Naruto kicked Rayleigh in the side, making him grunt and stumble back several steps.
Rayleigh panted at the sight and gave a bitter smile.
"I'm really no match for him!"
Shanks charged back in, pushing the Advanced Conqueror's Haki coating Griffon to its limit.
With a shout, he slashed.
"Divine Departure!"
A black shock wave erupted from the blade, streaked with the red lightning of Conqueror's Haki, and hurtled straight at Naruto.
Naruto watched the incoming shock wave and willed something into motion.
A Spatial Rune appeared before him, its patterns rotating.
The shock wave struck the rune and was swallowed up.
Shanks froze.
Then his shock wave flew out of another Space Channel and hurtled toward him.
With no time to dodge, Shanks could only raise his sword to block.
Boom!
An explosion rang out, and Shanks was driven back dozens of meters by his own attack, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.
"How is that possible..."
Shanks panted, staring at Naruto.
Just then, Naruto slowly turned.
He glanced at the fallen members of the Red Hair Pirates, then at the panting Shanks and Rayleigh, and spoke slowly.
"Let me introduce you to an old friend!"
"And run an experiment while I'm at it."
With that, Naruto willed something into motion.
Under everyone's shocked gazes, a coffin slowly rose from the ground of the Red Line.
Rayleigh's pupils contracted.
He had seen this before.
On the island in the Calm Belt, Ace's coffin had risen the same way.
"Everyone, be careful!" Rayleigh shouted immediately.
The coffin lid opened, and a hulking figure stepped out.
The Red Hair Pirates were stunned.
"Whitebeard?!"
"How is that possible? Didn't he die in the Paramount War?"
"That body..."
In the distance.
Charlotte Linlin was sent flying by a blow from