First encounter with Red-Haired Shanks

Sakazuki's acceptance of the order to launch the Buster Call is not inherently wrong, as it was an order from the World Government.

The World Government made a judgment, took responsibility for the Justice, and issued the order. The Navy carried out the order according to its duties, and there was no issue of Justice involved.

Sakazuki, however, went too far by attacking the refugee ship that was already far from the Buster Call's range, wiping out everyone who was originally outside the killing zone.

This has nothing to do with orders; it's Sakazuki's own doing.

This incident made many Marines hate Sakazuki, and they became his sworn enemies, flocking to the Admiral of Admiral Kizaru and Aokiji.

Some naval officers with a strong Justice would even confront him, questioning whether his actions were truly Justice.

Even if Sakazuki is very determined, when this matter is brought up, he can only forcefully explain it as "to prevent the remaining rebels from escaping," or he can avoid talking about it altogether.

Before Shazo appeared, he could still fool people like that, but afterwards, the Navy personnel who could question him would drop all preambles and ask directly, "Do you have any evidence that there were Buster Call remnants on that ship?"

"If you didn't have time to collect evidence, did you find any evidence afterward? Did you confirm whether your decision was correct?"

"Did we pay such a high price in lives to prevent the transmission of ancient history?"

Sakazuki could not answer any of these questions; he could only remain silent, allowing the incident to become a huge stain on his resume.

It's no wonder that Akainu Admiral so hostile towards Shazo.

Unlike Admiral Sakazuki, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, while also suppressing and monitoring Shazo, actually greatly admired Shazo, especially his concept of "Plain Justice."

Considering the fact that the Navy is tightly controlled by the World Government and has become a tool for the Celestial Dragons to commit evil, he even secretly believed that Shazo and his ideals of Justice might be the key for the Navy to break through its shackles in the future.

Although the chances of a breakthrough are slim, it's still worth protecting.

On the contrary, it was Sakazuki ----

Sengoku glanced at the most obedient of the Admiral Akainu, without showing any emotion. A hint of disappointment flashed through his mind, but it was not much.

Sakazuki is the most suitable person to take over the position of Fleet Admiral, but when will he understand the fact that the Navy is a semi-independent armed entity?

As the Marine Genji, while obeying the World Government's orders, one also needs to occasionally show one's arrogance and discontent in order to avoid excessive interference from the Five Elders.

[However, expressing the navy's dissatisfaction cannot be done by the Fleet Admiral; a somewhat unruly "The Superstar" is needed to speak on the Fleet Admiral's behalf.]

Sengoku lowered his head, quickly signed the order, and handed it to Sakazuki for him to issue.

Sakazuki glanced at the Colonel rank on the order and pursed his lips, "Luckily, he's only a Colonel, otherwise things would be difficult."

The Sengoku Genji said nothing, but simply waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

To the Great Sengoku's surprise, just a few minutes later, Sakazuki and Onigumo returned with drastically changed expressions.

Sakazuki held a piece of intelligence urgently transmitted by the Warship Bird in his hand; the header of the intelligence report was surprisingly red.

This is the highest-level intelligence, related to the Pirate King, and it indicates that a battle has taken place.

Sengoku's expression instantly turned serious. He put down his pen and documents and asked loudly, "Who is it? Where are they? With whom?"

Akainu Sakazuki, with a strange expression, replied, "It's Red-Haired Shanks. He secretly went to the East Blue and encountered Shazo Red-Haired Shanks."

Sengoku asked, somewhat bewildered, "Red-Haired Shanks? Why would Red-Haired Shanks go to the East Blue? What does he want to do?"

"Tsk, Shazo Zuo discovered one of the Four Emperors ' secret operations. That's another achievement. Should we really promote him to general?"

Sakazuki's bewilderment far surpassed Sengoku's. He sighed, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Shazo not only discovered Red-Haired Shanks ' whereabouts, he also clashed with Red-Haired Shanks."

Sengoku: "----, damn it!"

Is his "Plain Justice" really that strong? Doesn't he ever consider the comparison of strength? I know he pounces on pirates whenever he sees them, but I never imagined he wouldn't even put the Emperor of the Sea in his eyes.

T

"Alas, was Shazo Zuo killed in action?"

