Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Based on his past memories, Yann easily deduced from the information he had gathered that Teach's objective had not changed.

……

Meanwhile, in Whitebeard's territory in the "New World," Shanks, the "Red-Haired," looked at the newspaper in his hand with the latest information about Luffy and his bounty soaring to 300 million. A smile appeared on his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

For Shanks, there's no time to start celebrating Luffy's voyage yet.

After all, Shanks is about to face Whitebeard, who is known as the "strongest man in the world," and Shanks is about to board Whitebeard's Moby Dick.

"No matter what, we can't let Ace take such a risk before Luffy has fully grown up, otherwise the situation on the sea could be detonated in an instant."

Shanks' eyes narrowed, and then, carrying the wine he had brought for Whitebeard, he boarded the Moby Dick.

[Chapter 734. The Flame Swallowed by Darkness]

"boom!"

Shanks unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, a power so immense it could easily interfere with reality, and stopped in front of Whitebeard with an aura no less imposing than Whitebeard's.

To Shanks' surprise, Whitebeard's physical condition didn't seem as bad as he had imagined. The rumors that Whitebeard's health had deteriorated and that he needed frequent IV drips, which had started years ago, seemed to be just that—rumors.

'No, it's also possible that Whitebeard deliberately maintained this demeanor in front of outsiders.'

Shanks secretly made a reasonable judgment.

After all, based on Shanks' understanding and speculation about Whitebeard's physical condition, Whitebeard's body at this time should not have been able to hold on for more than a few years.

Upon hearing Shanks' arrival, Whitebeard slightly opened his half-closed eyes and asked calmly and domineeringly.

"Kid, what's up?"

Shanks placed the enormous sake jar beside him, filled a large bowl with sake, tossed the jar directly at Whitebeard, and began to speak.

"This is a fine wine from my hometown. I brought it here especially for you to try."

Whitebeard took a large gulp, then looked at Shanks' empty left hand and asked, "I heard you lost an arm in the East Blue?"

A slight smile appeared on Shanks' face, and he said nonchalantly, "Well, I've bet him on the new era."

"Really? Then what brings you here this time?" the white-bearded man asked.

Then Shanks spoke up. "I want you to call Ace back. Teach is dangerous. If Ace and Teach continue to have contact like this, it could very well push this ocean to the brink of running rampant and out of control!"

However, even though Shanks didn't say it explicitly, Whitebeard understood that Shanks knew Ace's true identity and implied that if Ace were to encounter an accident, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.

only……

Whitebeard narrowed his eyes and said, "Snotty brat, you're a hundred years too early to be bossing me around."

"Whitebeard, don't you understand the seriousness of the matter?"

Shanks is still making a final effort to prevent the potentially major incident, to maintain the stability of the seas at this crucial juncture in Luffy's departure, and to buy Luffy enough time to grow.

"Hahahahaha..."

Whitebeard suddenly burst into wild laughter, shouting, "There's absolutely nothing to worry about! I'm Whitebeard, after all! Besides..."

"What's more?" Shanks' face showed surprise, sensing something unusual.

Whitebeard glanced at Shanks, then said, "This is also a promise I made to a certain man!"

Shanks' face immediately turned pale with shock.

Besides knowing that Whitebeard was hiding some kind of agreement, the most important thing was Whitebeard's way of addressing Shanks. Compared to the contemptuous way Whitebeard called Shanks "kid," it was undoubtedly a level of equality for Whitebeard.

A man on par with Whitebeard made a pact with Whitebeard, the "strongest man in the world," and it was related to Ace and Teach.

Suddenly, Shanks realized that things were not going as he had expected, and were beginning to get out of control. A few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Whitebeard, what are you planning?"

Whitebeard slowly put down his wine glass and asked, "Kid, what kind of tone is that?"

"Whatever you're planning, Whitebeard, don't do anything stupid."

Shanks was starting to get a little anxious, which instantly ignited a major battle between the two sides.

The next moment, Whitebeard's Murakumogiri clashed with Shanks's "Famous Sword Griffin," and the terrifying aftershocks spread wildly, even tearing the sky apart!

……

Meanwhile, Ace finally caught up with the Blackbeard Pirates on Banaro Island, and the two sides engaged in an extremely fierce battle.

This was a great battle between darkness and fire. The aftershocks of the battle between the two Logia-type Devil Fruit users spread almost instantly to the entire island, shrouding this little-known island in darkness and sunlight.

Ace was very strong. Perhaps due to personal preference, Ace did not become a strongman who excelled in physical skills, swordsmanship, and Haki like Roger. Instead, he focused on developing the "Flame-Flame Fruit." However, his strength increased significantly compared to before.

However, Teach was a true ruthless villain who had been lying low for decades. He had been disguised as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates for decades, had seen countless powerful figures, and his own strength in terms of physical skills and physique had left indelible scars on Shanks.

In the end, after a battle that lasted for half a day, Teach's darkness completely engulfed Ace's blazing flames.

"Hehehe, Ace, your flames are still too weak. This is far from enough..."

Teach laughed wildly, looking down at Ace who had collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, and declared, "With you, I can truly begin my plan. Ace, I am truly grateful to you."

