Chapter 245: The Straw Hat Pirates' Disagreement
Everyone's eyes widened.
Normally undetectable to the average person, the wave energy—normally hidden from view and perceptible only through the Mind's Eye—had now fully manifested in the real world.
This was the strongest item Shanks had bought in the Game Shop.
Only an Asura who had refined wave energy to the extreme, a being known as the Dark Heaven Asura, could unleash such a dark wave domain.
A one-time-use item.
It cost tens of thousands of reward points and could only be activated once. It carried a steep price: a single misstep could result in death by backlash.
Within this domain,
all wave-based powers would be amplified—capable even of tearing space-time apart.
"You've got to be kidding…"
"Only 200,000 reward points and he's this strong?!"
Kizaru, blasted back by the explosion of wave energy, stared ahead in a daze,
as if paralyzed by shock.
The Marines glanced at each other in disbelief.
Even their marching steps slowed.
This disaster-level power was no weaker than the storm summoned by the Revolutionary Leader's Word Spirit.
In the game, you could die and respawn.
But this was the real world.
A single strike like that would leave nothing behind.
Even the most loyal Marines knew they stood no chance.
Vice Admiral Tsuru quickly responded.
Sensing morale slipping, she shouted,
"Don't panic! Shanks can't maintain that state for long!"
She had exchanged for a perception-based ability in the Game,
and she could clearly sense it—this space-shattering dark wave was highly unstable.
Shanks hadn't adapted to it yet.
"That's right," Shanks said with a grin, now in Dark Heaven Wave Eye state.
"Just like the Revolutionary Leader's power, this technique burns my life and soul. I can't hold it long.
But it's long enough to destroy your monument. Who can stop me?"
He didn't waste time.
Forcing this ability out of his Asura class, especially with its tier, caused his HP to plummet.
"Shanks, do you want to plunge this world into chaos?!"
Sengoku's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Every report from the intelligence division had said Shanks had almost zero chance of turning against the Navy.
Yet here he was—now the greatest threat to the Marine family.
"Ever since the Reincarnation Game appeared, this sea has never known peace!"
Shanks raised Gryphon and marched toward the Marine Family's monument.
BOOM.
Five golden Demon-Locking Chains shot out like five golden dragons, racing toward Shanks.
Earlier, just one chain had shattered Shanks' strongest wave slash.
Now there were five—
a clear sign that the threat he posed to the Demon-Sealing Tower had quintupled.
In Tsuru's delighted gaze,
the five chains wrapped tightly around Shanks, trying to drag him into the tower.
"Shanks, surrender now!"
Worried something might go wrong, Tsuru called for his submission while she still had the upper hand.
But wave energy erupted wildly around him—
red surges from beneath,
wave blades from his back,
and a sky filled with wave spears emerging from above.
All of it bombarded the golden chains.
And shockingly… the chains began to tremble.
Shanks' gaze burned.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru… your Demon-Locking Chains are powerful, sure.
But I'm guessing they're still low-level?"
"You planning to seize control of the seas, Shanks?"
She didn't answer directly.
He was right.
Upgrading the Demon-Locking Chains required not only a massive amount of reward points,
but also countless rare materials.
The Marine family had just been founded, and there were dozens of other systems that needed resources.
There was no budget left for upgrading the tower's defense.
She tried to understand Shanks' motive.
The Revolutionaries, Whitebeard, and other pirate groups fought to weaken Marine power—
to show they could stand against world domination and rally more ambitious followers.
"To seize the seas?"
One chain snapped.
"I've made up my mind," Shanks said.
"I'm done associating with evil pirates.
This sea doesn't need plundering and slaughter—it needs liberation."
Silence.
Neither the Marines nor the nearby Revolutionaries and pirates could hide their shock.
They stared at him with expressions of disbelief.
One of the Pirate King's former crewmates.
The youngest Yonko.
And he just said the seas no longer needed pirates?
"Did I… mishear that?"
"Yonko Red-Haired Shanks… is he defecting to the Marines?"
"This world's gone mad!"
From the Four Seas to the Grand Line, every onlooker was stunned.
The oppressed civilians couldn't understand it—some believed Shanks had lost his mind.
Pirates glared at him like a traitor.
They saw themselves as ambitious men, hiding from the Navy while scoffing at those who bowed to them.
Now they stared at Shanks with disdain and hostility.
"Luffy?"
In Syrup Village,
after easily defeating the fake butler pirate Kuro,
Luffy was mid-feast at Kaya's mansion when he heard Shanks' statement on the video Den Den Mushi.
He froze.
"Shanks said that…? That's shocking,"
Zoro muttered, barely fazed, taking a deep swig from a huge mug.
He'd joined the crew because Luffy's dream had inspired him.
He wanted to adventure with his captain and become the world's greatest swordsman.
But that didn't mean his opinion of pirates had changed.
He used to be a pirate hunter.
Most pirates were criminals beyond redemption.
They deserved the depths of hell.
Only the Straw Hats were different.
"Most pirates… really are the source of chaos."
Nami's eyes sparkled with understanding as she nodded,
counting the reward Kaya had given them.
She had suffered under the Arlong Pirates for years.
She had no reason to like pirates.
Like Zoro,
she joined because of Luffy's pirate dream—so different from every other pirate she'd known.
He couldn't really be called a pirate at all.
"I don't really get it, but no matter what… can Usopp still join?"
Usopp, wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a mummy, shouted hoarsely.
When the Straw Hats first arrived,
Kuro, afraid of their strength, welcomed them warmly and tried to trick them into leaving.
But Usopp had risked everything to reveal the truth.
His wounds were proof.
Bang!
A fist slammed into the table,
sending food and drink spilling to the floor.
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