Chapter 379: An Unexpected Situation
Benn Beckman and the others immediately noticed the change in Shanks's expression.
At once, everyone turned curious eyes toward him.
"Looks like you've sensed something too, boss… Come on, tell us what it is," Lucky Roux said curiously, still gnawing on a big drumstick.
Shanks's expression, however, was more serious than ever before. He didn't respond right away.
Benn Beckman, his right-hand man who had followed Shanks through countless battles, had never once seen that kind of look on his captain's face.
In an instant, a thought crossed his mind.
"Could it be… the World Government has made a move?" Beckman asked.
His Observation Haki wasn't as powerful as Shanks's, but his strength was beyond question.
And Benn Beckman was also known as "the smartest man in the world." His intelligence was unmatched, even on a global scale.
Just from his captain's expression—and considering the current state of the world—there was only one thing that could cause Shanks to look like this.
The World Government had personally taken action.
However, Shanks still didn't speak.
After about ten seconds of silence, he finally seemed to snap out of it.
"How could this be?" he muttered.
His reaction only made everyone more confused.
All the crew members, except for the helmsman and lookout, gathered around.
"What's going on, Captain?" Yasopp asked curiously.
Through his Observation Haki, he could sense the chaos and intense fighting taking place at Marineford, but he couldn't see the future. So he had no idea what could have caused Shanks to react this way.
Seeing everyone's curiosity, Shanks finally spoke in a deep voice.
He exhaled slowly, then said, "It seems this operation of ours won't end the war as easily as we hoped."
"Something extraordinary has appeared at Marineford."
…
Uchiha Dali's duplicate clone was, at that very moment, enjoying being surrounded by the five top Navy powerhouses.
Under their combined assault, his body was constantly being pushed to its limits, triggering his heaven-defying comprehension ability again and again.
[Ding! You have felt the power of the Navy's legendary Vice Admiral Garp's Iron Fist! Your understanding of Armament Haki has greatly deepened and reached its peak! You have mastered Armament: Total Destruction!]
[Armament: Total Destruction — A level beyond internal destruction. When using Armament Haki, it naturally causes damage to the surrounding environment, ignoring defenses to inflict true damage! The effective range scales with the user's strength!]
[Ding! You have endured repeated attacks from Sengoku the Buddha! Your comprehension of shockwaves has reached its peak! You have mastered Advanced Shockwave!]
[Advanced Shockwave — The most refined form of pure physical attack. By pushing physical force to the absolute limit, one can unleash devastating shockwaves. Advanced Shockwaves are ten times stronger than basic ones! When mastered to perfection, a single strike can shatter all things in existence!]
[Ding! You…]
…
Attack after attack, breakthrough after breakthrough.
Uchiha Dali's duplicate clone continued to grow stronger in this relentless cycle of pressure and enlightenment.
The sensation of his body being filled with endless power thrilled his nerves.
He was quite satisfied with the performance of the five top-tier Navy officers.
But just as he was reveling in this process of continuous evolution, he suddenly sensed that their attacks were slowing down.
His brows furrowed immediately.
"Not enough. Far from enough."
"One full day, and you've only lasted less than two hours? You're already done?"
Still with his eyes closed, he spoke calmly—then slowly opened them.
Sengoku, Garp, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino had all stopped.
They ignored Uchiha Dali's clone and instead turned their gazes toward the sea.
Noticing this, the clone also looked curiously in that direction.
High above, Uchiha Dali and Ōtsutsuki Kyōshiki also turned to look down at the ocean below.
There, something massive was moving across the sea—its form faint and shimmering, like a mirage.
"What is that thing?"
"It looks like… a person? But why is half of its body transparent?"
"A person? No way—that thing's enormous! It's way beyond the size of a giant!"
"Bigger than the giant vice admirals, even larger than that demon, Oars, who just fell! What kind of monster is that?!"
"Another strange one's appeared?!"
…
On the battlefield, countless people noticed the colossal figure.
Almost everyone instinctively paused, speculating about what they were seeing.
"Oh? They've noticed me already…"
The massive figure by the shore turned its grotesque head toward Marineford. Realizing it had been spotted, it let out a chilling, twisted laugh.
Then, to everyone's shock, several smaller figures began to appear one after another on the giant's shoulders.
Their sizes were normal—human-sized.
The moment Sengoku saw them, his eyes darkened. "Blackbeard?"
Just then, Sengoku's Den Den Mushi began ringing.
"Sengoku-san, bad news! Blackbeard used his Warlord status to infiltrate Impel Down and released a massive number of prisoners—!"
A panicked voice came through the receiver.
Hearing this, Sengoku's expression changed dramatically. When he looked back at Blackbeard, he finally understood why that man hadn't appeared earlier and was only arriving now.
"So that's it… Blackbeard…"
"How's Magellan?!" Sengoku asked, forcing himself to remain calm. Whatever happened, he needed to know his subordinates' condition first.
"Chief Magellan is injured, but his life's not in danger!"
The voice on the other end replied quickly.
That made Sengoku breathe a little easier.
He hung up the Den Den Mushi and glared coldly at Blackbeard. "Blackbeard, what is the meaning of this?"
"Zehahaha! What a headache this is! I planned to make a surprise entrance, but looks like the battlefield's already been wrecked before I got here! Zehahahaha!"
"Old man, it's been a long time!"
Completely ignoring Sengoku's question and the rest of the battlefield, Blackbeard's eyes locked straight onto the wounded Whitebeard—and he burst into maniacal laughter.