Collapsed to the ground, multiple bones broken, and unable to get up, Ace struggled to look up at Teach and demanded, "You bastard who killed your comrades, what do you want?"

"Hehehe, of course it's to fulfill a man's ambition and dreams, don't you agree, son of the Pirate King..."

Ace's pupils contracted, completely unexpected that Teach already knew about the secret he had been hiding.

Ace's heart tightened instantly, and he vaguely sensed Teach's plan. His face turned somewhat frightened and flustered.

"Hehehe, Ace, come with me, the world will soon go into chaos because of me..."

Just then, a completely calm voice rang out.

"The world will go berserk, that's for sure, but it has nothing to do with you, Teach."

Teach's eyes narrowed, and he quickly turned around to look behind him, only to see a masked man and a... skeleton shrouded in some kind of ominous aura?!

Immediately, Teach almost instinctively took a step back, a hint of awe showing on his face.

It wasn't just shock at Brook's strange state, but more out of fear of Yann.

That mask, that outfit...

Without a doubt, he was a formidable figure who had fought Whitebeard for a long time and had earned his approval.

"Why is this guy here?!"

In an instant, Teach couldn't help but feel a little flustered, his expression became extremely tense, and his eyes began to wander around, observing the surrounding environment and the location of his companions.

[Chapter 735. Instant Kill]

"Hmm? Are you afraid? Is it because you know the gap between us and are you instinctively backing away?"

A calm voice rang out, and he slowly walked towards Teach step by step. Brook, who was in the released form of "Void Soul Slayer Sword - Skeleton Emperor", followed slightly slower, making Arn appear even more mysterious and terrifying.

As Teach and Ace emerged victorious, the few companions Teach had recruited during this time gathered behind him.

Holding a cane and wearing a top hat, Lafitt also noticed Teach's unusual behavior and asked solemnly, "Who is this guy? He's been hiding his face."

A few beads of cold sweat appeared on Teach's forehead before he replied, "Name unknown. I've only seen this guy once."

"Hmm? You've only met him once?"

"So, he's a top-tier powerhouse?" Upon hearing this, Gizzas Bages, who was extremely muscular and also extremely warlike, couldn't help but show great interest.

“That’s right, he’s a monster who once fought Dad to a draw,” Teach answered confidently, his tone full of apprehension.

Even though Teach was extremely arrogant, he still found it difficult to muster any confidence when facing a monster that was evenly matched with Whitebeard.

"Hehe, Captain, let me test this guy's strength first..."

As Burgess finished speaking, his massive frame suddenly leaped up and appeared directly above Yann, his elbow, covered in Armament Haki, slamming towards Yann.

"Hahaha, taste my 'Wave Elbow Strike'!"

Yann raised his eyes slightly beneath the mask, but made no move in the face of the ferocious elbow strike that seemed to shatter the earth. He continued walking unhurriedly toward Teach.

The next instant, Brook, cloaked in black and resembling the Skeleton King, stood in front of Burgess, his hand, now only pale white finger bones, wrapped in a chilling black aura, blocking Burgess's path.

Seeing this, Burgess shouted loudly in a disdainful tone.

"A skeleton without even muscles wants to block..."

However, before Burgess could finish speaking, as the black aura settled on his elbow, the Armament Haki seemed to have no effect whatsoever. In just an instant, all the muscles in his elbow atrophied and disappeared...

"what?!"

Bages' expression changed upon realizing something was wrong, but lacking the ability to fly, he couldn't retreat even if he wanted to, and could only watch helplessly as he fell into the black aura emanating from Brook.

"what……"

Burgess's scream lasted only a moment. As Yann calmly took the next step, to the astonishment of Blackbeard's crew, the incredibly massive Burgess completely disintegrated in mid-air, leaving not even a trace of dust on the ground.

"how is this possible?"

"What kind of ability is that?!"

"very scary!"

In an instant, the expressions of Blackbeard and his crew changed, and their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at the extremely intimidating-looking Brook.

Teach, who knew all too well how powerful Yann was, felt a chill run down his spine.

Teach had no confidence in dealing with Yann, who had once been recognized by Whitebeard, let alone this monster.

Immediately, the idea of ​​retreating became a thought in Teach's mind.

'But... are you really going to give up Ace, whom you're about to get?'

'This is an opportunity we've waited decades for. Only through Ace can we ignite a war between Whitebeard and the Navy, thus creating a chance to seize the Tremor-Tremor Fruit…'

'No, I'll take a gamble. My Dark-Dark Fruit is the bane of all Devil Fruit users; I might just find an opportunity.'

In this highly urgent situation, Teach's gambler's mentality kicked in again, but on the surface, his eyes became quite kind, even carrying a hint of naive honesty that made people subconsciously trust him.

"Sir, it's been a long time. Is there some misunderstanding between us?"

Yann stopped about fifty meters away from Teach and asked, "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"

Teach chuckled innocently and said, "Hehe, I was just joking around with the Ace brothers, so I made some jokes."

"Don't believe him, sir. Teach killed his crewmate and has already left the Whitebeard Pirates. He's also plotting something..."

Before Ace could finish speaking, Lafitte, who had been secretly instructed by Teach's gesture, covered Ace's mouth and then hoisted him up.