Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"The entire ocean has always believed that Borsalino is the fastest man on the sea, but if we're talking about agility, you're the strongest, aren't you?"

“After all, my physique is vastly different from that of you monsters. This is one of my survival skills, so I’ve naturally studied it quite thoroughly,” Yann replied.

"Tsk, I never thought that after cutting you 3,972 times, I wouldn't even be able to actually hit you once."

At this point, Shanks' face revealed deep regret and disappointment.

Too fast, too agile, his movements were as unpredictable as falling cherry blossoms. Apart from constantly manipulating a large number of blades with "Conqueror's Haki Entanglement", Yann never directly slashed at Yann even once.

Is this a pure technique similar to "Naval Six Styles: Moonwalk", or is it the power of that guy Yann's "Sakura-Sakura Fruit"?

Speaking of which...

Thinking of this, Shanks' extremely tired expression shifted slightly, as if he had thought of something. He slowly closed his eyes and listened to the voice inside Arn using the power of "Conqueror's Domain".

"Listen to the voice of all things!"

The next instant, Shanks' eyes widened, his gaze filled with extreme disbelief as he stared at Yann and blurted out...

"How is that possible? Why don't you, as a Devil Fruit user, have that voice inside you?"

"A sound?" Yann frowned, realizing that something seemed amiss.

"Impossible, impossible. That kind of Devil Fruit shouldn't still exist in this world. This doesn't match the information left by Laugh Tale, unless..."

"Red-Haired" Shanks stared at Yann, utterly puzzled, and asked, "You're not a Devil Fruit user?"

Ya'en's expression remained unchanged, even revealing just the right amount of doubt, but his heart was in turmoil.

This is the first person to see through Yann's pretense of being a Devil Fruit user.

Furthermore, Shanks doesn't distinguish between Devil Fruit users by using Seastone and seawater—their weaknesses—but rather... by listening to their voices?

There is no sound inside the body?

What do you mean?

Could it be that all Devil Fruit users possess some kind of special voice within them?

"What do you mean?"

As Yann asked "Red" Shanks a question with a tone of bewilderment, a murderous intent suddenly arose in his heart.

Originally, Yann planned to exhaust Shanks' last bit of power, capture him, and then try to extract secrets about Laugh Tale, the World Government, and so on from him.

However, the fact that Yann is not a Devil Fruit user must not be revealed, otherwise Yann would have no way to explain his ability.

In this situation, Yann would definitely be suspected of being connected to the Hueco Mundo organization, and then everything would become even more unclear.

Although it is unclear why the World Government's attitude towards Hueco Mundo is now somewhat indifferent, and even directly recruited Corazon, Moria and Tiger, who have ties to Hueco Mundo, into the Seven Warlords of the Sea over the past six years.

However, based on Yan's observations, it is speculated that the World Government is most likely unsure of the true nature of Hueco Mundo, rather than tacitly approving its existence.

At this moment, however, Shanks' eyebrows were deeply furrowed, as if he had encountered something extremely incomprehensible, and he kept muttering to himself.

"No, no, could it be that besides that Devil Fruit, there are other Devil Fruits that are the same?"

"It seems that it's not absolutely impossible."

"It seems the message left behind by Raphdru didn't mention that it was the only one..."

As Shanks continued to mutter to himself, a large amount of blood suddenly gushed out from all parts of his body. His crimson appearance faded, but his entire body was completely stained red with blood. He fell helplessly from mid-air toward the sea.

Meanwhile, the numerous naval personnel watching this scene from afar on the warship erupted in cheers, celebrating Vice Admiral Yann's final victory in the battle against "Red-Haired" Shanks.

This is without a doubt... a great victory for the Navy!!!

This also signifies the final victory of the war launched by the navy.

Even though it wasn't a complete annihilation of the "Beasts Pirates" and the "Red-Haired Pirates," the elimination of a large number of the core members of the "Beasts Pirates" and the capture of "Red-Haired" Shanks were already victories that could be declared to the sea!

As for Admiral Borsalino, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and many other vice admirals, they couldn't help but show a relaxed and joyful expression on their faces.

[Chapter 511 The Secret of Devil Fruits]

Compared to the joy of the other navy personnel, Yann's expression was rather unpleasant...

What secret does "Red-Haired" Shanks know?

A sound? What sound?

Did he actually confirm that he was not a Devil Fruit user?

Yann frowned slightly at Shanks's ambiguous final words, and hesitated inwardly.

Or... take this opportunity to completely eliminate "Red-Haired" Shanks and avoid any risks?

Although Yann himself does not have a strong aversion to "Red-Haired" Shanks, this is a potential hidden danger that could affect all future plans, and he cannot act purely based on likes and dislikes.

But if that's the case, Yann always feels like he's about to miss out on some important secrets of the Devil Fruit and the World Government.

In just a few breaths, Yann's expression changed repeatedly, but his figure suddenly turned around and went straight for "Red-Haired" Shanks, who was falling towards the sea. Then he grabbed Shanks' wrist and stopped his fall.

Immediately, Yann found the closest piece of island fragment still floating on the sea, and landed on it with "Red-Haired" Shanks.

Shanks, the "Red-Haired" man, who was being laid on the ground by Yann, managed a weak smile and said, "Thanks, Lieutenant General Yann."

Yann sat down on a large rock in front of "Red" Shanks, a gentle, weary smile on his face, and replied.

"You're welcome. One of the Navy's basic positions is to arrest pirates as much as possible and subject them to a just trial on Enies Lobby."

"You rascal, you might be a bit of a scoundrel when you're fighting, but you don't actually seem that hard to get along with, haha... cough cough..."

