"If the other side also has the goal of reaching a balance, then there is no point in continuing the conflict," Shanks said as he extended his long saber, looking at the crowd of Marine soldiers. "If anyone still wishes to fight, then I will be their opponent"
"I hope you can show me some respect here," he added, and his figure exuded such an aura of intimidating grandeur that even when not directed at anyone specifically, it caused many of the Marines to shudder and step back a few paces.
"Wow," murmured Sal, watching the scene from afar. "What an ability! Roger never required people to 'give him face' inside the Marine headquarters."
"Shanks' Conqueror's Haki has reached such a level," he whispered to himself, "it seems that in two years, he could reach Roger's strength, or perhaps even surpass it in the future."
"Unless..." Sal whispered, but his words were drowned out by the noise.
It wasn't just Sal who was surprised. Rayleigh, Sengoku, and even Garp felt the power of Shanks' Haki. His Conqueror's Haki was already the strongest among the current Four Emperors, and even the late Whitebeard was slightly weaker.
None of the Marines responded to the challenge, and only Fleet Admiral Sengoku could resolve this tense situation. However, it became evident that someone among the Marines did not wish to show Shanks any respect. Akainu continued moving towards Ivankov, as if wanting to fight to the death.
"Hey," Shanks, who had just been speaking, suddenly saw that a woman was about to continue the attack, and felt her burgeoning, uncontrollable rage. He instantly felt a sense of helplessness and stepped in front of her, using his legendary "Gryphon" to intercept the lava that Akainu was about to throw.
"Snap....." Ca!
"That's right," Akainu hissed, seeing that her fist had been caught by Shanks' sword, just as Sal had easily intercepted her attack recently. In her beautiful eyes, now blazing with fire, danced murderous intentions. She was about to continue her attack when Sengoku, standing behind her, stopped her.
"Sakazuki, stop, the war is over..." Sengoku shouted.
This declaration of the end of the war made many Marines breathe a sigh of relief. After so many battles, almost everyone felt exhausted both physically and mentally. If they had to fight one of the Four Emperors again, their morale would surely collapse.
"...Akainu?!" exclaimed one of the pirates.
Everyone else was fine, but the newly arrived Red-Haired pirates were astonished. Beckman's eyelids twitched, and noticing Ivankov hiding behind Sal, he instantly understood what had happened.
"Oh, the 'Hormone Fruit' can be used that way?" Beckman murmured with surprise, frowning slightly.
Shanks, standing face to face with Akainu, almost lost his composure but managed to maintain his calm.
Akainu did not respond, but more lava erupted from her dense body. She glared at Shanks, who was trying to stop her, but eventually calmed down and stepped back.
She had been in the form of a woman for some time and was no longer as reckless as before. Akainu understood perfectly well that now was not the right time to fight another of the Four Emperors.
All the Marines agreed to the temporary truce, but Blackbeard did not. He was not about to yield to someone else's will. He stared intently at Shanks, eyes filled with fury.
"Red-Haired Shanks, you..." he began angrily, but Shanks, standing just a few steps away with a murderous gaze, seemed to await Blackbeard's defiance. Blackbeard swallowed and dared not continue. The situation was too overwhelming, and at the moment, they were not a match for the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Indeed," Sal whispered, watching the events unfold from afar.
Shanks certainly wasn't planning to confront Blackbeard and his crew right now. He feared that if he started acting against them, he would drag the Marines and the remaining Whitebeard Pirates into another battle.
"In the end," Sal whispered to himself, "nothing could stop Blackbeard except this..."
The current battlefield still resembled a powder keg. A small spark was all it would take to ignite it again, leading to another world-shaking war.
In Shanks' heart, the Marines were also a force maintaining the ocean's balance. If this balance was disrupted, a terrible threat would emerge.
"And what now?" Sal pondered, observing the scene.
Blackbeard, who was already preparing to retreat, cast a sly glance at Sal standing in the distance. He was about to utter a few polite words, but Shanks' words made his heart flip. Shanks approached Sal and extended an invitation.
"Captain Roger, I would like to speak with you later, if it's not too much trouble?" he inquired.
"Of course, and my name is Augustus D. Sal. Nice to meet you, Red-Haired Shanks."
"Then this is our first meeting. I'm Shanks, you should remember me." Sal felt his heart race.
"... " Sal stood, stunned, unable to utter a word, as he couldn't believe his eyes.
