As the battle between the Marines and the Roger Pirates continued to escalate, both Shanks and Shamrock fought against grown marine soldiers alongside Buggy.
Shanks and Buggy were both determined to prove to the others that they were not burdens to the crew.
Even though Buggy was incredibly scared, with his hands trembling so much that the knives almost slipped from his grip, he still swung them around with real effort.
It was something he had mentally prepared himself for after a conversation he had with Shamrock earlier.
[FLASHBACK]
"How do I manage to fight against someone stronger than me without feeling any fear? Is that really possible?" Buggy asked with a serious expression, since he had seen Shamrock confidently spar against Rayleigh many times, even though he knew Rayleigh was overwhelmingly strong.
"That is your question? Well, the answer is not complicated," Shamrock said as he sat in front of Buggy. He already knew Buggy had been worrying about this for a while.
"Yes, I do not want to be a burden. Captain Roger gave me a place to stay and a chance to live on this ship. I do not want to cause problems for everyone," Buggy said honestly, revealing the thoughts he kept to himself.
"You know, being afraid is not a bad thing. Shaking is not a bad thing either. As long as your mind understands the danger you will face, and as long as you know what the cost will be if you fail, you will still manage to survive. You have trained continuously every day, and you have put in real effort. Trust that effort. Even if you are scared, your body will move on its own and do what you trained it to do," Shamrock explained calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly struck at Buggy without warning. Buggy reacted on instinct and blocked the strike with his wooden sword without even realizing what he was doing.
"See? You will be fine," Shamrock said while lying back down to relax again.
[BACK TO CURRENT]
Buggy then subconsciously dodged a sudden strike from a marine soldier and delivered a clawing slash of his own, managing to wound the marine across the arm.
Shanks immediately followed up by striking the injured area with a clean kick. The two worked together smoothly, both of them covering each other's blind spots as they continued the fight.
Meanwhile, Shamrock already had a number of unconscious marines sprawled at his feet. They all had large bumps on their heads, clearly knocked out in both a quick and efficient manner. Several remaining marines stared at him with visible fear.
"That kid is a monster. I have heard rumors about children with unusual strength, but I never imagined they were this strong. The last one with talent like this became a well-known pirate," one of the marines whispered while watching the growing pile of defeated bodies around Shamrock. Shamrock's expression stayed the same, calm but with a hint of boredom.
"Do not worry, they are not dead. They are only unconscious. I also avoided causing any permanent harm," Shamrock said toward the marines casually.
"You can take them back if you want. I am not helping carry them to your ship," he added, still calm. The marines all looked at each other, and instead of retreating, they attacked again. Shamrock sighed deeply.
"How come you never learn?" he asked quietly, taking a deep breath as he prepared his next move. He then began performing the Sun Breathing style.
"Dancing Flash," he whispered, and in the next moment he suddenly vanished from the view of the marine soldiers. They looked around in confusion until they felt their bodies go weak one by one, dropping to their knees as new bumps appeared on the sides of their necks.
Unknown to the other marines, a disguised marine agent on Garp's ship was not actually a marine. He was a member of Cipher Pol, tasked by the higher-ups to infiltrate Garp's crew and report immediately if they ever encountered the Roger Pirates.
The CP agent was using a Den Den Mushi capable of transmitting images, and it was showing the fight, especially the way Shamrock moved and fought.
The images were being sent to the Land of Mary Geoise. On the other side of the transmission were the five elders and a man both Shamrock and Shanks should have known, their father, Figarland Garling.
"If you had not failed in retrieving your children, we would have another candidate for the title of God's Blade right now, Garling," Saint Nusjuro said.
He saw the intricate swordsmanship that Shamrock had displayed and was clearly impressed, since ability of that level usually only appeared in rare prodigies.
"Blame Maffey. I ordered her to bring both of my sons back, but she was outsmarted by a young soldier. I do not even understand why she still remains in the God's Knights. She is incompetent," Garling answered, speaking arrogantly while shifting the blame away from himself.
"There is no need to point fingers. Garling completed his duty on that island, and I am sure those two children will eventually return once they learn their true heritage. They are my sons, and their rightful place is here," Garling added.
The five elders agreed with his words, fully confident that the blood of the Figarland family would outweigh any bonds the boys had formed in the underworld.
"Perhaps this agent might be useful if he can take at least one of them, preferably Shamrock," Saint Mars suggested. The elders considered the proposal, but before they could give the order, Shamrock suddenly turned his head sharply toward the location where the CP agent was hiding.
All of them on the receiving end saw his stare through the transmission, and for reasons none of them could explain, they felt a sudden chill run down their backs.
The signal then cut off abruptly. The elders had no idea what caused the interruption. Back on the marine ship, Shamrock had felt several eyes on him and looked in the direction of the hidden agent.
Before he could make a move, a stray attack from Garp landed there, smashing the area with the full force of a thrown cannonball.
When Shamrock looked toward Garp, he saw Garp give a brief smile before returning to his irritated expression while clashing with Roger.
He thought, so the hero of the Marines is not as foolish as he pretends to be.
Shamrock then turned to check on Shanks and Buggy, who were still fighting their own opponents with determination.
The entire battle between the Marines and the Roger Pirates continued until the end of the day.
Both Garp and Roger eventually unleashed their strongest attacks, and the force of the clash split the sky and created a massive storm.
The winds pushed their ships in completely different directions, finally ending the clash between the hero of the marines and the man who would one day become the pirate king