Foreword: This is the final chapter of pre-timeskip. What a wild ride it's been writing this story. Unfortunately, post-timeskip material gets generally way more complicated in terms of tracking events because the arcs start to have way more moving parts that makes writing more challenging. As a result, I'll be taking a short break from updating in order to give myself more breathing room, roughly a month. I promise I won't be gone too long, but if I don't take a defined hiatus now, I run the risk of the updates catching all the way up to my writing, and then I'm one bad spell of writer's block away from an indefinite hiatus, and no one wants that. So, enjoy the wrap up to Marineford, and I'll see y'all in February! Thank you all so much for your support!
In the blink of an eye, the news spread through the world. The Whitebeard Pirates failed to save Roger's son, Ace, and lost their captain. At the age of seventy two, Edward Newgate, the equal of even the Pirate King, the great captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, died in battle that day at Marineford. There he led his crew against the combined forces of Navy Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and after an epic struggle, breathed his last.
"Ze ha ha ha. Now, let's begin!" exclaimed Blackbeard, throwing a large black cloth over Whitebeard's body, claiming to give everyone the "greatest show in the world" before ducking underneath it.
The Whitebeard Pirates were in full retreat, and had even made it onto the ship to escape. They were going to make it. With Akainu dead and Aokiji heeding Itachi's warning, it fell on Kizaru to pursue them and prevent their escape. A few of the pirates hung back to try and stall him, but to little effect. Itachi wanted to turn around and go to fight back, but he was simply too worn out to do much of anything. He didn't even have enough chakra left for a simple Fireball Justu, let alone any of his more powerful techniques. All he could do was honor his former captain's final wish, and head for the escape ship.
Blackbeard emerged from under the cloth, and demonstrated the power of his Yami Yami no Mi with his left hand, and, to the utter shock of the entire world, the power of Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi in his right hand. He once again rocked the foundations of Marineford with the Gura Gura powers, proclaiming that with both of these abilities, he was truly invincible.
"Tell the world! To all you commoners who love boring peace! To the Navy! To the World Government! And to all pirates! The future of the world has just been decided! Ze ha ha ha! As of today, my era begins! And I think I'm gonna kick it off by sinking Marineford!"
Before he could carry out this course of action, however, Sengoku attacked, once again in his Buddha form, the shock wave of the strike not only hitting Blackbeard, but everyone in his crew as well, dealing massive damage.
Meanwhile, Jinbe was nearly at the escape ship with Luffy. Kizaru soon caught up to them, seeking to take out Luffy.
"Normally, I'd call it quits by now," he said, "But seeing as my fellow Admiral was killed trying to take down Straw Hat, I feel I owe it to him to finish what he started."
Kizaru pelted Jinbe with beams of light , severely wounding Jinbe and sending him crashing to the ground. Unfortunately, the unconscious Luffy was caught in the crossfire, and suffered several wounds to the chest. These would later go on to leave many scars which resembled bullet wounds.
As Kizaru moved in to finish off Jinbe and Luffy, Crocodile stepped between them, stating that even though he hates Straw Hat, he would rather see him escape than see the Navy win. He used his sand powers to conjure a whirlwind, launching Jinbe and Luffy into the air, right into the path of a fleeing Buggy, who, despite his angry protests, proceeded to carry them through the air towards the escape ship. Jinbe stressed the importance of getting Luffy to a doctor. Suddenly, the submarine of the Heart Pirates surfaced, and Trafalgar Law yelled for Buggy to throw Luffy down to him, stating that he'd take care of his wounds.
Meanwhile, reinforcements for the Navy arrived, and were flooding the battlefield in an effort to capture or kill the remaining pirates. The battle between Blackbeard and Sengoku continued, with the former using his newly acquired powers to nullify the attacks of the latter. The Navy Battleships began targeting Law's submarine, but just as they were about to fire, Blackbeard used the same technique as Whitebeard to tilt the land and sea on its axis, causing the cannons to accidentally either miss their mark, or worse, hit each other.
Coby suddenly began to hear the inner voices of the people around him, and could feel each one getting snuffed out as more and more people were killed. Eventually it overwhelmed his senses, and he sank to his knees, on the verge of tears. It got to the point that he couldn't take it anymore, and he took off running, tears streaming down his face.
