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Chapter Text

A boy sporting multiple injuries all over his body,who was no older than seventeen drops to his knees, exhaustion racking his thin frame. He had recently just freed the second division commander from his certain execution and was in the middle of running to safety when someone, who he has still yet to know their name, had bad mouthed the commander's adoptive father,who was also his captain. Being unstable and emotional at that moment perhaps is why he had snapped and turned around, completely throwing the idea of getting to safety out the window, forgetting in the heat of the moment of said captain's order to flee and began to slowly walk to the marine, flames flickering at his shoulders.

The boy vaguely takes note of his older brother fighting against..He winced as his head throbbed painfully as he's starting to feel the aftereffects of --Iba?, Kia? He racked his brain for the right name- Iva he finally remembered, Iva's magic injection. The acrid smell of smoke and blood filled his nostrils.Desperately trying to get air in his lungs he tries to calm down his erratic breathing and push the feeling of pain away.. though honest to himself, he thinks he's starting to go numb anyways.

The world is spinning, he can hardly hear anything audible anymore and all he wants is to do is pass out and get some much needed rest but no. He hasn't completed his goal yet,not properly, he still needs to get his brother out of here. Stuck kneeling and unmoving in the middle of the battlefield,something slips out of the boys strawhat that catches his attention.A small(smaller than he'd like) white piece of paper slowly drops to the ground, not just any piece of paper--a vivre card. More specifically, his older brother's vivre card that he had received from him directly at Alabasta.

His eyes widened slightly "Ace's vivre card..!" He reaches his hand out to grab it but it moved a tad further away from him to it's owner,who was currently on his knees glaring hatefully to the ground, arms clutching one another unwillingly listening as the magma bastard continued to spew out his nonsense about bloodline bull crap.

A figure of discerning taste observed with a subtle smile, their 'eyes' gleaming with interest as they witnessed the culmination of events they had been monitoring since the beginning. 'It has been... entertaining' They mused silently to themselves as a person clad in white with magma on his fist continued spouting something ridiculous even to the figure's judgement.

“I suppose I should be grateful #$!?§∆£ insisted I look upon this world… though its denizens are, admittedly, more foolish than most.”

The observer watched in slow motion as said person lunged at the boy who was reaching out to grab something from the ground, and as the freckled commander's eyes widened as he willed his body to move to protect the kid. On a whim the figure lowers its gaze, 'eyes' closing as it saw the threads of fate unfolding, there has been no sign of emotion on its 'face' for a moment until they 'frowned' slightly. 'So that is how it is, hm' It lifted its gaze and sighed wearily, the familiar ache of a headache already stirring. The enigmatic figure stood up, straightening its posture, preparing to show itself to the mortals it had been observing.

He wasn't going to let his precious baby brother take the hit, no way. With Ace's mind racing, he reached his younger sibling and shielded him with his body, bracing for the agony that was to come. But before impact, a blinding light erupted, bringing everything to a sudden halt. 

Chapter Text

The blinding light that had made everything freeze soon stopped and before anyone could open their eyes to see the source, an immense pressure and power pressed down, forcing everyone present to their knees.

The sound of piercing, ear-shattering ringing exploded in their ears, eliciting shrieks and groans as some nearly passed out from the sudden, merciless assault. Ace instinctively shielded his younger sibling's body, clutching their clothes with a desperate grip. Even the Great Whitebeard was forced to bow his head, his legendary strength faltering further as he felt an unprecedented sense of vulnerability in the face of this unknown entity.

The being 'looked' slightly perplexed as it gazed down at the mortals in pain. Realization dawns upon it's 'face', as it quickly changed its form to what the humans below believe what a 'God' looked like and held back it's true essence and form. As quickly as the unintentional attack had come, it vanished. Most of the weaker people passed out while the stronger ones shook, with some having tears in their wide scared eyes. They still clutched their ears as the ringing slowly subsided.

