"Who the hell are you, how dare you babble in front of me!" Akainu's scarlet eyes blazed with a terrifying, beast-like light. His right arm instantly swelled with surging magma, and he roared as he slammed it down. "Several seconds were wasted on a trash like you. Marine doesn't need a trash like you who doesn't distinguish between good and evil… If you dare to confuse the justice of marines, you will die with those pirates!"
The giant fist of lava, gushing with scorching heat, suddenly smashed down. To Akainu, soldiers like Koby were the greatest insult to Marine's honor. He had to kill the boy himself.
...
Clang!
Just as the giant lava fist was about to strike Koby's head, an elegant long sword blocked Akainu's attack.
"Well done, young marine…" the red-haired Shanks said approvingly. "The 'seconds of courage' that you risked your life to create—for whomever—for now, have completely changed the fate of the world!"
"Stop… Stop… I thought I was going to die…" Although Koby still had a look of fear on his face, the joy in his heart was immeasurable. Because the killing had finally stopped because of him.
"Hey, that boat is… the Red Hair Pirates?!"
"Why is the red-haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, here?!"
"Didn't he just have a big conflict with Kaido of the Beasts yesterday? Why did he appear here in abruptly?!"
The sudden appearance of the Red Hair Pirates brought the biggest variable to this epic-level war. The battle that was already drawing to a close suddenly became confusing. Except for Adrian, no one—neither Marine nor the pirates—had expected another Four Emperors crew from the New World to pop up in Marineford at such a moment.
Was Naval Headquarters doomed to fall completely today?
For a while, all eyes were on the red-haired man. As soon as he appeared, he directly grasped the most critical trend of this war. The precision of his timing was chilling.
Even Akainu had to sullenly stop his attack. Although the Red Hair Pirates were the smallest of the Four Emperors, their high-end combat power was terribly balanced. No one on the red-haired boat was idle, and they had earned the reputation by having highest average bounty pirate crew."
The sudden appearance of these people instantly broke Marine's crushing of the Whitebeard Pirates. The scale of victory that had already tilted toward Marine once again fell to the side of the pirates.
"Hey, Hawkeye, where are you going? The battle is not over yet!" The Marines all around opened their mouths to stop him.
"I only promised the World Government to fight Whitebeard. The guy with the red hair is where the deal ends!" Hawkeye said coldly. Then, he ignored Marine and left in style.
But before leaving, his piercing gaze lingered for a long time on Adrian, who was slowly walking toward the harbor.
Shanks, you must be careful with this enemy! He's really… dangerous!!
"Hey hey hey hey, is there another Four Emperors ready to join the battle?"
"I'm afraid even those old guys in Pangaea Castle couldn't have predicted such a situation in advance?!"
Doflamingo squatted on the high surrounding wall, looked down at the situation outside the harbor, and laughed presumptuously. "But what Hawkeye said is right, the Shichibukai's mission has already been completed, and the next step is Marine's own war!"
"However, if the red hair can kill that kid, then… that would be great!!"
"Damn, redhead, what do you mean by suddenly appearing here?" Akainu suppressed the anger in his heart and asked viciously. "Are you planning to declare war on Marine too?!"
Although Akainu was the top Marine and wasn't afraid of the "shitty" Four Emperors, he wasn't a fool. Wars were never won by one man alone. The current situation was completely out of Marine's control. A slight mistake would likely bring huge casualties to Marine.
"I'm here to end this war!!"
"Everyone stop. If this battle continues, it will only increase the casualties on both sides. If there are still people who haven't fought enough… come on then fight with me!!"
With the blessing of Conqueror's Haki, the red-haired's arrogant words instantly resounded throughout Marineford. The massive battlefield suddenly fell silent. Neither Marine nor the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates dared to act rashly. To attack now was to declare war on the Red Hair Pirates. The already exhausted warring parties had no desire to provoke such a powerful opponent at this time. Even the most violent Akainu calmed down helplessly.
"Stop… Stop… The war really stopped?!" Koby looked at the redhead in disbelief, his eyes filled with admiration. How great would it be if I could be as mighty as him in the future?
"Xiehahahaha, I never expected that the red-haired guy would appear here!"
"However, now that he has appeared, Burgess… we can finally escape in peace!"
Blackbeard was panting heavily, a look of ecstasy on his face. In the face of Garp and Aokiji, who had shot with all their might, the Blackbeard Pirates were almost wiped out. Except for the broken-armed Burgess and the [Colossal battleship] San Juan Wolf, who had been hiding in the distance without making a move, all other members had been killed without exception. If it weren't for Blackbeard's hard work relying on the super endurance of the Buddha fruit, he was afraid not even Burgess would survive. He really regretted being too impulsive and attacking Garp. The crew that had been accumulated with great difficulty was gone, and all his previous efforts were wasted.
Fortunately, the appearance of the red-haired man brought him a glimmer of life.
"Damn it, is this the bastard who led Luffy to the pirate path?!" Garp looked angrily toward the outside of the harbor, but a trace of gratitude rose from the bottom of his heart. Whether or not this man was there for Luffy, his appearance was enough to get that kid Luffy out of here safely.
"…Mr. Garp, are we going to let Blackbeard go?" Aokiji asked sideways. Although his official position was higher than Garp, the decision was still up to Garp, both out of seniority and because of Garp's friendship with Sengoku.
"How is it possible? The old man hasn't taken revenge for that fellow Sengoku yet!" Garp said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, Garp, you old bastard, didn't you hear what the redhead was saying?!" The smile on Blackbeard's face disappeared immediately, replaced by a frightened look, and he roared in a sharp, piercing voice. "If you continue to attack me now, you will be an enemy of the entire Red Hair Pirates. Do you want to see the scene of Marine's complete defeat?!"
At the same time, the red-haired man looked around solemnly and continued in a deep voice, "Everyone present, please do me a favor this time!!"
"War, it's time to…"
However, before the red-haired man could finish speaking, another joking voice sounded from the edge of the square.
"Marine paid such a high price, and countless lives were lost, with even the death of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, they won the inevitable victory. With his one word, is it going to stop?"
"Tsk tsk tsk… Such a useless marine order is really disappointing!!"
Immediately afterward, Adrian and his party slowly appeared in everyone's field of vision.
"That is… …"
After seeing the true faces of the figures behind Adrian, the complexions of everyone, including the redhead, changed drastically in an instant.
[Empress] Boa Hancock,
[Sniper] Van Augur,
[Swordsman] Shiryu!
as well as… …
"Oh my god! [Fire Fist] Ace, he… he was resurrected?!"
At that moment, everyone, whether Marine or pirate, was stunned by the scene before them. Even Akainu looked at Ace in astonishment. The huge blood hole in front of his chest was still vivid in his mind. How did he live again?
Adrian ignored everyone's astonished gazes, turned to look at the red-haired man, and said slightly mockingly, "Red-haired Shanks, I have to say, your face… is really big!!"
As soon as the voice fell, a gold coin lightly popped out from his fingertips, drawing an orange afterimage in the air, and directly blowing the head of Koby, who was blocked by the red-haired man.
"I really hate traitors the most. Akainu, so I killed this bastard for you. You… owe me one!"