As soon as he finished, the Big Mom Pirates all stepped to the front of their ship while staring at the Umbrella Corporation side.
At that moment, the Red-Haired Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates, and the Umbrella Corporation stood at three points of a triangle, watching one another.
A suffocating tension quickly spread among them.
Ian looked expressionlessly at Shanks, about to speak, suddenly…
Pa!
Shanks seemed to have tossed something over.
Ian caught it reflexively, frowned, and looked at the title of the small booklet in his hand… Divine Departure.
Ian: "...?!"
He then raised his head with a strange expression and stared at Shanks.
Now he understood who had tipped him off.
Ian tucked the booklet into his coat, smiled, and nodded.
"I'll give you a face. But..."
He turned his head.
"The Big Mom Pirates—"
"We promise to leave the West Blue immediately!"
Feeling Ian's gaze, Katakuri and the others trembled inside, but after taking a deep breath, Katakuri still stepped forward respectfully. "And from this day on, the Big Mom Pirates swear never to set foot in the West Blue again."
"Get lost."
"Thank you. But today's humiliation, the Big Mom Pirates will remember it forever."
Katakuri bowed in gratitude, then wasted no time.
After nodding at the Red-Haired Pirates, he signaled his humiliated and furious siblings to set sail immediately.
They didn't stay even a second longer. They pushed their ship to maximum speed and headed toward the New World with their unconscious mother.
Only after they had sailed a certain distance did Ian and Zephyr retract their gazes.
"Is it over?"
Zephyr looked at Ian, understanding his condition.
Squinting cheerfully, he hurriedly said: "Then let's go back!"
But Ian, still maintaining his strongest form, shook his head.
"No. There are still two rats that need to be dealt with."
As he spoke, he turned and raised the axe in his hand, swinging it down with full force, sending the last of the energy within his body toward a distant island.
...
At that very moment, elsewhere on the island, Lucci and Kaku saw this scene, and their expressions instantly changed.
Have they been discovered?
Although confusion filled their hearts and they suspected the attack wasn't necessarily aimed at them, the sight of that descending axe left no room for hesitation.
They turned around and fled in the opposite direction.
"Run!!!"
…
"Hahaha, we really got played!"
Watching the departing ship, Shanks, who was leaning his upper body over the ship's railing, showed a helpless smile. "That guy sure pretends well. His body is a complete mess, yet he still forced himself to act tough until now. Even if we didn't come, that guy probably still wouldn't have been able to kill the captain of the Big Mom Pirates."
"You also played that guy, didn't you?"
Beckman, who was similarly leaning over the railing, removed the cigarette from the corner of his mouth and exhaled a smoke ring. "Didn't you say that Divine Departure isn't something just anyone can learn? Even if someone has the training method, they may not be able to master it."
"It has extremely high requirements for Conqueror's Haki, and didn't you already agree with a certain someone that you would pass Divine Departure to him? Yet you used that to make our guest give you a face."
"Ah, so you noticed!"
At Beckman's words, Shanks closed his left eye, stuck out his tongue, scratched his head with his right hand, and put on a silly expression while laughing cheerfully. "Don't say it like that. Maybe he really can learn it."
"Exactly. You two played with each other."
Faced with Shanks' playful tone, Beckman didn't care at all and continued smoking. "But both of you got what you wanted. Only the Big Mom Pirates suffered a huge loss of reputation this time. When their captain wakes up, she's definitely going to go crazy again."
After saying that, he looked again at the ship sailing off into the distance, paused, then spoke with a hint of mockery: "And that Fleet Admiral is probably regretting things so much his guts are turning green. That guy's strength is really incredible. And yet the Marine Headquarters actually rejected someone like him."
He flicked his cigarette and sighed. "The God of Sun... Honestly, he really does resemble one!"
"He isn't the God of the Sun."
Hearing those words, Shanks' eyes flickered slightly, and the corner of his mouth curled up. In a relaxed tone, he murmured to himself: "That guy is not the one everyone has been waiting for."
Beckman: "...?"
Before the confused Beckman could ask…
"And you, kid, are Ace, right!"
Shanks ignored Beckman and turned his head, looking at the boy beside him who had his right hand pressing down his hat and wore a cheeky smile. "Your captain... No, I should call him your boss; he already left. What are you still doing on our ship? Aren't you afraid I'll capture you?"
"Sorry for intruding, Mr. Shanks."
Faced with Shanks' threat, Ace, who had boarded the Red Hair pirates' ship, didn't seem bothered at all.
Instead, he lightly jumped onto the deck and gave a very polite bow. "I am Luffy's older brother. I came specifically to thank you for teaching Luffy."
At that moment, all of Ace's carefree attitude disappeared. He truly looked like an older brother, much more reliable, and even his bow was perfectly formal.
"Luffy's older brother? Hahaha, I remember now. I've heard Luffy mention you."
Hearing Ace's introduction, Shanks seemed to recall something and immediately burst out laughing.
Then he suddenly leaped in front of Ace and sized him up from head to toe, though a strange glint flashed in his eyes. "No wonder you looked a bit familiar. What are you doing all the way in the West Blue?"
"The old man stuffed me into a barrel and sent me over."
"Old man? That geezer, Garp?"
Shanks roared with laughter and heavily slapped Ace on the shoulder. "Hahaha, that's exactly the kind of thing that old fart would do!"
Then he turned around and shouted to the crew behind him: "Luffy's big brother is here! Hurry up and start a banquet! Bring out our finest booze and entertain Luffy's brother!"
"Got it, captain!"
"Captain, isn't Luffy's brother still underage?"
"Hey, hey, hey, we're pirates! Who cares about that? Besides, I think it's just the captain wanting a drink himself! Hahaha!"