The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Having finished, Gern raised his head and looked Shanks directly into his eyes.

He asked that ultimate question that had been buried for so long, a question that even Shanks himself might have repeatedly pondered in the dead of night.

"What did Roger say to you back then?"

What did he see in the 'final moments'?

Gurn's voice was low, and it was transmitted through vibrations, so only Shanks could hear it.

“Worth sacrificing everything for…” Gern’s gaze swept over the Red-Haired Pirates before settling back on Ace.

"Even his children..."

Finally, with an almost cruel calm, Gern posed a soul-searching question.

"Fate is such a thing..."

"does it worth?"

This brief question strips away Shanks's superficial reasons for "maintaining balance" and "ending the war," pointing directly to his deepest driving force and inner conflict.

That entrustment from Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, may concern the future of the entire world.

Guern's question caused Shanks, who was holding Griffin's hand, to turn slightly white and fall silent, but only for a moment.

"Further words are pointless." Shanks avoided Gern's pointed question.

Because he could not, and was unable to, answer the question about "fate" and "cost" at this time and place.

Immediately afterwards, a wave of Conqueror's Haki spread out from him, not as a threat.

Instead, it precisely disrupted the conversation that Gern had been trying to block with his abilities, ensuring that his words could be clearly heard throughout the battlefield.

Immediately, he gripped Griffin's knife hilt, his voice suddenly rising as he shouted across the entire battlefield.

"If we continue fighting like this, it will only cause unnecessary casualties on both sides!"

"So, everyone..." The red-haired man glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the remaining Marines and the fleeing pirates.

The camera finally focused on Gern, who uttered the famous request known throughout the sea.

"Please give me some face!! Stop it!!"

Immediately, he drew his sword and pointed it at Gern.

“But, Gern Reginald Sigmar!”

"If you haven't made enough of a scene yet..."

"Come on! Let us..."

His impassioned declaration was abruptly interrupted by Guern before he could finish.

"Are you sure?"

Just four words, yet they carried a chill that seemed to freeze the air itself.

The moment the words fell

One after another, chilling figures appeared behind Gern, as if responding to a king's call, silent yet carrying an immense sense of oppression!

"How terrifying~ The Four Emperors." Admiral Kizaru, hands in his pockets, smirked.

Marshal Zhan Guo, his imposing presence was awe-inspiring.

Although the hero Garp was still grieving, he didn't give Shanks a kind look.

Former General Zephyr has sharp eyes.

Barrett, a direct descendant of the Cataclysmics, grinned and twisted his neck, while Libo held twin carrot knives with a serious expression.

Enel's body crackled with lightning, his face full of disdain, while Tesoro's fingertips flowed with gold.

Furthermore, a group of elite vice admirals from the Marine Headquarters, including Momonga, Onigumo, and Doberman, stood solemnly like a steel jungle, exuding a murderous aura!

The entire Navy Headquarters' most elite and terrifying combat power is almost entirely concentrated here.

All eyes were focused on the mere few members of the Red-Haired Pirates!

The invisible pressure that gathered together seemed to freeze the air in Marineford!

Gern stood at the very front of everyone, his eyes still cold, looking at Shanks, whose expression had become completely serious.

He strolled out slowly, uttering his final question, word by word.

"I'll ask again."

"Are you sure you want to be at Marineford, at Marine Headquarters...?"

"Will you say 'I'll fight you to the end'?"

"Red hair".

Chapter 480 The Shame of the Navy

At this moment, the situation on the Marineford battlefield has long since deviated from its original trajectory.

The Blackbeard Pirates fled in panic with their dying captain, and it was uncertain whether Teach would survive.

Crocodile and Buggy the Clown, leading the Impel Down escape team, had already slipped away in the chaos after Whitebeard's death.

The only remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates present protected the devastated Luffy and retreated without looking back.

In other words, they are currently still in Marineford Harbor, facing directly towards the Naval Headquarters.

That really left only the Red-Haired Pirates, all alone!

They lost all potential allies and buffers, and faced alone the entire main force of the navy, which had just been baptized in blood and fire and whose fighting spirit had been rekindled by Gern!

"Shanks."

At that moment, Beckman silently stepped forward, leaned close to Shanks' ear, and whispered something very low.

"We can't beat them."

The opponent was the elite of the entire Navy Headquarters, plus the monstrous "Calamity" elites under Gern's command.

In terms of numbers, the number of top-tier combatants, terrain, morale... they are at an absolute disadvantage in every aspect.

Once war breaks out, the fate of the Red-Haired Pirates is destined to be... total annihilation.

