Kaidi had been eyeing the valuable items in the system shop for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that he only had 350,300 exchange points—far less than what he needed—he would've redeemed them long ago.
After all, the things he wanted all started at a million points. The cheaper items wouldn't help him much, so there was no point in exchanging for them.
At the same time, Luffy and the others who had escaped from prison had arrived—but their location was rather awkward: on top of a giant ice sheet, over a hundred meters high.
They arrived just as Whitebeard had triggered the massive tsunami. Their ship had been swept up into the air, and before they could fall, Aokiji had frozen the tsunami completely, forcing their ship to land at the topmost part of the ice.
"Jinbei, where are we?"
Anxious to save Ace, Luffy had no time to think logically anymore.
"Luffy, come look at this."
Unlike Luffy, Jinbei quickly realized the significance of the hundred-meter-high ice block—without a doubt, it was the power of Admiral Aokiji. That meant they had arrived at Marineford.
As expected, when they reached the edge of the ice and looked down, they were met with a vast, large-scale war. The sheer scale of the battlefield left everyone in shock.
"Jinbei, Ivankov, help me! Let's break off this chunk of ice and slide down!"
While the others were still stunned by the magnitude of the war, Luffy had already come up with a plan to descend—though it was certainly risky.
"Alright!"
Without further discussion, the three of them got to work. Even Crocodile, who was standing to the side, joined in.
With the four of them working together, they broke off a corner of the iceberg. Without its support, the entire ship, along with everyone on it, plunged straight down.
"AAAHHH!!"
The drop—over a hundred meters—scared the life out of everyone. They had no protection at all, and if they landed on the hard ice below, they'd likely die!
Luffy and his group made an entrance so dramatic that it was impossible not to be noticed.
And so, under the gaze of everyone on the battlefield, they were lucky enough to fall into the hole Jozu had smashed into the ice, plunging straight into the sea.
"Is this a Marine sneak attack?"
Faced with the sudden appearance of an unknown group, both Marines and pirates were immediately on high alert. On this battlefield, even the slightest carelessness could mean death—no one could afford to let their guard down.
"They're the escaped prisoners from Impel Down! Attack them!"
The Marines were the first to react. They had long been aware of Luffy and his group, especially since they were still wearing their prison uniforms, clearly exposing their identity.
Seeing the Marines attack, the pirates instead relaxed. After all, the enemy of their enemy was a friend. Though they didn't know who these newcomers were exactly, they now considered them comrades in battle and even began helping fend off Marine attacks.
"Ace! Where are you? ACE! ACE! ACE!"
At that moment, Luffy had only one thought in mind: Ace. He ran desperately across the battlefield, searching for any sign of his brother.
Finally, after many failed attempts, Luffy spotted a familiar figure. Even though the distance was great, he recognized Ace instantly.
At that moment, he grinned like a fool.
"Ace! I finally found you! Hang on! I'm coming to save you!"
Luffy's shout not only reached Kaidi's ears but echoed across the entire battlefield, drawing the attention of many.
"Garp! That damned brat again!"
Seeing Luffy's arrogant entrance, Sengoku could no longer contain his fury and exploded at Garp.
Sengoku knew all too well about Straw Hat Luffy—not just because of Garp, but even more because of Luffy's own actions.
He hadn't just attacked Enies Lobby, the CP9 headquarters—he also burned the flag of the World Government, a symbol of power respected by its allied nations for centuries. That act ended an 800-year legend of Enies Lobby's invincibility.
And that wasn't all—he even managed to escape the Buster Call with his crew, causing tremendous humiliation for the Marines.
And to top it off, he had the audacity to publicly punch a Celestial Dragon on the Sabaody Archipelago.
If the Enies Lobby incident had only embarrassed the Marines, then assaulting a Celestial Dragon had humiliated the entire World Government.
Because of these two incidents, Sengoku had completely lost faith in Garp—he had raised yet another troublesome individual who constantly brought shame to the Navy.
"Heh heh heh… That's my grandson for you!"
Garp ignored Sengoku's rage, using laughter to mask his own embarrassment.
But his eyes turned to Ace beside him. For some reason, Garp felt that something was wrong. Ace seemed too quiet today—he hadn't reacted to Whitebeard's arrival or Luffy's entrance. He simply lowered his head in silence.
Though puzzled, Garp didn't press the matter. He already felt guilty enough for being unable to help Ace, and he didn't know what to say.
On the other side of the battlefield, Jinbei had immediately sought out Whitebeard.
"Father… I'm sorry, I—"
Before Jinbei could finish, Whitebeard raised a hand to stop him.
"There's no need to apologize. You've already done more than enough for me. And that brat did help us. Since that's the case, we shouldn't be stingy either."
"Besides, the Marines have been getting more and more arrogant these past two years. They've dared to reach into my territory. Might as well use this chance to teach them a lesson."
Jinbei had no choice but to relent. Things had already escalated far beyond his control.
"Jinbei, what do you think of Kaidi?"
Faced with this unexpected question from Whitebeard, Jinbei paused. Though he hadn't interacted much with Kaidi, the impression he left was strong. After a moment of thought, he gave his answer.
"There's no denying he's powerful, daring, and extremely talented. He's definitely someone who will become important in the future."
"But… he's also an ambitious man. I don't know why, but he gives me a very hard-to-read feeling. It's like he's shrouded in mist mysterious."
Jinbei spoke earnestly.
"Whoa now… that's rare praise coming from you. When Ace first joined the crew, you didn't say anything like that."
Whitebeard was visibly surprised. Jinbei had incredibly high standards—when Ace joined, Jinbei had only commented on his talent, nothing more. The difference between the two was stark.
"It's different. Ace is clearly one of our kind. But he's not."
Hearing that, Whitebeard couldn't help but look toward the man on the execution platform impersonating Ace. His deep gaze revealed the stirrings in his heart, though no one could say what he was really thinking.