is greater!" Mihawk's Black Blade moved, sending another green slash hurtling toward the Pirate.

"Shit!" Luffy cried, leaping out of the way. "Dammit! It's just one strong guy after another!"

"Come now," Mihawk said, throwing another slash. "What happened to that conviction I saw at the Baratié?"

"I don't have time to mess around," Luffy growled as he dodged. "I'm not even a swordsman. Doesn't that go against some rule?"

"There are few rules in war," Mihawk denied, "and this is no sword duel."

Behind Luffy, somewhere in the pirate ranks though he wasn't going to look away from his foe to find out, a dust devil rose to free Crocodile. That tornado scooped up a contingent of convicts and a few marines, tossing them across the ice. Luffy renewed his Second Gear, though he was starting to feel the strain of using it for so long, to keep up with the World's Greatest Swordsman.

A minute before

"Crocodile," Whitebeard said, staring out over the battle. His eyes drifted to where Straw Hat and a white-haired marine circled each other. "You've come to kill me. Is that right?"

"Yeah, it is," the former Warlord answered carefully, eyeing the Haki-coated blades at his throat. "It's because of you that I lost my hand and got this scar. I think it's warranted."

"I understand that," the Yonko muttered, glancing over his shoulder to look at his fellow pirate. "However, this is a different time and place. We have a common enemy. Can we not make a deal?"

"A deal?" Crocodile asked. "You think I'll trust you?"

"The enemy of my enemy," Whitebeard waved. "Would you rather see the Marines win this battle? Help me fight them and we can have our duel later, just you and me, but we have to handle this now."

The two pirates stared, a war of wills without Haki happening between them. Simultaneously, the two grinned; the kind of grin only troublemakers in cahoots can have.

Coby, Ace, and Sengoku watched these events unfold from their podium, the Fleet Admiral growing steadily more serious. The dust devil summoned by Crocodile tore through the battlefield like other attacks before, increasing the chaos before a marine sprinted up the stairs.

"Fleet Admiral!" he panted, saluting. "The preparations are complete!"

"Good," Sengoku nodded, sending a shiver down the spines of the prisoners. He awoke his personal snail before bringing it to his lips. "All Marines! We are ready to move forward. Cut all videofeeds immediately. The World needs only know that we won. They do not need to see this carnage or the carnage to come. As soon as all feeds are cut off, we will execute the prisoners. Men, retreat into the plaza and hold the line! Sentomaru, now."

Down below, the increasing battle between Luffy and Mihawk was interrupted, a beam of yellow energy hitting the ice between them and exploding. Both combatants looked back the way from whence it came to see Sentomaru and a veritable wall of identical Kumas. The small (from the platform), blue-haired figure of Ivankov seemed befuddled, their (his?) gaze switching between the unmoving Kuma at the front of the battle and the wall at the back.

"This is Sentomaru," the man's voice called from the snail in the Fleet Admiral's hand. "What gives? I thought all the pirates would be in the bay by now?"

"Whitebeard saw through my bait," Sengoku answered. "Follow through with the attack. Destroy the rear."

"Understood." The snail clicked off, the line of Warlord lookalikes in the distance simultaneously readying lasers to fire onto the invaders. Mihawk moved to attack Straw Hat again, but he was intercepted by one of the few invaders with the skills to match him; 'Flower Sword' Vista of the Whitebeard Pirates. Those on the platform couldn't hear him, but Luffy scurried away and renewed his sprint toward the platform.

Explosions littered the back battlefield, incinerating pirates by the dozens. That was where neither Coby or Ace focused. Rather, they watched Luffy's approach until they heard Sengoku growl.

"Why aren't the feeds cut yet?" he demanded to a marine below. The man saluted.

"Sir! It appears some of the escaped prisoners got a hold of a video transponder snail somehow!"

"Then kill them and get it back!" the elder marine snarled, as if it was the most obvious command of the day.

"Well, sir, we're trying," the marine below gulped. "The ones on the outside refuse to budge while the innermost seem to be putting on some sort of live commercial."

Ace snorted. He couldn't help himself.

"The leader of the group seems to be Buggy the Clown," the man continued.

Coby snorted. He couldn't help himself. He and Ace currently owed their lives to Buggy of all people. Simply because he was trying to be flashy, Coby bet. Suddenly, however, Coby's soft chuckles seemed unbearably loud, as if he were the only one making any noise. He looked up and froze.

In the center of the battlefield, on the bow of the Moby Dick, 'Whirl Spider' Squard stood with his massive sword through Whitebeard's chest.

"Pops!" Ace screamed, straining against his bonds. "Squard, you bastard! What have you done?!"

"If I recall correctly," Sengoku began, the faintest hint of a smirk hidden in his lips as the traitorous pirate pulled his sword free, "then the Whirl Spider's first crew was killed off by the Roger Pirates years ago. I'm sure he didn't take too kindly to you being the son of that man."

"But..." Ace faltered as blood flowed from Whitebeard's new wound. "Squard and I are friends. He'd never..."

"Rage makes people do foolish things," Coby muttered, thinking of his own reaction to the Celestial Dragons. "Even face certain death."

"I know you did it!" Squard's voice echoed into the near silence, loud enough that the allied pirates could all hear. Blood dripped from the sword wound on the unmoving Emperor. "You made a deal with the Marines! You staged this whole war and agreed to trade us all for the son of that monster! That's why you didn't want us in the plaza where your crew can fake it all! You made that ice wall to block off our escape! I guess some children are worth more than others, huh?"

The allied captains at the rear metaphorically staggered, a palpable doubt rising from their ranks.

"Squard, what the fuck?!" Ace cried. "Pops would never...!"

"Aokiji," Sengoku muttered into his snail. "Now."

No one noticed, too focused on the drama unfolding on the pirate ship, but that was the moment when the video feeds cut off around the world, leaving the populace with only the bitter taste of Whitebeard's supposed betrayal of his allies.

What happened next, and what the world missed, shattered any thoughts like that for the rest the warriors.

Whitebeard knelt, though he still towered over the average-sized Squard, wrapping the man in a hug with his free hand while giving no mind the blood dripping down his front. His words were too low for anyone else to hear, but they watched Squard drop his giant sword and return the hug as well as he could, crying all the while. Squard remained kneeling as the elder pirate stood, slamming his hands into and shattering air on either side. The massive, frozen waves that ringed Marineford mimicked the air, breaking until nothing remained.

"My children!" Whitebeard called. "The Marines will do anything and everything to break your faith, but I will do nothing to stop them! Those of you who choose to stay do so of your own free will! Will you help me save my son?"

A veritable wall of sound slammed into the platform as the pirates regrouped, commandeering Marine battleships and leaping back into the fray. Whitebeard himself no longer stayed idle, grabbing Murakumogiri and jumping from his perch into the battle below. The Fleet Admiral's smirk fell away.

"Oh fuck me," Sengoku cursed.

End of Chapter 136

Sooooo, I know it feels like this war has been mostly Canon up to this point, and it has been to some degree since we don't have any of the new crewmembers here and Canon!Coby and Canon!Helmeppo didn't do shit until Coby saved Luffy at the end. That being said, Things here take a hard left turn at the end of the next chapter, which will come out on Friday. Trust me, this war's ramifications will be quite a bit different than the one you know. Anyway~

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods