The Xia Te Pirates, Beasts Pirates, and Red-Haired Pirates clashed in a chaotic three-way battle.
Compared to the other three Yonko crews, the Red-Haired Pirates had a unique advantage—
they didn't have a fixed base.
Unlike Kaido's Wano Country or Big Mom's Totto Land,
the Red-Haired crew operated entirely from the Red Force, constantly on the move.
They had territory—but no headquarters.
Which meant they never had to leave forces behind to guard against sneak attacks.
When they fought—
they fought with their entire crew.
That was one of the reasons they were known as the "Iron Wall Pirates."
In the original timeline, Kaido had only brought part of his forces to seize Whitebeard's territory.
Running into the fully mobilized Red-Haired Pirates and getting driven back was only natural.
But this time—
Kaido had teamed up with Xia Te.
—
"Urgh!!"
Shanks' blade struck Kaido's side—
right on the scar left by Kozuki Oden.
Kaido let out a pained grunt.
The intense pain nearly sent him crashing into the sea.
But his body rapidly expanded, transforming into his Azure Dragon form, soaring back into the sky.
After forcing Kaido back momentarily, Shanks turned—
just in time to clash blades with Xia Te's dual swords behind him.
"Impressive. I haven't seen Golden Lion's swordsmanship in years. If Mihawk met you, he'd be thrilled."
Even in such a dire situation, Shanks still wore a faint smile.
Just like Luffy.
"Heh… I'll take that as a compliment."
Xia Te had no interest in chatting.
His self-serving nature clashed fundamentally with Shanks' habit of meddling in everything.
Enma began to exert its power—
releasing Ryuo Armament Haki that could penetrate the body and destroy internal organs.
Shanks' expression shifted slightly.
He immediately recognized the technique.
Back when he was just an apprentice on Roger's ship—
he had seen it before.
"Hah!"
Shanks' pupils flared.
A formless shockwave burst from him—
even seasoned warriors would lose consciousness for a moment under that pressure.
His Conqueror's Haki blocked the invading Ryuo.
The two forces of Haki clashed midair, sparking black-red lightning.
The next instant—
Shanks surged forward, forcing Xia Te back.
Sliding over ten meters across the deck,
Xia Te stabbed Ame no Habakiri into the planks to stabilize himself.
—
"DIE, SHANKS!!!"
A scorching aura erupted—
the surrounding temperature skyrocketing.
Even without looking back,
Shanks could sense it with Observation Haki—
Kaido was above him, preparing to unleash a Blast Breath.
The next moment—
a torrent of dragon fire descended like a heavenly inferno.
BOOOOM—!!
A layer of invisible Conqueror's Haki erupted from Shanks, forming a barrier that blocked the attack.
With a reverse grip, he spun and slashed.
A towering sword beam, over twenty meters high, shot skyward—
splitting the dragon breath and smashing straight into Kaido's head.
Kaido gritted his teeth and charged forward head-on.
Seconds later—
with a thunderous explosion, the sword beam shattered.
A thin line of blood trickled down Kaido's forehead.
—
"How did Oden leave such massive scars on him back then?"
Seeing that even Shanks' brutal slash only drew blood—
Xia Te couldn't help but glance at the massive X-shaped scar on Kaido's torso.
Doubt crept into his mind.
Either Kaido had been weaker back then—
or Oden had his own kind of "cheat."
—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several figures suddenly shot into the air—
the core officers of the Red-Haired Pirates!
Blades flashed at near light speed, striking Kaido from multiple angles.
"Grr—DAMN IT!!!"
The continuous pain pushed Kaido's fury to new heights.
He swung his massive tail, smashing toward a blond swordsman.
But the man had already predicted the attack with Observation Haki—
raising his blade to block.
BOOM—!!
Though he was blasted into the sea,
the damage was minimized.
Less than five seconds later—
he leapt back out of the water.
—
Truly worthy of the title Iron Wall Pirates.
Though small in number,
their average strength was extremely high.
Among their core members—
there were virtually no weak links.
Compare that to the Big Mom Pirates—
remove Charlotte Linlin and Katakuri,
and the rest were either dead weight or traitors.
As for the Whitebeard Pirates—
they were strong, but mainly because of Whitebeard himself.
Among the sixteen division commanders,
only the first five truly reached world-class level.
But the Red-Haired Pirates—
had none of those weaknesses.
Across the entire sea,
perhaps only they could claim such balance.
—
"You damn insects—GET LOST!!!"
Kaido roared, unleashing dragon breath wildly.
But the Red-Haired officers moved like agile flies—
even if individually weaker, they couldn't be taken down quickly.
—
CLANG!!!
At that moment—
Xia Te's Enma and Ame no Habakiri clashed once more with Shanks' Gryphon.
The violent sword pressure sliced a cut across Xia Te's cheek.
"You're truly talented. To reach this level at your age… but it's a shame you chose the same path as Golden Lion."
Shanks said with regret.
Xia Te burst into laughter.
"Your captain and Golden Lion were both trash. That 'Great Pirate Era' he started—how many people has it killed? Don't tell me you're clueless."
His tone turned mocking.
"We pirates are all scum anyway—so what, there are ranks among scum now?"
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