Chapter 317: Give You Face? What Face Do You Have?
How fast were three Divine Departures? In less than a second, they had all shot through the air, heading straight for Shamrock's back. The black-and-red light for a moment illuminated the entire night sky.
"Dammit!" Shamrock sensed the movement, and one look was all it took for his face to contort in terror. He knew this move all too well! It was his own brother's signature technique, but Shanks had to charge it, to build up his sword intent, and it consumed a great deal of his stamina. He could never fire off two in quick succession. But this guy… how could he unleash a Divine Departure as easily as drinking water?!
There was no time to think. The three black-and-red sword slashes were already upon him. SWISH! He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the first slash, but the second was right on top of him.
"Get lost!" Shamrock roared, raising his sword to block. The clash of blades sent sparks flying. This Divine Departure was about as powerful as Shanks's, but the Conqueror's Haki on it was more difficult to deal with. He had barely managed to block it with all his might. But the third… he couldn't block it, and he couldn't dodge it!
He could only watch as the sword slash cut through his knees. Both of his legs were instantly severed at the root, and blood gushed out!
"URGH!!!" Shamrock screamed in agony, his face twisted in pain, and he fell from the sky, crashing to the ground. "I… I…" Looking at his severed legs, Shamrock panicked and, on instinct, tried to crawl away. But before he could move, a sharp presence was upon him.
Shamrock looked up in despair. Just as he had feared, Shane was standing before him, looking down on him as if he were an ant. Or rather, for a man like Shamrock, who had just barely crossed the threshold into the Admiral/Yonko tier, who already had a psychological fear of him, and who was not at his full strength, he was no different from an ant. He couldn't even last as long as Jack.
"Speaking of which, you've inherited the position of Commander of the Holy Knights, haven't you?" Shane said, stomping on Shamrock's back, pinning the elite of the Celestial Dragons to the ground. "Is this all it takes? What, of the nineteen families of fat pigs, couldn't they find a second reliable person?"
The undisguised mockery made Shamrock's face flush a deep red. But he had no choice but to swallow his humiliation and mumble, "Spare me, Shane. I can guarantee that from now on, I and the Holy Knights under my command will never be your enemies again. We won't…"
"Let him go," another voice suddenly came. Shamrock was taken aback and looked up to see Red-Haired Shanks struggling to his feet, stumbling over.
"And why?" Shane raised an eyebrow and turned. "Give me a reason. Can you make this man spill a large amount of useful information? Or can you persuade him to defect and become my subordinate?"
"Th-that… I can't do either of those," Shanks was stunned for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh. He clutched the bleeding wound on his chest, his gaze complex as he looked at Shamrock under Shane's foot. "It's just that, no matter what, he's my brother. I can't just stand by and watch him die."
"Is that all?" Shane asked, surprised. "Just because of that?"
"Yes," Shanks nodded sincerely. "I know he just tried to kill me, and I know we're not close, so it's strange for me to say this, but… please. Just this once, give me some face and spare his life."
"Give you face?" Shane couldn't help but laugh. He stared at Shanks, his eyes growing cold. "You? What face do you have?"
"You've secretly tried to obstruct me time and time again, tried to interfere with my plans. Now I've come to save my subordinate, and in doing so, I've saved you. You don't even thank me, and the first thing you do is ask me to let the enemy go? A person like you…" The sword was slowly drawn from its sheath again, and the sudden flash of white light illuminated Shamrock's terrified, contorted face. "…what right do you have to ask me for face?!"
SQUELCH!
A flash of a blade, a spray of blood. Shamrock's head rolled to a stop at Red-Hair's feet. His wide eyes were still filled with disbelief. He had never imagined his life would end like this.
Shanks froze, staring at the eyes that were identical to his own, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word.
A light rain began to fall from the night sky. Shane casually flicked the blood from his blade, sheathed it, and looked at Shanks with an indifferent expression.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say? Or rather, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
"Back in Blackstone City, when we parted ways, I warned you. If you wanted to wait for your Nika, if you wanted to continue being a grand strategist, that was fine. But don't get in my way, and don't even think about stopping me. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind taking your other arm. You didn't keep your promise, and now you have the nerve to try and persuade me. What, do you want me to send you down to join your brother?"
His last words were spoken with a heavy, killing intent. It was clear he wasn't joking. In his current state, it wouldn't be much harder to kill Red-Hair than it had been to kill Shamrock.
"…" Shanks stood in silence, staring at Shamrock's head at his feet. The rain grew heavier, and the storm began to roar again. The blood was washed away by the rain, flowing in rivulets across the muddy ground.
"An explanation?" he finally looked up, his voice hoarse. "I do owe you an explanation."
"I know you have a problem with me, but believe me, everything I've done has been for the future of this world."
"You underestimate the strength of the World Government. The Five Elders, the three Admirals… those are just the forces on the surface. You haven't seen that person, that terrifying figure. You have no idea how horrifying he is…"
"Until we have the power of Nika, to upset the balance will only lead to our own destruction, to the waste of all the forces we could have used…"
SMACK!
Shanks's words were cut short. Not because he had run out of things to say, but because Shane's hand had clamped down on his neck, lifting him into the air.
"I've had enough," Shane said, his eyes filled with disgust. "Ever since we met in Blackstone City, you've been nagging me about balance, about the future, about the grand scheme of things, like a chattering old woman."
"This time, I thought you'd have something new to say, but it's the same old crap!"
"You say I've upset the balance. What, should I have just sat back and done nothing, like you?! Huh?"
"Answer me! Is your so-called balance watching countless civilians be hunted down like prey by the Celestial Dragons?! Is it watching the World Government continue to oppress the world from on high?!"