Kizaru, who had managed to push past Crocodile, was taking aim to sink Law's submarine. Law finally talked Buggy into throwing Luffy and Jinbe down to him, allowing him to give the order to submerge. Just as Kizaru was about to fire, Coby stepped in front of him, asking what the point was in continuing to fight. The Navy had already won; Whitebeard and Ace were both dead, and the pirates no longer had the will to fight, so what was the point in continuing to send their own people to their deaths?
"You know, boy," said Kizaru. "If Akainu were here in my position, he'd probably kill you for daring to impede him. Fortunately for you, I'm not him, but you are still in my way, so if you don't step out, I'll have to remove you by force."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that until I get an answer to my question," said Coby firmly.
"Very well," sighed Kizaru, raising his leg to aim a kick. "This won't kill you, but you're gonna feel it."
Kizaru's kick was intercepted before it could reach its mark by a long saber, wielded by another Yonko; Red-Haired Shanks and his crew had arrived on the battlefield. He turned and picked up the straw hat that had fallen off of Luffy during Kizaru's last attack, and tossed it to Buggy, asking him to take it back to Luffy for him, even going so far as to bribe him with a treasure map. He then calmly advanced towards the inner plaza of Marineford in order to address Blackbeard and Sengoku directly.
"To go on fighting will only lead to more loss of life on both sides. But if any of you still wants to fight, come on! We'll be your opponents!" He looked over towards Blackbeard. "How about you, Teach? You wanna fight us?"
"Ze ha ha ha! I'll pass! I got what I came for, and it's not yet time for me to fight you! Let's go, men!"
As Blackbeard and his crew walked away, Shanks continued. "Everybody, listen. Withdraw now, and allow me to save face. We'll see to the burial of Whitebeard and Ace. You've already broadcast the battle throughout the world. I won't allow you to go on making a spectacle of their deaths."
Some Marines tried to protest this, stating that they had the right as victors to use their severed heads as examples, but Sengoku shut them down, agreeing to Shanks's terms and declaring the Summit War to be over.
The remaining pirates were allowed to leave, including Itachi, and Boa Hancock commandeered a Navy vessel to pursue Law's submarine in order to check on Luffy, and Iva, Inazuma, and dozens of prisoners from Impel Down stowed away on the ship to escape. Whitebeard and Ace's bodies were recovered and handed over to the pirates so they could give them a proper burial. The news of the Navy's victory spread throughout the world, though it hardly brought peace. Whitebeard's dying words spurred on a whole new Era of Piracy, and the islands that were formerly part of Whitebeard's territory were suddenly up for grabs, with numerous small-time pirates around the world carving out chunks of territory for themselves in a vain effort to fill the power vacuum. Soon after, Big Mom and Kaido, the other two Yonko, muscled those small-timers out, claiming vast swaths of Whitebeard's old turf.
Sengoku was informed of just how bad the situation was over at Impel Down in the wake of Blackbeard's plan, and became enraged when he was informed that the World Government ordered it to be covered up.
Boa caught up to Law's submarine, and demanded a progress report on Luffy's condition. Law informed her that while he was still alive at the moment, it was touch and go with no guarantee of survival. She borrowed one of their Transponder Snails and had her crew come pick them up and carry the submarine across the Calm Belt in their specialty ships to Amazon Lily, where he would be able to recuperate, safely hidden from the Navy. After a lengthy discussion, an exception was made to the ban on men. Law and his crew were allowed to drop anchor in the bay of Amazon Lily so that he could see to Luffy's injuries safely. Two weeks passed before Luffy finally awoke, going absolutely berserk over the fate of Ace. Jinbe had to track him down in order to prevent him from overdoing it and opening up his wounds.
Jinbe forced him to confront the reality of Ace's death, as well as the loss of his confidence. As long as Luffy was consumed with regret, he would never be able to grow stronger. Jinbe asked him if he still had something worth holding onto in this world, causing him to remember his friends: Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Itachi, and Brook.
Later that day, Rayleigh made his way to Amazon Lily by way of swimming. Once Jinbe and Luffy made their way back to the bay area, he was waiting for them. Law's group had already departed. Over a feast provided by Boa and the Kuja Pirates, Rayleigh informed him that there was no way he was ready to take on the New World as he was, and he offered Luffy the option to train with him for two years before meeting back up with his crew.
Several days later, Luffy arrives back at Marineford, flanked by Rayleigh and Jinbe. He easily takes down the Marines blocking his path, allowing him to reach the Ox Bell, ringing it sixteen times to signify the end of an era, and taking a moment of silence to honor those who fell during the Summit War. The reporters on hand take pictures, publishing them in the newspaper for the world to see, including shots of his right arm, which now had the message "3D2Y" inked onto it.
