Shazo: Why am I listed third?

Colonel Faye, the Department Head of the 77th Branch, couldn't help but ask, "Commander Shazo Colonel?"

Shazo nodded. "Faye, you'll be in command from now on."

He looked up and said, "We are the Navy, and the Navy should attack pirates!"

Faye Colonel at attention and received the order, "Yes, sir! Attack the pirates!!"

The officers and soldiers of the 77th Branch responded in unison, "Attack!!"

Shazo reached his hand behind him.

His former adjutant, now Navy Lieutenant Commander Borg, took two long swords from the bundle on his back and respectfully handed them to Xia Zuo.

The moment Shazo received the two knives, he disappeared from the sight of the soldiers of the 77th Branch, and the next moment he appeared at the gap in the iron wall.

[Instant Flash]

Relying on the divine technique developed by Naruto Shazo by combining [Geppo], [Shunpo], and [Body Flicker Technique], Shazo was able to push his speed to a level close to teleportation.

Therefore, his appearance was so sudden that even Whitebeard was taken aback.

When Whitebeard took a closer look at Shazo, he was even more surprised, not because Shazo held the rank of Commodore, but because of the two swords he was holding.

These two swords are named Cherry Tree and Ten Witherings, both renowned Great Grade Sword that are famous throughout the sea.

But for Whitebeard, the fame of these two swords was far less than that of their owner.

Whitebeard frowned and asked, "These two swords belong to Cherry Tree and Ten Witherings. Is Golden Lion Shiki dead?"

Shazo Zuo raised his two swords and answered seriously, "Yes, the Golden Lion wanted to destroy the East Blue when the floating islands crashed. As the garrison commander of the East Blue, of course I had to kill him."

Whitebeard sighed, "So Shiki is dead too. There are fewer and fewer of us remnants from the previous generation."

Shazo sneered, "Since you feel you're no longer capable, you should find a way to retire and live out your remaining years in seclusion. At your age, riddled with illnesses, you insist on going to the battlefield like a young person—"

"If you ask me, you should have died in Marineford."

Whitebeard spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed heartily, "Gurararararar, there are too many people on the high seas who want to kill me. If you have that idea, then come and try it."

Shazo didn't say anything more. He had already given the "strongest man on the sea" enough face. The greatest respect he could show him now was to cut off his head.

Heroes should not die at the hands of villains, but should perish at the hands of the stronger.

Shazo swung his twin swords and casually unleashed two [Flying Slash], a probing attack that served as a greeting.

Whitebeard didn't underestimate his opponent; he raised his great naginata and slashed down fiercely, retaliating with an even larger and more powerful Sword Qi.

The three Sword Qi collided in mid-air, canceling each other out perfectly. However, the fierce Sword Qi did not disappear; instead, it shattered into countless fragmented wind blades, sweeping away everything around it.

The first to be affected are Aokiji, Borsalino, Marco, and Jozu, who are closest to them.

The four of them were fighting fiercely. Although they had noticed Shazo's appearance long ago, they did not take any action.

The two Admiral thought, "Although Shazo is not as good as Sakazuki, he is still quite strong. He can at least buy us a few minutes. I'll kill this pirate in front of me first, and then fight Whitebeard."

The two pirates thought, "A Commodore dares to fight against Pops? That's pure suicide. He'll be killed in ten seconds at most, and then Pops will come to save us."

As a result, Shazo's combat power exceeded their expectations, and the aftershocks of Whitebeard's probing attack made the four of them feel extremely threatened, forcing them to dodge.

Before they could react, Shazo once again swung his twin swords, slashing repeatedly at Whitebeard.

The longsword was wreathed in a terrifyingly powerful Haki, so much so that it even showed signs of Liao Kong distortion due to its excessive condensation.

Whitebeard's eyes widened. In that instant, he thought of Pirate King Roger, and recalled their first meeting.

That final strike between them, both at their peak.

"Gurararara!" Whitebeard suddenly burst into a deafening laugh, "Navy brat, if you're still alive, tell me your name!"

He raised the large naginata in his hand, and terrifying Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his body, sweeping across the entire battlefield like a storm. It then condensed into red and black Haki, which wrapped around the blade.

