Red-Haired Shanks Enters the Fray, Ye'en VS Kamusari!

Benn Beckman spoke with exceptional calm.

His deep eyes quietly watched the blood-colored demon god floating in midair.

His pride and joy, his marksmanship, and his all-out strike combining Haki and demonic energy had failed to leave even a decent scratch on that blood-colored demon god.

And he knew very well.

He could not possibly block the protagonist's next attack.

Defeat was only a matter of time.

Rather than be beaten into coughing blood in humiliation,

he might as well surrender gracefully.

"Even Beckman surrendered..."

"Not surprising... that brat's presence is absurdly powerful... the outcome is already obvious!"

"That brat is truly terrifying..."

The Red Hair Pirates' crew showed neither surprise nor confusion. Their expressions had instead turned grave with understanding.

They had witnessed that brat's terrifying strength firsthand, from Rockstar's miserable state to Usopp's defeat, Marco's injuries, and Beckman's defense, which had failed to budge the enemy even after he gave it everything he had.

That was a monster no human strength could contend with.

Beckman's choice was entirely understandable!

The atmosphere among the Whitebeard Pirates was equally grave.

"Even Beckman..." Jozu's massive fist loosened slightly, his eyes full of complicated emotions.

"That brat's strength truly cannot be fathomed." Vista's sharp brows were tightly furrowed.

Marco clutched his chest and looked at the blood-colored giant radiating overwhelming demonic energy in the air, then at Benn Beckman's calm expression. There was no longer any resentment in his heart.

Now it seemed that losing to such a monster was not a disgrace.

But that only made everyone's frowns deepen.

Usopp, Marco, Beckman... all of them had fallen one after another.

Who else could fight that brat now?

"Whoa lo lo lo lo lo lo—!!!!!"

Kaido's explosively smug laughter rang through the skies once more, louder and more grating than ever before!

His enormous dragon head excitedly rubbed against Lynn's Blood-Colored Susanoo, spraying drool everywhere and nearly drenching the Red Hair Pirates' ship below!

"Did you all see that?! Red-haired brat! Whitebeard, you old man!"

"This is the true strength of my son, Kaido!!!"

"Who else?! Who else refuses to accept it?! Come up and try!"

Kaido's arrogance practically pierced the heavens!

The sight of his smug, triumphant face turned the Whitebeard Pirates' and Red Hair Pirates' officers livid, making them want nothing more than to rush up and fight Kaido to the death.

But...

They looked at that blood-colored demon god in the sky and ultimately forced themselves to swallow their resentment.

They could not beat him!

They really could not beat him!

[ Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully defeating a person with Admiral-level combat power (Red Hair Pirates Vice Captain: Benn Beckman)! ]

[ Mission Three: Defeat four individuals with Shichibukai-level combat power or above (3/4)! ]

The system's cold notifications rang through Lynn's mind in succession.

Only one remained.

Yet Lynn, now transformed into the blood-colored Demon Child, could not help frowning slightly.

"Not... fun..."

He muttered in his childish voice.

He had thought he could find a suitable opponent and properly test just how powerful the strongest strike of his current Eight Gates was.

Benn Beckman was undeniably Admiral-level.

Yet even he was no longer willing to play with him.

Who could fight him next?

His voice was not loud.

But what kind of people were present?

Their Observation Haki and hearing were both absolutely top-tier... how could they possibly fail to hear him?

Every one of them gritted their teeth at Lynn.

Yet there was nothing they could do.

Just as Lynn was preparing to dispel his Ye'en form,

suddenly,

"Demon Child Lynn!"

"Since you find this so boring..."

A calm voice carrying unquestionable authority came from the Red Force.

Red-Haired Shanks pressed a hand against the famous blade Gryphon at his waist and slowly stepped to the front.

The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness and... fighting spirit!

His deep eyes stared intently at Lynn within the Blood-Colored Susanoo in the sky.

"How about I become your opponent?"

The entire battlefield was stunned by those words!

"Captain?!"

"Boss Red-Hair?!"

Usopp, Lucky Roux, and the others all stared at Shanks in disbelief.

"Red-Haired?!"

Even the Whitebeard Pirates were utterly shocked.

Whitebeard himself looked at Shanks in confusion.

