A Few Seconds Of Courage.

_________________

Roger left the house filled with memories and walked under the sky.

The overcast clouds had been blocking the sunlight since morning.

Roger smiled, and sparks flew from his eyes.

From his position, a massive burst of Conqueror's Haki exploded, splitting the clouds in the sky.

As if the sky itself was divided, the clouds started to scatter little by little, and sunlight began to shine once again.

Roger walked under the warm rays of the sun, enjoying the refreshing sea breeze, and even more so, he enjoyed flipping through the final pages of the manga.

"Do you know that courage in a moment like this comes at a high cost that must be paid?"

"But still, you decided to move forward and say what you wanted to say even if that cost was your life? Interesting."

"Wahahaha! The future is full of brave boys."

Roger's eyes sparkled more and more with each word Coby said in his moment of fervor, or his seconds of courage as the chapter title suggested.

At the decisive moment, Roger's eyes widened and his smile grew broader.

"That's fantastic," Roger said.

…

•———•———•———•———•

Chapter's Events:

—————————

"Uwaa!! He's got a terrible wound! Is he still alive!!?" Holding Luffy, Bepo was shocked at his condition.

"Hurry…" Law urged his companion to hurry up.

"Strawhat Luffy!"

"The Surgeon of Death, Law!!" Sitting on the sail of a ship, Kizaru gathered a yellow beam at his fingertip, ready to eliminate the two names he had just mentioned.

"Damn it…" Before Law could act, everyone heard a desperate scream.

"STOP IT!!!" Coby blocked Akainu's path and spread his arms to stop him.

"A Marine!?" Both Marco and Law were surprised.

Akainu's brow furrowed.

"JUST STOP ALREADY!!!"

"WE CAN STOP FIGHTING NOW!!!" Coby cried out, tears streaming down his face as he faced Akainu.

"Who's that…?" The pirates wondered.

"STOP THROWING LIVES AWAY!!!" Coby could no longer bear seeing everyone dying without doing something, so he threw away his fear and stepped forward to stop Akainu.

(The soldiers are dying, one by one!! They have families waiting for their return!!!)

"We've done what we came to do!!!"

"We're chasing pirates who don't want to fight!! We're fighting a pointless battle!!!" Coby continued to wail, saying all this.

"We're abandoning the soldiers who could be saved!!! We're sacrificing even more lives!!!"

"Then isn't it as if the soldiers who fall now… ARE JUST IDIOTS!!?"

"Coby…!!?" Garp was shocked after seeing this and hearing what he said.

"…!! Aahhh? Who the hell are you…!!!"

"You've wasted a few seconds… The Marines have no need for soldiers who don't believe in justice!!!" Akainu mocked Coby's words and moved to kill him.

"Eh…"

"AAAHHHH!!!" (Oh, God, I'm going to die!! But I've said what I needed to say!!)

Seeing the magma fist coming directly at him, Coby thought in his heart. (I have no regrets!!!)

Before Akainu's fist could hit him, it was blocked by someone's sword.

Sparks of Conqueror's Haki spread around, causing Coby to faint.

"You did well… Young Marine."

•———•———•———•———•

Standing in front of the art store in Baterilla, Roger was astonished by the scene where Shanks saved Coby from Akainu's magma fist.

"… If only you had been a little earlier, you could have saved Ace…"

Roger wiped a tear from his eye and entered the art store smiling.

…

Inside, the atmosphere was extremely heated, as Shanks' arrival after what Coby said was a massive shock.

The readers were incredibly stunned…

Shanks arriving at that exact moment was extremely thrilling, this was Shanks we're talking about!

One of the Four Emperors and the person who was the reason Luffy went to sea in the first place!

…

Holding the manga book in his hand, young Shanks' eyelashes trembled as he saw the scene where he intervened to save Coby.

"This is amazing…!" Shanks was astonished.

