In truth, she had done this sort of thing many, many times recently.
The intensity of the wars in the New World did not require Ren to personally take action, so they had been the ones serving as the main force and handling matters.
Ordinary pirates simply could not resist them. All they could do was huddle together for warmth.
And in truth, that was exactly what they had done—joining forces with one another.
The result of that was the birth of Nami's epithet: "Lightning Goddess."
With thunderclouds spanning a hundred kilometers and the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, unless someone was on the level of the Three Disasters among the forces of a Yonko, it was nearly impossible for them to put any real pressure on her.
Nojiko and Vivi were a step weaker than Nami, but their level of strength was still approaching the standard of a bounty close to one billion.
Although the New World was an environment of ruthless internal competition, pirates at the hundred-million level could still make names for themselves here.
In this world, a bounty in the tens of millions already marked someone as a monster. A bounty in the hundreds of millions made them a monster among monsters.
Thus, after Nami buried an entire pirate fleet beneath a massive thunderstorm, she received the title of Lightning Goddess.
Nojiko, Vivi, and the others were not as exaggerated as her, but they also received different epithets of their own.
However, Hachinosu was different.
In the New World, this place was known as a pirate paradise. It was an island overflowing with sin, and it did not belong to any Yonko force.
The one ruling this place was an old remnant of the Rocks Pirates—Ochoku!
With a bounty close to one billion, he was a genuine powerhouse.
That was why the main forces of the Cross Guild had gathered here, preparing to encircle and eliminate Ochoku as well as Hachinosu itself.
As for Mihawk, who was also a member of the Cross Guild, he was not here.
His role leaned more toward deterring the forces of the Yonko, preventing the Cross Guild headquarters established in Totto Land from being destroyed.
This also matched the contents of the deal he had reached with Ren. A bit of bargaining chip was not enough to let Mihawk be casually ordered around.
Back to Ochoku. The man was indeed strong.
But Nami had no intention of fighting him one-on-one at all. Although she was seen as a powerhouse in the eyes of the world, she had absolutely none of a powerhouse's pride or stubbornness.
If something could be solved with the Judgment's main cannon, why should she personally go up and risk her life in battle?
The Judgment's main cannon was at a level where one shot could destroy an island.
Ren had used that thing as an energy source and had been able to one-sidedly overwhelm King, which showed just how terrifying its power really was.
Although Nami did not possess as many traits as Ren, she was still a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user.
Whether Ochoku took that shot head-on or not, it would not change the fate of Hachinosu's defeat.
Woooo—!
A fierce horn sounded through the sky, and thousands of members of the Angel Legion launched their assault.
As usual, it began with saturation firepower, electromagnetic sniping to kill troublesome targets, and all the same old routines.
But what had to be noted was that, as Caesar provided more Artificial Devil Fruits and Vegapunk provided Lineage Factor technology, the current Angel Legion had already welcomed a version update.
Their physiques had become sturdier and stronger, already possessing the intensity of a Zoan-Type Devil Fruit user army.
There were even some new changes. For example, some angels had actually been equipped with laser cannons.
Brilliant lasers crossed the sky and exploded into grand mushroom clouds atop Skull Castle.
"This is..." Ren's eyes revealed surprise.
"It was done by Vegapunk's satellites. They entered the laser cannon technology into the angels' Integrated Network."
Nami planted her hands on her hips and said calmly, "As soon as you came out, you went off fooling around with Hancock, so of course you didn't go look at Robin's summarized report.
"During the time you were inside, we weren't just sitting around doing nothing out here either."
"That's great."
Ren smoothly wrapped an arm around Nami's waist. In his perception, the Cross Guild members behind him let out wails of despair.
Another one. Yet another goddess had been "claimed."
One could only say it truly had that Pirate King flavor.
"So, what did you come here for today?" Nami leaned back into his broad embrace and asked in a slightly languid voice.
"I received news, so I rushed over. Next, there may be a major battle."
"Who?"
"Red-Haired Shanks."
"!?"
Nami was startled and subconsciously turned her head to look at Ren. "Really? Are you sure it's that—"
"I'm sure. But there's no longer any need to be as wary as we were back in the East Blue."
Ren rested his chin against her fair collarbone and said softly, "I'm no longer the me from back then."
"...So that sun really was you?"
Nami thought of that incomparably shocking "sunrise and sunset" from before.
If Hancock had not told her, she would never have been able to believe that such a commotion had actually been caused by her man.
