The man who was slowly approaching from the harbor was none other than Red Hair Shanks.
Each heavy step he took seemed to land directly on the hearts of everyone present, the sound echoing in a battlefield that had suddenly fallen silent.
As he advanced, the invisible pressure of his Conqueror's Haki grew increasingly intense, spreading outward like surging tidal waves, washing over the chaos and extinguishing it.
The first to bear the brunt of this overwhelming force were the nine colossal dragons locked in a desperate midair combat with Admiral Aokiji.
The once-ferocious creatures, which had been relentlessly hounding the Admiral, visibly slowed down.
Their roars died in their throats, their movements becoming sluggish and heavy.
They seemed bound by an invisible, crushing force, unable to continue their fierce assault.
Some clutched their massive heads in agony, as if their very skulls were threatening to split apart.
Ultimately, under such immense spiritual suppression, none of the commanders could maintain their transformed states.
One by one, their dragon forms dissolved in flashes of light, and they stumbled to the ground as humans once more, gasping for breath.
Realizing the peril they had been in, they swiftly retreated, regrouping near Ron and the others.
Their eyes, however, remained fixed on the approaching Emperor, ready to react to any potential threat.
"Damn it… Why is Red Hair here?!"
"That Haki… it's on a whole other level. My head feels like it's going to split open!"
"So this is the power of another Emperor… to think he could stop us all just by walking…"
The Supernovas were impacted just as heavily.
The moment Shanks unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, their individual battles ground to a halt.
These arrogant, ambitious young pirates, who had been fiercely fighting moments ago, froze as if struck by an unseen hammer.
Though none of them would ever admit it, the vast terrifying gap in power left them no choice but to stand down.
Among them, Eustass Kid glared at Shanks, his eyes burning with a mixture of fury and begrudging respect.
"Hmph! What's so great about him?" he snarled through gritted teeth.
"One day… I'll be the one to kill him myself!"
"Kid!" Killer hissed from beside him, quickly clamping a hand over his captain's mouth.
Now was not the time for such reckless, suicidal talk.
Not only the pirates, but even the Navy Vice Admirals halted their attacks.
Under the overwhelming pressure, even these hardened veterans of the sea felt an unprecedented strain, their bodies screaming in protest.
Meanwhile, the fierce aerial battle between the three legends—Whitebeard, Sengoku, and Garp—also came to a temporary pause.
Shanks' sudden appearance had fundamentally shifted the dynamics of the entire war.
With a cold snort, Whitebeard slowly descended, landing amongst his sons with a heavy thud that cracked the stone beneath his feet.
He stood there like an immovable mountain.
Then, his eyes burned with their own defiant fire as he unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki, a force of nature in its own right, to meet Shanks' haki head-on.
The two titans' energies clashed in the center of the plaza.
The very air began to crackle and shimmer, as if the sky itself were about to split open.
A dome of pure, unimaginable pressure formed between them, and those caught on its edge—Enel, Izo, Ace, and the others—finally felt the crushing weight lift from their shoulders as their captain shielded them.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp also withdrew, their faces grim.
They remained on high alert, closely watching every move of the two Emperors.
The air was thick with a tension so heavy it felt like it could explode at any moment.
At the same time, the sound of heavy hulls thudding against the docks announced a new arrival.
Navy warships had finally docked.
Admiral candidates Gion and Tokikake, leading three thousand elite Marine reinforcements, rushed forward, their faces a mixture of shock and horror at the devastation before them.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Tokikake shouted, his head slightly bowed not daring to meet his superior's eyes.
He knew they had arrived unforgivably late.
"Hm." Sengoku gave a slight nod, his gaze never leaving Shanks.
Meanwhile, Gion had already hurried to Tsuru's side, checking on the older woman's condition.
Her sharp eyes flickered toward the Whitebeard Pirates—specifically, toward Ron—filled with a tense wariness and deep curiosity.
Just then, the rear of the Navy base suddenly lit up.
The raiding party that had looted the headquarters had returned.
Jozu, moving like a shimmering diamond comet, streaked across the sky and landed steadily among his allies with a triumphant grin on his face.
He and the others gave a nod to Ron, their expressions clearly indicating they had made substantial gains.
Close behind was Kizaru, exhaustion evident in his eyes.
He managed a curt nod toward Sengoku before taking his place behind the Fleet Admiral, his face noticeably paler.
Sengoku sighed inwardly.
The losses to their supplies were likely severe, but Kizaru had clearly given his all.
Now, with Shanks' arrival, the entire battlefield had fallen into a temporary halt.
The stance of an Emperor carried a weight that could stop the world.
Shanks stood firm in the center of it all, his expression solemn as he scanned the surroundings, taking in every face.
Whitebeard, Sengoku, Garp, the Admirals, the Supernovas, and the recently rising star who had captured the world's attention—Ron, the Vice Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
He took a deep breath, and his voice boomed across the silent plaza, clear and absolute.
"Everyone! Listen to me! Continuing this fight will only lead to more pointless casualties! It will result in a destruction from which neither side can recover!"
He drew his sword and held it before him, not as a threat, but as a barrier.
"Give me some face… and end this war!"
As his voice faded, a wave of murmurs erupted through the crowd.
They hadn't expected this.
The infamous Red-Haired Shanks was here to play the role of peacemaker.
Sengoku lowered his gaze, his mind was a raging storm.
'Our reinforcements have just arrived,' a furious part of him screamed.
'We finally have the numbers. Now we are the ones at a disadvantage?'
On the surface, it seemed the Marines could finally press their advantage, that their counterattack could truly begin.
But now…
He glanced around.
He saw the wounded soldiers supporting each other, their white uniforms tattered and stained with soot and blood.
He saw medics scrambling, overwhelmed by the sheer number of casualties.
He saw faces scorched black, limbs missing, bodies broken.
These were his men.
And what he saw here was only a fraction of the total cost.
He fell silent.
If the fighting continued, how many more would fall?
How many more lives would be extinguished for the sake of pride? If that was the case…
Then it was time to stop.
With a solemn expression that aged him ten years, Sengoku took a deep breath.
He raised his hand, and his voice, filled with a weary finality, echoed across the battlefield, a command that would end an era.
"This battle… no longer needs to be fought."
"As Fleet Admiral of the Marines… I declare this war is over! Cease all hostilities!"