Chapter 256

"Impossible! Fire Fist Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates will all die here!"

"That's right! We Marines are absolute justice—how could we possibly lose to pirates!"

"Are you looking down on us Marines, Red-Haired Shanks?"

The bloodthirsty Marine officers shouted at Red-Haired Shanks.

Red-Haired Shanks ignored their words, his gaze commanding as he looked toward the distant Sengoku and Karp: "If you continue fighting, Whitebeard and Ace may indeed be left here—but the cost may be the annihilation of this entire Marineford and the remaining elite Marines."

"Sengoku, even at such a cost, will you still continue this war?"

Sengoku, transformed into a golden Buddha, clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hesitation and struggle.

"Wahahaha, stop the war? Don't make me laugh."

Blackbeard Zhang Kuang laughed wildly from within the dark domain, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Marines, Whitebeard is already on the verge of death—once he dies, what threat can the Whitebeard Pirates possibly pose?! Victory is within your grasp!"

"Are you truly willing to surrender like this? Will the Marines, bearers of justice, obey Red-Haired Shanks' command and surrender to the Whitebeard Pirates?! Wahahaha, this is truly hilarious."

Hearing Blackbeard's words, Red-Haired Shanks furrowed his brow, dark killing intent surging.

"Blackbeard…"

The Marines were influenced by Blackbeard's words.

"He's right—we are the Marines, the absolute justice of the seas! How could we ever surrender to pirates!"

"Even if we die, we must annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates!!"

"Never surrender!"

"Kill them!"

…

Many Marine officers, cloaked in the mantle of justice, were hardline believers in absolute justice—they would never compromise or surrender to pirates. Amid their roars, the surrounding elite Marines' eyes glowed red like beasts, gripping their weapons tightly as they stared fixedly at Whitebeard and his crew.

"On the verge of death? Gurarara."

Blood-soaked, a massive hole pierced through his chest, Whitebeard gripped his sword Eiyu, staring at Blackbeard before him, his bloodshot eyes brimming with killing intent: "If you've got the guts to kill me, come try it, Teach!"

"Wahahaha, Old Man, just die peacefully already!"

Blackbeard laughed loudly and slammed a palm toward Whitebeard.

Whitebeard unleashed a massive punch, his muscles bulging, sending a shockwave that coalesced into a giant light orb, blasting away vast swathes of Marines—toward Blackbeard's crew, who were all flung backward in his widened eyes.

"So painful! So painful! So painful!"

Floating in midair, blood trickling from Blackbeard's mouth, he felt the shockwave's force ravaging his body, his gaze toward Whitebeard flickering with utter greed.

"Indeed, incredibly strong… the Gura Gura no Mi!"

"I must have it!"

Inside the deep crater carved out by the dragon Kaido, Kaido in human form strode forward, shouldering his spiked club, as the surrounding Marines watched in fear and dread.

He smiled at Red-Haired Shanks nearby: "Looks like your reputation isn't enough, Red-Haired."

Red-Haired Shanks stared coldly at him: "Kaido, are you going to interfere too?"

"Of course! Is that even a question?"

Kaido grinned widely: "I came all the way from Wano for a battle this grand—how could I possibly not turn it into a cataclysm?"

Red-Haired Shanks narrowed his eyes and slowly drew his longsword "Griffin" with his remaining arm—instantly, an overwhelming, terrifying Haki surged from him, spreading across all of Marineford and a thousand miles of ocean beyond.

Within the influence of that Haki, time itself seemed to slow—whether veteran pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates or battle-hardened Marine elites, all lost consciousness under its impact.

Under the force of that Haki, the sky's dark clouds split open with a massive crack, and fissures spread across the ground.

A power of the spirit had affected reality itself—unbelievably terrifying.

"Is it Red-Haired?"

Whitebeard turned his head to look.

"This Haki… has it grown stronger than before? Red-Haired."

