At this moment, Shanks had already lost all voice, and his heart had stopped beating. In truth, under the terrifying force of Kaido's Thunder Bagua just moments ago, his internal organs had been completely destroyed — including the newly crowned king's heart.
Shanks's chest was completely caved in. The upper half of his clothes had been obliterated, and his ribcage appeared crushed beyond recognition.
Kaido's attack had launched him high into the air before he crashed back down from that height. If Shanks didn't possess such extraordinary physique, he would have been reduced to pieces upon impact.
Even now, lying motionless, Shanks — like most of his subordinates — died with his eyes open.
Those eyes were filled with helplessness, unwillingness, anger, and pain.
Shanks... dead.
He fell before the remaining members of the Red-Haired Pirates.
They stared at his corpse in shock, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
"Shanks!"
"Captain Shanks… this… impossible!"
"Captain Shanks, no!"
"How can this be!? Really…!?"
One of the Red-Haired Pirates' officers, Monster, already gravely injured, collapsed weakly beside Shanks. His trembling right hand reached out and hovered near Shanks' nose.
No breath.
But in truth, checking his breathing was meaningless. The condition of Shanks' destroyed chest alone made it clear: he was beyond dead.
His ribcage was violently collapsed inward, and the six shattered pieces of bone piercing outward made the sight even more horrifying.
Was their captain still alive?
Obviously not. He was utterly gone.
Monster burst into tears.
The other crewmates behind him cried out in agony, some choking on their sobs.
"Shanks. It seems our first objective has been completed. The rest of his crew is insignificant." Bullet muttered.
"Was Shanks killed by Kaido?" Katakuri asked, confused.
Smoothie added, "Without that man, Kaido would've only managed a fifty-fifty battle against Shanks."
The "man" Smoothie referred to was none other than Elior.
There was no doubt: Elior's power was unfathomable. He most likely inflicted the fatal damage on Shanks before Kaido delivered the finishing strike.
One had to admit — Elior was terrifying.
Smoothie felt a moment of pity for Shanks. Just a moment.In this world, the strong devour the weak; life and death are inevitable, even for those standing at the summit.
Now, having witnessed Shanks' death with her own eyes — watching his broken body fall from the sky — she couldn't deny how tragic the end of a Yonko was.
The forces of the Three Yonko Alliance were shaken — and undeniably excited.
One of the primary goals of this war was to kill Red-Hair. With his death, the war had already achieved its first great victory.
How could the alliance not be thrilled?
Meanwhile, the remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates were filled with grief — and burning hatred toward Elior and the others.
During the temporary ceasefire, Elior and Kaido emerged from the giant crater.
Kaido was unharmed.
Elior, aside from messy hair and torn clothing, showed no signs of injury.
Especially Elior — as tens of thousands of eyes focused on him in awe.
Elior remained calm.
He was long accustomed to such attention.
Shanks' death was only the beginning of today's objective.
Ideally, all the top forces of the Marine would be eliminated today… tomorrow… or within the coming days.
At that moment, Elior radiated an overwhelming imperial aura that forced people to feel as if they were crawling beneath him.
Even Kaido walked behind him. The massive difference in size made Kaido — a monstrous ancient beast — appear like a subordinate following behind Elior.
Even Kaido felt a degree of awe toward him.
He openly admitted Elior's strength surpassed his own.
Surpassed Whitebeard, Roger, and Rocks.
In the entire New World, Elior was undoubtedly the strongest.
Reiju, Bonney, Yamato, and Baby 5 — the women who had followed him on this operation — stood watching him as well.Even if Elior treated them casually, they were exhilarated to follow such a powerful, perfect man.
The top powerhouses — Big Mom, World, and Redfield— also gazed at Elior. They understood well: Shanks died because of him, and Kaido merely delivered the final strike.
Their overall evaluation of Elior was unanimous:
Monster.
Of course, their definition of "monster" bore no resemblance to how ordinary people used the word.
It felt like he didn't even belong to the same world.
"I'm going to kill you!"
"Revenge for Captain Shanks!"
One of the Red-Haired Pirates — a soldier who had watched his idol die — charged at Elior with both hands gripping a massive sword. He was fearless.
Kaido moved, and several others prepared to intercept the charging man—
But when he reached ten meters from Elior, his body instantly disintegrated into blood mist, obliterated by Elior's invisible power.
Elior had not lifted a finger.
He had not even moved.
This was Elior's ability — Honkai Impact.
Of course, disintegration happened only to weak opponents. Against stronger enemies, it would manifest differently.
But the scene was terrifying enough.
Elior's ability remained shrouded in mystery. No one knew what kind of power he possessed.
Only Big Mom knew Elior wasn't from this world — and that his abilities were not Devil Fruit powers.
Elior himself had said so. So far, only she knew the truth.
"Red-Haired Pirates — wipe them out. Leave no one alive."
Elior issued the command coldly.
The forces of the Three Yonko Alliance attacked without hesitation.
The remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates could only resist desperately.
The final battle resumed.
The last of the three main officers of the Red-Haired Pirates, Lucky Roux, was killed by one of Big Mom's generals.
A tragic death.
One by one, the others were slaughtered over the next half hour.
Screams echoed across the island and even over the surrounding seas, making the Sea Kings tremble.
They knew the emperor residing on this island was in deadly danger.
Meanwhile, on the distant horizon, a massive Marine battleship finally came into view.