Ren staggered for a brief moment of weakness, but his passive "Breath Recovery" instantly pulled his state back up.
He gazed at Shanks calmly. When he spoke, his voice was detached—like a declaration.
"But I still killed him."
Ren lifted his eyes toward the sky.The weather had already been rainy, and the formation speed of his thunderstorm magic was far faster than before.
Colorless mana churned the heavens, guiding the rain clouds toward violent transformation like a rolling avalanche of power.
The dull gray clouds turned pitch black, and the overcast gloom deepened until it felt as if night had suddenly fallen.
Sea wind swept across the distant coast of the town, carrying cold raindrops within it.
"So that's how it is?"
Shanks' eyes flickered briefly. He slowly unsheathed Gryphon, his tone solemn. "You're impressive—to stay rational under the pressure of my Conqueror's Haki, and to face me without fear. If you had attacked me, I might've spared you. But you killed my friend. You're not ignorant of what that means. You killed him… so I will avenge him."
"Hah. He tried to kill me and steal my treasure, so I killed him first. What's wrong with that?"
Ren chuckled softly. The golden gauntlet on his hand gripped the broken hilt that still held a fragment of blade.
Fragments of steel slid silently along the ground under his Qi control, closing in without a sound.
"The killer is always killed in turn—that's an eternal truth. It doesn't change just because his friend was a Yonko.And I don't expect mercy from you because of status or rank. If someone killed my friend, I wouldn't spare him either. The principle's the same."
Ren's tone was unyielding. He truly hadn't expected the Red-Haired Yonko himself to come all the way to East Blue!
But at this point, there was no room left for talk.
"In that case, there's nothing more to say."
Shanks raised his hand sharply. Dark red lightning of Conqueror's Haki coiled around Gryphon, its terrifying aura twisting the very air.
Everything around them dimmed, colors bleeding away, until only that crimson-red slash filled the heavens.
Thunder snaked across the clouds like silver serpents; heaven's roar intertwined with the rumbling earth.
With a sound like a thunderclap on a clear day—or the earth dragon turning in its sleep—a flying slash of dark red ripped through the ground, carving an ever-deepening ravine in its path.
This wasn't Divine Departure—just a casual flying slash infused with Conqueror's Haki.
Yet it cleaved open a massive trench several meters wide, stretching far beyond sight.From the sky, it looked as if Loguetown itself had been split cleanly in half.
And that was only a single, casual strike.
"So this… is the 'catastrophe' Ren spoke of!?" Zoro stood on the tower, eyes wide in shock at the destructive slash.
There was no doubt—Shanks was a swordsman equal to Mihawk.Zoro couldn't even tell whose swordsmanship was stronger.
After all…
An ant could never perceive the full form of an elephant. The gap was simply too vast.
Nami and Nojiko, who had just woken up, also saw it—the dying afterglow of that crimson sword light fading across the devastated field.Their faces went pale.
"Where's Ren!?"Nami suddenly cried out, grabbing Zoro's collar. "Why are we the only ones here!? Where is he!?"
"He's there." Zoro repeated Ren's earlier words. Nami's strength drained away; she collapsed backward into Nojiko's trembling arms.
"It's… all my fault… isn't it?"
Nami clutched her head, whispering to herself.
"Will Ren win? Who is he even fighting?" Nojiko asked, her eyes fixed on the now eerily silent battlefield.
"That's a Yonko… Shanks." A weak voice rose from the rubble nearby—Smoker, barely conscious, his pale face emerging from under bricks.
"The Demon Pirates, huh? Your captain's probably already dead.Never thought that Red-Hair bastard came to East Blue because of you guys… you really stir up trouble."
He staggered to his feet, bleeding heavily, smoke curling weakly from his body.
He tried to transform into smoke, but the process was painfully slow—Shanks' attack had done something to him he'd never experienced before.
"You planning to fight?" Zoro's eyes went cold. Armament Haki wrapped around Yubashiri's blade.
Even though nothing was going according to Ren's plan, he was ready to fight Smoker if he had to.
"No. The Arlong incident—our Marines framed you. But… sorry, I can't clear your name. Right now, I need to save the civilians caught in this mess… and drive Red-Hair out!"
Smoker staggered to the edge of the tower, his lower body turning to smoke as he flew off—but a moment later, he crashed back through the third floor of a nearby building, stuck headfirst through a window, legs dangling outside.
He clearly wanted to fulfill his Marine duty, but he had underestimated how much damage a casual blow from Shanks had caused him.Just waking up was already a miracle.
The three onlookers fell silent. They didn't go after Smoker; Marines below had already spotted and approached him.
"Is Ren… dead?" Nojiko asked hoarsely.
"I don't know. But I don't think he dies that easily." Zoro's gaze hardened.
Just then—a thunderclap tore through the sky!
A blazing bolt of lightning exploded over the battlefield, dazzling and ferocious.
That was… Channeling!?
Moments Earlier
In the ravine carved by Shanks' slash, a ghostly purple trident was lodged in the wall.
Ren, now a skeletal revenant, hung impaled upon it. He reached up, grabbed his severed head, and pressed it back onto his neck.
Shanks hadn't held back. That single strike had taken half his body and his head clean off.
He could no longer feel pain, fatigue, or even life—his entire being felt… ascended.His flesh and mind had become two separate, interfering entities.
He was dead, yet alive.
At the edge of the trench, Shanks swept his Observation Haki across the area several times, sensing no trace of Ren's presence. He turned to leave—
—and then a flicker of blue light rose from the depths.
A broken-winged angel flew out of the abyss, trident in hand, and hurled it!
Riptide! Channeling!