Sakazuki slowly shook his head. "The intelligence was urgently sent by an intelligence agent who had infiltrated Shazo's inner circle. It only mentioned the appearance of the Red-Haired Shanks and Shazo's decision to intercept him."

"As you know, Fleet Admiral Sengoku Red-Haired Shanks Conqueror's Haki's Haki. Once the battle begins, neither Den Den Mushi nor Warship Bird can get close to the battlefield."

"We won't know the outcome of the battle until it's over."

"But that's Red-Haired Shanks. Lieutenant Commander Shazo is very strong, but even if he faced the Red Hair Pirates alone, there was no way he could escape alive."

Sengoku could no longer sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth in his office before finally ordering, "Send Borsalino to the East Blue. He definitely won't make it to the battle in time, but at least find out Red-Haired Shanks ' whereabouts and purpose."

Sakazuki nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go and inform Kizaru right away, but he probably won't have enough fighting power on his own."

Sengoku agreed, saying, "Borsalino alone is definitely not enough. The king of the pirates has suddenly left the Grand Line and secretly entered the East Blue. We cannot take this too seriously."

He turned back to his desk, took a small, golden Transponder Snail from the drawer, gently activated the dormant little creature, and began to make a call.

A few seconds later, Iron Fist Garp's voice came through the phone. "Sengoku, what happened?"

The usually irreverent Garp was unusually serious, without a single joke, which surprised Sakazuki. He hadn't expected this side of the naval the Superstar.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku said just as solemnly, "Garp, Red-Haired Shanks went to the East Blue and was accidentally discovered by our Marines."

"I'll send Borsalino to track them down first. If you're nearby, hurry over there too, don't let Kizaru suffer too much."

Garp didn't hesitate. "I understand, I'll set off immediately. Tell me the coordinates."

After Sengoku told Red-Haired Shanks the coordinates of the sea area where he had appeared, Garp said, "I'll be there in two hours," and immediately hung up the phone.

Sakazuki and Onigumo were deeply shocked, exclaiming, "So Garp- senpai had such a serious side!"

Sengoku pushed up his glasses and said with a smile, "He's Garp, a naval the Superstar. If he were just a fool who doesn't know what's important, how could he have survived under the Five Elders until today?"

Sakazuki and Onigumo exchanged a glance, gaining a deeper understanding of the previous generation's prominent naval figures.

The Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Chief Instructor Zephyr, Admiral Zephyr, the naval Garp the Hero, and the Sengoku—none of them were easy opponents, or rather, any slightly weaker naval officer wouldn't have lived to this age.

Once Sakazuki and Onigumo had left the office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stopped what he was doing.

He picked up a previous intelligence report and sighed softly, "Alas, what a pity, Shazo Xia Zuo."

"I thought you could be Garp's successor."

But Sengoku was overthinking it; how could Shazo be so easily defeated?

Even if it were the most formidable rising star among the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, leading his entire main force in a pincer attack, it would be wishful thinking to try and take Shazo down.

Having captured the Three Musketeers and taken the Musketeer prisoner, the Navy 77th Branch began its return voyage.

The Musketeer had a large hole drilled in its side by the Shark, causing it to take on water and list at about 10 degrees. If it was not repaired, it would inevitably sink halfway through the journey.

But none of the naval soldiers were worried about this. In the eyes of their commander, as long as the ships didn't sink directly like the Shark, there wouldn't be any problems.

--

Shazo flew to the deck of the Musketeer, placed his hand on the main gun barrel, and activated his specially developed [Wood Release: Sea Ship Creation Technique].

The entire ship suddenly came to life; new shoots sprouted from the gun barrels, decks, railings, rudder, holes, and other parts.

In an instant, it transformed into an island Forest floating on the sea.

Once the branches reached Shazo's satisfaction, they shed their excess leaves, intertwined and merged into larger branches, which then gathered at the damaged parts of the ship, becoming logs that blended seamlessly with the surrounding timber.

In just two minutes, the Musketeer was completely transformed; all the damage had disappeared, and the old wood looked as if it had just been replaced with new wood.

Shazo was very satisfied with his repairs. He raised his hands high and activated [Water Release: Fountain Technique].

The seawater that entered the cabin gushed out through the crew's passageway, transforming into a huge, towering fountain. The sparkling water splashed onto the ship's deck and sails, washing away the traces of the battle.

The Musketeer was back in balance, and its surface had been thoroughly cleaned.

