'Regenrated?'
'It actually regenrated?'
'Even a fatal wound with the heart completely pierced... could recover in the span of a breath?'
Shanks' pupils trembled, his face grave, feeling as though everything he knew about the world was crumbling before his eyes.
"It feels unbelievable, doesn't it..."
Looking at Shanks' expression as though he had seen a ghost, Makino smiled bitterly.
She raised the hand that had only just regenerated, pointed at her smooth chest, then at her slender neck. Finally, she pointed at the lower half of her body.
"Do you know, Shanks? It's not just my heart."
Makino's voice was calm, yet it made those listening feel as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.
"Whether my neck is completely cut off, or I'm cut in half at the waist, or my eyes are gouged out and a burning-hot rod is used to stir around inside my brain..."
"No matter what kind of cruel, fatal injury I suffer, before long I'll recover completely like this. Right now I really don't have the combat skills to match you, but you can't kill me either."
During those few days in the Holy Land, Rosse had personally carried out every one of those experiments on her with great interest.
It was only then, amid the torment of being torn apart and put back together over and over again, that she finally understood why the mortality rate of the Chosen Princesses selected to serve the god was so absurdly high.
Perhaps some had sought death themselves, but the vast majority absolutely could not endure the double collapse of body and mind.
Even with her modified body now, under those endlessly varied, grotesque methods, she had come to the brink of completely losing her mind several times.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately... Rosse' interest in her did not last that long.
There were countless others sharing that god's amusements every day, allowing her to barely preserve a shred of her remaining sanity.
"Impossible! There is absolutely no truly immortal person in this world!"
Shanks first reaction was denial.
He didn't believe it, and he didn't want to believe it.
If he couldn't even kill Makino, wouldn't that prove his pursuit had always been a joke?
He sprang up from the sand, pulled Gryphon from where it was stuck beside him.
Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around it completely as he slashed horizontally toward Makino's waist like a maddened beast, showing no mercy.
Slash!
A sharp tearing sound rang out.
The sword was unbelievably fast, meeting no resistance from bone at all.
Makino's slender body was cleanly cut in half at the waist.
Her upper and lower body separated completely.
But this time, that despair-inducing recovery became even faster.
The upper half of her body, which had been sent flying, paused in midair for an instant.
Then, not a single drop of blood flowed from the cut.
Instead, it directly turned into countless deep-blue points of light.
Just like the elemental transformation of a Logia Devil Fruit user, that half of her body became a stream of light and instantly flew back, perfectly joining with the lower half.
This time, even the clothing that had been cut apart at her waist was restored under the flowing blue light, without leaving behind even a single wrinkle.
"Hiss..."
Witnessing this scene beyond the limits of human understanding, what remained of the Red Hair Pirates in the distance could no longer help but suck in a breath of icy air.
Everyone looked shocked.
Some even had their legs give out and collapsed onto the ground.
"No, this isn't elemental transformation! My Armament Haki had no effect on her at all!"
Shanks gripped his sword tightly, his voice shaking from fear.
No matter how abnormal a Logia user's elemental transformation was, the instant it came into contact with Armament Haki, its true body would be seized.
This was common knowledge among all the strong people on the sea.
But just now, when he cut Makino in half, it had felt as though he had slashed through a mass of air that didn't even exist.
"This should count as spirit particle transformation. That's what Lord Rosse calls this state."
Makino lowered her head to look at her completely intact waist, her voice full of exhaustion and numbness.
"According to him, this body of mine was actually completely transformed into pure spirit particles long ago. What you call flesh and blood is only a disguise to maintain my appearance. With or without that disguise, I can still live."
She did not understand the profound theories Rosse spoke of.
But she knew the results better than anyone.
"Shanks, give up."
Makino let out a soft sigh and extended her clean hand once more, fearlessly pressing it onto Gryphon's incomparably sharp black blade as she slowly pushed it downward.