It was not that Ren had never improved in the past. It was just that he had never reached such an incomprehensible level before.
"Yes."
Ren nodded frankly. "So there's no need to be cautious anymore. Even if it's Shanks, it's the same."
This battle had come somewhat abruptly, but he could roughly understand the logic behind it.
Shanks was coming for Nami and the others. Most likely, he believed that if he captured them, he could force Ren to appear.
At this point, the three-year promise had also reached the time when it needed to be fulfilled.
As for whether using hostages was shameful or not... do not forget, Ren had been the one to threaten Red Hair first.
Within his perception, that presence was drawing closer. Ren also had no intention of staying any longer.
"Have them withdraw with the spoils. This place will do well enough as a battlefield."
After giving that order, Ren vanished from the warship and arrived inside Hachinosu.
The angels received the command, but they were not retreating. Instead, they began identifying pirates with strength, defeating them and taking them away, while also evacuating all the slaves on the island.
Outside, Smoker and the others were somewhat baffled by this sudden turn of events.
But from the fact that Ren had personally arrived, they could tell that something major was probably about to happen.
As the main forces of the Cross Guild successively withdrew, the pirates on Hachinosu walked out of their resistance zones, not understanding what was happening.
A portion of them happened to be very fortunate and encountered Ren walking down the main street.
"Hey!"
A pirate blocked Ren's path. "What's going on outside right now? Why did those guys—"
Before he could finish speaking, he met a pair of crimson eyes. Then, with a boom, he turned into a torch!
With that pirate as the center, one living pirate after another instantly became wailing figures of flame.
Terrifying heat was released as Ren advanced. The high temperature climbed rapidly, igniting the air itself and turning this place into a fiery hell.
"Blazing Sun Furnace plus the Float-Float Fruit's ability works pretty well."
Ren's chest glowed. That was not the Heart of the Blazing Sun.
Instead, it was the Blazing Sun Furnace, constructed from traits such as Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon while being powered by the Heart of the Blazing Sun.
It could be regarded as a Super Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon that was constantly maintained in a ready-to-fire state.
Because of his various traits, he could maintain this state for long periods without any burden.
Bzzzz—!
The air distorted. The Blazing Sun Furnace in Ren's chest leaked out a bit of heat.
The power of the Float-Float Fruit manipulated that heat and spread it outward, causing the pirates still alive across all of Hachinosu to suffer a devastating blow.
The temperature across the entire island began to rise sharply, reaching a level ordinary people simply could not endure.
He had not even made a serious move. He had merely arrived at the top of Skull Castle and sat there, yet it brought complete destruction.
Some pirates activated Haki and fled toward the harbor, trying to escape this inferno.
However, after struggling to reach it, they discovered that every ship capable of setting sail was already burning on its own. Even the sea within more than ten nautical miles around the island was boiling like scalding water!
Hell.
Wherever the blazing sun existed was hell for pirates like them!
Ren paid no attention to the pirates who gradually died. He simply sensed the aura in the distance.
"Has he come?"
Soon, a large ship appeared at the end of the sea. Its flag was the pirate flag of Red-Haired Shanks.
As if discovering something wrong with the sea, the ship stopped there.
"As expected, he noticed. This is fine. Laying hands on a group of women isn't what I wanted to do either."
Shanks stood at the bow, quietly looking at Hachinosu, which had transformed into an island of fire. "His strength has become much greater than before. Is this what Mihawk meant by 'unbelievable'?"
"Captain..."
"It's fine. This is a duel. None of you are allowed to interfere."
Shanks grinned. "Or do you think I'll lose?"
"No." Lucky Roux shook his head fiercely.
As a member of the Red-Haired Pirates, of course he had incomparable faith in his captain.
It was just that Lucky Roux also understood one thing. After Shanks learned part of Ren's situation and made the plan to capture Nami and the others to force Ren to appear, Beckman had tried to advise Shanks against it.
He believed that a person whom the World Government feared to such an extent—so much that they did not hesitate to join forces with pirates just to kill him—must possess some kind of unexpected power.
Fulfilling the duel arranged back then at this point in time was not a good idea.
Even Mihawk, during their communication, had not been too optimistic about Shanks.
There was definitely a reason for that, but Mihawk had not said it outright. He had only said one sentence.
The rough meaning was: "If you make such a decision, the consequences may not be something the Red-Haired Pirates are willing to see."