Lightning arcs surged through the air, wrapping around the trident until it became a bolt of light.
In the thunder's roar, a small glowing orb shot out unseen.
BOOM!
Light struck before sound.When the thunder rolled, Shanks had already turned, Gryphon cleaving down to meet the attack.
The trident shattered against his blade—but in that instant, the fragments themselves turned into countless flying shards, slashing at Shanks from every direction.They tore his cloak, striking sparks against his hardened skin.
"Ha ha ha! You didn't think one strike could kill me, did you!?"
Ren laughed madly, activating Savage Charge—his body became a human battering ram, crashing down from above!
"This level of durability? Guess I underestimated you… but charging at me like that instead of playing dead—isn't that a bit foolish?"
Shanks raised Gryphon again, slashing downward.
Another crimson flying slash erupted—ready to tear Ren apart completely.
And at that exact instant, the orb shattered.
In the blinding flash of the blade, Ren vanished—and reappeared right before Shanks' astonished eyes.
His counterattack struck in perfect timing.
White steam burst from Ren's clenched teeth; Thunder Breathing gathered all his strength into one blow.
Reversing his grip on the broken hilt of his cursed blade, he swung down with everything he had.
"Die? Don't underestimate me—Born fearless, fight to the end!"
The broken hilt smashed into Shanks' cheek with a metallic crack.
The Yonko was slammed into the ground!
BOOM!
The earth caved in, forming a crater the size of a house.The explosion of Conqueror's Haki rippled out, shredding the surroundings.
In the distance, the sound of gold coins shattering echoed. Ren's body burst with a hundred jets of blood; his hardened, crystallized bones split apart.It was as if invisible blades had torn him to pieces all at once.
On the brink of death, Ren still thrust his thumb downward in defiance.
"Go to hell, Red-Hair!"
He laughed wildly.
He had pushed himself beyond all limits—every ounce of strength, every advantage spent.
Shanks didn't know his abilities. Even if the Marines had leaked information, it would've been hopelessly outdated.Ren's power changed every few days—a full evolution every few weeks.
Even Garp's intelligence would've misled him.
His tactics had been built around that—fighting unpredictably, exploiting every blind spot.The only change was the target—now it was Shanks.
And it worked.
The Channeling strike was bait—to draw attention.The cursed blade's fragments were to scatter Shanks' Observation Haki.He didn't need much—just a moment's distraction.
The real weapon was the Ender Pearl he threw in the lightning flash.
His Savage Charge was a second feint—meant to provoke a counterattack so he could teleport behind it.
Of course, luck played a part—had Shanks dashed forward instead, it would've failed.
But it was enough.
For a self-scripted finale against an unbeatable foe, Ren hadn't hoped for much. His stats weren't even C-tier across the board. His only goal—land a single hit.
And he had done it.
A crimson flash sliced through the air, shredding his fragile body into dust.
Shanks' boots sank into the shattered ground. He straightened slowly, Gryphon dripping with blood.
Seems I've slain someone… remarkable.
He touched his cheek. A shallow cut marked his face—two knuckles long. Within it glimmered a faint purple light—residual energy from Ren's strike.
To reach this level of damage with such strength—few in the world could do that.
An ability so bizarre it bordered on the demonic.
Shanks glanced down at the fragments that had once been Ren, then swung his sword again.The trench extended until the ground split, swallowing the remains.
Only then did he turn away.
He wasn't heartless—but Ren had killed Buggy. Even knowing his opponent buried Buggy afterward, that didn't erase his anger.
So, as repayment, he gave Ren a grave of his own.
"Ren, huh…"
The whisper echoed through the silent streets.
At the harbor, Shanks stopped and gazed out toward the sea.
On the distant horizon, a man on an ice bicycle appeared—his afro framed by drifting frost.
Kuzan's green visor glowed faintly as he surveyed the ruined remains of Loguetown.
"That's going too far, Red-Hair…"
Waves of freezing mist surged from his body, crashing toward the crimson afterglow still rising in the distance.
Ice Age vs. Divine Departure!
Outside Loguetown, heaven and earth shook.
No one could approach that battlefield between two titans.Even the Marines could only shield civilians from the aftershocks.
The entire town was in chaos.
But atop the tower, three figures stood frozen, staring through the telescope at Ren's final moments.
"He… he's dead!?" Nojiko's voice trembled, her hands shaking so hard she dropped the scope.
"How could that be!? He was… he was amazing. Why…"Nami's words broke off. Smoker's earlier warning echoed in her head—one of the Yonko had come to kill Ren.
A Yonko—one of the Four Emperors who ruled the seas. Someone whose power was beyond imagination, like Mihawk before. How could anyone fight that?
Even Ren… couldn't.
Nami's heart clenched painfully, as if something had been ripped from it.
Was Ren… important to her?
Maybe not at first. She'd joined his ship because of a gamble, only warming up to him over time.
From the shell merchant incident on Mys Island, to the Ruyi Staff, to the Clima-Tact, to the Giant World Map—bit by bit, her fondness had grown.
Sometimes, out of a strange impulse, she'd even teased him—dangling sweetness just out of reach, like bait before a pig on a string.
So why now… did her chest feel so hollow, so broken?
She didn't know. She couldn't even think—only cry.
"I don't think so," Zoro said firmly. "That guy doesn't die so easily. Even a Yonko can't kill him that simply."
He reached out, grabbing both Nami and Nojiko by the arms.
"What are you doing!?""Zoro-san!?"
"According to Ren's plan, we have to leave this place."
"But his body—"
"He won't die!"
Zoro's tone left no room for doubt.
(End of Chapter)