"You can't even kill a woman like me who has no combat experience. What are you going to use to get past the World Government? What are you going to use to face Lord Rosse?"
The sharp blade actually cut open her palm, and she could clearly feel the piercing pain.
But compared to the pain Rosse had inflicted on her at will over the past few days in the Holy Land, these wounds Shanks gave her were hardly anything.
Still, she could also clearly feel that the slash Shanks had aimed at her waist just now had truly carried the intent to kill.
The man who had once looked at her so gently had really wanted her dead.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Makino lowered her eyes and looked at the hands stained with her own blood.
'As long as everyone can live.'
'As long as this meaningless suicide mission can end.'
Whether Shanks saw her as an illusion who had been brainwashed, or as an immortal monster, she no longer cared.
After all, she was now nothing more than a pitiful bird trapped in a cage.
"You and Hongo should leave."
On the silent deserted island, Shanks' voice was hoarse.
The hand gripping Gryphon finally relaxed.
The famous black blade slowly lowered, its tip scraping across the rough reef with a harsh wail before finally coming to rest weakly against the ground.
Perhaps he still cherished the old feelings he once had for Makino.
Or perhaps he had finally swallowed the bitter taste of helplessness in the face of the overwhelming difference in strength.
In any case, he did not choose to keep swinging his sword at someone he could never kill, like a madman who had completely lost his mind.
"...You're still the same, Shanks."
Looking at his lowered red hair and lonely shoulders, Makino let out an almost inaudible sigh.
"You know it can't be done, yet you still stubbornly insist on walking this path to the end."
She no longer tried to persuade the stubborn man.
Instead, she turned around and directed her clear gaze toward the remaining members of the Red Hair Pirates, who stood as though facing a great enemy.
"What about the rest of you? Is anyone willing to come with me?"
The sea breeze stirred her bloodstained clothes as her voice rang out with complete clarity.
"As long as you're willing to put down your weapons and come with me, I'll provide you with absolute protection. I can give you everything I received from Lord Rosse. The relative freedom and comfort you want, I promise I can give it all to you."
"Who are you kidding, Makino? Don't waste your breath!"
Lucky Roux bit hard into the piece of roasted meat in his hand, now already cold. He grinned with his greasy mouth and burst into loud laughter.
"We're pirates! The mortal enemies of that bastard Rosse! I've lived freely out at sea for so long. Even if I die, I can't stand being tied up like a dog by the World Government and being controlled every single day!"
The other officers, including Snake, were covered in wounds, yet every one of them wore a defiant expression and nodded heavily.
They were wolves. Wild dogs.
They had long grown used to a life of licking blood from the edge of the blade, free from restraint.
Become livestock under the World Government's protection? Absolutely impossible.
"Who told you that staying in the World Government's territory means you'll definitely be controlled? You're not joining the Navy, and you won't need to fight on the front lines."
Looking at the pirates standing as though facing a great enemy, Makino suddenly found it a little amusing. She shook her head helplessly.
"In fact, if you come back with me, even if you lie around every day and do absolutely nothing... I can still provide you with the finest wine on the sea, let you drink your lives away, and give you pleasures you've never even seen before. Under my protection, you can make as much trouble as you want."
Rosse and Shirahoshi had promised her that.
After witnessing the World Government's strength, she believed it completely.
Because Rosse and Shirahoshi had no reason to lie to her.
Compared to everything given to the Red Hair Pirates, the credibility of Rosse and the World Government was worth far more.
"However, it's best if you don't have any ambition."
Makino changed the subject slightly, her tone carrying a hint of regret.
"For example, you can't dream of joining the Navy, you can't try to obtain an official position within the World Government, and you certainly can't seek power. As long as you're content to be ordinary people without worries, you'll enjoy the greatest freedom."
"Why?"
Beckman, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly bit down on the cigar in his mouth.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Makino through the smoke he exhaled.
What Makino was saying made little sense.