The otherworldly entity's gaze swept across the scene, a hint of amusement evident in his small smile, and finally settled at the small protagonist who remained completely unfazed by the entity's presence.The young raven hair continued to stare directly at him as his older brother slowly recovered in his arms, while the other did the same.

The kid was clearly exhausted, on the brink of collapse, but he stubbornly held his ground, refusing to break eye contact with the entity. He thought it was some kind of contest, and his determination was amusing. The way he gripped onto his brother tighter, a subconscious sign of fear, only added to the entity's mild amusement at his defiance.

The Deity narrowed his eyes slightly,a flicker of something akin to recognition dancing within them, at the brave boy before giving him a small soft smile which in turn startled the young pirate, unbeknownst to the entity, its small smile had an unexpected effect: it lowered the young pirate's guard, before he himself smiled his signature wide grin.

The sudden silence was a relief as the group slowly regained their composure, but it was short-lived, as a creeping sense of unsettling paralysis took hold, rendering them immobile and unable to lift their heads.

Behind the enigmatic figure, Akainu's anger simmered, his eyes fixed intently on the ground as he struggled to break free from the unseen force holding him in place, his fist now still, its molten rock flames extinguished.

This was infuriating. Who dared make him kneel? He was about to finish off some pathetic devil spawn when this happened. His magma powers, his pride – everything was being stripped away. Yet, beneath the anger, a flicker of unease stirred – an unfamiliar emotion that only added to his fury.

-xxx-

Sengoku who was in the middle of directing orders to the marines near the execution stand has his eyes fixed on the bloodstained ground, his expression one of alarm at this unknown presence's overwhelming power who has himself and all the admirals, warlords, hell- even Whitebeard kneeling! And although he couldn't lift his head to confirm his suspicion, he had a feeling he was right.A silent curse escaped him as he attempted to analyze the situation.

-xxx-

The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk is foreign to the feeling of kneeling to someone. Because he had never had to, besides when he plants his crops (but that isn't related to this), so when he and the others were suddenly blinded, that had actually caught him off guard because how had he not felt this something or someone approach when he had his guard up the entire time? Plus that rarely happens, at all.

So when he was about to open his eyes he was not expecting his sense of hearing to also be attacked just as quickly so damn him if that had also caught him off guard once more . And now he was being forced to kneel, his grip on his sword tightened as he closed his eyes wisely acknowledging that whoever or whatever the hell this was. Is most definitely strong, stronger than anyone or anything he had encountered in his entire journey.

-xxx-

Boa Hancock is furious, absolutely livid, (how dare someone make her kneel!?)..and terrified at the same time. It had been ages since she has knelt before somebody, and being forced to do so made it even worse as she started to relieve those horrible, horrible memories of the past that she had chosen to bury deep within her soul. She had not properly healed, not yet, and she sometimes doubts if she ever will.

Those two emotions clashed for a while, and then suddenly, a third emotion burst forth – worry. Her eyes widened further as she thought of her beloved: "How is he? Is he stuck like this too? Is he hurting?" These thoughts began to override her mind, as the previous two emotions slowly faded away.

-xxx- 

'Well shit,' Crocodile thought, his body refusing to budge. He mentally groaned, eyes fixed on the ground. The sudden appearance of this mysterious force had surprised him.

He'd attempted to manipulate his sand to strike back at the one who'd caught him off guard, but it refused to obey. Slight frustration simmered as he realized his Devil Fruit powers were dormant. Just moments before, he'd been handling those pesky Marines with ease, but now his sand hung heavy, like dead weight. The inability to access his powers always unnerved him, until a sly thought crept in: if he was affected, how would he fare?

A wry smile crept onto his face as he imagined a certain proud individual – a pink flamingo – on their knees. The thought brought a quiet snicker. And his mood lifted slightly at the mental picture. Strangely, Crocodile didn't feel particularly bothered about his own predicament now.

