Far away from the warship, the Vivre Card in Katakuri's hand suddenly began burning, with no sign that it could be extinguished.
Katakuri allowed the Vivre Card to burn in his hand.
His face was already covered in tear tracks.
He removed the scarf wrapped around his face, revealing his terrifying mouth.
He made no sound.
He only opened his mouth wide and raised his head toward the sky.
From another person's perspective, Katakuri like this looked extremely frightening.
But only the Charlotte Family children who knew Katakuri well understood that this was how Katakuri looked when his grief reached its limit.
Even though Katakuri said nothing, they all understood in their hearts.
Cracker had definitely sacrificed himself.
Only this could make Katakuri, who never removed his scarf, reveal such an expression.
Wails and sobs rang out across the deck.
Katakuri did not pay attention to them, because he was currently immersed in grief.
"Cracker… you bastard. Did you not say you would come back?"
Katakuri let the ashes of the burned Vivre Card scatter in the wind.
Right now, he did not want to do anything.
Cracker's sacrifice had bought them twenty minutes.
On a sea like this, twenty minutes was enough for them to pull far ahead of the Marines.
In other words, everyone on this ship could safely return to the third defensive line.
After an unknown amount of time, Katakuri felt a tall figure appear before him.
"Katakuri, did Cracker not come back?"
That familiar voice made Katakuri stop grieving. He knelt on one knee, tears still remaining on his face.
"Mama, Cracker's Vivre Card has burned away."
Charlotte Linlin, who had originally been furious, also fell silent for a moment after hearing the news of Cracker's sacrifice.
"Cracker was a good child."
"Katakuri, now that Cracker is dead, you will have to shoulder more in the future."
After leaving those words behind, Charlotte Linlin flew alone toward Whole Cake Island.
Because the thoughts in her mind had already begun stirring restlessly.
Due to years of stable living, she had almost constantly eaten all kinds of desserts.
If she could not eat them, the consequences would be extremely serious.
If she had not been worried that the Marines would wipe out all the Charlotte Family's officers in one swoop today, she would not have forced herself to remain here.
Only when she saw Katakuri and the ship full of her children did her heart finally settle.
After Charlotte Linlin left, Katakuri slowly stood from the deck.
His face carried endless grief and confusion.
He did not know whether Charlotte Linlin, who often suffered from her eating disorder, could still continue leading the Charlotte Family forward in the New World.
"Brother Katakuri, what should we do now?"
Perospero stepped forward and asked.
Katakuri wiped the tears from his face and said, "Mama has gone back to eat. We must hold the third defensive line."
"Also, I plan to contact the Red Hair Pirates."
...
At that moment, in an unknown sea area of the New World.
On the Red Force sailing beneath dark clouds, the ship doctor Hongo was nervously operating on Yasopp.
Even without considering Yasopp's lost leg, the injuries his body had suffered were still extremely severe.
After all, Bullett had truly attacked with killing intent at the time.
Seven of Yasopp's ribs were broken, and two of them had even pierced into his lungs.
If not for the fact that people in this world possessed extremely strong physiques, Yasopp might have died on the spot.
Even now, Hongo could not guarantee that Yasopp would survive.
He could only do his very best.
A full ten hours later, Hongo finally walked out of the ship's operating room, exhausted.
Outside the door, members of the Red Hair Pirates leaned against the walls to rest.
When they heard the door open, Red-Haired Shanks was the first to open his eyes.
At this moment, the bloodshot lines in his eyes had grown even worse.
His dirty face, messy stubble, and disheveled hair all showed the anxiety in his heart.
"How is he, Hongo? Yasopp is all right, isn't he?" Shanks asked urgently.
Yasopp was someone he had personally invited back when he went to the East Blue.
He was practically one of the earliest members of the Red Hair Pirates.
Shanks and Yasopp had fought side by side for many years, and with their tacit cooperation, no one knew how many enemies they had defeated together.
Now, because of Shanks' impulsiveness, Yasopp had lost one leg and been severely injured. If he could trade places, Shanks would rather be the one lying on the bed.