Was this red-haired brat really going to fight personally?

"Red-Haired! Have you no shame?!" Kaido's massive dragon head snapped toward Shanks, his flaming dragon eyes full of fury and contempt. "You can't beat the little one, so you want to personally step in and bully my son?!"

"You've thrown away all the Four Emperors' dignity!"

"And didn't we agree long ago?"

"You and old man Whitebeard were not allowed to make a move!"

"Are you going back on your word now?"

Shanks merely gave Kaido a faint glance.

"Kaido, you cannot put it that way."

"Your son was the one who used his youth to bully the adults, picking on everyone aboard my ship."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the miserable Rockstar, the bitterly furious Usopp, and the calm-faced Benn Beckman.

"Two of my crewmen are seriously injured, and one has surrendered."

"If I, their captain, still do not step forward, would that not make people laugh at the Red Hair Pirates for having no one left?"

Shanks' voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure.

He looked at Lynn again, the corner of his mouth curling into a slightly provocative smile.

"What is it, brat?"

"Weren't you saying just now that this was boring?"

"Now then, do you dare spar with a true Four Emperor?"

A provocation!

A blatant provocation!

Everyone heard it!

Kaido shouted in fury, "Red-haired brat! Stop playing tricks! If you've got the guts, come at me!"

However.

Within the Blood-Colored Susanoo, Lynn's scarlet eyes merely watched Shanks calmly.

"Yah!"

There was no anger, no disdain.

Yet deep in his eyes, the mad fighting spirit that had just begun to fade seemed to have been ignited anew.

Buzz—!!!

The blood-colored steam that had been about to dissipate after Benn Beckman's surrender suddenly erupted with an even more brilliant, even more ominous crimson glow!

An overwhelming presence swept across heaven and earth once more!

That suffocating pressure descended again!!

"Lynn?!"

Seeing this, Kaido understood Lynn's choice and could no longer stop him. "Be careful. That Red-Haired bastard is no easy opponent!"

The smile on Shanks' face grew even wider.

Good!

His aura began soaring madly at that very moment!

Boom—!!!

An incomparably terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted from Shanks' body like a volcanic explosion!

That Haki was condensed almost into substance, transforming into visible black lightning that rampaged wildly around him!

The sky changed color as the winds and clouds churned!

The sea roared in response!

"So this is Red-Haired's true strength?!"

"He's far more terrifying than Pops!"

The Whitebeard Pirates' crew all revealed shocked expressions.

Whitebeard's pupils contracted sharply as well, his hawk-like eyes fixed seriously on Shanks.

That red-haired brat... he had grown far stronger over the years than anyone could have imagined!

The blood-colored steam swayed slightly under the impact of Shanks' terrifying Conqueror's Haki.

But Lynn's small body within remained completely motionless.

The blood-colored steam around him grew denser and denser, nearly swallowing his tiny figure whole.

That will to destroy everything made everyone present feel their hearts tremble!

"Ye... en!"

Lynn's childish voice rang out from the blood-colored steam, carrying unquestionable resolve!

His small body crouched slightly once more.

Blood-colored energy surged madly toward his right leg!

The surrounding air was compressed to its absolute limit by that power!

The next moment.

Lynn's figure was completely engulfed by blood-colored energy, transforming into a gigantic crimson meteor that tore through space and charged at Red-Haired Shanks at a speed beyond the limits of sight!

One kick!

The ultimate kick containing all the power of the Eight Gates' Gate of Death!

Fine black cracks appeared in space wherever that kick passed!

The sea was forcibly pressed into an enormous depression by its unmatched might!

Terrifying!

Peerless!

"Good!"

Shanks did not retreat before that world-destroying strike. Instead, he advanced!

Blazing fighting spirit burned in his deep eyes!

The famous blade Gryphon in his hand gave an excited hum!

"Kamusari!!!"

Gryphon, wrapped in ink-black Armament Haki and explosive Conqueror's Haki like black lightning, slashed forward with all its might!

An immensely thick black slash, terrifying enough to cleave an island apart, surged toward that blood-colored meteor with an aura of total destruction!

BOOM—!!!!!!!!

The blood-colored right leg condensed from energy collided head-on with the black Kamusari in midair!