Blackbeard, staring at Red-Haired Shanks, felt a bead of cold sweat roll down his forehead.

Sengoku gritted his teeth, fixed his gaze on Red-Haired Shanks.

Red-Haired Shanks was more feared by him than Kaido.

"The advanced level of third-stage Conqueror's Haki..."

In the air, Luo En felt that Conqueror's Haki and smiled at Red-Haired Shanks: "No wonder he's called the most domineering man in the world."

If Luo En's Conqueror's Haki was level 7, Red-Haired's was level 9.

Before the stunned gazes of the Marine elites and Whitebeard Pirates.

Red-Haired Shanks, wielding his longsword "Griffin" with his remaining arm, declared with commanding authority: "If anyone still wishes to continue this war, let us be their opponents."

The entire battlefield fell silent.

If anyone else had spoken such words before the Marines and Whitebeard Pirates, they would have been mocked.

But when spoken by Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, the weight was entirely different.

Even the naval hegemony of the Marines had to tread carefully.

At this moment,

Everyone in Marineford ceased fighting, turning to look at Red-Haired Shanks, single-handedly holding his sword, radiating aura, and behind him, Ben Beckman gripping his silver spear and the other Red-Haired Pirates raising their weapons.

The pressure emanating from them was even stronger than that of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division.

"Red-Haired, are you siding with Whitebeard?"

Sengoku fixed his gaze on Red-Haired and spoke.

"No, I'm not siding with either side—I came only to end this war."

Sengoku clenched his teeth and roared: "How can you end it like this!"

"That's right! The war has only just begun—how can it end like this?" Kaido laughed wildly: "Red-Hair, join me in this fight! Smash Marineford to pieces, wipe these annoying Marines off the face of the world, and turn this world upside down!"

222, the end of an era

"Wah-hah-wah-hah."

Blackbeard also laughed wildly.

Kaido's appearance had caught him off guard, but now it seemed he had arrived just in time.

The Marines led by Sakazuki, Kaido, and Blackbeard all wished to continue the war—the three sides stood on the same front.

The Whitebeard Pirates, who had successfully rescued Ace, and the Red-Hair Pirates, who had come to stop the war from continuing, both wanted it to end.

The two were on the same side.

And now, the one who could decide the fate of the battle was...

Red-Hair Shanks looked up at the tall figure in the sky and shouted: "Traveler Luo En, what is your opinion? Do you wish to continue this war—or end it now?!"

In an instant!

Every conscious person on the battlefield, and every viewer watching through the Den Den Mushi screens across the world, turned their gaze to that figure.

His decision would determine the course of this war—and the fate of the world.

Under the gaze of all.

Clad in black robes that flapped in the wind, Luo En, blood-sword at his waist, reached out and gripped the hilt of his blood-sword, slashing downward. A crimson slash, thousands of meters long, struck the plaza, carving a straight, bottomless fissure between the elite Marines led by Aokiji and the Whitebeard Pirates led by Jozu, nearly splitting the entire plaza in two.

"Let this war end here."

Upon hearing his words, most—including Sakazuki—were stunned.

This man, who had openly declared war on the World Government and the Marines, who was even more insane than Kaido, was now trying to stop this war?!

"You're the one who killed Old Man! Now you say you want to stop the war? Are you kidding?!"

Zato-Maru, face drenched in blood, roared furiously at Luo En in the sky.

Luo En looked down at him coldly: "A subordinate of Huang Yuan... If you wish to avenge Huang Yuan, I'll give you the chance."

"Damn you!"

Zato-Maru seized his axe, stomped hard on the ground, and leapt high toward Luo En in the sky.

In Luo En's azure eyes, a brilliant flash of light surged.

A repelling force shot Zato-Maru back to the earth at even greater speed.

Lying in a deep crater, bones shattered and barely able to move, Zato-Maru stared up at the towering, godlike figure above him, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.

"Damn it!!!"

Amid the wary, solemn gazes of most.

Luo En raised his hand.