Sakazuki's expression darkened instantly, and the magma surging around him grew even more violent.
He let out a cold snort, his voice brimming with fury.
"Shanks, this is a grudge between the Navy and pirates. A Yonko like you doesn't get to point fingers here! Either get lost, or I'll deal with you too!"
He was already seething inside.
The Navy was at a disadvantage to begin with, and now Red-Hair was barging in—who knew what he was plotting?
If he teamed up with Big Mom, the Navy might get wiped out right here today.
On the other side, Big Mom burst into thunderous laughter at that.
Zeus and Prometheus roiled madly at her side, their auras growing even more savage.
"Shanks? Who the hell do you think you are, sticking your nose into my business?"
She leveled her massive axe straight at the Red Force.
"Today I'm sending every one of these Navy trash to hell, then I'm taking the entire New World into the Charlotte Family's territory! If you've got any sense, get out of the way—otherwise I'll butcher you too!"
Big Mom didn't take Shanks' words seriously at all.
The World Government was gone; the biggest shackle had shattered. After holding back for so many years, she could finally expand without restraint.
Whoever stood in her way would die.
Even a fellow Yonko like Shanks was no exception.
Shanks' brows tightened slightly, and the smile on his face faded.
He hadn't expected either side to give him even a sliver of face.
He understood it clearly: the one thing the sea feared most right now was a single power dominating everything.
Whether the Navy won or Big Mom won, the balance would collapse completely—and that would only spark even greater chaos.
"Boss, looks like neither side's buying it," Ben Beckman said, flicking ash from his cigarette. His tone was calm, but there was a hint of caution in it. "So what now? Are we really doing this?"
Shanks sighed and wrapped his left hand around Gryphon's hilt.
"No choice."
His voice sank.
"The balance has to be maintained. This war can't end with either side winning."
Just then, two piercing whistles tore through the air from the distance. Two Navy warships split the waves and charged into the battlefield at extreme speed.
Kizaru's signature lazy drawl reached them first.
"Ooh my, ooh my… lively, isn't it. Fleet Admiral Sakazuki—we're late."
Before the words even finished—
A golden flash streaked across the sky, and Kizaru appeared at Akainu's side.
Blinding light gathered at his fingertips, and the glow of the Yata Mirror lit up half the heavens.
Immediately after—
Biting cold surged in like a tide.
Aokiji lifted a hand and swept it out. The power of Ice Age spread instantly,
freezing the sea between Big Mom and Akainu into a sheet of ice tens of meters thick, forcibly cutting off their attacks.
"Big Mom. Surrender."
Aokiji's voice was languid, but there was an unquestionable chill beneath it.
The cold radiating from him made even the surrounding seawater stop churning.
"Keep fighting, and it won't do you—or the Charlotte Family—any good."
With the Navy's three admirals gathered, the situation flipped in an instant.
The Navy, which had been on the back foot, surged with morale.
On the Charlotte side, every face sank.
Even Big Mom's eyes flickered with a trace of wariness.
Shanks watched the scene, and his expression turned completely grim.
He knew it: with all three admirals present, Big Mom had no chance. The Charlotte Family was doomed to lose today.
And if the Navy crushed the Charlotte Family and took control of the New World, the sea would become the Navy's one-man show—the balance would shatter completely.
He didn't hesitate.
Gryphon slid from its sheath in a flash, the blade leveled at Aokiji and Kizaru.
His Conqueror's Haki erupted without restraint, blasting the clouds in the sky to pieces.
"Aokiji. Kizaru. You shouldn't have come."
Shanks' voice turned cold and hard.
"In this battle, I can't let the Navy win."
"Ooh? Shanks… you're really going to start a full-scale war with the Navy?" Kizaru raised an eyebrow, clicking his tongue as he settled into a fighting stance.
But inside, he was already calculating.
The Red Hair Pirates were formidable to begin with. Add the Charlotte Family on top of that… and today's battle was about to escalate completely.
"Hmph."
Aokiji's gaze cooled. The frost around him thickened, and the ice beneath his feet spread even farther.
"Shanks. Do you know what you're doing?"
His voice sank.
"You're going against the entire Navy?"
"I'm just maintaining the balance."
Shanks lifted his blade slightly. Behind him, the Red Hair commanders all took up battle stances.
"The World Government is gone. If the Navy becomes the only dominant power… this sea will become even more terrifying than it already is."
Before the last word fell, the two sides' killing intent had already slammed into each other.
Akainu vs. Big Mom. Aokiji vs. Shanks. Kizaru vs. Ben Beckman.
A battlefield that was already brutal instantly upgraded into an all-out melee between a Yonko and the Navy's highest combat power.
Gion's situation grew even more perilous.
Katakuri's assault became denser and denser. She'd already burned through more than half her stamina; her movements slowed by a fraction, and several new wounds had opened across her body.
She gritted her teeth and forced out another slash, but she knew it—she was at her limit. She couldn't hold much longer.
Just then, along the Red Force's railing, Yasopp had already set up his sniper rifle.
His Observation Haki locked tightly onto Gion's movements. His finger rested on the trigger, eyes sharp as a hawk's.
He understood it clearly.
If he hit this female Marine, Katakuri could end the fight instantly.
The Navy's left wing would collapse completely—and they could win this war.
Yasopp had absolute confidence in his marksmanship.
In all his years on the sea, he had never missed.
This bullet, coated in Armament Haki—even an admiral wouldn't be able to dodge it without preparing in advance.
Let alone a Marine already tied down by Katakuri, exhausted in mind and body.
The trigger pulled.
The bullet tore through the air, too fast for the naked eye, shooting straight for Gion's left shoulder.
All of Gion's attention was focused on Katakuri's incoming offense. She didn't notice the cold shot coming from the shadows at all.
By the time she caught the whine of the bullet cutting the air, it was too late.
It punched straight through her left shoulder. Blood burst out at once, staining her white uniform red.
Agony surged along her nerves. Her body staggered, and she nearly lost her grip on Konpira.
Damn it!
Gion's heart sank.
She knew better than anyone what a gap this big meant in a fight at this level.
Sure enough, Katakuri didn't waste the opening.
His arm instantly transformed into a massive mochi warhammer,
wrapped in Armament so thick it was almost tangible—and even laced with Conqueror's Haki—as it smashed viciously toward Gion's head.
Katakuri's eyes were razor-sharp, his mind without the slightest hesitation.
With this blow, the female Marine would die for sure.
Taking her down would completely throw the Navy's formation into chaos.
"Gion!"
Gion's fellow admiral candidate, Tokikake's eyes went bloodshot. He tried to rush over to help, but Cracker's biscuit soldiers had him locked down tight—he couldn't break free.
He could only watch helplessly as the giant hammer drew closer and closer.
Akainu tried to fall back—
but Big Mom's Napoleon had him pinned down, and he couldn't spare a hand.
Kizaru and Aokiji were each entangled with their own opponents too, with no time to intervene.
Gion stared at the mochi hammer coming down, felt the terrifying pressure rolling off it, and her fingertips trembled. A thread of despair flashed through her mind.
Am I… going to die here today?
When the hammer was less than half a meter from her head—
a hand appeared out of nowhere in front of her.
That hand was lean, with distinct knuckles—nothing about it looked special.
Yet it effortlessly caught the mochi warhammer wrapped in both Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.
No matter how Katakuri forced his power, the hammer didn't budge in that hand—like it had been nailed in place.
Not even the surrounding air rippled in the slightest.
Rei Ao said calmly, "Miss, want to make a deal?"
The entire battlefield fell silent in an instant.