The Red Force
was the first pirate ship of Red-Haired Shanks.
It wasn't just a vessel—it was a trusted comrade, a silent witness to countless adventures, a home that carried them across the treacherous seas of the Grand Line and into the ranks of the Four Emperors.
And now—
Whether it was Shanks, one of the Yonko; or Ben Beckman, the most intelligent and formidable first mate on the seas; or even Yasopp, known across the world as the greatest sniper—
None of them could stop it.
None could stop Ragnar, wielding his divine three-pointed, double-edged sword, as he cleaved the heavens with a thunderous, sky-tearing wave of lightning and destruction—
Straight toward the Red Force.
The sea parted like butter before a hot blade.
The clouds split like torn silk.
And the thunderous arc descended.
All the pirates on board turned bloodshot. Teeth clenched. Haki stirred.
They looked like demons risen from hell, fangs bared, souls ablaze.
But—
When the slash wave came hurtling toward them…
They turned away.
Not out of fear.
Not because they couldn't bear to see it.
But because of shame.
The Red Hair Pirates.
A crew famed as the most elite among the Yonko.
And yet—
Faced with only three opponents, they couldn't even protect their ship.
The Red Force, forged from Treasure Tree Adam, the same legendary material as the Oro Jackson and Thousand Sunny, was now about to be destroyed.
A deep, silent grief pierced them. A shame that twisted like a blade in the heart.
Even Ben Beckman, standing on the bow, though he turned away, still caught the glimpse of ruin in the corner of his eye—
Boom!
The thunderous slash struck.
Crack!
Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others, though averted, couldn't block the sound—the cruel, thunderous splintering of the wood they'd lived upon for years.
A salty spray drenched them.
When they looked down, they saw…
Seawater.
Their clothing soaked. Their boots submerged.
And when they looked up—
They saw it.
A scene burned into their memory, never to be forgotten.
The Red Force—
The ship that had borne Shanks into Yonko legend, Beckman into infamy, Yasopp into myth—
Was split in two.
From bow to stern, a clean, surgical cut.
A wound that no carpenter could mend.
A shame that no warrior could wash away.
Their ship, a brother, a legacy, was gone.
In that moment, the crew's hearts ignited.
Rage.
Only blood could quell this fury.
Only vengeance could erase this shame.
Only total annihilation of their enemies could restore their honor.
Their killing intent surged.
So strong, the sky dimmed.
Rain poured. Winds howled.
Even the heavens seemed to mourn the Red Force and tremble at the fury of the Red Hair Pirates.
Then—
"Hahahaha!"
A cruel, piercing laugh thundered through the downpour.
Kaido stood with one foot crushing the ruined deck, his body imposing, his laughter venomous.
"Red Hair! See? I was right about you."
"You've gotten soft. Trying to play peacemaker... look what it got you."
"You call yourself a Yonko? You couldn't even protect your ship!"
His voice was like poison in their ears.
A spike in their chests.
His condescension cut deeper than the sword.
"What do you think Akainu and Aokiji would say if they saw this?"
"'Thank you'? Ha! No—they'll just laugh at you."
"'Look at that fool Shanks,' they'll say. 'Broke his back to save us... now let's finish him off after he heals.'"
Kaido's scarred eyes swept across the silent, trembling crew.
Though he initiated the war, and though he held no love for the Marines, he bore hatred for how they'd chained and humiliated him during his imprisonment.
Even if Ragnar and Yamato hadn't come to rescue him—
He would have broken free.
And then he would've razed the Marines to the ground himself.
But fate moved quicker than expected.
Before Impel Down could tighten its grip,
His own blood—Ragnar and Yamato—came.
They had once forced both Akainu and Aokiji, two of the Navy's top admirals, into a desperate situation.
For Kaido, this should have been a rare delight.
But what was the outcome?
Red-Haired Shanks, a pirate himself, intervened in the battle under the pretext of settling a so-called "debt," shamelessly meddling in the affairs of others.
Even though Kaido was still imprisoned in a seastone cage, his exceptionally keen Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) had allowed him to hear every word that Shanks had spoken that day.
His rage flared.
That very moment, Kaido vowed silently:
When I get out of here, the Red-Haired Pirates will pay dearly.
But before Kaido could act on that promise, Ragnar moved first.
Without hesitation, in front of Shanks, Ben Beckman, and the entire Red Hair crew, he raised his blade and sliced the Red Force itself in two.
That sight—it thrilled Kaido to the core. It was a catharsis he'd long awaited.
Then came the voice, cold and mocking, beside his ear:
"Red Hair Pirates—prepare to engage."
Shanks' expression twisted in fury.
"Affirmative!"
A single sharp command followed, resonating across the sea like the clash of blades:
Ben Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others—all of them exuded nothing but murderous intent.
The death of the Red Force had turned grief into a killing resolve.
"I don't want to see a single soul left breathing on this sea—except for the Red Hair Pirates."
"With the heads of Ragnar, Kaido, and that woman, I will avenge the Red Force."
"Kill! Leave none alive!"
The moment the word "kill" was spoken, a vast, suffocating Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) swept over the ocean like a wave of death.
The sea itself was flooded with bloodlust.
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