"Finally can't sit still, can you?"
Shano grinned, his eyes even more crimson.
Who has come?
One of the Five Elders? Or is it Red Hair's old man, that Saint Garling who once made a brilliant showing in Divine Valley? Or perhaps... is it Imu, who sits upon the Void Throne?
It doesn't matter!
Black and red lightning erupted from around him, colliding with the descending oppressive force!
Crackle—!
The black thunder produced by the collision of their Supreme King energies rampaged throughout the venue, and the nearest few Red Trees instantly collapsed with a boom, while many civilians and Navy Soldiers fainted on the spot.
The next moment!
More terrifying black lightning struck down again from the Pentagram Array!
"It's getting more and more chaotic, more and more exaggerating."
At the distant dock, Zephyr, who at some point had given up breaking through, had stopped to rest, chewing on a toothpick and squinting as he looked this way, "That guy can still laugh, huh..."
"Is he laughing?"
Fujitora, with his eyes tightly shut, softly asked.
"Yeah."
Zephyr exhaled deeply, glancing at Fujitora, "I really don't understand how someone as honest and reliable as you could follow such a reckless madman."
"Maybe as you said, it's because he..." Fujitora raised his head, revealing a smile, "he's still laughing even now."
That's right.
Facing this calamity-like oppression, Shano was still laughing loudly, his laughter pierced the clouds, mixed with the black thunder of the Supreme King, echoing across the skies over Shampodi!
"Hahaha, come on! Aren't you self-proclaimed gods?"
He drew his tachi, stomping the ground and shattering it, his form shooting like an arrow towards the pentagram array in the cloud fissure:
"Then don't just hide behind this Teleportation Array, show yourself! Get out here! Let me see—"
The blade's light cut a thousand-meter-long crimson slash, splitting the entire sky in two!
"You so-called 'true gods' of a higher order..."
"Will you bleed!!!"
Kamusari!
Boom—!
The crimson slash and black lightning collided fiercely at thousands of meters in the sky, and the exploding shockwave shredded the entire cloud layer.
The black clouds rolling over the sky like boiling water scattered to the side, revealing the intact body of the Pentagram Array, which trembled violently, surprisingly splitting open a crack running straight through it from top to bottom with just this one slash!
"Insolence!"
An ancient and dignified voice came from the crevice, unable to suppress its rage.
"Insolence to your mother!"
Shano wildly laughed, swinging his blade for another slash, black and red lightning entwined around the blade, the second Kamusari tore the sky open, aiming for the core of the Pentagram Array!
Crack!
The Pentagram Array began to crumble and collapse, a massive, non-humanoid, furry black hand seemed to want to reach out and stop it, but after a brief hesitation, it retracted again.
Snap! The array completely vanished, and the black clouds in the sky gradually dispersed.
Shampodi returned to peace.
"Spineless coward."
Shano sneered disdainfully.
Judging by that furry big hand, it didn't seem to be Imu, and as for the rest of the possible answers... hmph, whoever they are, they're nothing special!
Sheathing his sword, he descended slowly from the sky.
The first rays of sunlight also happened to pierce through the clouds once more, dancing upon the earth.
Everyone stared blankly upwards, looking at that figure draped in a black cloak, standing tall in the beam of light, black hair billowing in the wind, enhancing that ruggedly handsome face to matchless brilliance.
"Oh-ho!"
Jack couldn't resist the excitement, punching the air, "As expected of the boss! So cool! Those two slashes just now were insanely cool!"
Kuma stood next to him, not reacting as extravagantly, but he too pursed his lips, showing a rare smile.
Kuina, meanwhile, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, took a deep breath, and walked up briskly.
In her hands, she held a Radio Snail she had just borrowed from a reporter.
"Oh, time to cut to a close-up manually, huh."
Shano moved his neck slightly, turning his head and giving a light smile to the Radio Snail, "Today's performance is about to end, I wonder if everyone is satisfied watching it."
"However, before we conclude, there's one last thing to mention, at this point, I think it's time to correct our reputation for everyone, Jack."
"Yes, boss!"
