Lucky Roux bit into a chunk of meat and mumbled, "Boss… are we really getting involved in this?"
Shanks tightened his grip on Griffin's hilt. He didn't answer.
He acted.
"I'll save Ace. None of you interfere."
With a flash, he vanished toward the execution platform.
The two Marine soldiers guarding it went pale.
"R-Red-Hair's coming!"
Their hands trembled as they raised their blades.
Shanks landed lightly atop the platform. Griffin swung casually.
Clang.
The Seastone cuffs shattered—
Without harming Ace in the slightest.
"Let's go, Ace," Shanks said in a low voice.
"I'll save you this once. There won't be a next time."
Ace flexed his freed wrists.
His expression was complicated.
He opened his mouth—
But said nothing.
He hated Roger.
Yet now he was being saved because he was Roger's son.
But being a pirate?
He hated that too.
The sea.
Freedom.
The dream of making Whitebeard Pirate King—
All of it felt distant.
Even the title "Pirate King" disgusted him.
Ace was now wholeheartedly righteous.
The moment he was free—
He shouted toward Whitebeard:
"Quit being a pirate, Old Man!"
"If you give up being a pirate, I'll still call you my father!"
Whitebeard nearly coughed blood from rage.
His fury deepened.
Tsuru's brainwashing had twisted Ace into something unrecognizable.
"ARGH!! MARINES!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!"
His anger surged into power.
His aura intensified again.
Seeing Whitebeard refuse—
A flicker of pain flashed deep in Ace's eyes.
What was so good about being a pirate?
Wouldn't it be better to be righteous?
He didn't understand.
His disgust for piracy only grew stronger.
And then—
He turned.
And attacked pirates alongside the Marines.
The Whitebeard crew almost had heart attacks.
Thankfully—
Ace still remembered he'd been treated well.
So he chose to attack the Blackbeard Pirates.
Unfortunately—
There wasn't a single one among them he could defeat.
—
Shanks watched this with a helpless look.
He turned to Beckman.
"Go protect Ace."
As for himself—
He charged at Leno.
Leno was too dangerous.
There was no way Luffy could ever beat him.
Even Shanks himself—
If he gave Leno more time—
Would eventually be surpassed.
Shanks swung Griffin.
"This ends now, Leno!"
—
Elsewhere, hidden among the ruins—
Blackbeard observed the battlefield.
Greedy eyes locked onto Whitebeard and Sengoku.
"Zehahaha… Red-Hair came at the perfect time!"
His body trembled with excitement.
"If he hadn't shown up, I'd never get the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. But now…"
He licked his lips.
"My chance… is finally here!"
—
On another side—
Ace was fighting Blackbeard's crew.
"Fire Fist!"
His attack was blocked easily.
After only a few exchanges—
He dropped to one knee.
Despair filled his eyes.
"I can't even defeat one enemy… I'm useless…"
Beckman frowned.
When had Ace become like this?
Was this really the Ace he knew?
—
Center battlefield.
Shanks' blade descended.
"Divine Departure!"
Griffin, coated in Conqueror's Haki, slashed toward Leno.
And Leno didn't dodge.
"Frozen in fear?" Shanks thought briefly.
From the side, Akainu watched the slash with disdain.
"What a joke of an Emperor."
Shanks noticed the look and frowned—
But before he could speak—
The slash cleaved Leno in half.
No blood.
No scream.
The two halves burst into laughter.
The upper body's fist smashed into Shanks' face.
The lower half's leg slammed into Akainu's chest.
BOOM!
Shanks was blasted backward, blood at his lips.
He stared in disbelief as Leno's body fused back together.
Leno sneered.
"As Buggy's best friend, you don't know how the Chop-Chop Fruit works?"
Shanks' face darkened.
He knew slashes didn't work on Buggy.
But he didn't use Divine Departure on Buggy!
Who knew the Chop-Chop Fruit could nullify Haki-coated slashes too?!
And…
Something felt different.
Buggy's version wasn't this strong.
—
Leno felt exhilarated.
"The Chop-Chop ability is just too good."
"This trait has tricked who knows how many swordsmen. It's a first-meet insta-kill for blade users. Feels amazing."
Still—
He wasn't delusional.
That hit wasn't enough to remove either of them from the fight.
He'd still have to withstand a two-on-one assault.
Facing two monsters of this caliber at once—
Was troublesome.
His crew?
Too weak to matter.
Leno glanced at Domino and the others fighting in the distance.
"After this war, I'm putting them through hell training. Otherwise they'll never survive in the New World."
But that was later.
Right now—
He needed to shake off Shanks and Akainu.
He couldn't kill them.
Continuing was just a waste of time.
"Damn it…"
He dodged Akainu's magma fists.
Blocked Shanks' Haki-coated punches with his arm.
If slashes didn't work, Shanks switched to hand-to-hand.
Most of Shanks' strength lay in swordsmanship—
But that didn't mean he couldn't brawl.
One-on-one—
Leno was nearly untouchable.
But outnumbered?
That was different.
Every Yonko had elite crews.
He hated fighting multiple top tiers.
"Just because I beat up Luffy, huh? Shanks really is the ultimate babysitter."
Compared to that—
Akainu felt straightforward.
As he fought—
Leno subtly maneuvered closer to the battlefield where Whitebeard and Sengoku clashed.
Sorry.
You two will have to help absorb some heat.
And maybe—
Whitebeard could fight to the death a little harder.
Better you than me.
Akainu and Shanks both knew Leno grew stronger through combat.
So they used their strongest attacks from the start.
No room for growth.
"Dog Bite Crimson Lotus!"
Shanks remained silent.
Just relentless Haki-coated punches.
But Leno had no intention of letting them end it quickly either.
"You think you can take me down fast? Dream on!"
He laughed—
And surged directly into Whitebeard and Sengoku's battle zone.
Chaos intensified.
Because any attack—
Would inevitably affect someone else.
Leno seized an opening—
And slipped close to Whitebeard.
Sorry, Old Man.
He lowered his voice rapidly:
"Whitebeard. Let's make a deal."
"You block them for me. I guarantee your sons leave Marineford alive."
"After that—"
"Let them join under my banner."
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