[Character SS-Class Marshall D. Teach feels normal emotions towards the host, slight surprise, experience level increased by 20,000]
[Character SS-Class Shiryu of the Rainforest feels normal emotions towards the host, slight surprise, experience level increased by 20,000]
[S-Class characters feel normal emotions towards the host, slight surprise, experience level increased by 2,000x4]
"Damn," Sal whispered, looking at Shiryu of the Rainforest. "I didn't expect him to still be SS-Class. If he had received a boost from the position of chief at Impel Down, it wouldn't be surprising, but for him to still be considered SS-Class now is a bit concerning."
"Boss," muttered Van augar, the Black sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates, in a dispassionate tone. "You fought with Pirate King Roger. No wonder he nearly killed you."
"Roger..." Blackbeard snorted, "he was just an old man, like Whitebeard. Let's leave."Blackbeard said trying to mask his fear
Blackbeard looked at Sal in horror. Upon learning Sal's identity, he temporarily shelved his revenge plan. Now he feared Sal might join forces with the Red-Haired Pirates and surround him.
"In the end," Sal whispered to himself, "Blackbeard will have to stop dreaming of revenge in order to survive."
Both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates were closely tied to Sal, so it wasn't out of the question for him to persuade them.
The Blackbeard Pirates quickly vanished from Marineford, much to Sal's disappointment. If they had lingered just a couple more steps, Sal wouldn't have hesitated to ambush them.
"What now?" Sal whispered.
"What should I do?" Sal pondered.
As for cooperating with the Marine officials, that would just be a joke. Both sides feared that the other would stab them in the back, as they were now sworn enemies.
"Damn it," Sal muttered, "this whole mess started because of me."
When both sides decided to cease fire, the greatest war in thirty years finally came to an end. The Marine officials and the Whitebeard Pirates involved in the conflict suffered heavy losses, with nearly half of their lower and middle ranks dead or wounded.
"Indeed," Sal whispered, "neither side emerged victorious."
Among the Whitebeard Pirates, Captain Whitebeard was killed, Oz junior was slain, and almost 20 of the 44 affiliated pirate groups were destroyed. More than half of the Headquarters crew also perished or were injured, and three of the five whaling ships sank. The only consolation was that none of the 15 division commanders were killed.
"No surprise," Sal whispered, "the division commanders are not ordinary people."
After all, these division commanders were not simple individuals. The weakest captain was close to the level of a vice admiral at Headquarters, and most of them were stronger than a vice admiral. As long as the admirals and other high-ranking fighters were kept in check by others, it was truly difficult for them to die in battle.
"Well," Sal muttered, "maybe this war led to nothing."
However, in the future, the Whitebeard Pirates will lose the title of "Four Emperors," because they will lack leadership.
"What now?" Sal pondered.
The Marine officials, although they seem like the winners, executed Whitebeard and defeated a pirate group of the "Four Emperors" level. But the losses of the Marine officials were no less tragic, as more than half of the lower ranks were killed or wounded.
"Damn," Sal whispered. "What are they going to do next?"
Two of the eight giant vice admirals were killed in action, and the rest were wounded and lost their combat effectiveness.
"What will the future be like?" Sal wondered. "Who will protect them now?"
Among the 11 Headquarters vice admirals who participated in the battle, one died and three were severely injured. Even the strongest admiral, Kizaru, sustained serious injuries. Akainu was transformed into a woman, and it is unclear how this will affect the justice of the marine Watch.
"Damn," Sal whispered, "Akainu is a woman now, what will come of this?"
In addition to the losses at the marine Watch Headquarters... Impel Down was lost, and the defenders inside mostly perished or were wounded. The prisoners on the sixth floor either died or escaped. Magellan, the prison's warden, was severely injured and unconscious.
"What should we do now?" Sal pondered. "How will anyone be held accountable for all these crimes?"
In just one day, the marine Watch lost 40 major warships and supporting artillery, 50 Pacifistas, and the Headquarters at Marineford nearly sank.
"Horrible," Sal whispered.
The foundation was destroyed.
"Of course," Sal muttered, "how can everything be rebuilt now?"
If you want to repair it, time and money will be required.
"Damn," Sal whispered, "such money!"
The amount of losses totaled over 200 billion beri, and that's a conservative estimate.
"How foolish they are," Sal roared, "losing so much money!"
With future pensions, medical expenses, recruiting new soldiers, and other costs, more places will demand funds, which can be said to deplete the marine's funds.