Jack stepped forward, bent down, and pointed at himself with his thumb, grinning as he spoke:
"Endgame Pirates', that's the title the World Government has pinned on us, but in reality, those three words 'Pirate Gang' are bull**it! We've never been pirates!"
"We've never plundered merchant ships, never killed the innocent indiscriminately, never bullied civilians, and certainly never, like those Heavenly Celestial Dragons who are worse than pigs and dogs, regarded all as their slaves!"
"Look closely! This is our true banner!"
With a burst of force, he pulled out a huge flag from seemingly nowhere, planted it in the ground, and let it unfurl in the wind, rattling loudly.
The flag's background color was white.
There was no skull, only two sharp swords crossed over the blue seagull symbolizing Navy Headquarters.
"And the meaning of Endgame."
Kuma stood calmly to the side, his voice warm, "There has ever only been one, that is to drop the curtain on this incurable rotten era, to uproot the shadow hanging over the people's heads."
"For this, we will sever all injustice and oppression! For this, we can be enemies with all who stand in our way!"
Kuina followed up with a cold voice, "No matter if those blocking the way are pirates, the Navy, or these so-called gods!"
The scene shifts.
Returning to Shano.
The handsome black-haired young man spread his arms towards the camera, laughing heartily and boldly: "That's pretty much all!"
"In short, remember, world! If you are still shackled by fear, remember today's Shampodi! If you are still blinded by lies, look at the blood of these gods!"
"If you wish to rise and follow us on this path, Endgame welcomes you to join!"
Shano's voice suddenly rose a notch:
"Whether oppressed civilians, Navy with righteousness in their hearts, or even those kind-hearted who only succumbed to piracy out of helplessness!"
"As long as you are willing to fight to end this rotten era, beneath Endgame's flag, under my command, there will always be a place for you!"
"And for those who insist on obstructing us..."
The camera suddenly zooms out, freezing on the image behind Shano, the pure white flag standing proudly amidst the scattered four headless corpses.
"This is the outcome!"
Zzz— pop!
The livestream officially cuts off.
The long silence on Shampodi Islands was completely shattered at this moment.
"Endgame! Endgame! Endgame!"
Someone in the crowd shouted the name first, then like a wildfire, the cries spread from the center of the grass to the entire island.
Countless people raised their arms, tears in their eyes, repeating the name that symbolized rebellion and termination.
"Endgame!"
A young Navy Soldier also turned red in the face, fervently raising his arms to shout along.
"Hey! You bastard, did you forget your identity, are you going to rebel?" The major beside him instantly glared fiercely.
"Endgame! Endgame!"
The young Marine ignored him entirely, instead shouting even louder.
Beside him, an older Marine hesitated for a moment, suddenly gritted his teeth, ripped off his Navy uniform, and threw it fiercely to the ground.
"I quit!"
He roared, "What's the point of being at Shampodi Base's Navy! Just in these past two years, we've been deployed a dozen times just to protect Heavenly Celestial Dragons, helped catch a bunch of slaves, killed many civilians… Justice? Did this damn thing ever mean justice! I'd rather go follow Endgame!"
"You!"
The major got furious, about to draw his gun, only to find more and more soldiers starting to imitate him, either tearing off their uniforms or throwing away their caps...
"I quit too!"
"Damn the Navy!"
The soldiers doing so were not in the majority, nowhere near a third, but their numbers grew quite substantial.
The major's expression slightly changed, and he didn't dare act rashly, quietly retreating into the crowd.
In the distance.
Zephyr watched this scene, the toothpick rolling back and forth in his mouth.
He remained silent for a long time, finally heaving a deep sigh: "Sengoku, oh Sengoku, did you hear… the bell of the new era formally rings from now on."
Fujitora stood beside him, a smile on his lips: "Senior Zephyr, you saw it too, this is what Master Shano meant by 'cutting the chains'."
"Tsk."
Zephyr snorted coldly, yet didn't continue to argue.
His gaze passed over the bubbling crowd, looking at that white flag fluttering, looking at the black-haired youth illuminated by the sun.
Zephyr squinted, remaining silent for a long time.
Suddenly spat out the toothpick, grinning:
"Tsk, not bad at all."