"Understood."
Upon hearing Sengoku's order, Kuzan no longer hesitated.
Another ice spear condensed in his hand. The freezing air sharpened around its tip as he aimed straight for Monkey D. Luffy's head.
"Over my dead body!"
Monkey D. Garp's Conqueror's Haki burst outward, slamming into Kuzan's advance.
At the same time, Sengoku's own Conqueror's Haki pressed down on Garp.
"Garp! Know your place!" Sengoku shouted. "Do you want a court-martial?!"
"This old man just wants his grandson to live!"
Garp's voice trembled—not with fear, but with anger.
"Then why didn't you stop him from becoming a pirate?" Sengoku fired back. "Who told him to storm the execution ground? Who told him to attack Marines?"
Each word struck Garp like a hammer.
He could not refute it.
Luffy chose this path.
Luffy crossed the line.
And now the Navy demanded blood.
"Act, Aokiji," Sengoku ordered again, this time without hesitation. "Execute him."
Kuzan raised the ice blade.
Just as it fell—
"Everyone, give me some face… and let that boy go."
A calm voice cut through the tension.
A figure had appeared beside Kuzan without anyone noticing.
A long sword blocked the descending ice.
It was Shanks.
The red-haired Emperor stood casually, his cloak fluttering lightly, his sword Gryphon held steady.
Another wave of shock rippled across Marineford.
First Whitebeard.
Now Red-Hair.
Two Emperors in one war.
Shanks tilted his head slightly and glanced at Xiao.
"What do you say… Blackbeard?"
He knew that at this moment, Xiao's words carried more weight than anyone else's.
If Xiao insisted on pushing forward, the situation would spiral beyond control.
Xiao smiled.
"Of course."
He spread his hands lightly.
"If a Celestial Dragon has spoken, how could I refuse?"
Silence.
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Celestial Dragon?
Murmurs erupted.
Even members of the Red Hair Pirates froze in place.
Shanks' expression darkened.
"Watch your mouth, Blackbeard."
Xiao only chuckled.
"I'm merely stating facts."
The battlefield shifted again.
For the Marines, morale cracked further.
If Red-Hair truly had ties to the World Nobles, then what was this war?
If Emperors and nobles intertwined freely, what did their sacrifices mean?
Even Sakazuki fell silent for a moment.
Justice.
Obedience.
Hatred for pirates.
If Red-Hair was both pirate and noble blood—
Where did that leave everything he believed in?
Xiao's laughter echoed again.
"You've grown, Red-Hair. That scar suits you."
His tone was light, but pointed.
Behind Shanks, Yasopp raised his gun in anger—
A shot rang out first.
A bullet tore through Yasopp's palm.
Blood splashed across the frozen ground.
"When kings speak," a cold voice said from above, "subordinates should remain silent."
A figure appeared in midair.
It was Van Augur.
Behind him, cutting through the smoky horizon, a massive battleship loomed.
The Queen Anne's Revenge had arrived.
The war, which had nearly ended—
Was not over yet.
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