-xxx-

Said flamingo's ears began to itch, and he narrowed his eyes, sensing someone's thoughts directed at him – and they weren't flattering. A small, irritated tick mark formed beside his head as the itch intensified.

What the hell was going on? Doflamingo had been slicing through Whitebeard's crew and stray Marines with ease, the battle a thrilling spectacle, when suddenly everything went white. And before he knew it he was kneeling.

He was annoyed, a tad irritated that his plans had been derailed. He hated when things didn't go according to script, especially since his plans were always infallible. A bit of unpredictability could be thrilling, but overall, he liked his carefully constructed schemes to unfold flawlessly.

Even unexpected events wouldn't normally faze him; he was confident in his ability to handle situations with precision and finesse. Though he didn't rely heavily on his Devil Fruit for protection or combat – his strength surpassing most – having control over it was crucial. But now, blinded by the light, he couldn't summon or manipulate his Fruit's powers. This loss of control was slightly unsettling.

This was unprecedented – he'd never been unable to use his powers before. A flicker of fear danced in his mind as he realized his immobilization. His observation haki still functioned, revealing someone incredibly strong on Marineford, perhaps even surpassing the Admirals and Warlords. The thought was intriguing.

A small smirk crept onto his lips as he imagined the scenario: everyone, including the Fleet Admiral, Akainu, Whitebeard kneeling in submission. The mental image was almost... amusing.

Though still irritated by the unexpected turn of events, he found the prospect of everyone being powerless thrilling. Who was this mysterious being, capable of rendering everyone – including himself – helpless without anyone noticing? The anonymity of this entity only added to his fascination.

They were so close! So close to rescuing Ace and getting him back to the Moby Dick. The first division commander groaned, his eyes fixed on the older raven-haired pirate as Akainu approached. "Ace!" Fear widened his eyes. "Goddamit, Oyaji ordered us to leave!" His little brother's sensitive nature often landed him in trouble, and this situation was no exception.

His shouts were ignored as he glanced frantically between his captain – the man they also called "Father," who was on the brink of death, his form battered and bruised– and Ace, who was taking a brutal beating from the Magma Admiral.

The blonde was pissed. He'd almost failed to save Thatch, lost many brothers – and the losses kept piling up. His Oyaji had given the order to abandon him, opting to give his life, and now Ace was in danger because of that bastard of an Admiral. On top of that, he still had unfinished business with the traitor who used to be a brother.

He seethed with frustration, desperate to unleash his emotions, but he bit back the urge, knowing his brothers' lives depended on his strength and leadership. As the First Division Commander and right-hand man to the strongest man in the world, he had to stay focused and guide them to safety. His brothers were counting on him, and he wouldn't let them down.

Marco soared through the air, his arms transformed into blazing blue wings. And before he could react, the world around him erupted into a blinding flash of white light. Caught off guard, he plummeted to the ground, shielding his eyes with his wing. The searing flash of light was followed by a deafening ring that left his ears throbbing. He swiftly reverted to his human form, covering his ears with his arms, but the sound still felt overwhelming. As the ringing faded away, Struggling to regain his footing, he stumbled and fell to his knees, overpowered by an intense force. Cold sweat trickled down his brow as an emotion he refused to acknowledge began to stir within him.

'What the hell was going on?' Ace wondered, regaining awareness but still frozen. He'd jumped in front of his brother to take the he magma-infused strike from Akainu's wrath, resigned to his fate, but then the bizarre stuff with the light and ringing happened, and now paralysis. Confusion trumped fear, but he was relieved to be holding his brother, ensuring he was alive.

Time seemed to stretch, and despite his own predicament, he sensed his brother's smile wide – a gut feeling honed from years of brotherly intuition. But given their situation, Ace couldn't fathom what was so amusing.

Then a loud, commanding voice resonated across Marineford, interrupting his musings.

"Thou art permitted to raise thy gaze unto my presence."