Gone from this world,

Gone like the wisp of smoke in the sky

Gone, out cold,

I hold you and I can't help but cry.

I watched you go,

Now I can't stand the sight,

Of this world who yelled no

When laughing as they'd start a fight.

In memories you now remain,

And I guess that I'm half sad.

That the life you lived was in vain,

And hasn't changed the world from bad.

-noelicoan

It happened all so quickly...

She punched Sengoku so hard, that he went flying, hitting the stone wall to the side, denting it. She cradled Ace, and used her chakra to heal him, but the wound didn't heal.

His devil fruit was trying to make itself into flames again when Sengoku hit him, that when Sengoku's fist hit him, his body swallowed Sengoku's fist, allowing it to damage him severely.

Ace's flames crawled to Luffy's stomach as Ace fell on top of him. Luffy sobbed as he looked at his hand now covered in blood.

"I'm sorry Luffy, Natsuki... I'm sorry you didn't get to save me... I'm sorry." Ace said, and Luffy inched closer, his eyes teary. Natsuki dropped to the ground, unable to look at Ace in the eyes. If she had been smarter, quicker, stronger...

"Somebody help him!" Luffy yelled.

"It's no use! I know I'm dying. My guts have burnt itself. I'm not gonna last long, so listen to me Luffy, Natsuki."

"What are you saying!?" Luffy denied the truth. "Are you gonna die Ace!? You promised me remember!? You said you'd never die! Isn't that what you told me Ace!?" Luffy yelled, and the seasons looked down. Even Uki, who had been trying to heal him with her rain, knew it was of no more use to try and heal him. Natsuki was silent the whole time.

"Yeah. If I didn't have a little brother that needed to be taken care of.. I would've given up then." Ace remembered all the comments he received when he suggested to people the idea of the former pirate king having a son. "Nobody wanted me. It couldn't be helped..." Natsuki sobbed, not even bothering to hide her tears, which was creating a waterfall on her face.

"If you ever see Makino again, please give my regards...huff...Dying makes me nostalgic of people I knew a long long time ago... But there's one thing I've left undone... I wasn't able to see your dreams through the end... But you... I know you can do it... You're my little brother! You're Natsuki's, Sabo's and my little brother... We know you can do it! Natsuki, I'm sure you'll be greater than any pirate out there! You're my pride! Just like you are Luffy!" Ace smiled, hugging Luffy with his remaining strength. "Just like how I swore back then... I have no regrets!"

"Liar! You're lying!" Luffy denied.

"What I really wanted wasn't fame... All I wanted to know was whether or not I should've been born... Huff! I can't even shout anymore... Luffy, listen to my next words carefully...huff...Tell everybody what I say to you." Ace took a deep breath although his heartbeat was getting quicker and quicker.

"Pops and Fellow Pirates! Luffy, Natsuki. I've always been such a helpless person... huff, huff... I was demon spawn... The son of a devil!" Natsuki shook her head, drying her face which kept getting damp.

"Thank you... For loving me!" The words robbed his life force.

His muscles tensed before they released, and he fell to the ground, leaving Luffy's embrace.

***

"You thought I was dead!?" Ace yelled as he scolded Luffy who was worried that Ace was eaten by a bear. "What are you crying for!? How dare you kill me off you idiot!"

***

"I promise you I'm never gonna die! I can't leave a wimpy little brother like you and die!" Ace told Luffy.

***

"Of course they would! You are family, aren't you? Family protect each other." Ace heard himself say, the image of Sabo, Luffy and Natsuki coming to his head.

***

"Today, we become siblings. When we become pirates, we might not be on the same ship together..." Natsuki started.

"But the four of us will always be siblings." Luffy said with a bright smile.

"No matter where we are or what we do, this bond will never be broken!" Sabo included.

"Starting today! We're siblings!" Ace said finally.

***

Natsuki bawled and bawled, shaking Ace's body. This couldn't be happening again. Not again...

She cried and cried, and the whole world cried in pain with her. Her voice echoed their emotions, reminding them of their worst days, pulling it out for everyone to see.

Luffy was broken, unable to get it past his mind that Ace, his older brother, was gone.

Both siblings cried and cried, until they both fell unconscious. Both just fell to the ground, and Sengoku, who had just recovered from Natsuki's punch, tried to attack them again.

"Protect Ace's siblings! It was Ace's final wish!" Marco yelled, and the White Beard pirates took the seasonal pirates to safety.

"Sengoku-san! Look out!" The remaining marines yelled, as they saw Whitebeard loom over him. The giant man hit Sengoku hard.

When Sengoku tried to retaliate, Whitebeard hit him harder, and this time, the whole of the Navy Headquarters cracked in half.

"Hey! What's that thing!?" The soldiers asked when they found a giant hiding behind the now broken navy building.

"You found me..." The giant blushed.

"That's not all! Look who's that on the execution platform!?"

"You finally noticed." The man in the centre said, making some of the madder shichibukai laugh.

"You..." If looks could kill, Blackbeard would've been stabbed, strangled, tortured, shot, slashed at, by Whitebeard's glare.

"The Black Beard Pirates!!"

"Zehahahahahahahaa!! Nice to see ya pops! Glad I'll get to kill you!"

"Teach..."

"He's got the worst criminals with him!" The soldiers began to panic. Whitebeard swung his bisento at Blackbeard, and continued to attack, nearly killing Marshall D. Teach, but on impact, the ground between Whitebeard and the rest of the pirates split. Natsuki woke up, but Luffy remained unconscious.

"Pops!!!"

The horrid man got away, and when Whitebeard tried to attack once more, this time he was attacked by Blackbeard's men. Blackbeard smirked upon his victory but jumped when Edward Newgate spoke.

