Chapter 244: The Arrival of the Face-Face Fruit! Give Me Some Face and the Retreat of the Four Emperors
Just at this heartbreaking and desperate moment, a crisp sound of a sword ringing out, like lightning tearing through the dark night, suddenly resounded across the sky!
A fierce sword aura, no less impressive than that of the Worlds Greatest Swordsman, came tearing through the air.
The sword aura struck the heavy blade of the Murakumogiri with pinpoint accuracy.
The immense impact force forcibly deflected Whitebeard's strike, which was filled with deep "paternal love."
"Boom!"
The Murakumogiri, which was about to smash into the Division Commanders, slammed heavily into the open ground nearby.
The violent force of the vibration instantly triggered a severe local earthquake, and countless rocks and ice blocks shot into the sky.
"To deal a killing blow to your own son."
"That is not your style, Whitebeard."
Accompanied by that calm yet infinitely majestic voice, a massive sailing ship flying the iconic skull pirate flag—the Red Force—appeared.
Who knows when, but it had silently broken through the Marine's proud and tight encirclement.
Like a Ghost Ship crossing from the underworld, it docked steadily at the edge of the cracked ice sheet.
The sea breeze picked up.
Wearing a wide black cloak and with only his right arm remaining, "Red Hair" Shanks appeared in everyone's field of vision with a composed expression.
At his side, Vice Captain Benn Beckman, sniper Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and other core cadres who are famous in the New World crowded closely around him.
These men, who stand at the pinnacle of the sea, walked with steady steps, slowly descended from the warship, and officially stepped into this battlefield that resembled purgatory—the Marineford War.
As Shanks continued to walk forward.
A Conqueror's Haki, even fiercer than that of Whitebeard in his prime, like a tangible raging wave, instantly swept across the entire Marineford!
"Hum—!"
Those Marine elites, who were already tottering and struggling under the pressure of Whitebeard's Haki, had their defenses completely shattered under this even more domineering mental shock.
They rolled their eyes in rows, unable to even let out a scream before passing out like cut wheat, and the sound of weapons dropping was endless.
It was not just an absolute mental suppression; this Conqueror's Haki even affected the physical space of reality.
Even the hardened stone walls and the thousand-year-old ice of Marineford cracked inch by inch under the pressure of this invisible force, emitting continuous "crackling" sounds.
The huge Marine warships docked in the bay were like a small boat in a storm, emitting unbearable creaking roars under the shroud of this Conqueror's Haki.
Faced with this sudden turn of events.
Aokiji and Kizaru, who were preparing to take advantage of the situation and launch a surprise attack on the Whitebeard Pirates, immediately stopped in their tracks.
The expressions of the two Admirals became unprecedentedly grave.
They knew the weight of this one-armed man very well.
Sengoku, on the ruins of the execution platform, frowned even tighter, his majestic eyes staring fixedly at Shanks, and he shouted sternly:
"Red Hair... what exactly do you want by appearing here at this time?!"
Shanks ignored Sengoku's questioning.
He walked straight to the middle of Marco and Whitebeard and stopped.
He looked up, his deep eyes glancing at Whitebeard, who was covered in blood but still at the peak of his power, and a flash of shock and surprise uncontrollably crossed his eyes.
Shanks narrowed his eyes slightly, and he whispered:
"It seems that someone has changed the course of fate..."
Subsequently, he put away his surprise, turned to face Sengoku, and his loud voice spread across the entire venue:
"I just stopped Kaido, who wanted to take advantage of the situation in the New World, and rushed over without stopping."
Shanks turned around and looked at Whitebeard beside him, his tone carrying a hint of persuasion:
"Whitebeard, since Ace has been successfully rescued."
"You don't need to persist in taking this island down with you, right?"
"Shut up!"
In the distance, Akainu struggled to stand up from the ruins.
He clutched the bleeding wound on his left shoulder, and there were still scorch marks from black flames on his chest.
This iron-blooded Admiral roared uncontrollably like a completely enraged beast:
"Stop talking nonsense! Red Hair!"
"Do you think that just because of your airy words, you can let these pirates, who have wantonly trampled on Marine justice, leave Marineford unscathed?!"
Facing Akainu's impotent rage, Shanks did not retreat at all.
