Under Maud's interference, the future had begun to grow unpredictable.
However, Akainu and the many Marines who had bypassed him to pursue Ace might very well cause that scene from the original story to happen again.
Maud simply didn't care whether Ace and Luffy lived or died.
But if Akainu, just as in the original story, provoked Ace with his words and caused him to stubbornly refuse to flee,
then Ace would undoubtedly die.
Moreover, with Crocodile, Jinbe, and Ivankov absent,
Sabo and Luffy, as well as Molly and the Straw Hat Pirates, might very well be dragged down by Ace and die here one after another.
Maud could imagine that outcome, but he had no way to free his hands to restrain Akainu.
It wasn't because Sengoku could hold him here, but because he had to worry about Luo's safety.
Before Luo could recover as much of his stamina as possible, Maud had no time to pay attention to Sabo's situation.
"Will Shanks come...?"
While confronting Sengoku, Maud silently wondered to himself.
His arrival and existence had already been continuously affecting the "predetermined" future.
So he couldn't be sure whether Shanks would appear as he had in the original story and then forcibly bring the war to an end.
But even if Shanks came, as long as Ace didn't die, the Marines might not necessarily stop.
Because for the Marines, and for the entire world, severing the evil bloodline of the One Piece had extremely far-reaching positive significance.
To achieve that result, the Marines would most likely refuse to give up.
Before the curtain fell, thinking too much was meaningless.
Everything could only be left to fate.
Maud held his blade horizontally before him, making it clear that he intended to defend rather than attack.
Sengoku saw through Maud's