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

You must have already witnessed that person's majesty with Saint Nassuro, right?!

He tried to bring up Im as a last resort.

"Haha." Gern let out a short, cold laugh, raising his hand to interrupt Vochuli Saint's blustering but cowardly roar.

He then leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and spoke slowly and deliberately, in a volume that only the two of them could hear:

"Don't try to scare me with that person."

"If it (Im) could act, or thought acting would be useful..."

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Gern's lips.

"You wouldn't be sitting here talking nonsense to me today."

After speaking, Gern stood up, walked around the conference table, and patted the basic structure of the Sacred Heart of Vauciuri.

He walked slowly to the huge world map on the wall, which marked the territories of the old and new powers.

Then he turned around, with his back to the map, and faced Vauci Saint and Lucci.

“Look closely, Topman Vochuli Saint.”

I'll only say this once: this is also your world government's last resort.

He pointed to the map.

"You can stay on the Red Earth Continent for the time being."

However, from this moment forward, the operational rights of Red Harbor, as well as the control of all the elevator cables and passageways connecting the upper and lower levels, shall belong entirely to the Navy.

Any civilian vessels, personnel, or supplies that do not have naval approval to enter or leave the Lagoon

Applications must be submitted to the naval port management department in advance, and a comprehensive inspection and registration must be conducted.

Any violation will be considered an invasion, and the Navy has the right to take all necessary measures, including sinking the vessel.

Move your finger across the entire map.

"The four seas, the first half of the Grand Line (Paradise), and all of the New World covered by the naval flag."

All areas under signed agreements or actual control are brought under the absolute jurisdiction of the Navy.

All administrative, judicial, and taxation powers of the World Government here have been automatically abolished since the date of the Naval Declaration of Independence.

Any activity by World Government personnel without the Navy's permission is considered espionage and illegal infiltration, and will be dealt with by death.

Finally, his finger stopped on the icon of the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and tapped it lightly.

"Considering that you've been 'running' for at least eight hundred years, I'll give you, and those parasites in Pangu City, a 'way out'."

He turned around, a cold and cruel "smile" on his face.

"Isn't the Holy Land most fond of keeping slaves to show off its 'nobility'? Fine."

"These slaves, who originally belonged to pirates, criminals, or other forces, and were captured by you, I will not take care of for now."

“But…” Gern’s eyes suddenly turned incredibly sharp:

"All civilian slaves who have been kidnapped or trafficked and whose cases are documented in naval intelligence, shared information, and reports from civilians across the country."

"Whether they come from the four seas or the Grand Line, whether they are imprisoned in the Holy Land or anywhere else..."

"You have one month."

"Release completely, unconditionally, and intact."

After saying that, Gern walked back to his seat and looked down at Saint Vaucioli.

“This is my ‘kindness’.”

"Accept it, abide by it, and you can still eke out a living on the Red Earth, under the 'basic living security' permitted by the new Navy."

Gern slowly sat down, placing his hands crossed on the table. Without warning, the air around him began to vibrate violently, emitting a low hum.

The lights in the conference room shook violently, tiny cracks appeared in the walls, and an aura of domineering power filled the air!

"I don't accept..."

"Or, outwardly complying while inwardly resisting..."

"I'll do as you say. I don't care about any order, whether it's pirates or anything else, and you don't need to worry about gains or losses."

"The Navy and the World Government have launched a full-scale war!!"

"you see me……"

"Do you dare?"

Chapter 594 Shanks' 'Self-Assessment'

New World, Navy G-14 Branch.

Several shocking slash marks were visible on the base's fortress walls.

Several warships moored in the harbor sank into the water at an angle, with only parts of their masts and gun emplacements visible.

The fighting has ended.

The members of the Red-Haired Pirates did not cause widespread destruction; they simply silently controlled the key positions.

However, the invisible pressure emanating from the Four Emperors' pirate crew made it difficult for the remaining Marine soldiers to breathe, and they dared not make any rash moves.

Shanks, the red-haired man, stood alone in the center of the square, the sea breeze blowing the black coat draped over his shoulders, and a strand of red hair on his forehead fluttering slightly.

Gone was his usual cheerful smile; his right hand was now holding a naval officer by the collar, easily lifting her off the ground.

Dole, the base commander of G-14 branch, is a female lieutenant general known for her perseverance and decisiveness.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his military cap fell off, but his eyes remained defiant as he stared intently at Shanks.

"You are not qualified to arrest me." Shanks' voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

“Go back and tell your boss that it would be best to… have Gern come over in person.”

After saying that, he flicked his wrist and tossed Lieutenant General Dor aside.

Dol grunted and staggered as several naval soldiers caught him. His face was ashen, but he gritted his teeth and did not order a counterattack.

