Chapter 524: Miracle on the Battlefield: Ace’s Narrow Escape

Thankfully, Luffy hadn’t forgotten how serious things were and quickly laid Ace down on the ground.

Ivankov looked at the two fist-sized holes below Ace’s chest, brow furrowing in concern, but still rushed forward without hesitation.

This kind of injury, truthfully, even he couldn’t be sure of saving. Now it was all up to Ace’s will to survive.

“Adrenaline times ten!”

It was the only method Ivankov could think of, forcibly rousing the life hanging by a thread inside Ace.

As Ace’s heart thudded back to a frantic rhythm, Ivankov spoke to Luffy with regret. “My ability can only reignite his body’s healing, but for the organs he’s lost—I’m powerless.”

“Nanda?”

“How could this happen?”

“So then, does this mean Ace… does this mean…”

“Wait, where’s Chopper—where’s Chopper?!”

Suddenly, Luffy remembered the healing pills Ye Fan had given them. Maybe—just maybe—they could help.

While Luffy scanned the battlefield, frantically looking for any sign of Chopper, Mr. 3 quietly adjusted his glasses and pointed straight ahead.

“If you mean that reindeer companion of yours, you’ll find him over there.”

Soon, Chopper’s small figure caught Luffy’s eye. He was crisscrossing the war-torn field, urgently treating every injured pirate he could find.

“Chopper!”

Without a second thought, Luffy shouted and hurriedly hoisted Ace’s limp body, racing toward Chopper.

Their last hope lay with the healing pill—if it couldn’t save Ace, Luffy couldn’t even imagine how much losing him would hurt.

“Luffy!”

Chopper was just finishing up bandaging a pirate’s mangled arm when he heard that unmistakable voice. He looked up to see Luffy, tears streaming down, charging his way, a barely-breathing Ace slung on his back.

Luckily, they weren’t far apart. Within seconds, Luffy reached Chopper and carefully set Ace down on the ice.

Seeing what was happening, pirates nearby instantly formed a tight defensive ring about a hundred meters ahead of Luffy, blocking the onslaught of incoming Navy troops.

“We’re counting on you, Chopper!”

“Yeah! Bring our captain back to us no matter what!”

“Whitebeard Pirates, fall back in good order!”

Marco, locked in a fierce fight against Tradis at the front, shouted this as soon as he saw what was happening.

At the same moment, Little Oars Jr. noticed as well.

“Out of my way, Navy!”

BOOM!

With a mighty swing of his massive blade, three giant Navy soldiers were sent flying, smashing into the wall behind them.

“Damn it, he’s way too strong. There’s no chance against power like that.”

“Yeah, but who’d have thought we’d ever see the bloodline of the Oars Clan in the flesh?”

“Doesn’t matter. We can’t let him through—not with the justice we carry on our backs!”

The clash between giants was fierce and brutal. It was sheer strength versus strength. Of the six giants who’d been fighting together, now only three still stood.

And even those three were battered and bleeding, but they refused to give up on their justice. Gritting their teeth, they pulled themselves out of the rubble to block Oars once again.

This was mainly because these Navy Vice Admirals had never carried out atrocities for the Celestial Dragons or participated in Buster Calls—otherwise, these giants might have already fled this battlefield.

“How did he even survive wounds that bad?”

“Doctor, doctor… Where’s the doctor? Oh, that’s right—I’m the doctor!”

Whenever he got anxious, Chopper always forgot he was the doctor.

This time was no exception: with two gaping holes in Ace’s waist, an ordinary man would barely have time for last words. If not for Ace’s unique constitution—and for being Luffy’s brother, the center of everyone’s attention—he might have already died in some forgotten corner.

“The patient’s heartbeat is accelerating. That’s odd, with such severe wounds…”

Ivankov said, “That was me. I pumped him with ten times the adrenaline of a normal human.”

“It’ll supercharge his body, but it won’t last. If those wounds don’t heal before the boost wears off, he’s still as good as dead.”

“Understood. Leave it to me.”

Chopper carefully fished a porcelain vial from his belt. Inside were the healing pills Ye Fan had given them at the start.

Except for one used on Zoro when he was gravely wounded, they’d only ever used the small Rejuvenation Pills for stamina; now nine healing pills remained.

“I’m not sure if this healing pill is enough to fully restore Ace, but as far as I know, no matter how bad the injury, this pill should help at least a little.”

While talking, Chopper pried open Ace’s mouth and gently placed a pill inside.

The pill melted instantly, spreading through Ace like a warm river. Incredibly, the two gaping wounds at his waist began to knit together, new tissue slowly growing before their eyes.

“There, Ace’s wounds are healing.”

“Luffy, you guys really lucked into something amazing. Actually, I think I’ve seen something like this before.”

Mr. 3 really had seen it all. During his time with Baroque Works, he’d heard whispers of top-tier healing pills circulating in the black markets of the New World.

But those kinds of things—each one worth more than its weight in gold—so where had Luffy and his crew gotten theirs?

He’d definitely seen Chopper pull it straight from a ceramic vial.

At that moment, Ivankov had an epiphany the instant he saw the pill. “Looks like you’re the very center of this storm.”

That explained why the Revolutionary Army had chosen today to launch their all-out attack against the World Government.

It was as if some hidden hand was guiding everything, almost eager to push the conflict forward, all to ignite this war.

Ivankov couldn’t help glancing up at the far rear of the Navy Headquarters, toward Mariejois—the heart of the World Government.

“Still too slow. Let me help speed things along.”

Chopper realized that even at this healing rate, it’d be at least ten minutes before Ace recovered—if the adrenaline wore off first, he might not make it.

He quickly pulled out a Rejuvenation Pill and popped it in Ace’s mouth.

With both pills in play, Ace’s injuries closed up completely in the blink of an eye.

“Cough… Luffy, where are we? Is this…the land of the dead?”

Ace clearly hadn’t grasped what just happened. In that moment near death, he’d felt his soul drift into a blank, silent void, surrounded by endless mist, no other living thing in sight.

He didn’t know how, but time slipped away from him in that place. Fragments of his memories replayed over and over until he almost forgot who he was.

“Ace!”

Seeing Ace stand up unharmed, Luffy rushed over and threw his arms around him. “You’re alive! You made it!”

Ace could feel his little brother Luffy’s warmth, could hear thunder and chaos from the battle raging around them. The clouded look faded from his eyes, replaced by sudden clarity.