Around the world, the individual Straw Hats received the message, and understood perfectly.
Itachi, who had gone with Marco after piecing together that Luffy must have been sent to Amazon Lily, and that was likely where he was hiding now, was sitting at a bar reading the newspaper article containing the critical message. He hadn't bothered tracking down Luffy because he was well aware of Amazon Lily's policy on men. Luffy was likely the sole exception. As he continued reading, Marco sat down next to him at the bar with two drinks in his hand, sliding one down the bar to Itachi.
"Hello, old friend," said Itachi, "How are you holding up?"
"In all honesty, Itachi, still pretty badly. We lost everything the other day. Pops and Ace are both dead, the Moby Dick is gone, and so many of our own lost their lives in this war. We were utterly defeated. The only silver lining is that you managed to kill Akainu in order to avenge Ace."
"True. We lost a lot at Marineford," admitted Itachi. "But there is one more silver lining. Pops knew this would be the end for him, one way or the other. He died on his own terms, standing in defiance of the Navy, and of Blackbeard, and his dying words ushered forth a new era, just like Roger before him."
"I guess you have a point there. Still, it doesn't quite feel real, you know? Almost like this is some terrible nightmare that I can't wake up from."
"Unfortunately, this is reality, and we have to accept it, whether we like it or not. Although that doesn't make any of it easier to swallow. I know how you must feel, Marco. I've definitely been there before," said Itachi, remembering the day he was given the order to murder the Uchiha clan.
"Something in your past, I assume. You know, Itachi, this is the most you've ever opened up to us. Even when you were a Whitebeard Pirate, you were so reluctant to talk about yourself. You always just flashed that signature smile of yours and said 'it's a secret'. Drove a lot of us crazy, but in time, we just came to accept that as a part of who you were. This is the first time you've ever brought up your past unprompted, even if it's in just a small way."
"I'm sorry for that," replied Itachi. "I still wasn't quite used to life on the open sea. Being around the Straw Hats has been good for me, I think. I find myself coming out of my shell more."
"I see. That's good to hear! What do you think it is about them that's so special?"
"Before I answer that, I'd like to ask a favor of you, Marco."
"Anything for you, friend. What do you need?"
"Train me. My captain won't be ready to reconvene for a while yet, so I'd like to use that time to strengthen myself and my Haki, in order to be more prepared for the New World."
"Interesting," replied Marco. "Not that I wouldn't do it anyways, but say I did refuse unless you told me more about you. Would that be cause for you to reconsider?"
"No," said Itachi with zero hesitation. "He's my captain, and it's my responsibility to ensure he has the best chance possible to succeed. Thatch showed me the basics of Haki back in the day, but I need to strengthen it on its baseline, and the best way to do that is to regularly use it in fights, preferably in fights with someone whose Haki is stronger than mine. Train with me so I can be stronger, and I'll answer any question you may have about me."
"You're saying, as strong as you already are, you need my help, and you're willing to divulge all those "secrets" of yours?
"Yes. So please, Marco. Will you train with me until it comes time to once again go our separate ways?"
Marco pretended to think about it for more than a split second. "Of course, old pal. I was planning on heading to Whitebeard's home island to offer my services as a doctor to them, but since you're willing to go so far for your friends, and since you showed up to help us out at Marineford, I'd feel bad if I didn't do the same, so being a doctor can wait until you go back to your crew. Once we get there, you'd better be ready, 'cause I ain't gonna take it easy on ya!"
"I wouldn't expect any less from you," said Itachi.
"By the way, check this out. There's been an update on your bounty." Marco pulled a piece of paper from inside his jacket, unrolling it for Itachi to read. It was a new Wanted poster, with an updated picture of him from Marineford.
"Wanted dead or alive, 'Red Eyes' Itachi, bounty of…" Itachi read aloud, pausing when he saw the new price on his head. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised; I did kill an Admiral, after all."
"Congratulations, pal," said Marco cheerfully. "You're a Billion Berry Pirate now!"
Meanwhile, Rayleigh, Luffy, Hancock, and Jinbe landed on an abandoned island northwest of Amazon Lily. Rayleigh demonstrated the three types of Haki to Luffy, who vowed to train his Haki to become stronger.
The remaining Straw Hats in their respective locations also received the message, and began their own journeys.
And so, for two years the Straw Hat Pirates toiled and trained, dedicated to becoming strong enough to make it in the New World.