When Shanks saw Saint Saturn in that state, he could already guess what the World Government was planning.
The strength displayed by the Ion Pirates on the battlefield had already exceeded the balance the World Government could tolerate. If the Ion Pirates wanted to truly survive in this era, then the World Government had to be dragged down from its throne.
At the same time, the World Government also wanted to use this opportunity to completely erase the Ion Pirates once and for all.
That was always how they operated. They never fought a battle they were uncertain of winning.
Gathering all of their forces to destroy the Ion Pirates in one decisive war was naturally the safest choice.
After finishing his arrangements, Saint Saturn slowly lifted his gaze toward Shanks.
"Sigh..."
A rare sigh escaped his mouth before he spoke slowly.
"I'll ask you one more time. Are you returning?"
Shanks touched his left arm casually.
"Returning? We've always been strangers, haven't we?"
"Stubborn brat!"
Saint Saturn's face instantly darkened.
The moment his words fell, the black scepter in his hand pierced forward violently.
Shanks raised Gryphon and met the attack head-on.
Boom!
The collision between the blade and the scepter instantly compressed the surrounding soundwaves into a confined space. The terrifying pressure prevented even the shockwaves from spreading beyond several hundred meters.
As the two continued increasing their strength, a blinding sphere of light formed between the sword and scepter.
The brightness became impossible to look at directly.
Then, it exploded.
Boom!!!
The violent explosion erupted like the end of the world itself.
Conqueror's Haki swept across the battlefield wildly, covering the entire Brown Square.
Cracks spread through the air itself.
Even space looked unable to endure the terrifying impact.
The ground beneath them split apart inch by inch as massive abysses tore through the battlefield.
Under the overwhelming force, both Shanks and Saint Saturn were pushed back hundreds of meters.
Everyone watching stared in shock.
No one expected Saint Saturn, who had just been smashed apart by Luffy earlier, to still possess such terrifying power.
Saint Saturn steadied himself and stared coldly at Shanks.
Although Sun God Nika possessed frightening explosive strength, Luffy still lacked enough combat experience and stamina.
Shanks was different.
He had dominated the seas for decades.
He had survived countless battles.
Compared to the current Luffy, Shanks was far more troublesome.
Still...
Nika had to die.
Meanwhile, Shanks himself was equally shocked.
What exactly had happened to the Gorosei over the years?
Their strength had increased far too much.
Back then, even with one arm missing, he had still been stronger than the Five Elders individually.
But now?
Saint Saturn was actually matching nearly seventy percent of his strength head-on.
That was absurd.
And terrifying.
Shanks narrowed his eyes slightly.
The World Government clearly still possessed unknown forces hidden beneath the surface.
The Gorosei possessed abnormal regenerative abilities and seemingly endless stamina.
He did not.
Until he discovered their weakness, he could not act recklessly.
Because of that, Shanks simply stood there confronting Saint Saturn without making another move.
Not far away, Luffy looked toward Shanks with complicated emotions in his eyes.
"Shanks..."
He slowly touched the Straw Hat on his head before his expression became firm again.
Then he looked toward the execution platform.
"Sabo! I'm coming!"
He shouted loudly and charged forward again.
"Gahahaha! So you're Luffy, the so-called Sun God Nika?"
A rough voice suddenly echoed nearby.
Luffy turned toward the source of the voice and saw a massive man with an extremely muscular upper body and ridiculously thin legs.
Luffy blinked.
"This guy definitely skips leg day."
"Huh?"
"Why'd I say that out loud?"
The giant man frowned.
"Brat, are you mocking me?"
Luffy pointed at him casually.
"You suddenly blocked my way. Of course I'm talking to you."
The giant man did not waste any more words.
Bang!
The ground beneath his feet exploded instantly.
His body shot forward like a cannonball.
In a blink, he appeared directly in front of Luffy.
A massive fist wrapped in powerful Armament Haki smashed toward Luffy's face.
Luffy vanished instantly using Gear Fifth's ridiculous mobility.
Boom!!!
The punch struck the ground violently.
A gigantic crater exploded outward.
