Beehive Island.
Because of Koby's reckless gamble, Monkey D. Garp had been staked in the New World—
Reduced to a bargaining chip.
Meanwhile… far away, upon the seas surrounding Wano Country—
Two ships faced each other in silence.
One was a modest single-mast speedboat.
At its bow stood a tall, broad-shouldered man cloaked in gray, a blade wrapped in white cloth resting at his waist.
The other—
Was the legendary Red Force, its simple yet imposing flag fluttering in the wind.
At its prow stood a one-armed man in a black cloak, his remaining right hand resting lightly on the hilt of his famed sword.
His red hair stirred gently in the sea breeze.
The two vessels held position, separated by several hundred meters of open ocean.
A quiet standoff.
Gern Reginald Sigmar crouched at the front of his boat, one hand braced against his knee, the other rubbing his temple in obvious irritation.
"I knew it…" he muttered through gritted teeth, his tone thick with annoyance.
"That useless slacker… Kizaru. Always coasting, always cutting corners. Completely unreliable."
His fingers pressed harder into his brow.
"If even he couldn't hold you back, then what's the point of that Glint-Glint Fruit of his? Might as well rename it the 'Slack-Slack Fruit'!"
His complaints drifted away on the wind—
But his gaze never left the figure standing atop the Red Force.
"…Red Hair."
"Shanks."
On the opposing ship, Shanks lowered his eyes slightly, calmly looking down at the man below.
Compared to years ago—when he had been beaten unconscious by Gern—
There was a deeper maturity to him now.
The black cloak dulled the flamboyance of a pirate, replacing it with something colder… more distant.
Like a king.
Or a silent sentinel standing at the edge of the world.
"…I had my suspicions," Shanks said.
His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly across the sea.
"But I didn't expect you'd really set your sights on Wano."
No honorifics.
No pleasantries.
Straight to the point.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Gern rose to his feet, casually brushing nonexistent dust from his knees.
A grin spread across his face—
Cold. Calculating.
"The Beasts Pirates. Big Mom. And those three troublemaking brats from the Worst Generation…"
He let out a low chuckle.
"That brawl on Onigashima is practically the richest 'loot drop' this New World's seen since launch."
"Miss a show like that? What kind of 'opportunist king' would I be?"
His tone was crude. Mercenary.
But Shanks understood perfectly.
And in that instant—
Shanks' expression hardened.
This man…
Didn't care about Wano's suffering.
Didn't care about the Kozuki clan's long-standing tragedy.
Didn't care about the dreams and resolve Luffy and the others were risking their lives for.
All he cared about—
Was profit.
Power.
And how to extract the greatest possible gain from chaos—
To cement the dominance of his so-called New Marines.
A surge of anger rose within Shanks.
Alongside it—
Disappointment.
And something deeper—
An unease at the way fate itself seemed to be veering off course.
"Heaven-Shaker!!"
Shanks' voice rose sharply—no longer calm, but filled with harsh accusation.
At the same time—
A torrent of dark red Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body!
BOOM—!!!
The sky darkened instantly.
Clouds churned and sank low.
The sea itself collapsed inward, forming a massive bowl-shaped depression stretching for miles around the Red Force.
The air wailed.
Light distorted.
That overwhelming will—
Dominant. Absolute. Unyielding—
Crashed toward Gern like a tidal wave.
"Are you really that afraid of the 'new era'?!" Shanks roared, his crimson gaze blazing.
"Afraid of the new generation destined to shatter the old chains—bring forth the true dawn?!"
"Afraid that the path they carve with their dreams and bonds will overturn the order you've built—your so-called rule of power and control?!"
"So that's why you're rushing to Wano!"
"To strike at their weakest moment—crush every possibility—and bring everything under your control!!"
His accusation cut straight to the heart.
To Shanks, Gern's rise—his independence, his ambitions—
Even this move toward Wano—
Was nothing more than another form of usurpation.
Another regime.
Smarter.
Colder.
More calculated.
What Gern sought wasn't freedom.
Not equality.
But a new order—
With himself at its absolute center.
And any variable that threatened that order—
Any wild card beyond his control—
Like Luffy, bearer of the Will of D—
Would be suppressed.
Faced with the crushing wave of Conqueror's Haki and Shanks' furious challenge—
Gern's hair whipped wildly in the storm.
His boat rocked violently beneath him.
And yet—
There was no fear on his face.
Only…
A strange expression.
And unmistakable irritation.
"…The hell are you on about…"
he muttered under his breath, voice low but simmering with frustration.
He slowly lifted his head, locking eyes with Shanks.
The impatience in his gaze had reached its limit.
"Shanks… sometimes I really don't understand what goes on inside that head of yours."
His voice was calm—
Mocking.
"You say I'm afraid of the new era? That I'm killing possibilities?"
He let out a sharp laugh.
"Then tell me this—"
"When you cut that brat Kid down in the future—wiped him and his ship off the map with a single 'Divine Departure'…"
"Where was all this talk about 'protecting the new era'? About 'nurturing possibilities'?"
"Isn't Kid part of that 'new era'?"
"Isn't his ambition, his madness—another force meant to shake the world?"
"Or what—"
"Because he doesn't wear a straw hat? Because he's not a 'D'? Because he's not your chosen golden boy…"
"He deserves to be erased in one stroke?"
"And his 'possibility' doesn't count?"
Gern's voice rose, faster and sharper with every word.
A dark violet light began to gather in his eyes.
"But when it's me—"
"When I want to swing by Wano, watch the show… maybe pick up a few spoils—"
"You come running out like a cat with its tail stepped on."
"Throwing around Conqueror's Haki, spouting righteous nonsense about me fearing the future?"
He leaned forward slightly.
His right hand slowly gripped the hilt of his sword.
Then—
A dark violet Conqueror's Haki, no less overwhelming than Shanks'—perhaps even more violent, more untamed—
Erupted from his body like a beast breaking its chains.
BOOOOM—!!!
Dark violet lightning clashed head-on with crimson waves.
The sky split in two—
One side blood-red.
The other abyssal violet.
At their boundary—
Black-red lightning exploded endlessly, roaring like thunder.
The sea below boiled violently under the pressure of their collision.
And Gern's voice—
Cut through it all.
"You're nothing but a complete—"
"HYPOCRITE!!"
"SHANKS!!!"
Shanks' expression darkened instantly.