What no one expected was Red-Haired Shanks suddenly making his move.
His Observation Killing, formed by combining Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki, bypassed Borsalino's Observation Haki and appeared directly in front of him.
"Sea Sever!"
Red-Haired Shanks seemed to have fallen completely into rage.
The moment he attacked, it was a killing move.
An enormous amount of Conqueror's Haki gathered on his famous blade, Gryphon, as he slashed toward Borsalino's right hand.
Although Borsalino was startled by Shanks, he was still a veteran Marine Admiral.
His rich combat experience and countless escape experiences made him abandon the image Den Den Mushi in an instant.
His entire body turned into countless light particles, fleeing in every direction.
Even Red-Hair's Sea Sever only managed to destroy a very small portion of those light particles.
When Borsalino appeared again, his body bore several wounds, but none of them were fatal.
Instead, Shanks' strength had been exposed to the world.
...
The image returned to New Marineford.
Standing on the execution platform, Raleigh addressed the crowd below.
"It seems our Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks, is nothing more than an ordinary man after all."
"In the past, I thought people like them had hearts of stone, that they could slaughter civilians and destroy villages without restraint for the sake of so-called freedom, dreams, or wealth, all to achieve their own goals."
"To be honest, I am somewhat disappointed."
"He only lost one close family member, yet as an Emperor among pirates, he has revealed such a weak and incompetent side. How disappointing."
"What difference is there between such a pirate king and ordinary civilians?"
"If I am not mistaken, perhaps they have never experienced what it feels like when ordinary people are slaughtered. That is because they are powerful. They believe they can protect what is important to them."
"But now, beginning with Uta's death, I hereby declare that the end of the world's pirates has officially arrived."
"In the coming days, I will not only act against those currently serving as pirates. I will also act against everything those pirates value, whether their family or their companions. I will make them taste the pain and despair ordinary civilians felt before death."
"If the pirates of the New World wish to fight the Marines, then come."
"The Marines have never feared danger."
After Raleigh finished speaking, for a full ten minutes, not a single person across the world made a sound.
They had thought this world would forever remain rotten.
They had thought this world would always be one where Marines and pirates remained tangled together, never able to determine victory or defeat.
They had thought this world would always be one where living another day meant only earning another day.
Now, with his forceful voice, Raleigh announced to the world that the rules would change.
And the Marines he led would completely crush those rotten rules.
"Marines!"
"Victory!"
In New Marineford's square, a retired middle-aged Marine whose arms had both been severed at the shoulders shed tears.
He raised his armless stumps high and roared in fury.
His spirit infected everyone around him.
Like him, all the civilians' eyes turned red as they raised their arms high toward the sky and shouted.
"Marines!"
"Long live the Marines!"
At that moment, across the world, everyone who had watched the broadcast and hated pirates to the bone seemed to lose themselves completely.
Only the sound of cheering for the Marines remained.
...
In the New World, on Whole Cake Island.
Crack.
Sitting on her throne, Charlotte Linlin crushed the crystal goblet filled with fine wine in her hand.
Boom!
The entire screen exploded into countless tiny fragments.
"Did you see that? The Marines are threatening us!"
Charlotte Linlin spoke in furious anger.
She had never suffered such humiliation before. Ever since she became a pirate, everything had gone smoothly for her.
Even during the God Valley incident, when the Roger Pirates and the Marines joined forces, with the World Government's CP organizations mixed in as well, to target Rocks, she had still escaped intact.
She had even taken a Devil Fruit from the Rocks Pirates' ship and given it to Kaido.
Although later, because their ambitions differed, Charlotte Linlin chose to occupy a sea territory and pursue her dream of Totto Land, from beginning to end, she had never suffered such humiliation from the Marines.
Nor had she ever been threatened by name like this.
Boom!
The sound of cannonballs exploding came from the distance.
Perospero quickly walked in from outside, knelt on one knee, and said, "Mama, the Marines have begun attacking our second defensive line."
Charlotte Linlin did not speak.
She directly summoned her weapon.
Stepping through the air with Geppo, she left the palace and headed straight for the second defensive line.
Previously, because the Marines had not dispatched an Admiral-level fighter, she had chosen not to act.
But now, Charlotte Linlin only wanted to use the blade in her hand to tell the Marines that she was not someone they could provoke.
Boom!
Charlotte Linlin had just arrived at the second defensive line when an old man with purple hair leapt out from among the Marines below and punched toward her in the air.
Bang!
The purple-haired old man's iron fist was undoubtedly blocked by Charlotte Linlin, but that force had already passed through her shoulder and entered her body.
"Zephyr, you old bastard. You still are not dead?"
Charlotte Linlin gritted her teeth as she stared at the old Admiral before her.
Although Zephyr's current strength was far from what it had been when he had just served as Admiral, there was no doubt that Zephyr, together with Jinbe of the Seven Warlords and the Pirate Empress Hancock, was enough to block her offensive.
Zephyr revealed a smile and mocked her in return.
"Charlotte Linlin, I truly do not know what you have been eating all these years. How did you grow into this?"
"I remember you used to be one of the beauties among pirates. I never expected you to become a huge fat woman."
"You are asking to die!"
What Charlotte Linlin hated most was hearing others talk about her figure, especially when the person saying it was someone she had already disliked in the past.
Boom!
Zephyr and Charlotte Linlin clashed continuously in midair. Layer after layer of sonic booms erupted through the air.
Even now, neither of them could determine a winner.
...
Half an hour later, Zephyr drove a heavy punch into Charlotte Linlin's face, while Charlotte Linlin struck back with a hammer-like blow to Zephyr's abdomen.
The two temporarily separated.
"Cough, cough. Charlotte Linlin, your strength is a little better than it was back then."
Zephyr wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes at Charlotte Linlin across from him.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator