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

Finally, their gaze returned to Lu Fei's face.

"Hey, Luffy." Gern's voice was calm, even carrying a hint of an elder correcting a junior's mistake. "That's not right."

With that, he flicked his arm and tossed Shanks onto the stone ground in front of him like a sack of potatoes, making a dull thud.

Shanks grunted.

Gern immediately crouched down, extended his right hand, and unceremoniously grabbed Shanks's signature red hair.

They forcefully lifted his head up, allowing Luffy and everyone else to clearly see Shanks's pained furrowed brows and the bloodstains on his face.

“I didn’t ‘capture’ him.” Gern shook Shanks’ head, his tone innocent like that of a victim.

"As for me? I just heard that Wano Country was bustling, so I thought I'd come and try to pick up some scraps and see if I could make a profit."

Gern paused, a wronged expression on his face: "But this 'loyal' Yonko is accompanied by another troublesome fellow..."

He glanced at the door frame and said, "Two people attacked me all by myself on the way here! I'm so pathetic!"

Gern sighed dramatically: "Although... they didn't actually beat me up later, and I 'accidentally' beat them up like this..."

But deep down, I'm really hurt!

"This is a sneak attack! This is a gang beating! This is moral depravity!"

Gurn's feigned pitifulness, coupled with his action of pulling Shanks' hair, seemed particularly ironic and provocative.

"You weird old man..." Luffy saw Shanks being treated like this and was about to step forward.

"Luffy!"

Jinbe took a step to the side, his thick hand firmly pressing down on Luffy's shoulder, stopping his impulsive action.

This former Shichibukai, an experienced helmsman, had an extremely serious expression on his face at this moment.

"Luffy, calm down!" Jinbe said in a deep voice, his eyes fixed on Gern.

"The person in front of you is the current Fleet Admiral, 'Skyquake' Gern Reginald Sigmar."

Red-Haired Shanks is a pirate and one of the Four Emperors.

He single-handedly intercepted the Fleet Admiral, was defeated and captured—this is the law of the sea, where the strong prey on the weak, and the victor reigns supreme!

"It's only right for the navy to capture pirates!"

Jinbe's tone became more serious, each word striking Luffy's heart: "There's something even more important!"

If you were to attack him now, attack the Fleet Admiral... that would be a completely different matter!

At this moment, Robin also stepped forward and stood beside Jinbe, calmly adding to what Jinbe hadn't finished saying.

"Luffy's attack on a Marine Admiral can be seen as a conflict between pirates and the Marine high command."

“But we attacked the Fleet Admiral…” Robin’s tone turned slightly somber.

"That means you are declaring war on the entire naval organization, on the 'order' that it represents in the world."

"This means..."

She uttered the last four words slowly and deliberately.

"Total War".

“Total War…” Luffy chewed on the word, his anger replaced by a blank and heavy expression.

He experienced Enies Lobby and had just declared total war to Kaido on Onigashima.

He knew all too well what those four words meant.

That will no longer be a feud between individuals or pirate crews, but an endless struggle between two powerful forces.

It will involve countless people.

Seeing the hesitation and weighing of options in Luffy's eyes, Gern's smile deepened.

He released his grip on Shanks' hair, slowly stood up, and patted non-existent dust off his hands.

"It seems our 'Fifth Emperor' is starting to think about the consequences?" Gern's tone was tinged with amusement.

But he clearly has no intention of stopping there.

“But don’t worry, Luffy.” Gern suddenly adopted a “I’m here to offer some comfort” expression, “except for this somewhat disobedient red-haired uncle…”

He deliberately drew out his words, then took a slight step back, giving up part of the view of the doorway.

At the same time, he shouted towards the shadow of the threshold.

"Hey, you fat guy over there, stop hiding and push him out!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Behind the threshold, a fat figure trembled slightly; it was none other than the former "Three Calamities" Quinn!

He had been following behind, responsible for dragging Shanks and Dragon along. He had been hiding behind the door peeking, but when Gern called his name, he turned pale with fright.

But Quinn dared not disobey, so upon hearing the order, he laboriously pushed another person out of the shadows behind the threshold using his still-functioning mechanical arm!

He was also covered in injuries, unconscious, his dark green coat torn and tattered, and his face smeared with blood.

"!"

Luffy's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints!

Everyone in the Straw Hat crew, including Jinbe and Robin who were just analyzing the situation, showed an expression of extreme shock!

Seeing Luffy's completely frozen expression, Gern nodded in satisfaction and smiled.

"Look, I've brought you another 'surprise'!"

"This is another guy who partners with Shanks."

"Your old man."

"Leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon!"

Chapter 620 A Prodigal Dog

When Luffy saw Dragon covered in wounds and unconscious, pushed out of the shadows by Queen, his expression completely changed.

The previous anger, anxiety, hesitation, and weighing of options...

All complex emotions coalesced into the purest and most intense form at this moment.

That was the fury of blood ties being trampled upon, the rage of those cherished being insulted, and the instinctive retaliation that no amount of reason or consideration could suppress!

There was no roar.

The next instant, Luffy vanished into thin air!

It moved so fast that it left a slightly rippling afterimage in place!

His right fist retracted, covered in Armament Haki, and even faintly contained subtle Haki lightning!

This punch, without any name, went straight for Gern's face!

Guern seemed to have anticipated this.

Without moving a foot, he simply raised his left hand very naturally, fingers spread, palm facing forward.

Only Conqueror's Haki can defend against Conqueror's Haki!!

"boom!!!"

Luffy's full-force punch landed squarely on Gern's palm!

It emitted a dull, bell-like thud!

A violent shockwave exploded from the point where their fists and palms collided, shattering the stone slabs beneath their feet once more!

Gern remained completely still.

His arm didn't even bend noticeably; his palm simply dipped slightly backward by an inch, yet he still managed to block the attack.

Luffy's fist was firmly gripped by that hand, frozen in mid-air, unable to move forward even an inch.

Luffy slowly raised his eyes.

At this moment, his eyes, which were always full of sunshine and smiles, were devoid of any warmth, only icy coldness.

He no longer called him "weird uncle," but instead, through gritted teeth, clearly and coldly squeezed out the name.

"Gern!!"

The moment the words fell

boom!!!!

A powerful, pure, dark red Conqueror's Haki burst forth, brimming with indomitable will and a spirit of liberation!

The domineering aura materialized into a dark red arc of electricity, leaping and coiling wildly, carrying an overwhelming kingly pressure, and crashing fiercely into Gern, who was right next to him!

The air groaned under the overwhelming clash of forces, the light distorted, and the small, unfixed pebbles in the courtyard began to slowly float and tremble!

Faced with Luffy's angry outburst of Conqueror's Haki, the playful look on Gern's face finally vanished completely.

His gaze turned cold.

"Hmph." A soft snort.

Gern didn't even make any preparatory movements; he simply lowered his gaze slightly to look at Luffy's eyes, which were burning with rage.

next moment

"Buzz!!!!!"

A deeper, more profound, dark purple Conqueror's Haki, filled with a destructive and awe-inspiring power and supreme majesty.

It coalesced into an almost tangible torrent, heading straight for Luffy's dark red Haki and crushing him head-on!

"Zzzzz!!!"

Two supreme colors of Conqueror's Haki clashed fiercely at extremely close range!

Dark red and dark purple arcs of electricity tangled and exploded wildly, emitting a piercing, ear-piercing blast that sent chills down your spine!

At the center of the collision, tiny black cracks appeared!

However, the stalemate lasted for less than a second.

Luffy's dark red Haki began to retreat steadily!

The dark purple arc of electricity, like a greedy giant python, rapidly eroded and devoured the dark red domain!

Luffy's face paled, his body swayed involuntarily, and a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes.

His Conqueror's Haki was suppressed so directly!

However, Gern did not take advantage of the situation to increase his Haki output and knock Luffy unconscious.

He simply maintained his overwhelming posture, his cold gaze piercing through the raging arcs of Haki and landing on Luffy's face.

"Do you feel sorry for them?" Gern's voice was calm and unwavering.

Without waiting for Luffy's reply, his free right hand suddenly grabbed the temporary coat he was wearing.

The collar of the casual jacket, which was still relatively intact, was then suddenly torn apart to both sides!

"Rip!" The sound of fabric tearing was crisp and piercing.

The coat was easily ripped open, taken off, and tossed aside.

It revealed Gern's well-built upper body.

It also revealed the shocking injuries on it!

The wound on his waist and abdomen, inflicted by Shanks's "Divine Evasion," had stopped bleeding, but the flesh was torn and peeling.

The deep, bone-revealing marks were still gruesome, surrounded by a patch of purplish-black bruises.

His back was covered with large patches of purplish-blue bruises and fine bloodstains, marks left by the impact and impact of the Dolag wind pressure.

There are also various minor cuts and lacerations on my arms, shoulders, and neck...

Although none of them were fatal, the dense, overlapping layers of old and new silently testified to the brutality of the one-on-two epic battle that had just taken place.

These wounds weren't even properly treated; they were merely temporarily suppressed by Gern's powerful physique.