Shiki rested Kogarashi against his shoulder.
"Fine, Hawkeye."
"Once this battle is over, come find me in the New World. But remember—I have no interest in pointless fights."
There was no uncertainty in his voice. He spoke as though their future duel had already been decided, making one thing perfectly clear:
No matter how many enemies surrounded him, Shiki fully intended to survive.
Mihawk calmly lowered Yoru and slid the massive black blade back into the sheath across his back.
"I understand. I will."
Sengoku's expression darkened when he saw the two swordsmen speaking so naturally.
"Mihawk!"
His furious voice rang across the entirety of Marineford.
"You are one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Are you refusing to fight?"
"I agreed to participate in the war against Whitebeard."
Mihawk's gaze shifted toward Whitebeard's lifeless body.
"That war is already over."
"You—!"
"I have no interest in joining an army merely to surround a single swordsman."
With that, Mihawk turned his back on the battlefield and began walking away at an unhurried pace.
"The reputation of the Marines is no concern of mine."
Sengoku clenched his remaining fist.
He wanted to order Mihawk to attack, but he knew such an order would be meaningless.
Hawkeye had never obeyed the World Government out of loyalty. Their arrangement had always been one of mutual convenience.
Trying to force him to fight now might accomplish nothing more than creating another powerful enemy.
At that moment, Doflamingo landed nearby.
His grin widened as he watched Mihawk leave.
"Fuffuffuffu! It looks like one of your strongest allies just abandoned you, Sengoku."
"Silence, Doflamingo!"
"Fuffuffuffu... Why should I?"
Doflamingo spread his arms, clearly enjoying himself.
"This is becoming more entertaining by the second."
He made no attempt to attack Shiki either.
Doflamingo was no fool. If the Marines suffered even greater losses in this war, that would only benefit him.
"The Marines really have no shame, yoi."
A blue flame swept across the sky.
"Don't forget—I'm still here too."
Marco descended in his phoenix form and landed beside Shiki.
Shiki glanced at him, somewhat amused.
He had not expected the pineapple-headed commander to stand beside him, especially when Shiki himself felt that nearly everything he had done during this war had been for his own purposes.
However, the Whitebeard Pirates clearly did not see it that way.
Hmm...
This could prove useful later.
An idea suddenly occurred to him.
After considering it for a moment, Shiki decided to give it a try.
"Marco."
"What is it?"
"Take Whitebeard's body and leave."
Marco stared at him in surprise, clearly not expecting those words.
"What about you?"
"I still haven't finished what I came here to do."
"But—"
"There isn't much you can do for me here."
Shiki looked toward Sengoku, Garp, and the remaining Marine forces.
"Under normal circumstances, your help might have made a difference. But now, those men are coming at me with everything they have."
Marco fell silent for a moment, then gave a faint nod without another word. Blue flames burst around him as he transformed into his phoenix form, then he gently lifted Whitebeard's body, spread his wings, and soared into the sky.
No one attempted to stop him.
The Marines merely watched with cold expressions as Marco carried Whitebeard away from Marineford.
"The Whitebeard Pirates will never forget this, Shiki!"
Marco's voice echoed from above.
"After this is over, you can ask anything of us, yoi! As long as it is within our power, we will repay you!"
The Whitebeard Pirates understood their position better than anyone.
In their current state, even recovering their captain's body should have been impossible.
Yet Shiki's actions throughout the war and what he had just done for them had earned their genuine gratitude.
Shiki merely smiled and said nothing.
He slowly rose into the air before floating forward and descending directly in front of the assembled Marine forces.
Across the world, everyone watching the broadcast held their breath.
It felt as though they were witnessing a moment that would be remembered by history.
Sengoku narrowed his eyes.
"Shiki... should I admire your courage, or should I call this nothing more than arrogance?"
"You are facing every remaining force the Marines possess, yet you show no fear at all."
"Hahaha!"
Shiki laughed.
"Why should I be afraid when none of you can kill me?"
Garp smiled, but there was no humor in his expression.
"One of us might not be enough to bring you down."
He tightened his fists until they made cracking sounds.
"But under normal circumstances, two would be more than enough."
"Oh?"
Shiki deliberately drew out the word before a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Sengoku. Garp."
His hand slowly rose.
"You two should remember this next move very well."
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a brief, wary glance.
Neither of them understood what he meant.
"Shishi Odoshi: Gosho Chimaki!"
The power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi surged outward.
The entirety of Marineford began to tremble.
Cracks raced through the ground as the shattered stone and earth rose into the air, twisting and compressing beneath Shiki's control.
When the violent shaking finally ceased, five enormous lion heads towered over Sengoku, Garp, and the gathered Vice Admirals.
Garp's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You even copied the Golden Lion's technique perfectly?"
Shiki raised his hand, controlling the five colossal lions.
"Years ago, the Golden Lion invaded Marineford."
"In the end, it took both Garp and Sengoku to bring him down."
The stone lions released deafening roars.
"Now let us see whether the two of you still possess the strength to do the same to me."
"I'll leave you in an even worse state than the Golden Lion!"
Golden light burst from Sengoku's body as his form swelled, transforming into a towering golden Buddha.
Shiki brought his right hand down, and the five colossal lion heads roared as they surged toward the Marines.
Garp and Sengoku attacked at the same time.
Fists and shockwaves tore through the air, smashing apart the stone lions one after another.
Sengoku was the first to launch a direct counterattack.
The enormous golden Buddha leaped into the air and thrust one palm toward Shiki.
"Buddha Shockwave!"