"Finally… after losing hope that you would come… finally, you are here…"

"Why is he here? Ace is dead… Old Whitebeard is also dead… For what purpose is he here? To save this Marine boy? Oh man, how disappointing…" Buggy sneered.

"I'm disappointed too… I wanted him to come much earlier, but it seems that was just a dream."

"Don't worry, boy, better late than never."

At that moment, young Shanks felt a warm hand patting his head, which was wearing the straw hat.

It was Roger who said that…

"Captain Roger…"

"You're here!?"

Shanks was surprised, but then he remembered the sad scene of Ace's death in the manga and sighed sadly.

"Is it true…? My counterpart let Ace die in some way…"

"That has nothing to do with your counterpart… Ace died because of his recklessness and immaturity, but well, he lived a good life despite it being short." Roger smiled.

"What a wonderful intervention." Rayleigh smiled too.

"Amazing… I want to see that sword of yours embedded in Akainu's butt…"

Saying that Gaban flipped the pages madly to see what he desired.

"Wahahaha! I too wish to see such a scene." Shanks laughed.

"But unfortunately, it seems this war will end here."

…

•———•———•———•———•

"The few seconds of courage you were prepared to give your life for… Whether for good or for bad…" After blocking Akainu's fist, Shanks began to speak calmly.

"Have greatly changed the fate of the world!!"

…

"Hurry!"

"Take him inside!!!" After regaining his focus, Kizaru found he could still target Luffy, who they had not yet managed to escape.

As he prepared to act, he felt a terrifying Haki locking onto him.

"Hold it right there, Kizaru!!" Beckman pointed his gun at Kizaru, saying that.

"Oohhh, whoa there, Ben Beckman!!" Kizaru raised his hands obediently.

…

"Ehh!!?"

"That's…!! That ship…!!"

"Why is it here!!?"

"One of the Four Emperors is here!!!"

"It's Red-Haired Shanks!!!" Marine soldiers retreated in fear.

Shanks picked up the familiar straw hat and held it from the ground.

"I came to end the War!!!"

•———•———•———•———•

Just a few words made the readers' skin crawl all over the world.

This scene caused numerous reactions across the global forum and in reality; for him to say he came to end the war means he is stronger than everyone present!

...

"Is he really?"

On Sphinx Island, Whitebeard wondered quietly.

"Well, I don't know…" Rob replied with a smile.

"You don't know? Gurararara! What a joke, if the author of One Piece doesn't know, then who will?"

Whitebeard laughed at Rob's joke.

Whitebeard's sons focused on this conversation; they all wanted to know if Shanks was truly that strong, stronger even than their father, or just a fool.

"You see… he's not a fool, even if he's not that strong and confident in defeating everyone, who would want to fight another Yonko after just finishing off an extremely powerful one?"

"You have a point," said Whitebeard.

"Well, what an entrance… I really feel envious, the young are truly the strongest and the most magnificent," he added.

"Hahaha! Don't say that, everyone knows how magnificent Whitebeard is… even as an old man."

_________________

Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

_________________

Chapter 764: Red Hair Pirates.

Chapter 765: The End of the War! (The end of the arc.)

Chapter 766: A Glimpse of the New Volume. Chapter 30 of Tensei Shitara Slime!

_________________

BlackStar_BH:

Join my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/BlackStar_BH to support me and unlock advanced chapters. Get ahead with up to 30 chapters in advance:

- 5 advanced chapters for $5

- 10 advanced chapters for $10

- 15 advanced chapters for $15

- 20 advanced chapters for $20

- 30 advanced chapters for $30 (New)

Don't miss out on this exclusive content and dive into the epic Marineford arc in One Piece!

(The Marineford arc has already ended on Patreon!)

(And The Post-War arc has already begun on Patreon!)

______________

New! With the addition of the shop feature to Patreon, you can now purchase chapters without needing a monthly subscription! For the curious individuals who like the idea of buying just one or two chapters, you can now control the number of advanced chapters you want to read. I have ensured to set the lowest permissible price on the platform for the advanced chapters! Enjoy!

_______________