Little Brother

Luffy reaches Whitebeard, warns him that Ace's execution has been pushed forward, and dashes toward the platform. The old captain stays calm, reasoning that Sengoku would only let such an order leak if his aim were to unsettle the crew, and Marco soon confirms the schedule change. Acting on the World Nobles' demand for the Straw Hat's capture, Kizaru prepares a light-charged strike, but Ivankov's Death Wink hurls Luffy clear. A second beam forces another dodge, and to Ivankov's dismay the shot comes from Kuma rather than the admiral. Hina's cage and Moria's shadow-fueled undead both fail, since Luffy slips loose in Gear Second and Jinbe, drenched in seawater, dissolves the zombies by exploiting their weakness to salt.

Roaring that the two of them are family, Luffy refuses Ace's command to leave even after Ace mocks the rescue as humiliating. The Fleet Admiral then exposes the boy's lineage to everyone present, declaring that this rookie shares a brotherhood oath with Ace and was fathered by the Revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon. The announcement detonates across the battlefield, with reporters scrambling to alert their offices and the Warlords reacting in their own ways. A mace-swinging giant nearly lands a finishing blow before the rubber pirate flattens it, the Gomu Gomu no Gigant Rifle sending the brute flying, and he swears he will free Ace at any cost.

An old bond between Kuma and Ivankov is implied through the latter's wounded reaction. Garp drops any pretense of secrecy, deciding the infamy Luffy has already gathered makes the truth pointless to hide, while Smoker links the revelation to Dragon's appearance years earlier at Loguetown. Whitebeard, taken with the boy's spirit, charges Marco never to allow him to die. The cover advances Brook's subplot, showing him compose music for a cult convinced it summoned him.