And the last shred of willpower that Moriah had been stubbornly holding on to finally failed him, and he collapsed.
As for the rest, Pearl and the others were taken on three at once by Yasopp, who shattered Iron Shield, tortoise shell, and Tekkai-tempered flesh alike, his lead bullet punching through Pearl's abdomen.
Jean Bart's gigantic stone giant likewise collapsed completely after being struck by a single bullet, and he fell amid the tumbling rubble.
Mute, on the other hand, actually went blow for blow with a guy in their Pirates called Kabu—one had a Sound Wave ability, able to gather sound waves into a roar; the other's ability was unknown, but he too could unleash a roar—only to be subdued in the end by the arriving Hongo and Building Snake.
As for the three thousand Pirates left behind, they were utterly unable to resist Shanks' Supreme King, and were all knocked unconscious.
They were all cadres, but with one decisive figure missing from the Disaster Pirates' lineup, the battle collapsed right from the start and they were easily crushed.
Beckman slid his rifle into the holster at his waist, looked at Shanks, and asked, "Do we finish them?"
"No need. As long as they've lost the ability to resist, that's enough. We didn't come here to kill people."
Shanks' lips curled as he looked at this city whose prosperity was like nothing he'd ever heard of, and sighed in admiration: "This place is bursting with life. That guy Sage has more talent than a King."
"Yeah. I've never seen a place like this. It looks incredible!"
Yasopp slung his rifle over his back and swept his gaze over the densely packed buildings beyond the harbor, laughing as he said, "We've been to Augustus Castle before. It was huge, but compared to now, it's miles behind."
"What really stands out is..."
Beckman's eyes shifted from the buildings down to the ground, to the dense crowd that kept gathering, shoulder to shoulder, and he visibly showed his surprise. "These people aren't afraid of us."
"So what if you're one of the Four Emperors?!"
The leading civilian, gun in hand, barked sharply, "This is Lord Sage's territory! It's our home! No one is allowed to set foot here! Absolutely not!"
"That's right! We survived the Pirate-chaos era! Stay sharp, we O'haras have our own convictions too!"
"That's the spirit!"
"Red Hair Pirates! Fuck your mother!!"
It's only been a few years!
Before Sage came, the war had drawn a lot of Pirates in. They might not have entered the city at the time, but the atrocities the nobles committed in the city and the plundering by Pirates outside the city were on the same level—both meant people died.
It was Lord Sage who came and changed everything!
All these years, the nobles pressing down on their heads are gone; there's only Lord Sage, whom they willingly support. Even Lady Lily draws a salary and works just like them—everyone's the same.
All they want now is to live freely and unrestrained. Whoever ruins their lives, they'll fight that person to the death!
Sage never banned weapons in his territory; he even encouraged people to carry guns, and now the benefit of that policy was showing.
With a gun in practically everyone's hands, the Royal City's population of roughly a million—kids included—had all picked up pistols. An armed populace, every last one determined to drive the Pirates out.
"It really is a rare spectacle."
Yasopp drew in a deep breath. "But that means they're our enemies now."
"There's too many of them."
Beckman shook his head. "When it comes to this kind of thing, that guy Sage is downright terrifying. Even the most virtuous King doesn't have this kind of pull."
It wasn't like they'd never met Kings before. They'd seen good ones and bad ones. Their own Captain's temperament was very free-spirited; whether in Adhering or Non-Adhering Countries, he'd even made friends with a few Kings.
But none of those Kings had anything like the terrifying influence Sage had now.
That was what made Sage so feared.
Military might?
Influence?
Those things show up from time to time, but this level of charisma isn't something everyone can possess—not even the Revolutionary Army is this frightening!
"Their courage is commendable."
Shanks held Gryphon and stepped forward. "But we're Pirates. We don't care how the locals see us."
Bang!
With just that one step, a civilian couldn't hold back and pulled the trigger. Shanks sliced the fired lead bullet cleanly in two with a single stroke, and at the same time his pupils flared a blood-red hue. His Supreme King surged forward like a flood, crashing into the crowd gathered ahead, rolling their eyes back white and dropping them to the ground.
"But I have no intention of being your enemy either. Better to stay alive and do something that actually matters."
Shanks looked toward the people further away who hadn't yet been caught by the Supreme King's wave and called out loudly, "Otherwise you're just wasting your time."
He didn't even need to cow all one million; so long as the Supreme King expanded over a certain area, anyone within who lacked the qualifications would naturally be unable to withstand it and lose consciousness.
Numbers mean nothing to someone with the gift, especially someone whose Supreme King is on Red Hair's level.
With no one left to block their way, they quickly reached the Royal City. The people inside likewise couldn't withstand the Supreme King, letting Red Hair enter without the slightest obstruction.
"This guy really lives it up."
The group barged into Sage's bedchamber. Beckman pulled a bottle of red wine from the cabinet, popped the cork, took a sniff, and said:
"Twenty-year Musigny red. Market price, three million Belly—and even then it's not something you can just buy."
"No rum? That's what I like." Shanks asked.
"Hahahaha, boss, a Treasure King like Sage doesn't stock that cheap swill you find everywhere." Lucky Roux burst out laughing.
Shanks laughed along for a bit, then walked through a side door into the adjoining training room, where he saw three massive Poneglyphs standing upright.
"Not Road Poneglyphs..."
He walked over and carefully examined the Poneglyphs, spotting several fist imprints on their faces, and shook his head with a smile. "No wonder they're in here—training tools. That guy's punches really are something else."