Shanks ' declaration caused the faces of the four Five Elders to darken simultaneously.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter folded his wings in mid-air, a sinister glint in his bird eyes. " Red Hair, are you going to interfere?"
Shanks did not look up at Saint Shepherd Ju Peter in mid-air.
He continued walking forward, reaching the center of the battlefield, and stood between Roy and the four Five Elders.
Roy, carrying Shusui on his back, watched Shanks ' retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Shanks looked around, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged Marineford.
The gaze swept over the corpses lying haphazardly on the ice, over the still-burning wreckage of the warship, and finally landed on the four Five Elders.
What's the point of continuing?
Shanks ' voice was calm, but every word carried an undeniable weight.
The Whitebeard Pirates have already withdrawn.
The strategic objectives of Hachinosu have been achieved.
"If the navy continues fighting, the casualties will only increase further."
He paused, then pulled a piece of intelligence from his pocket and casually tossed it to Saint Shepherd Ju Peter.
" Kaido is already assembling his fleet."
The light, airy intelligence flew in an arc through the air and landed in Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's bird claws.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter glanced down, his expression turning even more grim.
"Will you choose to expend your strength on Hachinosu, or will you choose to prevent Kaido from taking advantage of the situation?"
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter clutched the intelligence tightly, offering no reply.
Meanwhile, the duel between Sengoku and Whitebeard was also briefly paused due to Shanks ' arrival.
The Buddha Form, an incarnation of the Sengoku, is now in a dilapidated state, its golden body covered in cracks.
Whitebeard wasn't in much better shape; the wound on his chest reopened, and blood flowed down his abdomen, but he still held the naginata firmly in his hand.
Sengoku looked at Shanks, the fighting spirit in his eyes fading slightly, replaced by a complex emotion that even he himself couldn't quite explain.
The Whitebeard laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.
"Gulalala!"
" The Red Hair brat is here too?"
Is today a grand reunion of the old days?
No one knows whether Whitebeard is happy or sad.
Roy stood in mid-air, watching Shanks ' back, and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the hilt of the Shusui sword.
Shanks ' appearance was indeed unexpected, but upon closer reflection, it made perfect sense.
Given Shanks ' personality, he wouldn't stand idly by while the Navy and Whitebeard were both severely weakened, nor would he allow Hachinosu to become the sole superpower.
But the current situation is that the Whitebeard Pirates have safely evacuated.
Navy casualties have exceeded his expectations.
The Vice Admiral were mostly killed or wounded, one of the Five Elders died, two Holy Knights were killed by Roy, and then they were crippled by Bullet, so they will probably need to be replenished.
Saint Saturn, this ancient monster who had lived for eight hundred years, had his head severed by his own hands.
The strategic objectives have already been exceeded. Continuing the fight would indeed be pointless.
Moreover, Shanks's statement just now was very tactful—"The strategic objectives of Hachinosu have also been achieved."
This was both giving Roy a way out and implying that Roy should stop.
Roy quickly calculated the gains and losses in his mind.
Keep fighting. Although the four Five Elders are temporarily suppressed, who knows what other trump cards they have up their sleeves?
There are still three Marine Admiral left. Sengoku is injured but can still fight, and Garp is only locked in a tug-of-war with Jesus Burgess and Kuma, far from reaching his limit.
Although the cadres on Hachinosu had the upper hand, quite a few of them were injured.
If we continue fighting, even if we win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.
More importantly, Whitebeard's resolute performance on the battlefield just now has already explained everything; the old man is prepared to die here.
If Whitebeard had died at Marineford, his territory would surely have fallen apart.
Rather than fighting to the death here, it's better to take the initiative and incorporate Whitebeard's remaining forces.
A slight smile appeared on Roy's lips.
"All personnel, listen to my command."
His voice resounded simultaneously in the minds of all members of Hachinosu through Telekinesis.
"Objective achieved, prepare for return flight."
Bullet was engrossed in his fight with Saint Warcury when he heard the order. He paused for a moment, forced Saint Warcury back with a punch, and then turned to Roy and roared:
"Return to base? I haven't had enough yet!"
"We'll fight later." Roy's voice left no room for argument.
Bullet gritted his teeth, glanced at the giant wild boar in front of him again, snorted, and retracted his tiger claws.
Saint Warcury did not pursue them—he was more than happy for Bullet to give up.
The duel between Hawk Eyes and Saint Nusjuro came to an abrupt end.
Hawk Eyes was the first to sheathe his sword and take a step back.
Saint Nusjuro put away the Kitetsu. The jaw of the horse-bone skull opened and closed slightly, as if it wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
The members of Hachinosu broke away from the navy and retreated in an orderly fashion, like a receding tide.
Crocodile transformed into a sandstorm and retreated from in front of Aokiji, Aokiji did not pursue him—he knew Crocodile was only there to buy time.
Moria's shadow withdrew from the naval formation and returned to the flank of the Hachinosu forces.
Hancock put away the petrifying arrows, glancing back at Roy as she turned.
Jinbe, Kyros, Bar, Kazami, Lucci also broke away from the battle and gathered in the direction of the Ark Maxim.
Only Whitebeard remained motionless in the arena.
He still stood in the center of the battlefield, his naginata beside him, watching the people of Hachinosu retreat one by one, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
Roy took one last look at Whitebeard before retreating.
He wanted to use Telekinesis to send a message to Whitebeard, asking him to come along.
But when he saw the Whitebeard's eyes, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
There was no will to live in those eyes.
Only calm, only composure, only a sense of relief after making the final choice.
Roy withdrew his gaze and fixed it on Shanks.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for a brief few seconds.
Neither of them spoke, nor did they nod, but they both understood the meaning in each other's eyes.
Roy turned around, his figure vanished from the spot, and the next second he appeared on the deck of the Ark Maxim.
Bullet, Hawk Eyes, Kuma, Crocodile, and the others have all boarded the ship.
Bullet squatted on the ship's railing, clenching his fists with a disgruntled expression.
Tesoro leaned against the mast, golden arcs of electricity still crackling around him.
Yamato supported Savi, Savi chest was wrapped in bandages, but who seemed to be in good spirits.
"Boss, the old man with the Whitebeard..." Yamato stopped.
"I know," Roy interrupted her.
He stood at the bow of the ship, took one last look at the lone figure standing in Marineford Square, then turned away and never looked back.
The four Five Elders stood on the ice, watching the members of Hachinosu retreat one by one, and none of them spoke to stop them.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's bird wings slowly folded, Saint Warcury returned to human form, Saint Mars emerged from the ice, and Saint Nusjuro put away the Kitetsu.
Their eyes burned with anger, but even more so with a fear they themselves were unwilling to acknowledge.
The Five Elders personally led the operation, along with the Holy Knights. As a result, Saint Saturn was beheaded, the Holy Knights were nearly halved, and the Marine Headquarters was reduced to ruins.
The people from Hachinosu just swaggered away.