"You're not him. The man Roger was waiting for is definitely not you, Teach..."

"Huh?"

"Just as there are some who inherited Roger's will, someone will eventually do the same for Ace. You can sever bloodlines, but their flames will never be extinguished." Natsuki looked at the old man, who reflected as the Third Hokage in her eyes. A man she never knew, until Kurama showed her the history of Konoha. "It has been passed down like that since ancient times! Someday, one will arise who will change the world, and shoulder centuries of history. Sengoku, you and the world government fear the great war that will come to this world one day! I'm not interested in the treasure, but when it's found, the whole world will be turned upside down! Someone will find it. That day will come."

Whitebeard took a deep breath to announce to the world.

"THE ONE PIECE DOES EXIST!" Whitebeard took his final breath, and Natsuki shed a tear for a man she never knew.

In a blink of an eye, the news was spread through the whole world. The Whitebeard Pirates failed to save Roger's son, Ace, and lost their captain, Edward Newgate. The great historical event was spoken of for generations to come, but those who witnessed it with their own eyes, could only stare in silence...

The silence was disrupted by the admirals waking up. Akainu used his magma, trying to kill or at least capture as many of the escaping pirates as possible, but what made things even worse, was when Blackbeard did something not known to any person or written in any book. He used his devil fruit ability, creating a black hole which consumed everything. Then, he made a stance which every crew of the Whitebeard pirates knew.

He hit the atmosphere, and it cracked, sending tremors everywhere.

"ZEHAHAHAHA! IT'S THE GRAVITY OF DARKNESS THAT TURNS EVERYTHING INTO OBLIVION! AND THE POWER OF THE EARTHQUAKE THAT DESTROYS EVERYTHING! NOW I HAVE IT ALL! I AM INVINSIBLE! I AM THE GREATEST!" He laughed maniacally. "MY ERA BEGINS!"

Blackbeard continued his attack on the Marineford, not caring if it were the pirates who suffered along with the marines. Meanwhile, Luffy was still unconscious, carried away by Jimbei. Akainu went after him, and punched a magma fist through Jimbei's body, burning Luffy's stomach.

"NO!!!" Natsuki leapt away from Fuyuki's hold, and jumped in front of Akainu. She felt her chakra near to nothing, but Luffy behind her gave her strength to protect him.

Luffy was thankfully carried away to another pirate's submarine, and she face her opponent without the worry of losing another brother.

"Striking Vixen! You will regret this day for the rest of your life if you still survive!" Sakazuki yelled, and tried to punch her, and Natsuki closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, but suddenly, she was covered in a golden cloak. For some reason, his magma didn't penetrate this gold aura she now had.

Natsuki felt warm and strong. She opened her eyes and sobbed, the flame like cloak reminding her of her younger brother.

Kurama whispered, and she smiled. She felt the power surging from her, as her 'cloak' grew and grew, until in the middle of the battlefield stood a giant golden fox with nine tails.

"Promise you won't destroy the place?" Natsuki asked, but she could already feel her consciousness slipping away.

"Al-alright then... Go on..." Natsuki fell asleep, and Kurama took charge. He refilled Natsuki's chakra and healed her wounds, and turned to the marine soldiers trembling in fear, as they tried to shoot something which had no physical matter, since it was just chakra.

Kurama chuckled and stretched his shoulders and legs. He hadn't done this in a while. He opened his mouth wide, and made a large, grey whirling orb.

At first, everyone was confused, until Kurama shot it at the ground, far from the deceased Edward Newgate, but enough to break the rest of Marineford.

The destruction was immeasurable. It ripped through everything. It passed the island Marineford was on and dissipated above the ocean.

Silence followed by screams and yells were all that could be heard. The seasons looked at their captain in awe. She was far stronger than any of them.

Her unconscious state worried them, and they swore to get stronger for her sake, to see the day when they no longer saw their captain's back in front of them, and could hold their own in a fight, with their own lives.

Kurama was on a rampage, traumatising soldiers by 'squashing' them. He made smaller bijuu-dama's and hit them at the marine admirals and Sengoku, except Garp, who was crying at the corner of the battlefield, reminiscing in all memories with Ace.

A few minutes later, another pirate and his crew arrived, causing turmoil once more.

"It's Shanks!"

"The father of the Striking Vixen!" Shanks didn't expect that comment. He looked at the destruction, then at the massive beast in the middle of the disorder.

He walked towards it, and strained his eyes, finding a body, floating in the beast's head. He recognised her red hair and katana and spoke to the fox. He also vaguely recognised the fox with nine tails. The clone Natsuki made when she told him her story so so long ago was picturing a small fox with nine tails just like this. But this fox was much larger than that plushie sized fox.

"Are you Kurama, by any chance?"

Kurama asked, his attention now on Shanks.

"I like to think of myself to have been her father all the time, but I guess you know the blasted Hokage." He replied.

"May I have her back?"

Kurama's body shrank and shrank, and Natsuki's body was left on the ground. Shanks walked towards her and kissed her forehead.

"Hello princess." He rubbed her shoulder, and assessed the area. His eyes darkened when he saw Whitebeard's standing corpse. Then, he tried searching for Ace's haki, and his eyes turned even darker when he found no one.

People began collapsing around him, even some of the pirates as Shanks' shoulders trembled in anger.

"Who?" Natsuki asked sleepily when she sensed the amount of haki surrounding her.

"Long time no see princess."

"Dad!" She hugged his neck with all her might. She then started to cry again. "I lost him. I lost another brother... I wasn't strong enough..." She cried into his shoulder, dampening his shirt, but he didn't mind.

"Let it all out baby girl. Let it all out." He stood up, and the two of them slowly made it back to Shanks' crew.