Luffy reappeared nearby, staring at the giant man with dissatisfaction.
"Hey! That's dangerous!"
The giant man burst into loud laughter.
"Gahahaha! As expected of Nika! Even after fighting the Gorosei, your Observation Haki is still this sharp!"
Luffy frowned harder.
"What exactly do you want?"
The giant man grinned viciously.
"My name is Douglas Bullet."
"My purpose is simple."
"To challenge the strongest."
"Roger is already dead. The current strongest is said to be Rolan."
As he spoke, his sharp gaze swept across the battlefield.
"Unfortunately, Rolan isn't here."
"But you..."
"You inherited the same Devil Fruit as Joy Boy."
"And you're also connected to Rolan."
"If I kill you, then Rolan will definitely appear."
Luffy stared at him like he was an idiot.
"Old man, is something wrong with your brain?"
Bullet laughed even harder.
"Interesting brat!"
The next second, black lightning exploded around his right fist.
Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his arm violently.
Then he vanished again.
"Die!"
Just as Bullet's fist was about to reach Luffy, an old voice suddenly echoed nearby.
"Bullet, you're getting a little too arrogant."
A giant slipper suddenly flew through the air.
Boom!!!
The slipper collided directly against Bullet's Haki-coated fist.
The resulting explosion forced both sides backward.
Luffy widened his eyes.
"Rayleigh-san?!"
Standing there was none other than the Dark King himself, Silvers Rayleigh.
Rayleigh glanced toward Luffy and smiled faintly.
"Long time no see, Luffy-kun."
Luffy scratched his nose awkwardly.
"Rayleigh-san..."
Rayleigh nodded lightly.
"Go save your brother. Leave this place to me."
Luffy looked between Rayleigh and Bullet before nodding heavily.
"Got it!"
Bullet stared at Rayleigh with narrowed eyes.
"Vice Captain..."
"You're letting my prey escape?"
Rayleigh slowly pulled out his sword.
"If you want to touch Luffy-kun, then you'll have to get past me first."
Bullet was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter again.
"Gahahaha!"
"If this were the old days, maybe you would've been troublesome."
"But now?"
"You're old."
The instant he finished speaking, Bullet disappeared again.
Boom!
His Haki-coated fist smashed toward Rayleigh violently.
Rayleigh grinned.
"Looks like I'm being underestimated."
His blade swung out instantly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions erupted continuously as the two figures clashed repeatedly across the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Luffy continued charging toward the execution platform.
Dozens of Government agents were sent flying with a single punch.
As he moved forward, he glanced back briefly toward Rayleigh.
Gratitude filled his eyes.
Suddenly, an extremely bright light appeared ahead of him.
Luffy immediately stopped.
"So bright!"
The dazzling light gradually condensed into a familiar figure wearing a yellow-striped suit and a Marine coat.
"Kizaru..."
Out of all the Admirals, Borsalino was the one Luffy remembered most clearly.
Back at Sabaody, this man had nearly wiped out the Straw Hat Pirates completely.
Kizaru rubbed his chin lazily.
"How scary~"
"You really have obtained one of the most troublesome powers in the world, Straw Hat."
"If I let you continue moving freely, things will become very troublesome for me~"
At that exact moment, a violent gust of wind swept across the battlefield.
Dragon appeared directly in front of Kizaru.
"Borsalino."
"It's been a while."
Kizaru raised both hands slightly.
"There's no helping it~"
"The leader of the Revolutionary Army personally came to stop me."
"I can only focus on dealing with you now~"
Then he glanced toward Luffy again.
"Looks like Straw Hat can continue forward~"
Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly.
Kizaru's acting was still as terrible as ever.
But before anyone could move again—
"What is that?!"
"Look at the sea!"
"So many ships!"
"They're carrying the World Government flag!"
"Are those reinforcements?!"
Countless shocked voices erupted throughout the battlefield.
At the edge of the ocean, enormous warships began appearing one after another.
The flags of the World Government fluttered violently in the wind.
And their numbers were enough to make everyone's expressions change completely.
===
If you want to read more, check out my patreon.
Patreon.com/ _Zeph