Red-Haired Shanks' arrival caused Marineford to freeze in silence.
Yet beneath that stillness, the undercurrents surged even more violently than before.
"Zehahahaha… zehahahahahaha!"
The one who first shattered the silence was Blackbeard, freshly armed with two peak powers.
He clutched his stomach and laughed wildly, unable to contain the arrogance and ambition bubbling out of him.
"Red-Hair! Perfect timing! I was just wondering who I should test this new world's strongest power on!"
Darkness roiled in his left hand, quake force crackled around his right, and his body trembled slightly under the explosive surge of power. His eyes gleamed with a madness ready to challenge the Yonko and take the throne of the world.
On the other side, the Marine's "Absolute Justice" would never allow a pirate to dictate how this war ends.
"Red-Haired Shanks…!!!"
Akainu's entire left side had transformed into searing magma, the blazing heat melting the ground beneath him into fiery glass.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared:
"A mere pirate dares spout nonsense here?! You criminals, none of you are leaving Marineford alive today!!!"
"Great Eruption!!"
A colossal fist of molten magma shot skyward, its blazing arc covering not only Blackbeard but even the Red Hair Pirates' ship.
The powder keg, which was moments from burning out, was violently reignited!
A three-way clash, an Admiral against two Yonko-level individuals, capable of wiping Marineford off the map, was about to explode.
…...
"Tch."
A soft, extremely irritated click of the tongue cut through the deafening roars and explosions.
Almost insignificant, yet clearly heard by a select few.
Renzo had just folded the wrapper of his rice ball and was ready to slip it into his pocket,
eager to clock out and go home.
But watching the chaos escalate yet again drained the very last scraps of his already tiny patience.
Slowly, he stood up, brushed off nonexistent dust on his clothing, and frowned.
"Are you guys done yet?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange, penetrating quality, sending a jolt through Sanji and Potts closest to him.
"He said it was over. Do you not understand human language, or do you think being loud automatically makes you right?"
The moment his words fell, the world changed.
Not the thick, sluggish gray of "Heaven of Sloth."
This time, it was something much more domineering, much more unreasonable.
[Sloth's Decree Silence]
Akainu's magma fist, hot enough to melt steel, froze midair.
His mouth hung open, twisted into a furious snarl, a roar building in his throat,
yet not a single sound emerged.
He felt his arm, no, his entire world, grow impossibly heavy.
The attack that could obliterate a city now had all the force of a newborn infant.
It couldn't move at all.
Blackbeard's manic laughter stopped instantly, his expression freezing at the peak of madness.
He tried to activate his abilities, but it was as if the beast inside him had been locked away behind unbreakable bars.
He couldn't feel them at all.
He tried to move, to shout, to run, but every muscle was filled with molten lead, unbearably heavy.
"…"
"…"
The Red Hair Pirates' faces changed dramatically as well.
Shanks' hand, which had been reaching for Gryphon's hilt, stopped.
That overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, surpassing even Whitebeard, was crushed inside him, unable to leak out even slightly.
Ben Beckman's cigarette fell silently from his mouth.
The rifle he had raised didn't move an inch.
Pure horror rippled through the battlefield.
Over ten thousand Marines and pirates were suddenly transformed into silent actors in a massive, bizarre play
Mouths open, but unable to shout.
Swords raised, but unable to cut the air.
Devil Fruit users tried to activate their powers, but felt no response at all.
Explosions continued to burn, with no sound.
Waves continued to crash, with no sound.
This was a world stripped of "sound" and "motion."
Every gaze was pulled, trembling, horrified, and unwilling, toward the lone man walking leisurely out from the battlefield's edge.
Marine Rear Admiral, Renzo.
He strolled between corpses and rubble as if wandering through his own backyard.
"Mhm. Much quieter now."
Renzo nodded with satisfaction.
He walked to the center of the battlefield, right between Akainu, Blackbeard, and Shanks,
and stopped.
He didn't even glance at the purple-faced, furious Akainu.
He ignored the fear and greed twisting Blackbeard's expression.
Instead, his gaze landed on the only person who had suggested something useful.
Shanks.
"Hey, Red-Hair."
His tone was so casual it was almost criminal.
"What you said, I agree."
"Tell them to pack up and scram already."
"They're too damn noisy."
He yawned, as if the world-crushing power he'd just used was no more effort than turning off a TV.
In the face of Renzo's absolute, unreasonable, rule-level authority, pirate ambition and marine justice alike looked pathetically small.
On the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood frozen in his giant Buddha form, but inside, tidal waves crashed violently.
He stared at Renzo, his expression a chaotic blend of shock, caution, and, most surprisingly, relief, as if he'd found a life-saving rope.
Renzo seemed to notice Sengoku's gaze and lazily lifted his eyelids.
The next second, the invisible field enveloping the world quietly dissipated.
Thirty seconds.
That's Renzo's current limit.
"BOOOOOOM!!!"
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Sound returned in an instant.
Akainu's magma fist exploded forward without control, missing its target and instead blowing a massive molten crater into the ground.
Blackbeard and his crew gasped desperately for air, drenched in cold sweat like drowning men dragged ashore.
Marines and pirates alike instinctively stumbled backwards, away from the man who had merely taken a walk.
Doflamingo's red sunglasses dropped off his face.
"Damn it! I knew those three minutes were an act!"
Quietly, he shielded his officers and withdrew from the battlefield.
The silence that followed was deeper than the silence Renzo's ability had forced.
This time, the stillness came from their hearts.
Shanks looked at Renzo long and hard.
The eyes that usually carried a trace of a smile were now heavy and serious.
He lowered the hand reaching for his sword and signaled to his crew.
Then, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's thunderous voice boomed across the battlefield,
ending this absurd and brutal war at last.
"THE WAR IS OVER!!!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu