Outside the Birdcage, Morgans, the King of News, was trembling in a corner, camera phone bug in hand. "Marine aren't ashamed to let three men bully four women?" he muttered, then saw the new woman in the red suit. "Another one?!" His heart raced. A pirate group of all women, led by Rodin, was incredible.
"I'll handle her," Akainu said, stepping forward.
"Yo yo yo, Sakazuki, you're injured. You should leave this to me," Kizaru said, stopping him. Aokiji, indifferent, simply watched.
Just as the three Admirals were about to clash with Rodin's crew, a deep voice rang out, laced with Haki. "Give me some face this time, stop!"
Everyone froze. "Impossible, how could he be here?!"
Outside the Birdcage, a red-haired man in a black cloak with three scars on his left eye stood—one of the Four Emperors, Shanks. Beside him was a terrified Morgans, still disguised as an ice block, holding his camera.
Shanks stood still, staring intently into the cage. The air grew still, but the scene was anything but majestic. The three Admirals were rattled. Kizaru, scratching his head and his wound, asked, "The Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks? You're not in the New World, what are you doing here?"
On the flying boat at Dock 1, Rodin learned that the "Ark Maxim is upgraded" and would be ready tomorrow. He then tried to use repair fluid on Crocodile, but the system informed him that it couldn't fix petrified bodies. He needed to find Hancock to remove her ability, but Crocodile's petrified body was fragile and her life force was fading.
"System, what can I do?" Rodin asked.
The system gave him two options:
Soul Storage: Store Crocodile's soul for up to three days at a cost of a Devil Fruit and an extended lottery draw cooldown.
Soul Transfer: Transfer her soul into another unconscious host of a similar age.
Rodin's eyes lit up. "Tashigi, what's your age?"
"Twenty-one," Tashigi said, confused.
Rodin nodded and, using the repair fluid, revived a recently deceased body, Tashigi's, from his storage ring. The wounds healed, and the body began to breathe again, looking as if she were simply asleep.
Tashigi was astonished. "Mr. Rodin, what are you doing?" she asked.
Rodin smiled and chose the second option. "Don't blink," he said.
The next moment, the unconscious body of Tashigi stirred, her eyes opening with a look of confusion. "Am I not dead? Why is my voice so soft?" It was Crocodile, in a new body. She quickly adapted, her vision clearing once Rodin put a pair of glasses on her.
Crocodile, now in Tashigi's body, pulled herself close to Rodin. "Heh. For a while, you're taller than me. It's really uncomfortable," she said in Tashigi's voice.
"Ms. Crocodile, please... don't do weird things to Mr. Rodin," Tashigi pleaded, her own soul still present on the boat.
"Heh. Do you think I want to use your weak body?" Crocodile teased, wrapping her arm around Rodin's waist.
"Okay, don't bully Tashigi," Rodin said, pushing her away. He had sensed a dangerous new aura and couldn't waste any more time. "Let's put an end to this!"
He turned into an electric arc and vanished.
A breeze swept through, and female Sakazuki's "Justice" cloak fluttered. She looked at Shanks, her eyes filled with a murderous intent. "Yonko? In that case, let's deal with you first, and then kill the other Yonko's one by one!"
Her words were heard by everyone. Aokiji, who had been silent, couldn't take it anymore. "A-la-la, little girl, don't joke too much," he said, and ice erupted from his feet.
The ice melted ten meters from female Sakazuki, who, unimpressed, let a red, dog-shaped magma swirl in her palm. "Hell Sacred Lotus!" she said.
Outside the Birdcage, Shanks watched silently. Morgans, peeking out again, wondered if the Yonko had lost his dignity.
"Ice Cube Storm Pheasant's Mouth!" Aokiji yelled, throwing an ice bird. It flew toward female Sakazuki, who met it with a "Hell Sacred Lotus" in her hand. The Birdcage was filled with a dazzling blue and red light. The ice bird shattered, and a terrifying black dog dripping with red saliva emerged from the lotus, rushing toward Aokiji.
