One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 309: A Mother's Embrace!

Shanks' Conqueror's Haki is still raging.

Like an ancient beast breaking free of its chains, it rampaged across the island.

The clouds in the sky were torn apart, revealing the pitch-black void.

Shanks stood in the eye of the storm.

The outside world has disappeared.

His eyes were bloodshot, and only one name remained in his field of vision.

Figaland Garin Saint.

The dam of reason has collapsed.

What now dominates this body is the instinct to destroy everything.

"Well……"

Shanks' mother, who was closest to him, was teetering on the brink of collapse under this oppressive force.

Her face was deathly pale, and she was having difficulty breathing.

An ordinary person's body simply cannot withstand this kind of force.

A streak of overflowing black lightning was about to engulf her.

hum.

Ripples spread through the air.

Chen Ye, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines, flicked his finger.

An invisible light curtain enveloped Fiona.

The powerful impact that shattered the rocks collided with the light barrier, vanishing without a trace.

Inside the barrier, all was calm.

Outside the barrier, destruction raged.

Chen Ye looked at the small yet determined woman below with a playful expression.

"Go."

He said softly, as if to watch another good show.

"Let him wake up, or... watch him destroy everything."

Shanks' mother didn't care who put up the barrier.

She only saw her own child.

The child is now incredibly lonely and in pain.

He struggled on the edge of the abyss.

She gritted her teeth, mustered all her strength, and stumbled toward her son.

"Shanks!"

Every step forward was under immense pressure.

She opened her arms, without hesitation.

Nearly.

"Stop! Don't do this! Please!"

Shanks' mother rushed over and hugged Shanks, whose muscles were as taut as iron.

sizzle-

The moment the violent, domineering aura touched her body, it seemed to encounter its natural enemy and paused eerily for a second.

A mother's embrace, with its unique fragrance and trembling.

It pressed tightly against Shanks' cold, stiff chest.

A power stronger than any domineering aura.

Shanks's crimson pupils contracted sharply.

The murderous intent roaring in his mind was abruptly suppressed by sobs.

"Mother?"

Shanks forced out a dry, hoarse sound from his throat.

He lowered his head.

He looked at the woman trembling in his arms, yet clinging to him tightly.

The wind stopped.

The island returned to silence.

The only sounds were the waves crashing against the rocks and the suppressed sobs of the woman in his arms.

Shanks' stiff arm hung in mid-air, trembling and hesitant, before finally cautiously embracing the frail body.

"sorry……"

Shanks' voice was panicked, the crimson in his eyes faded, leaving only guilt and lingering fear.

He looked around.

The banquet was like a battleground.

The wine barrel exploded, spilling wine all over the ground.

The rocky ground was covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Not far away, apart from Beckman and a few others like Whitebeard, the Red-Haired Gang members were all lying on the ground with their eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth.

He did it.

His out-of-control power nearly injured his companions and even his mother, whom he had just reunited with.

"I...I almost..."

Shanks looked at his hands, still warm from the burst of Haki.

These four emperors, who once dominated the New World, now resembled children who had committed a terrible crime.

His legs went weak.

thump.

He knelt down amidst the devastated ruins.

He knelt before his mother, burying his proud head deeply in her knees.

Uh...

A suppressed sob escaped from deep within his throat.

Then came the uncontrollable weeping.

"Waaaaaahh ...

It wasn't the roar of one of the Four Emperors.

She was a child who had suffered countless grievances, and in her only safe haven, she poured out her emotions without reservation.

Thirty-eight years of wandering.

Captain Roger's despair at execution.

The pain of losing an arm.

The confusion of a cursed origin story.

There was also the disgust and anger of just learning that his biological father was the enemy who murdered his mother.

All her emotions turned into scalding tears, soaking Fiona's long dress.

"It's alright...it's alright..."

Shanks' mother was not frightened; she knelt down and held Shanks' head in her arms.

She reached out her hands, which weren't particularly delicate but were incredibly gentle, and stroked Shanks' red hair again and again.

"Sleep...sleep...my child..."

The mother began to hum softly.

The pirates around them, who had just woken up and were suffering from splitting headaches, miraculously calmed down upon hearing the song.

Edward Newgate, with his white beard, stood not far away, leaning on his arm, Kumogiri.

The world's strongest man looked at the scene before him with a complex expression.

He thought of Roger.

"Roger..."

The white-bearded man murmured softly.

"You little rascal, you've finally found a place where you can let your guard down completely."

Marco put away the Phoenix Flame, stood silently behind his father, adjusted his glasses, and watched quietly.

Ben Beckman lit another cigarette, the taste of nicotine relaxing his tense nerves.

He looked at the captain kneeling and weeping, his eyes filled with understanding and heartache, not contempt.

He knew better than anyone that behind Shanks' carefree smile lay the heavy shackles of maintaining the balance of the sea.

Only today.

Only now.

Shanks is not "red-haired" and not one of the "Four Emperors".

He is just a son.

A few minutes later.

The crying stopped.

Shanks' shoulders stopped twitching.

That heartbreaking atmosphere of sadness began to change.

An unprecedented, cold and sharp aura rose from the man kneeling on the ground.

Shanks slowly raised his head.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and there were still tear stains on her face.

But his eyes.

Those eyes, which always seemed to be smiling, were clearer than ever before.

It's like steel that has been tempered by a raging fire.

The confusion is gone.

The fear is gone.

Instead, there was absolute resolve and a murderous intent that could freeze the sea.

Shanks raised his sleeve and forcefully wiped away his tears.

He helped his mother to her feet and gently straightened her collar and hair, which had been ruffled by the wind.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I scared you."

Shanks' voice returned to calm, though hoarse, the composure of a king had returned, even more profound than before.

"I'm fine."

The mother looked at her son and knew that the crying child in her arms had grown up and become a strong and upright man.

"Boss!"

"Shanks!"

The surrounding officials all gathered around.

Yasopp clutched his buzzing head, Raki Lu threw away the meat bone, and Loxda looked horrified.

"What exactly happened just now?"

"You almost sank the island just now!"

"What happened?"

Everyone asked questions at once, their eyes full of concern.