First mate, Major Commander Faye, was overjoyed. "Haha, as expected of Commander Shazo! After such repairs, this ship will definitely fetch a good price."

Shazo's direct adjutant, Lieutenant Borg, also smiled, "Now everyone's departure bonuses are secured, without having to wait for headquarters' tedious approval process."

The morale of the other naval officers and men soared, and they drew their weapons and cheered.

The Fire Pistol Hand Pirates prisoners who remained on the deck of the Marine warship witnessed Shazo repairing the ship. They were so stunned by what they saw that they knelt down on the deck, as if they had seen Gods.

After that, these pirates became unusually obedient, doing whatever they were told without any thought of resistance.

After repairs, Musketeer regained its navigational capabilities, and with 25 sailors detached, it was able to keep up with the speed of the warship, making the return journey very easy.

Several days later, the lookout on duty reported, "A ship has appeared at one o'clock! A large ship, possibly belonging to pirates!"

First mate, Lieutenant Commander Faye, Major, "Can you confirm which pirate's ship it is?"

The lookout took out Shazo's illustrated East Blue Pirate Catalog, compared it with the ship's design, and reported, "It's neither a pirate ship from the East Blue nor a ship from a large kingdom in the East Blue; the ship type doesn't match at all."

Major Faye waved his hand. "Go closer and confirm their identities."

"We are the navy; we cannot ignore ships sailing within our line of sight."

"Level 3 alert! Musketeer, create distance!"

Based on the level three alert, the duty navy did not sound the battle alarm. They removed the gun covers from the cannons, cleaned the breech, and filled them with gunpowder and shells, but did not insert the fuses.

After training by Shazo, the 77th Branch was ready for battle in just one minute.

About half an hour later, Captain Shazo appeared on the deck, took over command, but did not issue any orders.

Naval warfare in the Age of Sail was like this: after spotting the enemy, it often took several hours of sailing to get close enough for combat.

Of course, the Grand Line is an exception, where the raging Hurricane can make warships move as fast as flying.

Today, the 77th Branch was clearly out of luck; they inadvertently kicked a hornet's nest.

Just a few kilometers apart between the two ships, while the 77th Branch was still working in an orderly and focused manner, without being alert to the possibility of battle, Shazo's Observation Haki suddenly detected the danger.

He leaped from his command post and blocked a bullet wreathed in black smoke in front of the mainmast.

Bullets wrapped in Haki!

Shazo's heart suddenly tightened. This was no ordinary skill; even in the latter half of the Grand Line, it was a powerful skill that not everyone could master.

The arrival of this bullet proves that the opponent is a pirate crew of the Pirate King level, or a powerful armed ship of the same level.

This was no enemy the Navy 77th Branch could handle. Just as Shazo was considering whether to retreat, the naval lookout on the watchtower called out in a trembling voice, "Ray, Ray—USS Red Fosse!"

"That's right! A huge red ship, with a bull-shaped figurehead and a scarred skull on the sail!"

"It's the Red Voss, the flagship of the Emperor of the Sea, Red-Haired Shanks Shanks!"

Without further hesitation, Shazo waved his hand and shouted, "Slow down the entire ship! Hard to port! Stop the crashing Red Foss!"

With Lieutenant Shazo's order, the naval soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. They were just soldiers of a branch and had absolutely no connection with the Emperor of the Sea. They shouldn't have been in charge of such a terrifying enemy at all.

This is the responsibility of senior naval vice Vice Admiral, or even Marine Admiral!

Just as everyone was working together to furl the sails and prepare to turn the helm, a second bullet, imbued with Haki, flew in, this time targeting Shazo Zuo himself.

It was clearly Shanks ' crew member; the sniper Yasopp wanted to use Shazo's head to intimidate the naval officers and men.

This almost casual murderous intent, this attitude of treating Shazo like a roadside Bug, enraged Shazo.

Who do you Yasopp, to treat Grandpa Shazo like Bug?

Shazo rose in Xia Zuo's heart. He squinted at the Red Fox. His eyesight was not as sharp as that of the sniper Yasopp, but he could still see the huge pirate ship.

"At a distance of over 3400 meters, no wonder Yasopp's bullets were so weak, but it also proves he really underestimated me!"

Shazo reached into his adjutant's waist and drew the navy's standard longsword, its black and red Haki swirling around it.