As he laughed, "Red-Haired" Shanks coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, clearly indicating that his body was completely on the verge of its limit and was even in a state of extreme overexertion.

"Are you alright? How about I give you a couple of injections?"

Having said that, Yann extended the finger adorned with what appeared to be a golden finger glove, the "Soul-Slaying Blade: Suzumebachi," and spoke.

"This is an emergency injection that can cure pain in an emergency; just two pricks will do the trick."

"Has the Navy's latest medical technology reached this level?" "Red-Haired" Shanks asked listlessly.

"Pretty much, but this is for my personal use only. Want to try it? The effects are immediate," Yann asked.

Upon hearing this, Shanks, without any doubt, shook his head and said...

"No need, Vice Admiral Yann. Pirates are the kind of creatures that can laugh out loud even while enduring pain. This kind of injury won't kill you."

"It's up to you. I'll help you with the acupuncture later if necessary."

As Yann spoke in a nonchalant tone, he took off the golden fingertip that contained the "two-hit kill" ability and put it in his pocket.

This can be considered a "coin toss" by Arn, who himself was somewhat unsure of his decision. If Shanks really chooses to use the needle, then Arn will respect Shanks' choice without reservation.

Moreover, if "Suzumebachi" were to defeat "Red-Haired" Shanks with her "two-hit kill" ability, even if the Navy conducted an autopsy afterwards, they wouldn't find any problems.

Then, Yann asked in a casual tone, "So, Shanks, what did you mean by that sound? Is there something wrong with the Devil Fruit I ate?"

Upon hearing this, Shanks, the "Red-Haired," showed obvious hesitation.

"A secret that's inconvenient to talk about?" Yann asked.

"Red-haired" Shanks shook his head and spoke.

"No, it's not exactly a secret that can't be revealed, but it is one of the truths related to Devil Fruits, and also one of the secrets recorded on Laugh Tale. Are you sure you want to hear it, as a Marine?"

In the end, Shanks, the "red-haired" man, revealed a hint of mockery.

After all, the World Government’s ban strictly prohibits any information related to Laugh Tale, the “Final Island.”

In other words, from the Navy's perspective, the connection to Laugh Tale, the "final island," is a secret and cannot be known.

Yann looked quietly at "Red-Haired" Shanks and slowly began to speak.

"I must keep an eye on you before the main force of the Navy arrives to prevent you, the great pirate, from escaping. So during this period, please be careful with your words, especially those that slander and defame the World Government. I may record any I hear and present them to Enies Lobby as one of the pieces of evidence to convict you."

"Hahaha...cough cough..."

"Red-Haired" Shanks couldn't help but burst into breathless laughter, interspersed with a few painful coughs. "Then you'd better listen to see if there's any truth to the smear campaign against the World Government."

Immediately after catching his breath, Shanks, the "red-haired" man, began to speak weakly.

"Devil Fruits, known as 'treasures of the sea,' can grant users all sorts of strange abilities, and as the fruit's power is further developed, Devil Fruit users almost always exhibit some interesting and unpredictable changes..."

Yaen remained silent, listening quietly, but secretly he began to ponder.

Shanks, the "Red-Haired" man, continued speaking.

"This change is usually referred to as a side effect of Devil Fruits, but that's not entirely accurate. However, it is indeed the Devil Fruit that causes this change in Devil Fruit users."

"Besides, why is it that if only a small bite of a Devil Fruit is eaten, the rest of the fruit's flesh has no effect when eaten by others?"

"And why is it that after a Devil Fruit user dies, there's a very high probability that a new Devil Fruit will appear among nearby fruits?"

At this point, Shanks paused, then said, "Uh, the last one isn't common sense, but there is indeed such a pattern."

"The reason for all these signs is that Devil Fruits truly affect the soul of a living being, not its physical body."

"Or, to put it simply, a Devil Fruit contains a 'devil,' and the moment a creature bites into the Devil Fruit, that 'devil' assimilates with the creature's soul, thus granting the creature the corresponding abilities."

"When a Devil Fruit user dies, that 'devil' will, in an invisible way, with a very high probability, directly search for nearby fruits and fuse them into a new Devil Fruit, and then wait for the next Devil Fruit user to appear."

"Of course, if the original Devil Fruit user's remaining consciousness is strong after death, it will also affect the speed at which the 'devil' fuses with the fruit. It may drift aimlessly at sea for a period of time before fusing with the fruit in an unknown place."

[Chapter 512 Shanks...Saint? (Third Update)]

"and many more……"

Upon hearing this, Yann suddenly noticed something significant and asked, "The influence of the original Devil Fruit user's consciousness?"

"Red-haired" Shanks began.

"When I first heard this secret, I was also incredibly shocked, but it is indeed true. The 'demon' in that Devil Fruit is actually a collection of the consciousnesses of a large number of Devil Fruit users."

"As for the various inexplicable side effects that seem to become more and more serious as Devil Fruit users develop their abilities, they are actually the result of the deeper fusion between their soul and the 'devil,' causing the 'devil's' habits to be reflected in the Devil Fruit user's body."

At this moment, even with Yaen's composure, his expression couldn't help but show some surprise.

However, after calming down a bit, Yann compared the changes in the many Devil Fruit users he knew with the information he had gathered, and it seemed that this explanation was completely reasonable.

Among them, Hancock, who had always stayed by Yann's side, was the most obvious to show it.

As the user of the "Love-Love Fruit," Hancock wasn't initially the arrogant type. It was only after she escaped her slave status and returned to Amazon Lily to develop her fruit's power that her personality gradually changed.

and many more……

Suddenly, a question popped into Yaen's mind: how he had awakened the "Void Soul-Slaying Blade".