The noisy battlefield suddenly fell silent.
Everyone watched as that straw hat swayed and drifted down to the earth.
"Sigh, am I still a step too late?"
Suddenly,
A sigh sounded out.
No one knew when, but a red-haired man with one arm had appeared in the field as if out of thin air.
He reached out and caught the slowly descending straw hat.
Looking at the badly damaged straw hat, a bitter smile appeared on the man's face.
"Red Hair!"
Katakuri's pupils constricted sharply.
The wind whispered as a red-nosed man leaped up, caught Luffy's severed upper body, and flew down.
"Straw Hat Kid! Wake up! How could this happen? Damn it!"
Buggy's eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Luffy, whose eyes were tightly shut and whose aura had completely vanished.
Dead?
Straw Hat Luffy was dead!
That man hailed as the Child of Miracles, the Child of Fate, the Darling of the New Era.
Had died just like that.
And in such a brutal way—split in two.
"You're Straw Hat Luffy! Shanks even gave you the straw hat our captain gave him! How could you die?"
Buggy suddenly felt the world becoming unreal.
With fearful eyes, he looked toward Caesar, who was chasing after the fleeing Gaimon.
Yes, it was that man who had changed everything.
Since that man appeared on the seas,
Pirates like them who relied on luck, bloodline, background, or naivety to roam the seas
Had met their doom.
The only thing that could dominate the New World was strength!
"Red Hair Pirates! Are you joining the battle too?"
Kaido walked up to Shanks, his face dark.
"Sorry, but the Beast God Pirates can't be allowed to run wild any longer in the New World seas."
Shanks placed the straw hat on Luffy's chest and slowly drew the long sword Ace from his waist.
"Caesar's ambitions are too great."
"Since he appeared in the New World, the peaceful situation on the seas has been completely shattered."
"He created the Pirate Council, attempting to establish a third regime, turning this world that barely maintained a fragile peace into a tattered mess!"
"Today's Beast God Pirates are yesterday's Rocks Pirates!"
"Anyone who attempts to control the world and become the King of the World will be eliminated by history!"
After Shanks finished speaking, a massive red-sailed ship descended from the sky.
One after another, pirates with formidable auras leaped down from the ship, landing behind Shanks.
A fierce light erupted in Kaido's eyes.
"Dark King Rayleigh, are you leading the remnants of the Roger Pirates to wade into these troubled waters?"
Rayleigh glanced at Luffy in Buggy's arms, a strong sorrow welling up in his heart.
He walked to Shanks' side and said to Kaido in a deep voice, "No, I'm just the vice-captain. I don't have the authority to lead the entire Roger Pirates."
Kaido furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"
"As for the Roger Pirates, of course, they must be led by our captain himself!"
Gaban walked over step by step, carrying a giant egg on his shoulder.
The enormous egg seemed as heavy as a mountain, with every step Gaban took, the ground beneath his feet sank deeply.
"Your captain?" Kaido's pupils dilated as his Observation Haki swept across the area, yet he failed to detect the person he was searching for.
BOOM!
Gaban placed the giant egg he was carrying on his shoulder onto the ground, causing a deafening roar and shaking the earth.
The ground beneath the giant egg immediately sank.
The fierce battle in the distance also came to a halt due to Shanks' arrival.
Akainu's mad dog-like fighting style, where he would impulsently activate his Magma Fruit awakening at the slightest provocation, attempting to transform into a volcano and perish together with the Beast God Pirates, had managed to stall the offensive of Shiki and the others.
Now, Ryokugyu was dead, Kizaru had lost a leg, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, Tokikake, and others had all perished.
On the Marines' side, only Akainu, Kizaru, Fujitora, and Momousagi and Tine, whom Fujitora had desperately protected, remained.
But the Beast God Pirates hadn't fared well either.
Bullett and Kuzan had perished together, Ganzui was slain by Zoro's ultimate move, and Linlin suffered from soul disorder due to Vice Admiral Tsuru's final attack before her death.
The pirates under the Beast God Pirates had suffered nearly three thousand more casualties, leaving fewer than six thousand remaining.
Thump, thump, thump...
Not far away, Caesar approached, carrying the unconscious Linlin whom he had knocked out.
"Father! How is Mother?"
Katakuri hurried forward to inquire.
Caesar shook his head.
Earlier, he had caught up with the fleeing Carmel.
Using the power of the Memory Fruit, he extracted Carmel's memories.
Upon examination, he found that Carmel had not been lying earlier.
At this moment, Linlin's soul was imprisoned within the will space of the Soul-Soul Fruit.
Originally, it was Carmel's soul that resided there.
But due to Vice Admiral Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit ability, the state of Linlin's soul was reset.
All the souls she had absorbed throughout her lifetime were washed out at once.
Among these souls was, of course, the soul of Sister Carmel, whom Linlin had devoured years ago!
Caesar had never encountered such a bizarre situation before and had no way to resolve it.
Thus, Caesar could only knock Linlin unconscious and consider other methods later.
"Perhaps Blackbeard's Darkness Fruit ability might be effective," Caesar thought, sighing inwardly.
He handed the unconscious Linlin in his arms to Katakuri.
"Katakuri, take Linlin and retreat. The upcoming battle doesn't require your participation."
Katakuri was taken aback, noticing the crimson glow in Caesar's eyes.
"I understand, Father! I will ensure Mother's safe return to Tottoland!"
Without any hesitation, Katakuri immediately turned and led the majority of the pirates away from the devastated island, retreating into the distance.
Akainu's face contorted with ferocity, magma bubbling on his body's surface as he prepared to intercept them.
Whoosh!
Caesar's figure vanished from his original position, his long blade slicing through the void as he swung it directly at Akainu's face!
Clang!
A long sword appeared in front of Caesar's blade, attempting to block his attack.
However!
Boom!
An overwhelming force surged forth, causing Shanks' expression to change drastically.
The Supreme Great Blade Ace in his hand rebounded, pressing him backward and slamming him into Akainu's body.
Akainu's body exploded instantly, transforming into a shower of magma and fire.
"Pfft!"
Shanks spat out a mist of blood, his face filled with shock as he stared at Caesar.
"You...!"
This feeling?
Shanks' mind buzzed incessantly.
There's no mistaking it!
It was that day, outside Banana Island in Totto Land, when even joining forces with Teach, they were instantly crushed by the rampaging Caesar's terrifying, unmatched power!
But at that time, Caesar seemed to have fallen into a state where he couldn't distinguish friend from foe.
Now, although Caesar's eyes were crimson and his body wreathed in towering bloody flames, his aura was like a vast ocean, without the slightest disorder.
In that instant, a lingering fear rose in Shanks' heart.
He abruptly looked toward Rayleigh in the distance and shouted.
"Quick, wake the captain! Only he can stop Caesar!"
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