Why?

"Clang..."

As the crisp sound rang out, Red-Haired Shanks's fingers, which had been tightly gripping Meito Gryphon, went limp, and the sword fell to the ground.

Just as Yaen was about to reach Shanks, his footsteps suddenly halted.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a figure crashed down not far behind Yaen. It was none other than Ben Beckman, who had been blasted away by Kong.

"That damn brat really didn't hold back at all..."

Ben Beckman cursed as he got to his feet. His gaze unintentionally swept toward Shanks, who was lying on the ground, and his voice abruptly faltered.

"Wh... What happened...?"

Unprecedented terror surfaced in Ben Beckman's voice. He had never imagined that Shanks would actually fall.

More importantly, when Ben Beckman instinctively spread out his Observation Haki, he could not sense the slightest trace of life from Shanks.

That meant Shanks... was dead?!

Ben Beckman's pupils contracted. He almost felt as if the entire world were collapsing before his eyes.

At that moment, Yaen, who had his back to Ben Beckman, slowly turned around. His face was cold, and his eyes were icy as he stared at Ben Beckman and spoke.

"Really, why did you have to ruin this scene? Now it seems I have no choice but to deal with you as well."

After recognizing Yaen's identity, Ben Beckman broke into a cold sweat. The usually composed man completely lost his composure as he demanded, "You bastard, what did you do to Shanks?"

"Nothing much. Since Shanks has lost his value, naturally I can't allow him to continue getting in the way on this sea."

Yaen answered calmly. His icy gaze made Ben Beckman's heart turn cold, utterly lacking the gentleness and justice of the Yaen he remembered.

At that moment, although Ben Beckman was filled with