Hongo nodded tiredly.
"The surgery succeeded, but Barrett's attacks were too heavy. Yasopp's condition still is not good."
"If Yasopp does not develop a persistent high fever over the next period, then he will survive."
"But Shanks, there is one thing I have to remind you of. Even if Yasopp wakes up, it will be very difficult for him to participate in our battles again."
When Shanks heard that Yasopp could survive, tears poured from his eyes.
"I knew it. That guy would not die so easily."
"It is fine. As long as Yasopp lives, that is enough. Leave the fighting to us."
At the same time, the other members of the Red Hair Pirates also woke from their sleep.
After hearing Hongo's words, they, like Shanks, began to shed tears.
Yasopp was a companion they would never abandon.
Even if this companion could no longer participate in battle because of his heavy injuries, they would still never give up on him.
Beckman took a cigar from his coat. His lighter clicked several times before he managed to light it.
His trembling hands lit one end of the cigar, and he inhaled deeply.
"Shanks, let us talk on the deck."
Shanks seemed to have expected this in his heart.
He walked straight toward the deck, and the others silently moved aside.
On the deck, facing the roaring sea wind, Shanks looked silently over the sea.
Beckman's figure appeared beside him.
"Shanks, are we going to keep fighting?"
When Shanks heard Beckman's question, he did not turn around.
Instead, he sank into his memories.
From the moment he could remember, he had been an apprentice aboard Roger's pirate ship.
From then on, he had seen scenery that no one else in the world had ever seen and fought legendary pirate crews others could not even imagine.
Later, the Roger Pirates disbanded, and Roger, the man he regarded as his king, surrendered and was executed by the Marines.
Back then, the young Shanks had cried bitterly in Loguetown.
After that, he decided to inherit Roger's will and form his own pirate crew.
While searching the world for companions, he also saw scenery different from what he had seen aboard Roger's ship.
The companions beside him went from one to two, then eventually became a whole group.
In the East Blue, he also saw someone who could change the world.
For that, he paid the price of one arm and handed Roger's straw hat to the young Luffy.
Later, after entering the Grand Line, he advanced triumphantly all the way, fighting all kinds of enemies.
After entering the New World, he even fought Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, who had already made their names long ago, before finally standing in the position of one of the Three Emperors.
If the story had ended there, it would have been a beautiful conclusion.
But the nightmare had begun from that point.
Even now, Shanks still remembered it clearly.
When that young Marine Admiral used force and an exchange of interests to ascend to the position of Fleet Admiral, every arrangement he had made began to collapse.
Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line, was completely sealed.
The Marines stood like an insurmountable mountain between the Four Blues and the New World, leaving all pirates trapped between advance and retreat.
He was in the New World and could not return to the Grand Line or the Four Blues.
Likewise, the pirates in the Four Blues could no longer pass through the Grand Line and enter the New World.
Originally, in order to let his chosen Luffy reach the New World, he had wanted to unite the pirates of the New World and launch war against the Marines, desperately opening a path through Paradise.
As a result, before he could finish uniting the pirate forces, Kaido of the Beasts, one of the Three Emperors like him, had already had his head taken and displayed at New Marineford for the world to see.
And while Shanks was still secretly pleased over joining forces with the Revolutionary Army, the Marines captured his loved one—Uta.
That trial, watched by the entire world, made Shanks lose his reason.
Yet the Red Hair Pirates, who wanted blood for blood and tooth for tooth, had not managed to inflict any serious damage on the Marines.
Instead, Yasopp had been badly injured and lost a leg because of it.
A lost and helpless expression appeared on Shanks' face.
"Beckman, now it is no longer a question of whether we want to attack the Marines."
"It's about how we can preserve ourselves under the Marines' attack."
"This is a war we cannot lose. Once we lose, our heads will be placed by that Fleet Admiral on New Marineford's exhibition platform."
"So no matter how long the Marines want to fight, we have to keep fighting them."
Just as Beckman was about to speak, the Den Den Mushi in his coat suddenly rang.
Blu blu… blu blu…