A devastating shockwave burst from his palm.
Shiki drew Oto, one of the Golden Lion's Skillful Grade Blades, and held it in a reverse grip.
"Lion's Might: Judgment!"
With a single swing, he unleashed a massive Ranged Slash that tore through the air and crashed head-on into Sengoku's shockwave.
BOOM!
The two attacks exploded against one another in midair.
A violent blast swept across the plaza, filling the battlefield with smoke and shattered stone.
Using the smoke as cover, a figure suddenly rushed forward and appeared above Shiki.
Garp raised his fist.
"Brat!"
Armament Haki and advanced Conqueror's Haki surged around his fist as he poured every ounce of his strength into the blow.
"Let's see how you block this one!"
His fist came crashing down.
"Sink to the bottom of the sea!"
"Infinitum Explosion!"
BOOM!
The resulting explosion swallowed the entire area.
Across the world, countless people stared at the screens in shock and confusion as smoke and dust completely obscured the broadcast.
"Was Shiki killed?"
"No... that can't be."
"He must have been injured, at least!"
The Marines erupted into cheers.
"As expected of the Fleet Admiral and the Hero of the Marines!"
"No pirate can stand against the two of them!"
"The Marines are the strongest!"
Excitement spread through the surviving soldiers.
Even Vice Admirals Doberman, Onigumo, Yamakaji, Momonga, and the others allowed smiles to appear on their faces.
Garp, however, remained focused on the smoke.
"Don't let your guard down."
His expression became grave.
"That brat won't fall that easily."
The moment Garp finished speaking, the entirety of Marineford shook violently.
KRAK!
A terrifying surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded from within the smoke.
Black-red lightning tore across the battlefield, spreading through Marineford in every direction.
The weaker Marines collapsed one after another, their eyes rolling back as they lost consciousness.
"Damn it..."
Sweat ran down Sengoku's forehead as he clenched his remaining fist.
"This Haki..."
WHOOSH!
A violent gust of wind tore the smoke apart.
Shiki emerged from within the darkness surrounding him.
Despite being struck by the combined attacks of Sengoku and Garp, he appeared completely unscathed.
His grip around his sword was so tight that veins stood out along his forearm.
Garp's mouth fell slightly open.
"That can't be..."
He knew exactly how much power had gone into that punch—he hadn't held back in the slightest.
Yet the attack did not appear to have harmed Shiki at all.
"What kind of monster is this brat?"
Shiki slowly rolled his shoulder, then lifted his gaze toward Garp with a mocking smile.
"That was everything you had?"
Darkness coiled around his body before wrapping around his sword, turning it pitch-black and giving it an ominous appearance as his smile widened.
"If you want to send me to the bottom of the sea, Garp... you'll have to sink all of Marineford with me."
In truth, Shiki didn't possess a body strong enough to survive the blow head-on. However, he had used the Yami Yami no Mi to absorb nearly every bit of the attack the moment it made contact.
Still, he couldn't afford to waste any more time.
The next time he attacked, he would go for the kill.
Before anyone could recover from the shock of seeing Shiki emerge unharmed, a pirate ship suddenly appeared on the sea beyond the bay.
The flag flying above its mast was one that everyone recognized immediately.
At that moment, one of the giant Vice Admirals suddenly shouted in alarm.
"This is bad! The Red-Haired Pirates—one of the Four Emperors' crews—are approaching!"
"What?!"
Vice Admiral Doberman immediately turned toward the sea beyond the bay.
There, slowly approaching Marineford, was the Red-Haired Pirates' ship—the Red Force.
Every Marine still standing turned toward the sea… and the moment they saw the approaching vessel, their expressions changed.
Garp's face darkened.
"That's the man who put Luffy on the path of piracy…"
The Jolly Roger bearing three red scars across the skull's left eye and two crossed sabers beneath it could belong to only one crew.
It was the flag of another Emperor of the Sea—
Red-Haired Shanks.
Unlike most powerful pirate crews, the Red-Haired Pirates followed an elite structure. Their strongest officers all sailed aboard the same ship.
There was no doubt about it.
Red-Haired Shanks himself had come to Marineford.
The Red Force slowly approached the shore before coming to a stop. Shanks stepped off the ship, accompanied by several of his closest companions.
However, the moment he saw the state of the battlefield, even Shanks was taken aback.
Marineford had been torn apart.
The island was covered in destruction, and the scars left by the battle stretched as far as the eye could see.
On his way there, Shanks had encountered Kaido—another one of the Four Emperors.
Or rather, Shanks had deliberately intercepted him.
Had Kaido reached Marineford as well, the situation would undoubtedly have become even worse. Shanks had no intention of allowing the balance of the world to be overturned so recklessly, which was why he had prevented Kaido from joining the war.
Benn Beckman calmly smoked a cigarette as he surveyed the devastated battlefield.
"It looks like this war has already reached its most dangerous point," he said. "Shanks, our arrival might only add more fuel to the fire."
Shanks merely grinned, his confidence unwavering.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. If it comes down to it, we'll just have to fight."
He glanced back at his crew.
"Right, everyone?"
Lucky Roux tore into the piece of meat in his hand before speaking.
"I thought we'd finally get to see Luffy. Looks like he's already left, though."
He paused for a moment, his expression softening.
"It's been years since we last saw him. Time really does fly."
"Yeah," Yasopp replied with a smile. "Even my son, Usopp, was here."
Despite his smile, Yasopp secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Deep down, he was glad he had not come face-to-face with his son.
After all these years, he still had no idea how he was supposed to face him.
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