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Aboard the Red Force.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Shanks threw his head back and laughed, having understood the terrifying depth of Mihawk's swordsmanship in that single clash.
He warmly invited Hawkeye on board for drinks, winking and grinning, showing none of the seriousness he had displayed just moments ago. He was pure joy.
To greet every situation with such a cheerful attitude—it was an enviable mindset.
"Come on up for a drink, Hawkeye Mihawk!"
Mihawk didn't refuse. He had intended to follow the Red Hair Pirates to find an island for a proper duel anyway. That single exchange had been perfectly evenly matched; there was no better rival in the world.
The banquet began, and the melody of Binks' Sake filled the air as the Red Force sailed toward the Thunder God Sea.
A cheerful atmosphere began to spread across the deck.
The sea breeze fluttered Shanks' cloak, lifting the wide cuff of his left sleeve to reveal... nothing. It was empty.
Mihawk took the wooden tankard Shanks offered him. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What happened to your arm? With strength like yours, unless you were careless, who could possibly harm you..."
Every part of a human body is vital. Losing a part means losing balance.
While one can overcome this imbalance, for a master swordsman, it is fatal.
If Shanks still had his left arm, he would undoubtedly be even stronger.
It was precisely because Mihawk saw the missing arm that he chose to sheath his blade!
"Hahahaha! There was a very interesting kid. He was worth the price of an arm!" Shanks replied optimistically.
"But you've probably heard of the man who cut it off... Shiryu of the Rain, First Division Captain of the Thunder God Pirates. He's incredibly strong!"
"Shiryu of the Rain? I know him... The swordsman with the heaviest bloodlust!" Mihawk set down his tankard, recalling that duel outside Loguetown eleven years ago.
"I entered the New World this time specifically to have a fair duel with him. Last time, his sword failed him!"
"What a coincidence! My target is the Thunder God Pirates too..." Shanks feigned surprise, then burst out laughing. "To fate! Cheers!"
Singing, dancing, and partying, the Red Force drew closer and closer to the Thunder God Sea.
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Thunder God Island.
Dozens of ships were linked by iron chains, the stage for a chaotic melee involving three thousand men.
Blades clashed, guns and cannons roared, and bright red blood flowed from the decks down the hulls, dyeing the surrounding ocean completely crimson.
The stench of blood permeated every corner. Severed limbs littered the pirate ships. Maimed pirates leaned against corpses, gasping for air as they looked upon the scene in despair.
This was war. Brutal and tragic. Until a victor was decided, it would not stop.
The rebellion had been raging for a full five days!
"More-More: Hundred-Fold Cannon!!"
Byrnndi World's roar echoed to the heavens. He intended to single-handedly stall Shiryu, the strongest of the seven loyalist captains, buying time for Redfield to crush the other six as quickly as possible.
A cannonball, larger than the ship itself, tore through the air with a thunderous boom. With such massive size and speed, it could obliterate anything on Thunder God Island.
Amidst a flash of green light mixed with blood-red aura, Shiryu's sword energy viciously sliced the incoming projectile in half. In the same motion, his figure flashed through the narrow gap between the split cannonball, instantly closing the distance to World and landing on the Groseade.
After five days of fighting, he had finally cleared out the endless waves of World Pirates throwing themselves at him and managed to get within striking distance of Byrnndi World for the first time.
However, on the other side...
"Heavy Drinker" Vasco Shot, "Crescent Moon Hunter" Catarina Devon, "Corrupt King" Avalo Pizarro, "Drill" Chinjao, and "Silver Fox" Foxy—all five had been defeated by Redfield over the last three days.
They lay on the decks, incapacitated and unable to fight.
Relying on the high stamina granted by the Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire, as well as his unparalleled physical skills and movement speed, Redfield had woven nimbly between the captains. After taking down five of them, he was now alone facing the massive San Juan Wolf and the giants of the New Giant Warrior Pirates.
Led by Wolf, the giants—including Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre (brought back from Little Garden), Prince Loki, Oimo, Kashii, Hajrudin, Panz Fry, Lily Enstomach, and the beautiful ship doctor Gerd—were besieging Redfield.
The giants possessed terrifying raw power. Facing a frontal siege from so many of them, even Redfield, with his apex-level strength, couldn't gain an easy advantage.
However, the giants' weakness was fully exposed in this boarding battle... their bodies were simply too large, lacking the agility needed for close-quarters combat on ships.
Despite their numbers, they were essentially being played like puppets in the palm of Redfield's hand!
Given enough time, he would defeat the Giant Warrior Pirates one by one, then turn back to assist World and take down the loyalist leader, Shiryu.
Shiryu's strength had long surpassed his original trajectory. His talent for swordsmanship was peerless, and after years of growth in the New World, he could hold his own even against Redfield.
But in the current situation, the longer the battle dragged on, the worse it was for him. Outnumbered and exhausted from the effort to break through to World...
He couldn't hold up the sky alone.
Adding to the despair, the Sun Pirates and the Moria Pirates had already fought their way to the boundary between the Second Ring and the central island of the Thunder God Sea.
Shiryu had already resolved himself to die. But even if he died, he was going to drag that traitor World down to hell with him!
His expression grew increasingly manic. As he descended toward World, the green light shining from the Seven Star Sword in his hand reached a blinding intensity.
The battle had reached its final moment!
Suddenly...
A wave of Conqueror's Haki, so powerful it seemed to alter the weather itself, swept in from the distance. Even the thousands of elite pirates, hardened by the cruelest tests of the sea, could not withstand this sudden impact of will.
Exhausted after five days of continuous fighting, they were knocked unconscious instantly!
The unimaginable Haki continued to spread outward. Even the zombies of the Moria Pirates, lacking wills of their own, collapsed and scattered under the tsunami-like pressure.
Some of the Fish-Men in the Sun Pirates fared no better, falling into deep comas on the spot.
The war was forcibly halted by an external force in the blink of an eye!
"This Haki... Has Roger come back from the dead?" Redfield looked shocked. Since the dawn of the new era, such Conqueror's Haki had appeared once again!
Bats swirled around him as he stopped his attack, perching atop a ship's mast to look in the direction the Haki came from.
Unsure if the newcomer was friend or foe, Shiryu and World separated instantly.
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Aboard the Red Force.
Shanks stood at the forefront. Flanking him in a line were Benn Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the other members of the Red Hair Pirates. Though they were only a few dozen elites, their presence felt as imposing as an army of thousands!
Hawkeye Mihawk, carrying the cross on his back, wore a cold expression. He ignored the numerous experts present, his gaze fixed solely on Shiryu!
"It seems we aren't too late!" Shanks said, his face beaming with a smile.
"We meet again, Mr. Shiryu!!"
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