Crack—
The deck beneath Fujitora's feet shattered instantly. Standing at the bow, he suddenly seed to be crushed by an invisible force, causing the massive warship to tilt upward.
"This level of Haki… Only two people in the world possess it."
Akainu's expression changed drastically.
One was Red-Haired Shanks, the other was Kuke.
If it was the forr, it was still manageable.
But if it was the latter…
Cold sweat ran down Akainu's face.
His eyes darted around anxiously until he spotted the unmistakable, imposing figures of Shanks and his crew approaching with a confident stride.
"What terrifying Haki." Fujitora calmly twisted his blade, effortlessly nullifying Shanks' Conqueror's Haki.
"The Red-Haired Pirates… So it's you."
Rather than being alard, Akainu smirked.
This was an opportunity.
Inside the warship, intelligence officers imdiately relayed the situation to Marine Headquarters.
More reinforcents were on their way.
"Everyone, give a little face."
Shanks turned his gaze toward Akainu.
"It's the Red-Haired Pirates! One of the Four Emperors!" The Supernovas, still climbing out of the rubble, gaped in shock.
Especially Luffy.
He was so overwheld he could barely speak.
"Give you face? You're just a pirate. Why should I?" Akainu sneered. You think you're Kuke? Soone we have no choice but to respect?
Shanks let out a carefree chuckle.
"Akainu, you show up here every year. Aren't you tired?"
Rayleigh sighed as he glanced at Akainu.
Akainu scowled. "You again, Rayleigh."
"Don't tell they're connected to Kuke too," Akainu growled.
There was no way.
How could so many people be tied to him?
And even if they were…
The ten-year agreent was about to end.
Akainu no longer cared.
If this forced the Sun and Moon Pirates into an all-out war with the World Governnt, Akainu would welco it. A great war was the only way to wipe out pirates for good.
Rayleigh glanced at the Supernovas. They didn't seem to have any direct ties to Kuke.
"What are you waiting for? Run! This battle is way beyond you!" Shanks snapped at the stunned Supernovas.
"Yeah, run!"
Kid and the others gave Shanks a grateful look before turning and bolting at full speed.
Putting as much distance between themselves and the battlefield as possible.
"You think you can escape?"
Akainu roared.
The warships' cannons adjusted their aim.
"Akainu, your fight is with ." Shanks, sword in hand, stepped between them.
"Fair enough. The Red-Haired Pirates are worth much more than the Supernovas."
Akainu's eyes locked onto Shanks.
Molten magma surged violently around his fists, his aura exploding.
The Supernovas kept running.
Until, in the distance, they saw a sight that made them stop in their tracks—
The entire island behind them seed to be crumbling apart. A surge of red-hot energy waves erupted like tidal waves, shaking the entire Sabaody Archipelago.
"Is this real…?"
"Can a battle really cause this much destruction?"
The Supernovas were speechless.
Their own fights covered, at most, a hundred ters.
They had never seen anything like this—shockwaves spreading across miles.
"Shanks… will he be okay?" Luffy struggled against Zoro and Sanji dragging him away.
"That's the Red-Haired Pirates. And that old man with them? That's Dark King Rayleigh—Roger's right-hand man. He's a legend. They'll be fine," Sanji reasoned.
"An Emperor of the Sea, plus Dark King Rayleigh—there's no way they can't escape, right?"
The other Supernovas were worried too.
Their lives had just been saved by Shanks.
Naturally, they didn't want their savior to die here.
"We need to keep moving. This fight isn't sothing we can be part of."
The Supernovas continued fleeing Sabaody at full speed.
The Red-Haired Pirates and Rayleigh clashed violently with Akainu's forces.
In just a few dozen minutes—
Several islands had already crumbled.
"Shanks, we can't keep this up. We have to leave," Ben Beckman warned as Shanks locked blades with Akainu.
He and Yasopp had tead up to hold off Ryokugyu.
Rayleigh was fighting Fujitora.
So far, they were holding their ground.
