Boom!
The moment Bai Ye raised his hand and swung Ryūjin Jakka back, a scorching orange-red flame erupted, spiraling into the sky like a fiery tornado. The blazing inferno roared upwards, piercing the heavens.
Before the Red Hair Pirates could react, the flames engulfed Rocks. As the fire made contact with his body, his flesh began to melt rapidly, exposing the terrifying white bones beneath. Within moments, his entire body was consumed by the searing flames.
From beginning to end, the Red Hair Pirates were too late to intervene.
In an instant, the man who had been hailed as a rising member of the Red Hair Pirates, with a bounty of 94 million berries, was reduced to ashes before their very eyes. Rocks had paid the ultimate price for his actions, without even the chance to scream.
Having done this, Bai Ye looked down at the Red Hair Pirates, their pupils shrinking in shock. He tolerated arrogance once—but a second time? Unacceptable. If someone sought to kill, they must be prepared to face death in return. Bai Ye showed no concern for the man's status as a member of the Four Emperors' crew or for the face of their captain.
The tension in the air was palpable.
"Rocks is... gone?!"
"You bastard! What have you done?!"
"How dare you kill one of us in front of the entire crew!"
Yasopp and the others snapped out of their shock, rage flooding their expressions. The sight of Rocks reduced to ashes ignited their fury, and the atmosphere reached a boiling point.
Lime Jones, a Red Hair Pirates combatant, was the first to explode in anger. Wielding his long staff that crackled with electric shocks, he leapt forward, attacking Bai Ye with unrestrained rage.
However—
"The Fourth of Hadō... Bai Lei!"
Bai Ye raised the fingers of his left hand, his gaze indifferent.
A split second later, a blue-white bolt of lightning shot forth. Moving faster than Lime Jones could react, it struck him head-on. His pupils dilated as the bolt closed in on him.
"What... what kind of power is this?!"
Lime Jones instinctively adjusted his stance, using his staff to block. But it was futile. The powerful lightning overwhelmed him, sending him flying through the air.
"Lime Jones!"
Another crew member, Bendik Snake, erupted in rage. His muscled arms tensed as he gripped two long blades, veins bulging from his hands.
"Bastard!" he roared. "You think you can do this to us?!"
Bendik Snake swung his weapons with all his might, unleashing a massive cross-shaped Slash Wave that tore through the air toward Bai Ye.
At the same time, Yasopp and the ship's doctor, Dege, exchanged a glance before joining the fray. Without hesitation, they attacked. On the Grand Line, battles escalated in the blink of an eye. There was no time to deliberate—protecting their comrades took precedence.
To them, Bai Ye had crossed an unforgivable line by killing one of their own right before their eyes.
For a moment, it seemed like every member of the Red Hair Pirates, save for Shanks and Benn Beckman, was launching an assault against Bai Ye.
But Bai Ye remained unfazed. Standing atop the stone pillar amidst the swirling flames, his eyes remained as calm as ever.
With a single gesture, he shattered Bendik Snake's massive Slash Wave, reducing it to harmless fragments. Yasopp's bullet, imbued with Armament Haki, hurtled toward him—but it, too, was effortlessly split in two by a casual slash of Ryūjin Jakka. The molten remnants of the bullet dripped harmlessly to the ground.
Then, in a flash, Bai Ye vanished.
Shunpo.
Before anyone could react, Bai Ye reappeared in front of Dege, the ship's doctor.
"Flaws," Bai Ye said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion. "Everyone is full of flaws."
Dege froze. The sheer pressure emanating from Bai Ye left him unable to move. It was only now, standing face-to-face with this monster, that Dege truly understood the suffocating weight of death.
"I... I'm going to die," Dege thought, his face pale. Even as he tried to summon the strength to fight back, he knew it was futile.
But just as Ryūjin Jakka's blade descended—
A red-haired figure streaked through the air, pushing Dege out of the way.
It was Shanks.
"As the captain, I won't stand by and watch another crew member die!" Shanks roared.
His eyes darkened, and an overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded from his body, radiating a crimson aura. In the same instant, he raised his blade, Griffin, and met Bai Ye's strike head-on.
Boom!!!
The clash sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield, tearing through the ground with ferocious intensity. The dry seabed beneath them caved in layer by layer, dust and debris flying into the air. The sheer force of the collision was so immense that even distant islands felt the earth tremble.
The battlefield stood still for a moment, the air thick with tension.
Shanks stood firm, his blade locked against Bai Ye's flaming Ryūjin Jakka, his Conqueror's Haki clashing fiercely against Bai Ye's Reiatsu. The red-haired captain's gaze was unwavering, filled with resolve.
"Bai Ye," Shanks said in a low voice, his tone heavy with determination. "This ends here."