Upon hearing Beckman's remarkably clear-headed assessment, Shanks gritted his teeth.

How could he not see this suffocating disparity in strength?

Especially since the other side has Garp, who has just experienced the pain of losing his grandson and is looking for an outlet for his anger!

The situation is obvious!

If I dare to utter the words "I'll fight to the bitter end" right now, even just a single syllable...

The next second, he was completely dead!!

Thinking of this, a cold bead of sweat finally slid uncontrollably down Shanks' forehead.

He gripped Griffin's hand, tightening and loosening his grip repeatedly.

Finally, his tense shoulders slumped slightly, with an almost imperceptible curve.

Just as Shanks internally acknowledged reality, believing that the steering wheel of the new era was firmly in Gern's control and no outsider could interfere...

The hand gripping the hilt of the Griffin knife was about to be completely removed, in the final moment before accepting this somewhat humiliating exit.

On the other side of the battlefield, in a corner piled with broken walls and corpses.

A pink-haired boy first twitched his fingers slightly, then struggled to raise his head.

It was after experiencing Whitebeard's soul-shaking Conqueror's Haki, followed by being stunned by Luffy's unconscious burst of Conqueror's Haki, that he finally understood the power of the attack.

Then came the relentless clashes of Haki between Gern and the Golden Lion, and Koby, whose consciousness teetered on the brink of unconsciousness!

"Coby! You're finally awake!" Helmeppo, who had already woken up but still looked shaken, exclaimed.

"It's over, the war is over, we survived."

However, Koby ignored his companion's calls, or rather, he didn't listen at all.

Instead, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the suffocating standoff in the center of the battlefield.

The overwhelming military power of the Navy and the "Cataclysm" pressed down on the lone Red-Haired Pirates like an impregnable wall.

Combined with the chaotic yet sorrowful, angry, and murderous thoughts he vaguely sensed while in a coma or semi-coma,

An incredibly clear and intense thought burned within him like a flame!

Without hesitation!

Just when the Red-Haired Pirates were about to be forced to leave in a sorry state like stray dogs!

In that critical moment of silence!

Perhaps due to his 200x effort, Koby unleashed a burst of power and leaped out from the pile of corpses!

With Helmeppo looking completely bewildered, he unleashed his fastest speed ever, even leaving a faint afterimage.

In a flash, he appeared in the open space between Gern and Shanks, facing the entire high command and top combat force of the Marine Headquarters.

He spread his arms wide, using all his strength, towards Gern, towards Sengoku, towards everyone who could still fight.

He let out that long-suppressed cry, tinged with sobs and utterly earnest.

"Cease the war!!!"

"Stop hitting him!!!"

"You are wasting lives!!!"

A sudden sense of déjà vu as I stood in front of Gern.

For a moment, Gern was completely stunned by the face that had suddenly entered his field of vision, a face filled with foolish courage and a strange sense of justice.

No...no?!

The Navy, riding high on its overwhelming victory, is now using its absolute military force to intimidate the pirates.

The opposing leader was about to back down and slink away like a stray dog!

Then you, a lowly naval soldier, suddenly jump out, stand in front of your own people, and say exactly what the enemy leader was about to say??

This bizarre logical inconsistency caused even the shrewd and controlling Gern to momentarily freeze in thought.

Even the most meticulous plans can have one flaw. Damn it, he forgot there was another complete idiot on his side!

Meanwhile, Shanks, who had already resigned himself to defeat and retreated, saw this boy in a navy uniform.

And after his cry of "wasting life," I was practically bursting with laughter inside!

A godsend! A truly divine opportunity!

So the hand that was about to move away swiftly and firmly pressed down on Griffin's knife hilt again!

His expression instantly shifted, regaining a composed demeanor as if he had grasped the "greater good."

Shanks didn't waste the opportunity; he immediately seized this golden chance and naturally used Coby as the perfect excuse.

His voice suddenly rose, and he reprimanded Gern, as if he were the one standing on the moral high ground.

"Gern! Did you hear that?!"

"This is the Navy's true prayer... It's not just my wish!"

He delivered a passionate speech, followed by a smile.

With a victorious air, he extended his finger.

The image points directly to Koby, who is trembling with fear at being the center of attention but still stubbornly stands there.

That gesture seemed to mock how "unpopular" Gern's unequivocal warning had just been.

"That's him!"

"Indeed! This is the plea of ​​countless sailors!"

Finally, Shanks unilaterally reached a consensus on his own, speaking to Gern in an almost concluding tone.

"I'll take this face as a gift you sold to me!"