"As for that 'terrifying existence' you're talking about, what, is he Voldemort? Are you so scared you can't even say the name 'Imu'?! An old dog who's lived for 800 years and doesn't even dare to set foot outside the Holy Land, so what if he's strong?! You're so afraid you just sit back and watch this world continue to rot?!"
Shane's grip tightened, and Shanks's breathing grew ragged, his face flushing red from lack of oxygen.
"Yeah, you can stand it, but I can't. And what's the result?" The rain poured down, and Shane let out a wild laugh. "Hahahaha! The result is that those high-and-mighty self-proclaimed gods, they're afraid of me! They fear me! They dread me!"
"The moment they see the Curtain Call's flag, they're on high alert! The moment they see my face, they piss their pants! They regret ever crossing me! They wish their Lord Imu had given them a few more legs so they could run faster!"
"And you, the one who compromises, the one who waits, the one who dares to do nothing, you're the one who's seen as a soft target! If it wasn't for me, you would have been put down like a stray dog right here!"
"If you're so obsessed with fate, then doesn't that mean this was your fate?" Shane finally released his grip and tossed Shanks to the ground. "A pathetic fool who waited his whole life for Nika, and in the end, didn't find a savior, but just waited for his own death."
Red-Hair clutched his chest, coughing violently, his face pale. Every word Shane had spoken was like a sharp knife, plunging into his heart. He looked up through the rain at the arrogant figure silhouetted against the lightning. He wanted to retort, but he couldn't say a word. In his daze, he could even feel his own conviction wavering. If fate is truly unavoidable, if this man really shouldn't have acted… then shouldn't I have died here today? Was this how it was supposed to be?
"Remember, Red-Hair, there is no savior!"
"And if everyone in the world just waits for a savior, then in my opinion, this world isn't worth saving."
Shane's final words were cold. "This is your last chance. If I ever find you pulling any more tricks behind my back or getting in my way…"
"—then the Red-Hair Pirates will cease to exist."
With that, Shane turned and walked away. He summoned Angewomon and began to deal with the six Holy Knights. The reason he had been able to kill Shamrock was because after his sword, Masamune, had eaten the Cloud-Cloud Fruit, it could now store a small amount of Angewomon's holy power, enough for one use. Shamrock, as the Commander of the Holy Knights, had been the recipient of that one use. Now, the remaining six Holy Knights were left to the summoned Angewomon to be purified one by one.
A holy light bloomed, and the six Holy Knights dissolved into ash with piercing screams.
Shane didn't even glance at them. He walked straight to Jack. "Hey, can you still stand?" he asked.
"Of course I can!" Jack gritted his teeth and forced himself up. Though he was wobbly, he stood tall and beat his chest. "I'm fine, Boss!" He was, in fact, not fine at all. That one beat of his chest nearly sent him to the afterlife. But after witnessing the boss force Garling to retreat, kill Shamrock, and intimidate Red-Hair, he, as a subordinate, was filled with pride, so thrilled he could hardly breathe. And with the thought that he absolutely could not let the boss down, he was running on pure adrenaline.
"Alright, then let's go," Shane said with a smile, patting his back. He called over Angewomon and turned towards the shore.
Jack, his face a mask of determination, forced his legs to move, following like a puppet.
And Red-Haired Shanks was still kneeling on the ground, his head bowed. The rain ran down his red hair, and it was impossible to tell if it was rain or something else. He looked at Shamrock's head, then at Shane's retreating back. His fist slowly clenched, and then, with a sigh of resignation, he relaxed it. The deep-seated conviction he had held for so long now had a crack in it.
"Was I… really wrong?" he whispered to himself. To wait for Nika, or to become Nika?
The wind howled, the rain poured down, and there was no answer.
Meanwhile, in Saint Garling's residence in Mary Geoise.
"Lord Garling!" a few CP0 agents, hearing the commotion, rushed into the room. Seeing the blood-covered, disheveled Garling, they were terrified, their legs nearly giving out. Lord Garling, what… what happened to him in the lower world? Where is Lord Shamrock? And the elite Holy Knights?
"Get out!" Garling roared, sweeping all the documents from his desk.
The CP0 agents scrambled out of the room. Garling covered his face, and a cold light shone through his fingers. "Shane…" he murmured, his voice filled with a deep-seated hatred and… a hint of a fear that had taken root at some point.
Damn animal! The operation should have been flawless. Use the news of his biological daughter to lure Shanks, and then eliminate him with overwhelming force. He would have cleaned house and cut off one of the Curtain Call's major supports. But who would have thought… that damn mammoth would suddenly appear and ruin everything! And even more unexpectedly, that Shane himself would come, and display a level of strength even more terrifying than he had anticipated!
Remembering the power of that punch, Garling's chest ached. How many years has it been… how many years! Ever since the battle of God Valley, ever since he had witnessed that arrogant man who called himself the ruler of the seas be dominated by his master's power and die in a siege… he hadn't felt this close to death! Could it be, could this kid's strength really have reached the level of Rocks?!
Garling paced back and forth in the living room, agitated. And that Shamrock, why hadn't he returned yet? Didn't he know how to sacrifice a pawn to save the king? He had no affection for that son of his. But the situation was getting more and more out of hand. The other old men were not on his side. He still needed a good dog like him.
Knock knock.
A low knock came from the door. "I told you to get out!" Garling roared. "Who is it?! You want to die?!"
"Lord Garling," an elegant, young female voice came. "Our lord summons you. Please come to the Chamber of Flowers immediately."
Garling's body trembled, and his face instantly went pale. He quickly straightened his disheveled robes and, after opening the door, forced a respectful smile. "Yes, I will go at once."
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