But at the same time, he had also said: "If you don't give up on the promise and continue delaying, I don't know how terrifying Ren will become either."
Mihawk's meaning was actually very simple. He had released information about a channel through which Shanks and Ren could reconcile.
It was just that Shanks had completely ignored it and had very seriously prepared to fulfill this promise.
"Prepare the good wine!"
Red Hair smiled freely. Then he vanished from the ship, crossing the sea at extreme speed and arriving on the island of fire.
Soon, the distance between the two of them shrank rapidly.
"I thought you'd start by slashing at me."
"You're a pretty good guy. If it weren't for what happened with Buggy, maybe we could've become friends."
"That really is a pity."
Ren grinned. "Since that's the case, it's time to fulfill the promise, isn't it?
"To be honest, although I used threats as the method, I really am quite grateful to you for giving me this period of time. At the very least, the current me is different from the me back in the East Blue."
"I can tell. Compared to your spirit back in the East Blue, you now have much more confidence and certainty."
Shanks placed his hand on the hilt of Gryphon, then said, "No matter what, I need to thank you for what happened with Ace.
"If not for your actions, whether it was Whitebeard or me, it would have been very difficult to bring him out of Marineford.
"So I want to tell you some news. Perhaps you already know it. Perhaps you don't.
"But since it involves the World Government and the Five Elders, even if they call you some so-called prophet, that doesn't necessarily mean you can know everything."
"Please speak."
Ren gestured for him to continue.
He was self-aware enough to know what he was. What real prophet? He was just a spoiler-reader.
Even if someone was a real prophet, with the World Government's capabilities, it would not be strange for them to create a Devil Fruit ability that countered prophecy.
After all, Devil Fruits were aggregates of wishes in the end.
"The Five Elders have reached a consensus with Kaido and Big Mom. When the Cross Guild moves against Wano, they will join in.
"The Marines, as well as the World Government's hidden cards, will all be thrown into that major battle.
"Their goal is to ensure that you, the guy who threw the world into chaos, are completely killed.
"Although personally, I actually think that having a guy like you appear can also be considered a good thing."
At this point, Shanks tightened his grip around the hilt of his beloved blade, Gryphon, and stared at Ren with burning eyes. "That is my repayment. But Buggy's vengeance will not be canceled out.
"Since you agreed on a three-year deadline, now that the time has arrived, you won't use all sorts of methods to run away, will you?"
"No. I won't."
Ren shook his head, then stood and pressed a hand against his own chest. "Back then, I set the three-year promise because I had absolutely no confidence that I could survive against you.
"But now, there's no need for that anymore. I believe Mihawk should have revealed a bit of information to you.
"That was something I instructed him to do. If you were willing, we could turn hostility into peace. After all, before completely overthrowing the World Government, my attitude is still to unite every force that can be united, eliminate factors that would bring instability, and then gather everyone's strength to overthrow the World Government and establish a world that even Whitebeard would have hoped to see.
"You've probably heard of that ideal, so I won't repeat it.
"I imagine you also know that I'm a smart person. Since I'm able to think from this angle, you should understand what that represents, right?"
"So I'm very curious. Just what kind of power is it that has given you this almost blind confidence?"
Shanks drew his blade, the cold point of the sword aimed at Ren. "I think now would be a good time to see it for myself."
"Fine. Then I'll let you see it."
Ren's expression was calm. His hand plunged into the Blazing Sun Furnace in his chest, and as his five fingers closed, he pulled out a sharp blade.
That was the meaning of a furnace—to use oneself as the furnace and forge a blade.
"The blade's name is Zanka no Tachi."
He spoke of the crimson longsword in his hand. "There isn't any particularly special meaning behind it. I originally wanted to give it a cooler name.
"But then I immediately thought of Zanka no Tachi, so I simply took it as the name.
"In terms of visual impact, there's no difference between the two anyway."
Those words were confusing, but Shanks had no leisure to care about that. Instead, his brows furrowed as he stared fixedly at that blade.
The warning from his Observation Haki told him that the blade contained an exceedingly terrifying power.
Black-red lightning surged around his entire body. Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki intertwined and wrapped around Gryphon.
Then, with one step, he unleashed a dark-red flying slash that rose from the ground.
It was as terrifying as the slash from back in the East Blue, almost as if the scene had repeated itself.
The same attack. The same person. And the same Ren himself.
What was different was their strength.
(End of Chapter)