Aokiji quickly raised a ball of ice to block, but the black dog simply swallowed it and continued its assault. "Ice Shield!" Aokiji yelled, forming a shield of frost in front of him. "Boom!" A crash, then billowing mist. Aokiji flew backward, his body turning to ice just as it hit the Birdcage's threads. He managed to reform on the ground, but his cheek was half-sliced, and he was spitting blood. His arm was scorched black.
"She repelled an Admiral?!" Morgans trembled, his mind racing. This was a crew of immense power, capable of challenging Marine's top combatants. He was witnessing a new, terrifying force in the sea.
Akainu's eyes darkened. He could feel that this woman's Lava-Lava Fruit was just as powerful as his. The sound of magma rolling rose from his body.
"Are you going to keep going?" Shanks's voice broke the tension. "Water 7 can't bear your strength anymore." The island was visibly cracking, and the top of the flowing water building was in ruins.
A fat man with a chicken leg walked up to Shanks. "Haha, boss, it seems no one cares about you!" The rest of the Red-Haired Pirates' crew surrounded them.
Female Sakazuki floated down. "Aren't you in shape?" she said, eyeing the battered Admirals. Her crew, Mihoko, Baki, and Dove, gathered behind her.
"Red-Hair... do you want to join the war?" Aokiji asked, wiping blood from his mouth.
"Of course not," Shanks replied. "We're just here to find a part for our ship." His eyes fell on Mihoko, who looked exactly like Hawkeye. "This Rodin group is really extraordinary."
Suddenly, a group of Marines appeared, surrounding the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Do you want to leave?" Kizaru asked Akainu. "Getting out of the Birdcage is not easy."
"Kill that woman who looks like Doflamingo first!" Akainu decided. Killing her would make the Birdcage disappear.
Just as Kizaru was about to move, a massive blue thunderbolt crashed down, leaving a charred pit. "He's here," Shanks said, and a figure emerged from the smoke.
Rodin, now transparent, smiled at his crew. "You've been waiting for a long time." He was greeted with warm embraces and concern from the girls. Even Sakazuki, who is usually disgusted by flirtatious behavior, was taken aback by their devotion.
"This battle is pointless," Rodin said. The Birdcage was beginning to dissipate on its own. The remaining Warlords were gone, and his primary mission was to protect his ship for the mission moreover he also killed a Warlord as a bonus. The three Admirals couldn't stop him, so there was no need to fight to the death.
Akainu, seeing the situation, turned around and left without a word. He was not stupid; he knew they couldn't stop Rodin's crew from leaving.
Aokiji, seeing that his fellow Vice Admirals were gone, also left. Kizaru gave Rodin a look before turning into light particles and disappearing.
"I'll see you next time, and I'll wipe you all out!" Akainu yelled as he left.
"Welcome anytime," Rodin replied, checking on his crew. The worst wounded was Dove, who would recover soon. He turned to Sakazuki. "You really wanted to fight, didn't you?"
"As you said, there was no need," she said. Her mission was to form her new Marine, not waste resources. But her eyes flashed with a bloody light as she looked at the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Be quiet," Rodin said, wanting to get to his rewards.
Suddenly, Baki flew toward Shanks, yelling, "Shanks?!"
Shanks paused, pulling out his famous sword, "Gryphon" He easily sliced through Buggy's body, which tore apart without bleeding. "Torn apart?" he muttered, looking up. "It's not good to sneak up on people, you beautiful, red-nosed lady."
"Don't you recognize me, you idiot?" Baki snarled, her body reassembling.
"Who are you?" Shanks asked.
Buggy pressed her hands together, and the ground split with immense cracks. "Can it be developed to this extent?" Shanks's eyes twitched. He swung his sword, stopping the cracks from expanding. "Stay still, the World Government doesn't want to see it. Then... we will meet in New World, goodbye! Baki..."