One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 323: The group of people in the first stage of the game!

"Boring. I waited for nothing."

"Mihawk..."

Shanks scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"I didn't expect this outcome either."

"Since the fight is off, I'm leaving."

Hawkeye walked toward his coffin-board boat.

"I thought I could kill some time by killing a few 'gods,' but this ocean is even more boring than I expected."

"Hey! Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"

Shanks shouted.

"If you're free, stay and have a drink! I've brought out all the best wines!"

Hawkeye stopped, turned his head to look first at Shanks and then at Chenye.

"Call me when you really want to draw your sword. This kind of childish game isn't for me."

He then said to Chenye: "The power you displayed in the last Marineford War was indeed formidable. I've always wanted to find an opportunity to spar with you and see how much my strength differs from yours. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to witness your power once again!"

It's a pity!

It's alright. If you want to spar, I'll definitely come to your territory to spar with you after I finish dealing with my work!

Oh? Really? Hawkeye's eyes lit up upon hearing this!

Of course, I will test your swordsmanship with my writing then!

That's great!

After saying that, the world's greatest swordsman jumped onto the small boat.

The black sails rose, and the figures receded into the distance.

With Hawkeye gone, the suffocating tension on the deck finally dissipated.

"call--"

Raki Lu sat down heavily on the ground, took a big bite of meat, and shouted indistinctly.

"That scared the hell out of me! I thought we were really going to fight the World Government this time!"

"Tch, boring."

Yasopp put away his gun and said this, but his trembling fingers betrayed him.

After all, their opponent was the legendary Knights of God.

Ben Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke and kicked the cigarette butts he'd used up all afternoon into the sea.

He walked up to Shanks and spoke in a low voice.

"The crisis has been resolved, but it's not necessarily a good thing. Being targeted and used as a pawn by that kind of thing is even more unpleasant than directly engaging in combat."

Shanks looked at the calm sea.

The sea surface is sparkling and beautiful.

But the shadow in his heart grew even deeper.

"I understand."

Shanks' voice was deep.

He turned and looked towards the cabin.

His mother was looking at him worriedly through the window.

Seeing that his mother was alright, Shanks' tense expression softened a little.

"This is just the calm before the storm."

The sea breeze carries a salty taste, the taste of the ocean, and also the taste of war.

"The next wave will be even bigger. Beckman, pass the word: combat status lifted, but alert level remains unchanged. We... are in a bind."

Chen Ye leaned against the railing, a glass of red wine in his hand.

He swirled the glass, watching the scarlet liquid leave streaks on the glass.

His gaze was meaningful.

"The pause button that has been pressed will always pop back up."

Chen Ye said softly.

"Once that Straw Hat kid truly awakens, this temporary balance will be completely over. Then, Shanks, what will you choose?"

……

into the night.

The Red-Haired Pirates' base is in turmoil again, but everyone is carrying a heavy burden in their hearts.

With the campfire burning, everyone drank more slowly.

The relief of surviving the ordeal didn't last long before turning into worry about the future.

Shanks sat alone on the rocks by the sea.

The waves lapped against his boots.

He held a bottle of wine but didn't drink a drop.

"What are you thinking about?"

A gentle voice came from behind.

Shanks' body stiffened, and he turned around.

The mother, wrapped in a thick blanket, walked over with Chen Ye's help.

"Mom, why did you come out? It's windy at the beach."

Shanks quickly got up, wanting to take off his cloak for his mother, but he only had one hand, so his movements were a bit clumsy.

She held his hand, her eyes filled with heartache.

She didn't understand the world of One Piece, but her motherly intuition told her that she could feel the immense pressure on her son.

"That friend named Hawkeye is gone?"

His mother asked softly, reaching out to tidy Shanks's wind-blown red hair.

"Yeah, he's a weirdo, he doesn't like these kinds of occasions."

Shanks always turns into a child in front of his mother.

"But he's very strong. If that old bastard dares to send people again, he'll definitely come to help again..."

"Shanks".

His mother interrupted him, her gaze both gentle and firm.

"Don't do things you don't want to do for me. Chen Ye told me that I fell in love with a beast, but... that person has a lot of power, enough to easily wipe everything out."

Shanks fell silent.

He glanced at Chen Ye, who was playing with coins not far away, and felt a little helpless.

This guy is such a chatterbox.

"Mom, don't worry."

Shanks took his mother's cold hand in return and transferred his warmth to her.

"I am no longer the crying baby in the Valley of Gods. Now, I have the power to protect everything I want to protect. Whether it's that old bastard or the guy sitting on the Void Throne, as long as they dare to lay a finger on your head..."

A red glint flashed in Shanks' eyes.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The waves have stopped.

"I'll turn this world upside down!"

Chen Ye stood in the shadows, listening to the conversation between the mother and son, and laughed even more happily.

He slowly wrote a line in his notebook:

*【Act Three: The Deferred Trial. The pieces are in place, awaiting the move of the player. But the red-haired piece seems unwilling to obey.】*

"That's more interesting, isn't it?"

Chen Ye closed the notebook and looked up at the stars.

Under the starry sky, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise still hangs high on the red earth, like the home of God.

Further away, a small boat adorned with a straw hat and skull flag is sailing against the wind and waves, hurtling towards this chaotic new world.

The gears of fate have been put on hold.

But the more you wind it, the tighter it gets.

A newsbird flapped its wings, flew through the night, and tossed a newspaper onto the deck.

Ben Beckman picked it up, glanced at it by the firelight, and his face darkened.

He walked quickly to Shanks and handed it over.

"Boss, the World Government hasn't touched us, but they haven't been idle elsewhere."

Shanks took the newspaper.

Under the moonlight, the black text of the front-page headline made his pupils shrink slightly.

Global recruitment begins again! The Navy Headquarters' top combat force is being reorganized, preparing to form seven admirals.

In the corner of the newspaper, there was an inconspicuous piece of news that made his heart skip a beat:

Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff Sabo infiltrates Dressrosa...

"The chaos has truly arrived."

Shanks clenched the newspaper, and the paper turned to powder under his domineering aura, scattered by the wind.

Chen Ye stepped forward, picked up a piece of scrap paper, looked at the words "Sabo" on it, and smiled.

"It seems the Navy is getting anxious too. Shanks, you don't have much time left. Before Luffy grows up, you have to cut a hole in this sea, this rotten cake."

Shanks turned to look at his trusted companions and his mother, who was looking at him tenderly.

"My lords!"

Shanks suddenly roared.

The sound pierced the night sky and drowned out the waves.

The previously sullen pirates all looked up at their captain.

"Bring out all the wine!"

"Since the storm hasn't come yet, let's drink to our hearts' content!"

"To hell with the Knights of God, to hell with the World Government!"

"As long as we're still on this ship, this is the freest place!"

"Ohhhh!!!"

The pirates roared, their voices shaking the heavens.

All the stress from the whole day is gone.

Raki Lu took a big bite of meat and shouted indistinctly.

"To the boss! To Auntie! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The clinking of glasses and laughter echoed across the island once again.

But behind the revelry, everyone gripped their weapons.

They all understand.

Tonight's revelry is a prelude to an even more brutal battle tomorrow.

Shanks raised the huge bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The spicy liquor slid down his throat, igniting a fire in his heart.

He looked toward the holy site, his gaze sharp as a knife.

Galin Saint, Im.

Are you using me as a pawn too?

Let's take a look.

Who laughs last?

The night was deeper.

The sea is still churning.

In the deep sea, a gigantic shadow slowly moves, waiting to devour everything.