She knew that any resistance against Shanks himself, one of the Four Emperors, would only increase casualties.

Shanks' gaze swept over the dilapidated branch and the terrified Marine soldiers, and he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki to stun them all.

.......

Just then, footsteps came from behind.

Ben Beckman, with a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, slowly walked over to Shanks.

He remained calm and composed, only his brows furrowed slightly as he exhaled a puff of smoke, which slowly rose into the stagnant air.

“Shanks,” Beckman began, his voice calm but tinged with doubt, “your recent actions are not quite in line with our usual style.”

His gaze swept across the surrounding battlefield.

The Red-Haired Pirates are known as "balancers"; despite their immense strength, they rarely launch large-scale attacks on Marine bases.

They prefer to achieve their goals through deterrence, negotiation, or precision strikes.

While the extent of the damage was controlled by directly breaching a naval branch like recently, the nature of the attack is fundamentally different.

"Such a large-scale, targeted attack on the navy after Skyquake declared independence..."

“You know that man, Guern, won’t stand idly by.” Beckman’s voice deepened.

He will settle this 'bill' clearly.

We may be dragged into an unnecessary and full-blown conflict.

This doesn't sound like your judgment.

Shanks did not answer immediately.

He turned his head slightly, looked at his most trusted first mate, and then at the scar left from when he rescued him from Gern's clutches.

“Beckman…” Shanks whispered, “You still don’t know what that guy, Gern… has done.”

No, you actually know part of it, you're just not sure.

Beckman paused slightly, his fingers holding the cigarette between his fingers.

"You know very well that I... 'disappeared' for a period of time back then, right?"

Upon hearing this, Beckman's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he forgot to smoke the cigarette he was holding.

The core members of the Red-Haired Pirates all know that many years ago, Shanks had a brief but mysterious "disappearance."

He seemed to have changed after his return, but he remained tight-lipped about what exactly happened.

Of the entire pirate crew, only Ben Beckman and Yasopp, who was the first to follow Shanks, truly knew the inside story.

Because it wasn't a pleasant memory.

Shanks didn't disappear on his own; rather, he was taken away by the man who claimed to be his biological father.

He was forcibly taken away by Figarando Gringus (also known as Garin), the supreme commander of the Knights of God.

During that time, Shanks was forced to step into the heart of the Red Line, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, deep within the city of Pangaea.

“I was there…” Shanks lowered his voice even further, “I was ‘given’ that thing…I saw it with my own eyes, I felt it with my own body…”

He paused, seemingly searching for the right words to describe the fear, but ultimately just shook his head.

"...Just how terrifying is the 'being' behind the World Government?"

Beckman silently took a drag of his cigarette.

He knew what Shanks was referring to.

That being who stands above the Five Elders, regarded as the supreme god by the Celestial Dragons, whose mere name is enough to make the world tremble, is the "Lord of the Empty Throne".

“Gern, he’s not ‘D’.” Shanks turned back to Beckman. “He doesn’t have that cursed yet blessed bloodline flowing through his veins.”

He is not qualified.

How was he able to... survive such an attack?

Nasujiro Sei personally intervened, which might even have attracted the attention of that 'being'...

How could he possibly still be alive? And not only alive, but also so openly declaring independence?

Shanks' tone was full of incomprehension, and even a hint of offended anger.

It wasn't directed at Guern personally, but at an order he perceived as "impossible" to break.

“But I’m certain! What he did was foolish!” Shanks said firmly, with an almost obsessive certainty.

"A reckless provocation, premature exposure, dragging the Navy into a full-scale confrontation with the World Government..."

This is not the right way to defeat that 'being' at all!

That will only lead to a faster and more complete destruction!

"Clearly...clearly we could have followed the path paved by Captain Roger's life to usher in the Great Pirate Era."

Following the balance and guidance I've secretly maintained over the years, and step by step along the predetermined path of 'fate'...

Waiting for that 'destined' person to fulfill their ultimate 'mission' at the right time and in the right way!

Shanks' gaze became incredibly profound, as if he could see into the distant future, and into that boy wearing a straw hat with a bright smile.

"That mission, that person who overthrows the old world and brings true dawn... is not him, Gern Reginald!"

"He doesn't have the qualifications! Nor does he have the 'fate' to have them!"

Shanks' voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable resolve:

"I must make him understand! He is not the one who bears that heavy responsibility, the one who carries the key to this era!"

"His 'independence' and his 'new justice' will only disrupt everything and drag countless people into a catastrophe that is doomed to failure and has come prematurely!"

The sea breeze seemed to grow fiercer because of his words.

Beckman stared at the complex expression of anxiety on his captain's face, remaining silent for a long time.

He understood Shanks' concerns.