Sabo had been keeping a close eye on Koala, and he sensed the danger the moment the white-clothed agent moved beneath the stage.
Seeing Koala in danger, he immediately shouted,
"Koala! Move!"
Just as the black projectile was about to pierce Koala's forehead, a sword suddenly appeared in front of her.
Clang!
A deafening metallic sound exploded across the battlefield as sparks scattered through the air.
The black object was knocked away and crashed onto the ground, revealing itself to be a razor sharp thorn.
"This era belongs to the younger generation. How can you people casually destroy these young sprouts?"
Everyone on the battlefield widened their eyes as they stared at the figure standing before Koala.
A man wearing a black cloak stood there quietly.
He held a Western sword in one hand, the blade blocking Koala's path.
It was his intervention that stopped the fatal strike.
Koala stared blankly at the figure in front of her, her mind going completely empty for a moment.
"That's great... thank God..."
Sabo finally let out a breath of relief.
His back was already soaked in cold sweat, as if he had just walked out from the gates of death itself.
If that attack had landed, the consequences would have been unbearable.
The white-clothed agent narrowed his eyes as he stared at the newcomer.
Although that attack had not been his strongest move, even elite Vice Admirals would have struggled to avoid it. An unprepared Admiral could still suffer from it.
Yet the man before him blocked it effortlessly with a single sword.
That alone proved the newcomer's strength was no weaker than his own.
Cold sweat slowly formed on the agent's forehead.
Meanwhile, Luffy's face instantly filled with excitement.
"Shanks! Shanks!!!"
He never expected Shanks to suddenly appear on the battlefield.
Luffy did not know much about the forces of the world, nor did he fully understand the structure of the World Government or the true power hidden within the sea.
He only wanted freedom.
To sail the sea freely with Margaret and his friends.
And now, standing before him was Red Hair Shanks, one of the former Yonko.
Shanks looked at Luffy and smiled.
"Luffy, long time no see."
More than ten years had passed since they last met.
Even though both of them had stayed within Peach Garden at the same time, the territory was simply too vast, consisting of dozens of islands.
Luffy never knew Shanks was there.
Shanks, however, knew Luffy had arrived long ago, he simply chose not to meet him.
After speaking to Luffy, Shanks turned toward Dragon.
"As expected, you're still faster than everyone else."
Dragon remained silent for a moment before calmly saying,
"Thank you."
His gaze never left Aramaki.
He had not expected the white-clothed agent to suddenly attack Koala.
At that moment, he wanted to save her himself, but the attack had been too fast.
Even with his speed, he would not have reached her in time.
Fortunately, Shanks arrived first.
Shanks simply nodded before turning toward the execution platform.
He slowly raised Gryphon and pointed it forward.
"No matter whether the world heads toward destruction or rebirth, the future still belongs to the new era."
"Our battles shouldn't drag these young people into despair."
On the Marine warship near the coast, Garp watched everything unfold with a dark expression.
His fists tightened.
"Shanks... the bastard who led Luffy onto the path of a pirate."
Garp was no longer as stubborn as before regarding pirates and justice.
But one thing still irritated him endlessly.
Ever since meeting Shanks, Luffy had become obsessed with becoming Pirate King.
Eventually, he truly stepped onto the path of piracy.
As Luffy's grandfather, how could he possibly enjoy watching his grandson spend every day being hunted by the Marines?
In Garp's eyes, Shanks carried a large part of the blame.
There were two people who greatly influenced Luffy's growth.
One was Shanks.
The other was Rolan.
Compared to Shanks, Garp held far less resentment toward Rolan.
In fact, he was somewhat grateful to him.
Because of Rolan's appearance, Luffy's strength improved tremendously, giving him enough power to survive in this dangerous sea.
"Hahaha! So Shanks finally showed up."
Sengoku looked toward the battlefield with a calm expression.
After all, Shanks was part of Peach Garden's forces.
It was only natural for him to appear in a war of this scale.
Koala quickly regained her senses and bowed slightly.
"Thank you..."
Shanks glanced back at her with a smile.
"Little girl, this era belongs to you people. Live properly."
"As for this war, leave it to us."
The moment Shanks appeared, Kizaru quietly relaxed.
Very few people knew about the relationship between the Marines and Peach Garden.
Ace did not know.
Shanks did not know.
Even Dragon did not know.
Kizaru himself also never expected the special agent to suddenly attack Koala.
Things had almost spiraled out of control.
"Hmph! He's only a pirate."
The white-clothed agent sneered coldly.
"So what if he's a Yonko? In the eyes of the World Government, all pirates are insects."
For a brief instant, he truly felt threatened by Shanks.
But that feeling quickly disappeared.
He was a high-ranking special agent of the World Government.
Behind him stood the Five Elders.
No matter how strong a pirate was, they were still beneath the authority of the World Government.
Shanks smiled faintly.
"Insects, huh?"
"I hope you can still laugh later."
As a top tier swordsman without a Devil Fruit, Shanks had pushed all three types of Haki to the peak of the world.
Using his Observation Haki, he could clearly sense nearly every strong presence on the battlefield.
Naturally, he already noticed the strength of the white-clothed agents hiding beneath the execution platform.
Every single one of them possessed combat ability comparable to an Admiral.
Still, Shanks was not surprised.
The World Government had ruled the world for over eight hundred years.
If they lacked such strength, they would have collapsed long ago.
The Red Hair Pirates might appear relaxed and carefree on the surface, more like adventurers than pirates, but their understanding of the World Government was no less than that of the Revolutionary Army or Peach Garden.
They knew very well that the World Government's true power ran far deeper than what the world normally saw.
Sabo looked toward Shanks with complicated emotions.
Originally, Peach Garden was not prepared to start a direct war against the World Government yet.
But because of his failure, the war had begun ahead of schedule.
He had become the spark that altered the world's balance.
At that moment, a loud commotion erupted near the coast.
A massive pirate ship slowly approached the shoreline.
"That's..."
"It's Shanks' ship!"
"The Red Force!"
"The Red Hair Pirates are here!!"
"So what if another Yonko appeared?! We still have one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers here!"
As the ship stabilized, several figures jumped down onto the battlefield one after another before landing beside Shanks.
"Boss."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Everyone stared at the group in shock.
"Benn Beckman!"
"The smartest man in the world!"
"And the man closest to Shanks in strength!"
"Yasopp!"
"The world's greatest sniper!"
"Lucky Roux!"
"Hongo!"
"The entire Red Hair Pirates are here!"
The overwhelming aura emitted by the crew caused many Marines to tense instinctively.
Even Kizaru's expression changed behind his sunglasses.
"Kowai~, Red Hair Shanks really is terrifying."
Just then, a miserable scream suddenly echoed from the sky.
"I'm gonna die! I'm definitely gonna die!"
"If I fall from this height, I'll be smashed into pieces!"
===
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