The great naginata met the heavy twin swords with a seemingly slow but actually swift slash.

The three swords could no longer get any closer when they were only half a foot apart. They were all held back by the space controlled by each other's weapons, and a black energy ball even appeared at the center of the Blade.

No, that's not an energy ball, but a gravitational anomaly caused by a spatial Shattering.

Shazo never expected that Whitebeard's broken body could still unleash such terrifying power, as if he had not aged at all.

He smiled at the pirates for the first time, "Edward Newgate, my name is: Shazo!"

As Shazo spoke, the muscles in his arms bulged, and the power attached to his twin swords doubled, causing the two long swords to emit a squeaking, metallic clanging sound.

They seemed to sense their own impending death, and thus let out terrified screams.

Suddenly, the gravity at the center of the three swords erupted abnormally, unleashing a terrifying white light that startled everyone on the battlefield.

They had no choice but to turn and avoid it.

Immediately following, an even more terrifying shockwave swept across the entire battlefield.

The first to be swept away were two Admiral and two pirate captains. These four powerful fighters were completely powerless to resist and were blown away like light leaves.

Next came the pirates near the breach, followed by the marines further out.

Even more terrifying, the broad and thick iron wall could not withstand the impact of the shock wave, and it snapped off at the Root with a crash, slowly falling backward.

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku's eyes widened as well. He remained in a Buddha-like posture, staring blankly at the erupting battlefield, feeling the terrifying atmosphere, and muttered, "How could this be?"

"How can Shazo be so strong?"

"If I had known this earlier, why would I have gathered 100,000 elite naval troops? Why would I have set up a trap? I could have just attacked openly and honestly!"

Navy Garp the Hero froze for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you little rascal, you've been playing along with me these past two years, haven't you? Just wait, you'll get what's coming to you!"

If even the Navy's Fleet Admiral and the Superstar were so shocked, one can only imagine how shocked ordinary pirates and Marines were.

Oh, they couldn't be shocked. Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki had gone out of control during the clash, indiscriminately intimidating everyone on the battlefield.

Some people, including pirates and marines, have almost all lost consciousness.

Only Marine Vice Admiral and above, as well as pirate captains and commanders, remained conscious, but they were all stunned and at a loss for what to do.

The most shocked were, of course, Marco and Jozu, as well as Kuzan and Borsalino.

Because they are closest to the point of attack, they feel the strongest impact and have enough strength to withstand the damage.

Everyone was thinking the same thing: Shazo is actually this strong!?

At this moment, Ace and Luffy, who were completely dazed and confused after being beaten by Sengoku, with the help of Luffy's new crew and under Garp's deliberate cover, escaped Sengoku's sight and quickly ran towards the gap in the iron wall.

They weren't foolish enough to rush towards the heart of the terrifying battle; instead, they headed towards the iron wall that had been knocked down by the shockwave.

"A burst of laughter, ' Whitebeard!' echoed from the center of the battle, followed by two coughs, before Whitebeard finally spoke: ' Shazo! Heh, what a pity. If only I had met you when I was 30 years younger.'"

Shazo said, "30 years ago? Back then, the Pirate King was still alive. Didn't you enjoy fighting him?"

Whitebeard shook his head regretfully and said, "Not satisfying."

"Roger is a very goal-oriented guy. He would never fight me with all his might. We would always end up testing each other, and then he would give up."

Shazo shook his head regretfully and said, "There's nothing I can do about it. It's just Bad Luck that I was born so late."

Whitebeard laughed heartily, "Yes, I guess I'm Bad Luck— "

As the dust and smoke from the shockwave gradually dissipated, the Whitebeard figure came into view.

Marco, with his sharpest eyes, was the first to recognize his Pops and exclaimed in surprise, "Pops!?"

His voice was filled with terror, Jozu was so frightened when he saw it that he was speechless.

The Whitebeard's clothes Shattering, and his bare upper body was covered with wounds of all sizes, bleeding profusely and staining his entire body red.

The Whitebeard said weakly, "Son, don't be afraid. This wasn't from a recent cut. I used too much force and reopened all my old wounds."

