The area surrounding the Red-Hair Pirates' personal vessel, the Red Force, was completely choked with a dense cluster of Sea Kings, spanning several square kilometers. This was not something that could be avoided with mere navigation skills or Observation Haki. More crucially, they were currently in the Calm Belt, the place with the highest concentration of Sea Kings in the world.
ROOAAAR!
Shanks, who had honed his Conqueror's Haki to perfection, unleashed a Haki even denser and more staggering than when he first used it at Arderay. He knocked unconscious all the Sea Kings within a two-kilometer radius, including super-gigantic ones the size of mountains.
But no sooner had one batch fallen than the Red Force sailed barely a mile before a new wave of Sea Kings surged from the deep, all glaring menacingly at the Red-Hair crew.
Left with no choice, Shanks continuously unleashed his Conqueror's Haki. However, after several attempts, the number of Sea Kings did not visibly decrease. Instead, he himself was exhausted, kneeling on the ground and drenched in sweat.
Beckman, staring at the surrounding sea, bit through the cigarette dangling from his lips. "It's no use. No matter what method we use, we can't clear out all the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt."
"The enemy has someone who can control the Sea Kings."
Yassop observed the Kuja Pirates' ship a few nautical miles away through his sniper scope and reported the situation.
"That much is obvious."
Beckman had said before that these creatures, Sea Kings, also had their own tribal organizations. Usually, a single sea area would only have one, maybe two or three species of Sea Kings.
Different species fighting each other would lead to mutual destruction, so they habitually chose to divide their territories.
The sheer number of different species gathered together now clearly indicated that someone was controlling them.
"There's no mistaking it. It's the Sea God, Poseidon."
Shanks, a former crew member of Roger, had already guessed the key.
But what could they do now? Even Beckman seemed to be out of strategies. Were they simply going to perish here?
"Shanks, something is strange."
Beckman stood behind Shanks, the two standing back-to-back. "Although the number of Sea Kings is constantly increasing, the strange thing is that they haven't attacked yet."
Shanks's expression froze. His physical strength had slightly recovered, and he stood up. "What's the meaning of this..."
He had been so focused on unleashing his Conqueror's Haki when he saw the sheer number of Sea Kings that he hadn't noticed this detail.
"It might be to stall us, waiting for Alucard to come and kill us personally. Or..."
Beckman paused for a few seconds before continuing, "It's because the enemy doesn't like to kill and has no intention of slaying us, only stalling for time, but still to wait for Alucard's arrival."
"Then isn't it just a choice between dying sooner or dying later?" A crew member of the Red- Hair Pirates, hearing Beckman's analysis, felt a wave of despair. Was there really a big difference between dying at the hands of Sea Kings and dying at the hands of Alucard?
"No, we must take advantage of precisely that point."
Even facing such a crisis, Beckman forced himself to remain calm and analyzed, "Now everyone cease combat, and Shanks, stop using your Haki. See the northwest direction? We will gradually move toward that small island to reorganize our fighting strength and recover our power before Alucard arrives."
"We'll listen to the Vice Captain."
...
Aboard the Kuja ship, Viola put down her hands, which were forming an OK sign, and said, "They've given up resisting and run to the isolated island. It's highly likely they're trying to restore their fighting strength. If possible, Shirahoshi, you could capsize that ship right away."
Shirahoshi, standing to Viola's right, showed hesitation on her face, causing Viola to soften instantly. "Never mind. Just don't let them escape, that's enough."
The Sea Kings surrounded the isolated island where Shanks's crew was trapped, layer upon layer, forming an iron wall with no weaknesses. The atmosphere among the Red-Hair Pirates was heavy, tainted with a touch of despair.
The most intense complaints were coming from the newer recruits, who had no personal history with Luffy and had only recently joined the Red-Hair crew.
If not for that brat, how could the Red-Hair Pirates, second only to the Yonko, have fallen to this state? They respected Shanks, but they couldn't understand why their Captain would go to such lengths for a mere boy...
Shanks sat alone on a rock on the isolated island, drinking gloomily. Hearing footsteps behind him, he called out the person's name without turning around. "I don't regret it, Beckman. I'm just sorry I dragged you all along with me."
Shanks had zero regret about risking his life to help Luffy. His only guilt stemmed from involving too many of his comrades in his actions, leading to too many unnecessary deaths.
"I expected a day like this when I chose to follow an idiot Captain like you."
Beckman sat down next to Shanks, poured himself a few gulps of the strong drink, and let out a heavy sigh. "I apologize. Aside from having everyone rest and reorganize, I'm out of ideas right now."
Though he possessed one of the world's finest minds, even Beckman was genuinely helpless in this situation.
Suddenly, a crew member behind them shouted, "Captain! I refuse to accept this!"
Shanks and Beckman turned to look. The person who shouted was a very young crew member, around twenty years old.
He ran over to Shanks and Beckman, indignation plastered on his face. "I've always respected you, but I simply cannot understand why we had to go save that brat named Luffy! I'm a new crew member; I haven't met that boy from the East Blue, so I don't know what's so special about him. But if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"
Hearing the crew member's words, over twenty other crew members who had joined the Red- Hair Pirates within the last two years and hadn't met Luffy stood up, eager to vent their internal dissatisfaction.
"That's right! Captain, we don't understand!" "Please give us an explanation!"
"We originally had a chance to replace Kaido or Big Mom and become the new Yonko crew! Because we rescued that boy named Luffy, we offended Immortal and brought about the Beasts Pirates' retaliation, leading to our current state!"
Seeing Shanks's grim expression and silence, the newcomers grew angry and anxious. "Captain, say something! Why?! Why?!"
"We refuse to accept dying here for the sake of one brat!"