The Judge Forbidden Zone. Inner Bay.
The Red-Haired Pirates had arrived.
"Hahahaha!"
Garp stood alone in the inner bay, arms crossed. His presence radiated a chilling aura that soared to the heavens. Despite the overwhelming odds—facing an Emperor and his entire crew—the Vice Admiral didn't back down.
He had sworn to return this Marine base to Rosen intact. Even if his remaining forces were few.
"Long time no see, Mr. Garp."
Red-Haired Shanks greeted him like an old friend as his ship, the Red Voss, brazenly entered the bay.
"Red-haired brat, you didn't come here just to reminisce," Garp grinned maliciously. "You brought your entire pirate crew to surrender to this old man?"
"Is that what you think?" Shanks shook his head, chuckling. "The result is the same. If you don't surrender, I'll make you."
"You're trying to buy time, Shanks," Ben Beckman said quietly, a glint in his eyes.
Shanks had swept through the Judge Forbidden Zone with Conqueror's Haki the moment he arrived, but Beckman's Observation Haki sensed that several people within the zone were still conscious. The Marines were stalling.
"I don't want to fight you, Mr. Garp," Shanks said, his smile fading. "Please hand over Kaido and Vinsmoke Judge."
"You want to rescue Kaido," Garp said, glancing at Beckman. "But why Judge?"
"We have no choice," Shanks replied honestly. "Your Marines are growing too strong. Unreasonably strong. If we let you wipe out the Whitebeard and Big Mom Pirates, the Great Pirate Era will collapse."
Shanks was determined to protect the balance of the seas. Releasing Kaido was essential. Eliminating Judge—the architect of the Marines' advanced technology—was necessary to stall Rosen's momentum.
"That world doesn't need pirates," Garp growled, his anger flaring. "It doesn't need a Pirate King. It needs peace."
"Then it seems we must communicate differently."
Shanks gripped his sword. The Griffin.
"Hahahaha!"
Garp laughed, but it was sharp. "Between Marines and pirates, the only language is fists and weapons. Just like when I was with Roger."
His eyes flashed scarlet. Conqueror's Haki surged, cracking the ground beneath his feet. Black and red lightning bolts arced outward.
"You boys release Kaido and take Judge," Ben Beckman said to the others, gripping his rifle. "Garp is ours."
The officers of the Red-Haired Pirates moved.
Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others leaped from the deck. Their movements were fluid, precise. Even without the sheer numbers of other Emperors, the Red-Haired Pirates were impenetrable—every regular crew member equivalent to a Vice Admiral, the officers rivaling Yonko Commanders or even Warlords.
They crossed the hundreds of meters to the shore in a single bound.
"Damn it!" Garp's heart sank.
He couldn't stop them. Shanks and Beckman's combined assault was enough to suppress even him. Short-term resistance was possible, but defeat was inevitable.
The thought of the Forbidden Zone being breached, Kaido kidnapped, Judge killed—crippling all of the Marines' advanced technology—made Garp sweat with anxiety.
This was the future of the Marines at stake.
"Hurry," Yasopp muttered as he, Lucky Roux, and the others landed on the beach. "That man could return at any moment."
They tensed. Even for the Red-Haired Pirates, facing Rosen was a death sentence.
The moment they stepped into the Forbidden Zone, the air turned icy.
Crack.
Snowflakes danced from a clear sky. The sea froze into ice. On the frozen beach, a cold and beautiful figure rose from the frost like a snow woman.
She wore a plain kimono, her long hair snow-white. In her hand, an ice blade gleamed.
Simultaneously, a samurai stood at the entrance to the inner bay, his face obscured by a fierce mask, cherry blossom petals drifting around his head. His presence was silent, lethal.
Pirates? That was their only thought.
Both figures cast glances cold enough to freeze bone.
"Sorry," the samurai said, voice muffled behind the mask.
"This road is blocked."
—-
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