Jozu roared, diamonds shattering the claws of a zombie bear, but he couldn't reach Haruta in time. Gyro, eyes blazing with that sickening green, was a hair's breadth from sinking his teeth into the smaller pirate.
Suddenly, a blur of motion. A scabbard, moving with impossible speed, slammed into Gyro's temple. Not hard enough to kill, but with enough precise force to send the fish-man sprawling, momentarily dazed.
Standing over Gyro, rifle butt still slightly extended from the swift strike, was Benn Beckman. Behind him, emerging from the gloom with an almost casual air, was the rest of the Red Hair Pirates' core crew. Shanks, straw hat casting a shadow over his eyes, surveyed the chaotic scene with a calm that was almost unnerving. Lucky Roux was already munching on a piece of jerky, while Yasopp had his rifle aimed, not at the zombies, but warily at the surrounding treeline.
"Arara, looks like you boys stumbled into a bit of a party, yoi," Marco said, relief and surprise warring on his face as he incinerated a trio of advancing zombies. He recognized the Red-Haired Yonko instantly. "Shanks! What are you doing here?"
"Just a little sightseeing, Marco," Shanks replied, his voice even. "Though the local hospitality seems a bit… aggressive." He nodded towards the still-twitching Gyro. "One of yours?"
"Unfortunately," Jozu grunted, finally batting away the last zombie bear. "This island… it does something to people."
"He was bitten earlier," Thatch supplied, clutching her own bleeding arm, though her eyes remained clear. "It's like a plague."
Beckman nudged Gyro with his boot. The fish-man groaned, the green in his eyes flickering but still present. "He's still under whatever influence this is. We'll need to restrain him."
With practiced efficiency, a few Red Hair pirates, including a hulking man with braided red hair named Howling Gab, quickly and expertly tied Gyro with sea-stone laced ropes they seemingly produced from nowhere. The fish-man thrashed, snarling, but the ropes held.
"Thanks," Marco said, nodding to Beckman. "We were… preoccupied."
Shanks stepped closer, his gaze sweeping over the Whitebeard pirates. "Pops isn't with you?"
Marco shook his head, a shadow crossing his features. "He's… taking care of unwell brother. This fruit you're all apparently after, it's our best hope for him."
"Rocks' fruit," Shanks mused. "A dangerous power. But if it can help Whitebeard…" He paused, then met Marco's gaze. "I hear Big Mom's crew is on their way too. Rumor has it she's looking to form an alliance with Whitebeard over this."
Marco grimaced. "That's the talk, yoi. Pops is considering it, for the sake of his health, to secure his family's future. But none of us like the idea of being beholden to that old hag."
Shanks smiled faintly. "Understandable. Tell you what, Marco. My crew and I will help you secure this fruit. We'll deliver it to Whitebeard. All I ask is that he remembers who brought him his cure. A favor for a favor. Perhaps that'll be enough to make him reconsider bowing to Linlin."
Marco's eyes widened slightly. It was a bold move, but a lifeline. An alliance with Shanks, even a temporary one focused on this single goal, was infinitely preferable to one with Big Mom. "You'd do that? Why?"
"Let's just say I prefer a certain… balance in the world," Shanks said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "And an Emperor indebted to me is more interesting than two Emperors ganging up. Besides," he gestured to the surrounding forest, "this place is clearly more than just a treasure hunt. There's something deeply wrong here."
Before Marco could reply, a fresh wave of howls and groans erupted from deeper within the forest. More zombies, dozens of them, human and animalistic, burst from the undergrowth, their green eyes burning with renewed fervor.
"Looks like the welcoming committee's second shift has arrived!" Lucky Roux quipped, drawing a massive flintlock.
"Temporary alliance it is, then, yoi!" Marco declared, blue flames igniting around him. "Let's clear these things out!"
The combined might of two Yonko crews, even just their core members, was formidable. Swords flashed, flames roared, diamonds crunched. But the sheer number of zombies was relentless.
Then, Shanks stepped forward. He took a deep breath, his expression becoming incredibly serious, his one good eye seeming to pierce through the veil of the world.
An almost visible pressure emanated from him, washing over the clearing like an invisible tidal wave.
**"Enough."**
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight, a terrifying authority.
The effect was instantaneous.
The charging zombies froze mid-stride. Their guttural groans died in their throats. The pale green light in their eyes flickered and then, one by one, extinguished like snuffed candles. They collapsed to the ground, not as shattered corpses, but as limp, lifeless husks, finally at peace.
More astonishingly, Gyro, still struggling in his bonds, let out a shuddering gasp. The green in his eyes vanished, replaced by his normal, confused fish-man gaze. "Huh? Wha… Marco-san? What happened?"
The frenzied Marines further inland, who had been tearing each other apart, suddenly stopped, looking around in dazed confusion, the murderous green light fading from their eyes.
Marco stared, dumbfounded. "Conqueror's Haki… but I've never seen it do that before, yoi."
Beckman nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "It didn't just knock them out. It seems to have… dispelled whatever was controlling them, or driving them mad." He looked at Shanks. "Captain?"
Shanks let out a slow breath, the intense pressure receding. "This isn't just reanimated corpses. There's a will behind this. A Devil Fruit power, and a potent one, capable of widespread mental suggestion or control, amplified by the island's miasma, perhaps." He gestured to the now-docile Gyro. "My Haki overwhelmed its influence, at least temporarily."
---
Deep within the gnarled heart of Ikki Island, in a cavern dripping with phosphorescent moss and lined with human skulls, an ancient figure stirred. She was hunched, draped in rags that seemed woven from shadows and cobwebs, her skin like old parchment stretched over bone. Her eyes, previously glowing with that same pale green, snapped open, now burning with a furious, milky white.
A shriek, like nails on a chalkboard amplified a thousand times, tore from her throat, shaking the very stones of her lair.
"WHO DARES?!" she rasped, her voice a chorus of whispers and cracking bones. "Who dares to sever my strings?! My puppets… my beautiful, rotting puppets… SILENCED!"
Her gnarled hands, tipped with claws like obsidian, clenched. The air around her crackled with unseen energy. She could feel the sudden, sharp cessation of her control, the dominant will that had washed over her island like a cleansing fire.
"A Conqueror…" she hissed, her milky eyes narrowing. "A strong one. They seek my prize… They seek to disturb the slumber of the Rot King's gift… They will all pay! This island will consume them!"
---
On the Moby Dick, Whitebeard, even in his weakened state, sat bolt upright. He had felt it – that unmistakable, potent Haki. "Gurarara… Shanks. That brat is here." A complex emotion flickered in his eyes – annoyance, respect, and a grim understanding.
Aboard the Marine flagship, Kuzan, who had just managed to freeze a particularly violent, formerly-Marine captain, also felt the wave of Haki. "Arara… Red-Hair. Now things are getting really complicated." The sudden lucidity of his men was a relief, but the presence of another Emperor was a massive headache.
And on the Thriller Coffin, Doflamingo threw back his head and laughed, a wild, joyous sound. "Fufufufu! Oh, this is magnificent! Red-Hair Shanks himself has joined the fray! The stage is set, the actors are all here! This treasure hunt just became a full-blown opera of chaos! I can barely contain my excitement!"
Moria scowled. "Another blasted Haki user! This is getting crowded!"
Crocodile merely took a long drag of his cigar, his eyes narrowed towards the forest. "Shanks… This changes things. Significantly."
The island of Ikki, already a cauldron of death and ambition, had just received its most potent catalyst.