"Pops chopped his knife to pieces too, so we didn't lose out—"

Shazo also emerged from the smoke and dust, carrying two Famous Sword in his hands. As expected, both were destroyed. Cherry Tree was left with only the hilt, and Ten Witherings was left with only half of the blade, which was also covered with cracks.

He casually tossed the two swords aside. "Whitebeard, you're going to die in the next move."

"You won't hurt Pops, I'll kill you!"

The flames on Marco's body soared high into the air, and he instantly transformed into Phoenix, charging fiercely towards Shazo.

Shazo sneered, "You thought you could fight me just by playing around with me before?"

You're courting death!

Shazo clenched his fist and threw a punch at the blue Phoenix.

The powerful fist wind, mixed with freezing air and Haki, transformed into a dazzling phoenix. With just a peck, it shattered the Phoenix enveloped in blue flames.

The blue flames were extinguished by the frost, and the powerful Phoenix was shattered by the terrifying Haki, instantly transforming back into Marco's appearance.

Jozu quickly stepped in front of his brother, turning his body into Diamond Form to try and block Shazo's second punch.

BOOM!!

Shazo's fist struck Jozu's diamond body with a dull thud, followed by a series of crackling sounds that continued unabated.

Countless cracks appeared on Jozu's diamond body, and diamonds of all sizes fell to the ground.

Jozu rolled his eyes and fell backward, automatically reverting to Diamond Form.

Shazo knocked out Marco and Jozu with a single punch each!

Borsalino clicked his tongue in amazement. "That's really terrifying. Brigadier General Shazo is too powerful. He makes us look so weak, so weak."

"Honestly, this is a bit embarrassing."

Kuzan in agreement, then added after a moment of silence, "It was indeed shameful."

But the sacrifice of the two top pirates was not in vain; they bought Whitebeard time to recover.

After taking a few deep breaths, Whitebeard recovered somewhat, strode up to Shazo, and shielded his two sons behind him.

He gripped the large naginata tightly with both hands, which was his greatest advantage at the moment, and once again unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.

This time, the power of the Haki wasn't great, but it was enough to wake up the pirates who had just been stunned, and of course, the marines were also awakened.

Whitebeard's eyes were fixed on Shazo, and he shouted loudly, "All members of the Whitebeard Pirates, listen up!" His booming voice filled the entire area as he looked up to the sky and roared, "Our purpose here has been achieved. Now I give my final captain's order: I must bid you farewell!"

"All of you must return to the New World alive." This was a very clear dying wish, which struck the pirates, who had just regained their senses, like a thunderbolt.

When they woke up, they saw Ace and Luffy retreating to the gap in the iron wall. The joy of rescuing Ace had just welled up in their hearts when they heard this order that meant bad news.

For a time, no pirate was able to obey Whitebeard's orders.

"Pops! How could you leave us behind?"

"Didn't we agree to return to the New World together?"

"Even if we die, we won't leave you behind!"

Especially foolish Squard, who stabbed Whitebeard, cried out and begged to atone with his death, "Please let me die, then I won't suffer so much!"

Please, Pops!

Whitebeard gripped his naginata with both hands, forcefully sweeping away the pirates who surrounded him, and roared, "You don't even obey Pops orders anymore?"

"Go, take Marco and Jozu, take all your surviving brothers, and get out of here!!"

"I will hold off all the enemies for you. Move forward and do not look back!"

The pirates cried out, "Pops— "

The Whitebeard smiled nostalgically and said with a carefree air, "Go forth, my sons!"

"I am a remnant of the old era; there is no ship for me in the New World!"

"I've been traveling for too long, it's time to come ashore!"

Whitebeard has no shortage of fame, wealth, or status, and none of these things are important. What matters is family and kinship!

Being able to protect his family before his death meant he had no regrets in his life.

Whitebeard raised his great naginata, unleashing a terrifying Haki once more, along with countless wounds on his body, from which blood gushed forth like spurts.

"Go, boys, your time has just begun!"

"Kuzan! Borsalino! Shazo! This is Whitebeard's final strike!!"

Kuzan conjured ice into blades, Borsalino conjured lightsabers, while Shazo stood empty-handed, forced to clench his fists in response.

Of course, what frustrated him even more was, "Why is my name third in the list?"