"Is that… a Marine?" a pirate asked suspiciously.
"What's the matter with that guy?"
"Stop it!" Koby shouted, his eyes filled with tears. "You're trampling on life! Every soldier has a family waiting for them to come home! Our purpose has already been achieved!
"If we don't save the soldiers who can still be saved and instead keep adding to the number of casualties, then what's the point of this battle? The ones who fall now are no different from fools!"
"Wow, that's brave," Carl exhaled a puff of smoke.
To stand in front of Akainu at this moment—he must truly not fear death.
"Who are you?" Akainu asked coldly, showing no emotion. "You just wasted a few seconds of my time."
"Marines don't need soldiers with weak resolve!" Akainu's magma-covered fist rose and came crashing down.
Boom!
A long sword blocked Akainu's attack.
Shanks, gripping his famous sword Gryphon with his single arm, said, "Well done, young Marine. Those few seconds you risked your life for—whether for better or worse—have already changed the course of history."
A massive ship rushed into the port.
"The Red Force…" a Marine exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. "It's the Red Hair Pirates!"
"The Four Emperors of the New World?! Why are they here?!"
From where he lay on the battlefield, Blackbeard chuckled, his deep voice carrying across the square. "Zehahahaha… so you're here at last, huh?"
Carl turned his head, glancing at him before taking another slow drag of his cigarette. "Don't think Red-Hair can save you, Teach. Stop dreaming."
"That's hard to say," Teach said with a grim smile. As he moved slightly, pain shot through his battered body, twisting his face in agony.
The Lion Majesty, a mass of writhing black lightning, continued to sink its fangs into his flesh.
Even the Yami Yami no Mi's absorption power was struggling to nullify its effects.
Nearby, Garp glared toward the port, his jaw tightening. "That damn red-haired bastard… He's the one who led Luffy down the path of piracy."
At this point, Luffy and Jinbei had already boarded Law's submarine.
Aokiji flew into the sky. "Ice Age!"
Two massive icicles extended downwards, freezing the ocean in all directions.
The sea outside the port solidified in an instant, trapping even the Red Force in place.
As Aokiji descended, Kizaru's shimmering form materialized mid-air.
"Yasakani no Magatama~"
Countless laser beams rained down, bombarding the frozen sea.
BOOM!
The entire ice field shattered, and the water surged once more.
Kizaru landed lightly atop a Marine warship's mast, forming a circle with his hands. "If they manage to escape even after that… Well, I guess that just means they're very lucky~"
Carl, standing in the square, murmured subconsciously, "Yasakani no Magatama…"
"Hm?" Sengoku turned to him with a questioning look.
Carl coughed, scratching his head. "Ahem… nothing. I was just thinking—Straw Hat should be dead by now."
"With that many lasers hitting such a small target like a submarine, it should've been obliterated."
"…Then why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Sengoku frowned.
Garp suddenly interrupted, "Enough! That damn red-haired bastard—I'm going to settle things with him!"
Sengoku sighed, rubbing his temples. "Don't be reckless, Garp. He's still one of the Four Emperors. We didn't plan on taking on another Emperor today."
At the port, Buggy had already flown back, gripping Shanks by the collar.
"You bastard! The treasure map was a lie?!"
Shanks chuckled. "Long time no see, Buggy."
"Long time no see?! Have you forgotten how much I hate you, Shanks?!" Buggy's face was red with rage.
"Huh? Why's that?"
Buggy's jaw dropped. "You're seriously asking?! It was because of you that I accidentally ate a Devil Fruit in the first place!"
As the two continued bickering, the escaped prisoners in the distance were moved to tears.
"Did you see that?! Did you see that?!"
"Captain Buggy is treating the great Red-Haired Shanks like an equal!"
"As expected of our legendary Captain Buggy!"
Carl, watching from afar, nearly burst out laughing.
Shanks, however, had already moved forward, approaching Marco.
"Stop fighting, Marco."
His gaze swept over the battered remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, and his expression darkened.
The losses were far worse than expected.
Marco's body bore wounds that even his Phoenix Flames couldn't fully heal.
Diamond Jozu—whose Kira Kira no Mi allowed him to turn into the world's hardest substance—was barely clinging to life, his body covered in deep, unnatural gashes.
The air itself seemed to grow heavier as the ominous black lightning crackled around the battlefield.
Shanks walked forward, looking past Marco—toward the square.
There, he saw Sengoku, Garp, and…
A young Marine with three swords at his waist.
And nearby—Teach's entire crew, utterly defeated.
"What the hell…?" Shanks muttered, utterly confused.
The Whitebeard Pirates suffering heavy losses—he had anticipated that.
But even the Blackbeard Pirates were completely crushed?
This wasn't right.
This battle wasn't going to end well.
Shanks took a deep breath, his expression firming.
Raising his voice, he declared, "If this battle continues, both sides will suffer even greater losses.
"If anyone still wants to fight, then let me be your opponent!"
The members of the Red Hair Pirates stood behind him, their silent presence exuding immense pressure.
An invisible wave of Conqueror's Haki swept across the battlefield.
Shanks' voice remained calm but commanding.
"Everyone… I ask you to give me face and end this here."
But the three Admirals remained impassive.
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a glance, saying nothing.
This wasn't like before.
Right now, the power difference was overwhelmingly one-sided.
Unlike in the original timeline, the Marines' forces were still at their peak.
The Red Hair Pirates followed the elite model—they had strength, but not numbers.
If the top Marine fighters focused on them, their entire crew could be annihilated.
Three Admirals.
Sengoku.
Garp.
Carl.
And with Blackbeard's crew already out of commission, even Marco and Jozu—who should have still had some fight left—were barely standing.
Even if the Shichibukai no longer participated, the outcome wouldn't change.
Sengoku's glasses glinted as he thought:
Does this mean… today, we have the chance to end the Great Pirate Era?
If they killed Red-Hair now, two of the Four Emperors would be gone.
With only two left, the Marines could finally wipe them out for good.
The entire world order would shift.
"Ryusei Kazan!"
Sengoku hadn't even spoken yet before Akainu acted.
A massive magma fist surged toward Shanks.
Boom!
Shanks raised Gryphon, blocking the attack.
"Do you really insist on continuing this, Marine?"
"Hah! Stop acting high and mighty—you're just another pirate!" Akainu snarled as more magma poured from his body.
"Oh~ a pirate is still a pirate," Kizaru mused as golden light gathered in his palms.
Bang!
A Haki-infused bullet forced Kizaru to dodge.
He turned his head. "Benn Beckman~"
The battlefield erupted into chaos once more.
And then—
A blade descended toward Shanks from behind.
His pupils shrank.
He turned slightly, just in time to see…
Carl's blade—Shusui—falling straight toward him.
Shanks gritted his teeth.
Garp and Sengoku were blocking him from the front.
He had no way to stop Carl.
And then—
BOOM!
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from Shanks.
Carl's right eye gleamed red.
The number "six" within it flickered—then turned into "one."
[Hell Road]… Activated.
Two unstoppable forces clashed.
The air itself trembled.
Shanks' eyes widened.
"What the hell…?!"
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