On the horizon, black sails connected into an unbroken line.
It was the Blackbeard Pirates.
After Marineford, Teach had been quietly building power, still coveting even greater strength and treasures.
Teach spread his arms and burst into wild laughter.
"Zehahahaha!"
"Shanks! Long time no see!"
"And Straw Hat brat… and that lunatic who stole Uranus too! That humiliation after Marineford—I haven't forgotten it!"
His voice, empowered by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, made the air itself resonate.
Shanks stood on a reef along the coastline, Gryphon already drawn.
Crimson Conqueror's Haki condensed into tangible black-red lightning, coiling around the blade.
The rock beneath Shanks shattered.
He shot forward like a red meteor over the sea.
"Kamūsari!"
That slash crossed a thousand meters of ocean.
The sea split cleanly apart.
A gigantic cutting wave shot straight for the bow of the Saber of Xebec.
Teach's laughter stopped dead.
He hadn't expected Shanks to skip the nonsense and open with a killing move.
"Kurouzu!"
Darkness surged.
The collision tore the clouds apart, forcibly splitting the gloomy sky into two halves.
Just a single exchange
And the weather itself changed.
A massive shockwave raised a tsunami over a hundred meters high, expanding outward.
Even Elbaf's coastline trembled.
Shinju stood beneath the shadow of Uranus, watching the clash on the sea.
"Pretty loud," he commented.
Then he raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
"Franky, are the sub-cannons warmed up?"
Franky's excited voice burst from the communicator.
"Ready to fire anytime! This auto-lock system is amazing, super! It's basically art!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Fire."
Shinju gave the order calmly.
"Clean up those annoying flies."
Uranus hummed low in midair.
Its main cannon was drained, but the sub-cannons still had firepower that could wipe out warships.
Blue beams poured down like a storm.
The sea instantly became a boiling battlefield.
"What is that?!"
"Dodge! It's an attack from above!"
"Damn it! The rudder's gone!"
Blackbeard's crew screamed in panic.
The beams hit—wood exploded into splinters.
Ships were pierced one after another, flames spreading across the water.
The once-arrogant fleet became living targets under Uranus's fire coverage.
This was dimensional suppression.
Control the skies, control the war.
Teach blocked Shanks' strike
Only to see his fleet swallowed by fire.
His face twisted violently.
"Damn you bastards!"
He hadn't expected Shinju to truly control Uranus—nor to be this ruthless.
"Burgess! Van Augur! Move!"
Teach roared.
Several figures burst from the Saber of Xebec.
"Wihahahaha! Leave it to me!"
Champion Burgess hoisted a boulder like a small mountain and hurled it toward the Thousand Sunny.
"Teleport."
Van Augur raised his rifle. His figure flickered.
His target wasn't Shinju. Not Luffy.
It was Robin.
If he caught Nico Robin, he'd have bargaining power.
The barrel aimed at Robin's forehead.
"Fate."
Van Augur pulled the trigger.
The instant the bullet left the chamber, he activated his ability again—teleporting the bullet directly to ten centimeters in front of Robin.
No time to dodge.
Zoro and Sanji were too far. They couldn't save her.
Just as the bullet was about to touch her skin
A hand appeared out of nowhere and caught it.
Two fingers pinched the bullet's tip steadily, perfectly.
Shinju stood in front of Robin, looking at Van Augur floating in the distance.
"Too slow."
Van Augur's expression changed. He tried to teleport again.
But Shinju was already gone.
The next second—Shinju appeared behind him, driving his knee brutally into Van Augur's spine.
Van Augur slammed into the sand like a cannonball, carving out a chain of deep craters.
"A sniper should stay far away," Shinju said, landing and brushing his hands off.
Shanks and Teach had already exchanged dozens of blows.
The ice around them shattered repeatedly—then froze again as Kuzan re-froze the battlefield.
Teach had several bloody cuts carved into him.
Gryphon's work.
Shanks didn't look great either. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Teach panted, eyes scanning the situation.
His fleet had lost over half.
His commanders were being suppressed.
Uranus had paused its firing—but Shinju still hadn't truly gone all-out.
And on top of that—Red Hair Shanks.
If this dragged on, Teach would lose.
Teach was a gambler
But more than that, he was a sharp, calculating opportunist.
He knew when to push, and when to retreat.
"Zehahahaha!"
Teach suddenly laughed again, black smoke rolling off his body.
"Dark Void Path!"
Darkness spread across the ice, releasing a terrifying gravitational pull.
"Boys—RETREAT!"
He didn't hesitate at all.
The order was immediate.
The Saber of Xebec was swallowed by black smoke and began to sink.
Shanks didn't chase.
Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit was too weird—if he set a trap under the sea, chasing recklessly would be suicide.
The Blackbeard Pirates came fast, and left just as fast.
All that remained was a ruined sea—burning wreckage scattered everywhere.
Uranus returned to silence.
Shanks sheathed his sword and jumped back onto the shore.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at Shinju.
"He got away."
"He won't get away," Shinju said, staring at the direction Teach vanished.
"The place he's going… is the same place we're going."
"Laughtale."
Shanks nodded.
"Right. The final Road Poneglyph has been solved. This race is in its final sprint."
"Whoever reaches it first—wins."
Luffy ran over, grin blazing with excitement.
"Then let's race, Shanks!"
"I'll get there before you!"
Shanks pressed a hand down on Luffy's straw hat, pushing it firmly into place.
"Then I'll be waiting for you at the finish line."
The Red Hair Pirates began boarding their ship.
They were leaving too.
The Red Force raised its sails and disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Shinju turned toward Uranus's lift platform.
"We're moving."
"Target: Laughtale."
The Straw Hats all boarded.
Uranus powered up again, blue flames blasting from its rear as it went full thrust.
A thunderous roar shook the sky.
It wasn't hovering anymore
It was sprinting.
From Robin's coordinates, Laughtale wasn't on the sea surface.
Not under the sea either.
It was in an extremely special position
A position that would only reveal itself when the four coordinates aligned, and when the right timing and ocean currents converged.
And right now
That moment had arrived.
Shinju sat at the control console, watching the distance counter on the screen rapidly jump.
A new mission prompt appeared on the system panel.
Final Mission: Reach Laughtale.
At last.
It was finally going to end.
All mysteries debts and grudges
Everything would be settled there.
Uranus broke the sound barrier, leaving a long white trail across the sky.
Below, the ocean churned violently.
Countless Sea Kings surfaced, all facing the same direction, releasing deep, low calls.
They were welcoming the birth of a new king.
And on the other side of the world
In the ruins of Mary Geoise
Imu stood among shattered flowers, gazing up at the sky.
"The lights are going out," Imu whispered.
"Then let the whole world…"
"Be buried with them."
(End of Chapter)
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