On the shattered grounds of G1 Base, the brutal battle surrounding the Oro Jackson raged on!
Shiki, drenched in blood and eyes blazing crimson, clashed fiercely with Shanks.
Frustrated and pent-up, he seemed intent on venting all his repressed anger, completely abandoning defense as his twin swords rained down like a storm.
"Why can't I comprehend the Power of Rules? Damn it! I feel like I'm being left behind by this era! So infuriating!!"
Shiki roared repeatedly, unleashing massive slashing waves that tore through the sky, nearly engulfing Shanks.
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki dispersed the waves of slashes as Shanks, wielding his sword with one arm, tore through the atmosphere and sent Shiki crashing down from mid-air.
Gasping heavily, Shanks was covered in wounds, his clothes soaked through with blood.
Staring at Shiki, whom he had struck deep into the earth, Shanks suddenly bellowed.
"I want to know too!"
Then, he plunged his sword into the ground, leaning on it for support as his body trembled slightly.
His Haki and stamina had been nearly exhausted in the battle against Shiki.
He lifted his head to survey the battlefield behind him, his expression growing increasingly bitter.
Many had died.
The original battlefield, scarred by the brutal conflict between the Beast God Pirates and Marine Headquarters, was already saturated with untold amounts of blood.
The earlier bloodstains had darkened to a deep, blackish-red over time.
But now, fresh blood was being splattered across the earth once more.
The pungent scent of blood filled the air, nauseating to anyone who caught a whiff.
Kaido, transformed into his hybrid dragon form, wielded his spiked club as he battled Hawkeye.
Hawkeye's combat prowess was formidable; even Kaido couldn't subdue him quickly.
Fujitora intercepted Loki, his Gravity-Gravity Fruit proving most effective against a brute-force giant like Loki.
Rayleigh barely managed to hold off Kizaru, but his disadvantage was becoming increasingly evident.
He had aged, and his stamina simply couldn't keep up.
Doflamingo and Crocodile fought together, driving Benn Beckman and Yasopp like stray dogs, forcing them to constantly evade.
Their combined techniques grew more refined with each move, and the power behind their attacks intensified.
Moreover, whenever Crocodile used Sand Burial to wear down Benn Beckman's Haki, he could even absorb the Haki from his opponent for his own use.
Under Doflamingo's influence, his Sand-Sand Fruit was gradually developing even stronger applications.
"Fufufufu, stop running! It's all futile—the outcome was decided long ago!" Doflamingo spread two massive wings of thread behind him, entirely composed of sand grains coated in Armament Haki.
Now clad in yellow sand armor and bearing enormous black wings, Doflamingo looked more like an angel than a Seraphim—though a fallen one.
Nearby, Momousagi, slightly reinvigorated by Zoro's power, was locked in a fierce battle with Yamato.
As a Marine Admiral candidate, her strength was formidable.
Though Yamato was skilled, she couldn't defeat Momousagi quickly.
In swordsmanship, Yamato was far inferior to Momousagi.
Both were tall, stunning beauties, but their combat was utterly ferocious.
Elsewhere, the greatly empowered Gin fought like a tyrannosaurus, his furious momentum hammering Gaban relentlessly.
Gaban retreated continuously, blood trickling from his mouth.
The massive shockwaves from Gin's weapon had already injured his internal organs. Barring any surprises, Gaban wouldn't last much longer.
Amid the chaos, a elusive figure weaved through the pirate ranks, a slender sword appearing and disappearing mysteriously, claiming pirate lives one after another.
Even the powerful individuals Rayleigh had brought from Impel Down couldn't withstand this assailant's attacks.
This was Redfield.
While everyone else's stamina and Haki gradually depleted during battle, Redfield continuously replenished himself by sucking blood, maintaining his peak condition.
At his peak, his combat prowess was no less than Shiki's or Kaido's.
Thus, dealing with these pirates was like a hungry tiger pouncing on sheep—he moved as if unopposed.
Shanks glanced toward where Caesar and Zoro had been fighting.
Their figures were nowhere to be seen, only a massive, shattered hole remained.
Through it, the starry sky on the other side was visible—a bizarre sight Shanks had never witnessed before.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Both Caesar and Zoro had comprehended the Power of Rules, and their battle was something even he struggled to understand.
The broken hole was healing rapidly.
As time passed, Shanks focused on recovering his consumed stamina and Haki, eager to aid his comrades as soon as possible.
The enormous hole had now shrunk to the size of a bowl.
Suddenly, a pair of giant hands reached out from the other side of the hole, gripping its edges and tearing it open with immense force.
Then, a figure both familiar and somewhat daunting to Shanks emerged from the other side.
"Caesar..." Shanks' heart sank, plummeting straight to the depths of despair.
Even Roronoa Zoro, who had comprehended the rules, was defeated?
Was there anyone left in this world who could stand against this monster before them?
Even if Captain Roger were resurrected, he wouldn't be able to defeat this person.
"This time, we might truly be finished."
When Caesar's mountain-like figure reappeared, both sides in the battle involuntarily halted.
The pirates on Shanks' side all wore ashen expressions, their fighting spirit completely shattered.
Meanwhile, Gin, Doflamingo, Loki, and the others gazed with fervent zeal as Caesar strode forward.
Suddenly!
Thump!
Thump-thump!
Once again, the rhythmic beat of war drums resonated between heaven and earth.
Just like the last time the drums sounded.
As the war drums reverberated in all directions, the exhausted stamina and Haki of Shanks' rapidly recovered at an unbelievable speed, like water being poured into a glass bottle.
But unlike before, the members of the Beast God Pirates weren't harmed by the drumbeats.
Instead, their injuries were completely healed as the drums echoed.
Shiki frowned, emerging from underground to look toward the source of the drumming.
"Has he finally been reborn? Joy Boy..."
Beside Rayleigh, the unconscious Roger opened his eyes and stood up from the ground.
"Captain Roger!"
Shanks and the others hurriedly gathered around him.
Caesar stopped not far from Luffy's corpse.
He expressionlessly looked at Luffy's body, which he had sliced in half with a single strike.
Now, both halves of Luffy's body had transformed into two blobs of rubber stuck together.
The rubber blobs squirmed, struggled, and emitted deafening drumbeats.
Gradually, the rubber expanded, transforming into a white-haired youth with Samsara Pupils.
The youth opened his eyes, a naturally warm smile gracing his lips.
He looked around at each person present.
"Hello, I am..."
"Joy Boy!"
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