He slowly extended his remaining right hand and gripped the hilt of "Gryphon" at his waist.
With a "clang," the famous sword was unsheathed, its sharp blade reflecting the smoke and firelight.
Shanks' highly oppressive gaze slowly swept across the entire scene.
Whether it was the three Marine Admirals watching covetously, the Shichibukai with their own agendas, or the high-and-mighty Fleet Admiral Sengoku, all were taken into his view.
"If this war continues, it will only endlessly increase the meaningless casualties on both sides."
Although Shanks' voice was calm, it carried an absolute Haki that brooked no rebuttal.
He held Gryphon in front of him, his eyes suddenly becoming as cold and sharp as a knife:
"If there is anyone here who still hasn't had enough..."
As Shanks' voice fell, the core cadres of the Red Hair Pirates behind him responded instantly.
Vice Captain Benn Beckman, smoking a cigar, calmly raised the long flintlock in his hand, and the pitch-black muzzle was aimed precisely at Kizaru in the distance.
Sniper Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and other cadres also brandished their signature weapons, unreservedly unleashing the terrifying aura belonging to a Four Emperors crew!
"Come on!"
"We, the Red Hair Pirates, will be your opponents!"
Shanks shouted, his voice shaking the heavens.
Seeing Red Hair draw his sword and declare war.
Mihawk, the "Worlds Greatest Swordsman," who had been watching from not far away, unhesitatingly put the huge black sword "Yoru" back on his back.
He turned around, glanced at the Marines with his hawk-like sharp eyes, and said coldly:
"I only agreed with the government to deal with Whitebeard."
"Since Red Hair has arrived here now, the subsequent battle is outside the scope of my agreement."
After speaking, Mihawk did not look back, walked straight away, and decisively left this chaotic battlefield.
Sengoku gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
He stared fixedly at the Whitebeard Pirates, who were injured but still possessed core combat power, and Whitebeard himself was still at his peak.
He then looked at the Red Hair Pirates, who were resting and at full strength.
Reason told Sengoku that if the Marines chose to take on all the elites of two Four Emperors simultaneously today.
Then Marineford, the fortress symbolizing justice, would surely be erased from the world's map today.
And... the Marines would also suffer a devastating blow, leaving them in name only.
Sengoku took a deep breath of cold, turbid air, forcibly suppressing the surging humiliation and unwillingness in his heart.
He closed his eyes, was silent for a long time, and finally opened his eyes abruptly, announcing loudly to the entire army:
"Take the wounded for treatment... This war is over!"
Sengoku's voice was filled with deep fatigue, but he still straightened his spine:
"I will bear all the responsibility myself!"
Upon hearing the final order given by the Fleet Admiral.
Even the furious Akainu could only glare at the Red Hair and Whitebeard in front of him with a twisted face.
"Damned pirates..."
"One day... I will eradicate you all!"
Watching the Marines finally choose to compromise, Whitebeard snorted coldly, turned his wrist, and put away the blood-stained Murakumogiri.
He turned his head and took a deep look at Shanks beside him with his story-filled eyes.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh.
"Since even you, a brat from back then, say so, I will give you this face today..."
"Marco, we're going home!"
Hearing the words "going home," those surviving New World pirates were stunned for a moment.
Then they burst into earth-shattering, tearful, and fanatical cheers.
They wiped the blood and tears from their faces, closely surrounding their beloved Pops and Division Commanders, and boarded the support warships docked outside the bay in a mighty force.
...
The scene switched slowly.
On the vast blue sea, the retreating warships gradually leaving Marineford were riding the wind and waves, sailing safely towards the New World.
On the wide deck, the sea breeze blew.
Ace and Sabo sat on the wooden floor with their backs against the railing, their faces covered with black ash from the smoke and dried blood.
But at this moment, they looked at each other, smiling brightly and freely.
Beside them, Luffy, who had completely exhausted his physical strength, and Tatsuya, who had just saved his life from high-intensity backlash, were lying on the deck without any defense.
The two were even snoring, sleeping very sweetly.
On the horizon, a setting sun like blood slowly sank to the west.
Accompanied by the warm afterglow of the sunset, it gently sprinkled on the scarred Marineford fortress in the back.
This Marineford War, which was destined to be recorded in history and completely shocked the whole world, finally officially dropped the curtain of the era.
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1