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"In the transition between eras, someone always has to fall from their pedestal so that their legacy can build up the next man's name!!" Shanks declared. He stepped onto the iron chains linking the pirate ships, walking toward Redfield one steady step at a time.
He was building an unstoppable momentum, honing his focus to a razor edge. Facing an enemy with his absolute peak strength was, in his eyes, the ultimate form of respect.
Then, without warning...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The Conqueror's Haki of the two men collided. The impact sent a massive shockwave through the air, and the surrounding space flickered with arcs of terrifying, black-red lightning.
The pressure grew increasingly heavy, until the thick storm clouds hanging over the Thunder God Sea were literally torn apart by the force of the clash.
After five days and nights of continuous warfare, the surviving elites were jarred awake by this suffocating pressure. From the Thunder God loyalists—Pizarro, Devon, Vasco Shot, Chinjao, and Foxy—to the rebels like Bill, Morgans, and the World Pirates' Nightin, Gairam, and Sebastian...
Every pirate still alive on the battlefield woke from their stupor, unable to hide the sheer terror in their eyes.
"He's actually... challenging Redfield..."
Silence. The entire sea fell into a deathly hush.
Redfield had never lost a one-on-one duel in his entire life. He was the man who had defeated Fleet Admiral Kong at the Sabaody Archipelago nine years ago. Though he had been captured due to exhaustion, he was still revered as a living legend. Even though he had joined the Thunder God Pirates under threat from the Thunder Emperor to escape Impel Down, no one believed his strength had waned. If anything, the Mythical Zoan Vampire Fruit had pushed him to a new level.
And then there was Shanks of the Red Hair Pirates—a relative nobody—thinking he could use a legend's reputation as a stepping stone to enter the New World. The overwhelming, peak-level aura made the survivors feel as if a massive boulder was crushing their chests, making it impossible to breathe.
"So cool—Shanks, take him down!!"
"This is your debut on the big stage! Get serious!!"
Unlike the terrified onlookers, the Red Hair Pirates were buzzing with excitement, showing absolute confidence in their captain. Since the crew's inception, Shanks had delivered on every promise he made. They, better than anyone, knew exactly how terrifying this man truly was.
"Another brat from the new era throwing his life away to provoke a legend? Aside from the Thunder Emperor, Arthur, no one has actually pulled it off... This story has no legs. There's no value here," Morgans said, shaking his head and sighing. He was frustrated that he couldn't find a "Big News" angle for this specific matchup.
"Hahahahaha! What a joke!" Bill shouted, his eyes wide as he clutched his stomach, mocking Shanks' perceived arrogance.
SHING—
A sudden flash of sword light vanished as quickly as it appeared. It tore through Bill's arm, sending a spray of blood into the air before the energy dissipated in the distance. The men standing behind him weren't so lucky; they were sliced clean in half, dying instantly.
The sudden turn of events left the crowd in shock and disbelief.
"Aaaagh—Shiryu, you bastard...!" Bill turned in a rage, clutching his stump and screaming. Blood continued to pour through his fingers despite his grip.
A kilometer away, Shiryu stared coldly at the remaining rebels. "Anyone who betrays the Captain is a dead man. I'm taking your arm now but leaving your life only because the Captain is collecting Devil Fruits. Once he returns, your existence will have no value left..."
With that, his blood-red eyes pivoted toward Byrnndi World, and he charged back into the fight. Once he confirmed that the Red Hair Pirates and Hawkeye Mihawk weren't immediate enemies, his priority shifted back to purging the traitors and minimizing the crew's losses until the Thunder Emperor's return. As for Redfield being challenged? It didn't move him in the slightest. He was born for the slaughter.
"Captain World... kill him!!"
"Don't let him get any closer...!"
Seeing that Shiryu still had the energy to kill, World's crew panicked. Shiryu's power and bloodlust were deeply ingrained in their minds; he was the one person no one in the Thunder God Pirates ever wanted to face. While the Thunder Emperor radiated a divine, crushing pressure like a god descending, facing Shiryu was like falling into the abyss. His killing intent was cold, piercing, and felt like a blade pressed directly against one's forehead.
"Armament: Hardening!"
At such close range, the More-More Fruit was difficult to utilize. World's Armament Haki instantly coated his entire body, his gaze turning cruel and savage. "Everyone says you're the strongest man beneath the Overlords. Let's see what you're really made of..."
"Sebastian, Gairam! Kill him together!" World roared, his steel-hard body lunging forward.
The rebellion had reached a point of no return; it would only end when one side was completely annihilated. With Redfield and Shanks occupied, his immediate task was to finish Shiryu.
However, World's strength was built on massive, long-range destruction. Once a master swordsman like Shiryu closed the distance, World's effectiveness plummeted. He felt a gust of wind past his ear, followed immediately by a scream of agony from behind.
He turned to see Sebastian—the massive hybrid of Fish-man and Giant—his throat slit clean. His colossal body hit the ground with a thunderous BOOM.
"STOP IT!!" World felt his rage threatening to consume his sanity.
But once Shiryu tastes blood, he enters a state of madness.
The Seven Star Sword moved in a dazzling, dreamlike dance of death. Without a hint of mercy, he swung. The head of the ship's doctor, Nightin—a fairly beautiful woman—was sent spinning into the air. Blood sprayed six feet high, her face frozen in a look of total shock.
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Navy HQ, Marineford!
Fleet Admiral Sengoku was actually in a decent mood as he processed reports from the New World branches. He was nearly humming a tune; even the sound of Garp loudly crunching on rice crackers next to him didn't bother him for once.
The "Battle for Supremacy" in the New World had wiped out over half of the pirates in the Grand Line, drastically reducing the pressure on the Navy. They were finally beginning to recover from the loss of Kong and Kizaru.
Though a new Overlord was certain to emerge eventually, they had already successfully recruited five of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" to maintain the balance.
The names on his desk were: Crocodile, Jinbe, Gekko Moria, Mad Treasure, and the rising star "Golden Emperor" Gild Tesoro.
With the recruitment of Hawkeye Mihawk already underway, the Warlord project only had one slot left to fill. Using the "legal plunder" status to make pirates fight each other while the Navy rebuilt its strength was a perfect strategy.
But then...
BANG!!
The office door was slammed open. A Navy Commander burst in, face pale and drenched in sweat. He didn't even stop to salute before shouting in a voice that signaled a total disaster.
"Fleet Admiral! Emergency! The Thunder Emperor has been spotted in Water 7!!"
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