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"So, how does freedom feel?" Shin asked Hina, who was staring out at the endless sea.

Hina shot him a sideways glance but said nothing. She already knew the news had spread like wildfire across the seas: A new member had joined the Kuja Pirates.

She was branded, tied to this crew for good.

There was no going back. In the eyes of the Marines, she was now a disgrace. Returning was impossible.

"Shin, there's some important intel here. You should take a look," Robin said, walking over with a newspaper in hand.

"Important intel?"

Shin took the paper from her and saw the headline:

Blackbeard had betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, murdering the 4th Division Commander, Thatch, in the process.

The article also mentioned that the 2nd Division Commander, Ace, was now hunting him down.

"Whitebeard cares more about his 'sons' than anything. This is going to get messy,"

Robin could feel that the sea's fragile peace was about to be shattered.

"Marshall D. Teach is no simpleton," Shin remarked. "The three scars on Shanks's eye were left by him."

Reading the article, Shin knew a major event was imminent.

The Summit War would be on a scale that dwarfed even Roger's execution—this was going to be a real, all-out battle.

And one of the key players was Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors. Even though Shin had defeated him and stripped him of the title of "World's Strongest Man," Whitebeard was still a force to be reckoned with.

But with Shin in the picture, who knew if the Summit War would even happen?

The Marines had to consider him now.

"He's that strong? And he was just a low-ranking member of the crew... He must have some serious ambitions," Robin said, her gaze turning thoughtful.

She was a truly intelligent woman and could infer from Shin's comment that Blackbeard was a man with grand designs.

In the original story, though Whitebeard died, both his crew and the Marines ended up as losers.

Whitebeard was dead, Marineford was in ruins, and Blackbeard emerged as the ultimate winner.

He broke out a crew of the world's most dangerous criminals from Impel Down, stole Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power—and became one of the Four Emperors.

"It's got nothing to do with us. We'll just sit back and watch the show," Shin said, setting the paper aside.

There was definitely a good show coming, and it seemed that even with his presence, Blackbeard's plans were still on track.

For Shin, the Summit War was nothing more than entertainment.

"Whitebeard may be good to his sons, but he would never tolerate a traitor, especially one who murdered another one of his own." Robin added, a similar look of detached amusement on her face.

————

The Kuja Pirates' ship sailed slowly toward Amazon Lily.

They weren't heading back to the New World just yet, they planned to stay on the island for a while.

Shin had originally intended to return to the New World, but with a major event about to unfold on the Grand Line, he decided to stick around.

At the same time, Akainu, who had been on his way to the New World, changed course and headed for Reverse Mountain.

"That useless fool Crocodile is dead. Looks like I'll have to handle this myself," Akainu muttered, his eyes narrowed.

He had ordered Crocodile to eliminate Mihawk, but now Crocodile was dead before he could even complete the mission.

Now, Akainu had to handle it personally.

He had no personal grudge against Mihawk, he just saw him as a threat.

The man was too close to one of the Four Emperors, Shanks. Under normal circumstances, Akainu wouldn't have made a move—Mihawk was every bit as strong as he was.

But now, Mihawk was severely injured and hadn't fully recovered.

It was the perfect time to strike!!

As for how he'd justify it later, that was simple. He could just fabricate a crime.

But the entire plan hinged on one thing: Mihawk had to die.

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In the East Blue, the Straw Hat Pirates were sailing toward the Grand Line.

"Finally, the Grand Line!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Though they had lost Nami as their navigator—they had gained Mihawk!

He didn't plan on staying with them forever, but for now, he was on board. He'd even helped them out of a few jams, like dealing with Smoker.

In the original story, Luffy had only escaped thanks to his father.

This time, Mihawk had handled it.

Even though he'd been seriously injured by Shin, taking down someone like Smoker was still a piece of cake.

They had no idea that Akainu was on his way to kill them.

Luffy's luck was really something else. He hadn't even reached the Grand Line, and now an Admiral was coming for his head.

Just as they finally made it over Reverse Mountain and into the Grand Line, they saw a Marine warship waiting for them.

"Why is there a warship here? They're not here to arrest us, are they?" Usopp asked, his voice trembling with fear.

"Akainu??" Mihawk's sharp eyes spotted the man standing on the deck, staring right at them.

"Looks like he's here for me."

Mihawk was certain. They weren't after Luffy—they were after him. He could guess why.

Even though he was one of the Seven Warlords, the Marines would never pass up a chance to eliminate him. If they took out one Warlord, they could always recruit another. It was no loss to them.

"Who's Akainu?" Luffy asked, looking at Mihawk with a clueless expression.

Mihawk shot him a look. He already knew Luffy's grandfather was Garp, but the kid was acting like a complete idiot.

How could he not know who a Marine Admiral was? Even the most ignorant person should know that.

Mihawk didn't dwell on it. He knew what kind of person Luffy was.

"A... an Admiral is here to kill us?"

Usopp swallowed hard, looking like he was about to wet himself. A Marine Admiral—the ultimate authority in the Navy.

They were just rookies starting out. To an Admiral, they were insects. An enemy at that level definitely wasn't here for them.

Like Mihawk said, he was the real target.

"You guys should leave. Akainu is here for me," Mihawk said. He didn't want to drag them into his mess. He'd grown fond of them over the past few days and had even started training Zoro.

"He's strong, right? I might not be a match for him, but I'm not running away," Luffy said with a huge grin.

No matter who the enemy was, he would never back down.

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