"Have Luffy and the others escaped?" Shanks blocked another of Akainu's strikes and quickly extended his Observation Haki—confirming that the Supernovas had left Sabaody.
"It's ti to go. I don't want to be stuck fighting the Marines forever."
Shanks took a deep breath and shouted, "Prepare to retreat! You all go first, I'll cover the rear."
"Well, well, isn't this an interesting turn of events?"
A mocking voice suddenly rang out.
The relaxed expressions on the Red-Haired Pirates' faces instantly stiffened.
They looked up.
Their faces turned grim as they saw Admiral Kizaru standing atop a cannonball mid-air.
Marine Headquarters' reinforcents had arrived.
On the horizon, more than a dozen Marine battleships approached—nearly all of Marine HQ's strongest forces had been mobilized.
Zephyr. Chief of Staff Tsuru.
Even Kong.
"Was this really necessary? I'm Shanks, not Kuke. Do you really need to send all of Marine HQ's forces after ?" Shanks was baffled.
What did he do to deserve this?
"This is bad."
Rayleigh, who had been calm until now, suddenly felt imnse pressure.
This was worse than when he and Kuke had fought three admirals together.
"We have to break through." Ben Beckman, no longer composed, realized the gravity of the situation. With such overwhelming forces, the Red-Haired Pirates could be completely wiped out today.
"I learned my lesson from Kuke—never hold back against an opponent," Akainu wiped the blood from his face, a cut left by Shanks' sword.
He would never make that mistake again.
Thinking back to how Kuke had humiliated him, Akainu felt nothing but resentnt.
If he had brought a stronger force from the start, he could have eliminated Kuke before he ever had the chance to grow.
"This won't be easy."
Shanks took a deep breath.
Looking at the overwhelming forces before him.
There was no way he could escape easily.
"You all go. Leave the rest to ." As captain, Shanks was ready to put everything on the line for his crew.
A captain's duty was to stand in the most dangerous position.
"No way, boss! If we go, we go together!"
"To hell with the Marines, let's fight!"
Shanks' crew refused to leave him behind.
"Go! I'm your captain! I won't die." Shanks flashed a confident, carefree grin.
Then, he turned to Rayleigh. "Rayleigh-san, I'm sorry for dragging you into this again. You need to leave too. I'll handle the rest."
Rayleigh stared at Shanks.
This scene.
Was too familiar.
It was right here, in Sabaody.
With Akainu as the opponent.
"When a man smiles and makes a request, you can't refuse him," Rayleigh sighed.
"We're leaving."
Ben Beckman turned to the crew. "Trust our captain. He's Shanks."
"Let's go."
The Red-Haired Pirates retreated swiftly.
"None of you are leaving!"
"Divine Departure!"
Shanks roared, unleashing an earth-shattering Conqueror's Haki-infused strike, stopping the Marines in their tracks.
Standing alone with his sword.
Facing all of Marine HQ's strongest warriors, he smirked. "Co on, let see what Kuke went through."
Behind him.
His crew vanished into the distance.
One man bought them a sliver of hope.
"Capture him."
Akainu charged at Shanks.
The battle raged on for three hours.
Outnumbered and overwheld.
Shanks held on for three hours—but with Kizaru's speed and Fujitora's gravity, the Marines had too many ways to keep him from escaping.
Just like Kuke before.
He couldn't run.
He couldn't win.
"What a failure… I got caught," Shanks muttered, completely exhausted, bound by thick Seastone chains, unable to move even a finger.
"Shanks, you've been captured."
Akainu stood over him, pressing his boot against the chains on Shanks' chest.
"Yeah, yeah. Thought I was gonna die. Whatever—just give so booze," Shanks chuckled.
"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. But not today."
Akainu's cold gaze bore into him.
The blood of an Emperor.
Would be the perfect declaration of his rise as Fleet Admiral.
"In one month, I beco Fleet Admiral."
One month was enough ti to make the whole world watch.
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 50 chapters at patreon/Emik01.
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