Or rather, the World Government simply did not take them seriously at all.
But the World Government truly had the qualifications to do so.
"Because your strength, or rather, your overall abilities, are too weak."
Makino sighed.
"You only know how to fight and kill. You simply can't catch Lord Rosse' eye. Even if I wanted to pull strings for you now, I couldn't arrange a good position."
"Do you know what the standards of the World Government are now? Just becoming a Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral requires not only A-rank combat power, but also extremely demanding examinations in command studies, political competence, as well as extensive experience in regional administration and military deployment. Other than cutting people down, what else can you do?"
These days, in order to find a way out for the Red Hair Pirates, Makino had truly gone and carefully studied the available information.
But the more she learned, the more their resistance seemed like an absurd joke.
Under Rosse' rule, the World Government was like an enormous machine built with absolute precision. Billions of people took pride in becoming a gear within that machine.
When the world's greatest resources, technology, and talent were all brought together and properly mobilized, the foundation that could unleash was simply not something a pirate ship carrying a dozen illiterate people could shake.
"Oh? So we're not qualified..."
The fingers holding Beckman's cigar paused slightly as the corner of his eye quietly met Shanks' gaze ahead of him for an instant.
Only a second.
Shanks' back stiffened almost imperceptibly.
He did not turn around.
Instead, from the blind spot of everyone's vision, he gave the slightest nod.
It was an understanding only the two of them shared.
Shanks had previously stayed in the cities on the outskirts of the Red Line for a period of time under Shamrock's identity.
But the Figarland Family no longer held the influence it once did. Even Shamrock himself could not reach the true core secrets of the World Government, much less an impostor.
Their understanding of the new World Government was far too shallow.
Everything Makino had shown tonight had undoubtedly been a resounding slap across the face, waking them from their long-held arrogance.
To overthrow a god, they first had to understand that god.
They needed a pair of eyes inside the World Government.
Makino clearly would not become that spy. She was too kind, and Rosse had already seen through her completely.
Hongo had lost heart and had already decided to retire for good. He would never risk his life again to pass intelligence to them.
In that case...
The only person on this ship whose mind was suited for it was Beckman.
"So, just how good are those fine wines and pleasures you mentioned? Are they really enough to make me give up my wonderful pirate life?"
Beckman put the cigar back into his mouth, a lazy smile appearing on his lips, as though he had really been tempted and had begun bargaining with Makino.
"As for the wine, it's the divine brew reserved for the Celestial Dragons. As Lord... Chosen One, I receive an allowance of three bottles every month. I can give every last drop of them to you."
Seeing Beckman begin to waver, Makino's eyes lit up, and she immediately named her offer.
"As for money, I can access ten million Berries in living expenses every month. I don't need to spend it, so I can give all of it to you for whatever you want."
As long as she could save the lives of these old friends, let alone money, she would gladly give up every benefit she had.
"Tsk! Tsk! Ten million Berries. That's certainly no small amount."
Beckman flicked away the ash from his cigar and joked with exaggerated surprise.
Honestly speaking, for pirates on the sea, ten million really was a huge sum.
The Navy's bounties on pirates often reached tens or even hundreds of millions, but that money was for bounty hunters.
As pirates themselves, they couldn't exactly take the heads of fellow pirates to a Navy base to collect rewards.
Besides, the Red Hair Pirates had always remained neutral and kind. They never burned, killed, or looted civilians.
Without robbing member nations, relying only on treasure hunting in unclaimed lands and the occasional robbery of other criminals, they actually never managed to save much cash. Their lives were nowhere near as luxurious as outsiders imagined.
"If that's still not enough, then as long as you need it, I can swallow my pride and ask Lord Rosse to get you even more."
Makino bit her lower lip and raised her offer again, determined to completely persuade Beckman.
Deep down, she had never wanted to accept charity from the World Government.
But when it came to saving lives, what was pride worth?
She could cast it aside even more.
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