Shanks forced a long, steady breath through his nose.
His heartbeat was fast, too fast — but he pushed it down, locked it away. Panic wouldn't save anyone. Only clarity would.
Calm down. Think. You already saw what he's going to do. There must be a way.
His fist tightened around his sword.
And just like that, a memory surfaced.
Flashback —
The deck of the Oro Jackson rocked gently beneath Shanks' feet, the sunset riding along its waves. Gaban leaned against the railing beside him, polishing his twin axes with lazy motions.
"Kid," Gaban said without looking up, "you ever wonder how Captain Roger and Garp beat Xebec?"
Shanks blinked. "Of course I have. Everyone knows Xebec's strength was monsterous."
Gaban chuckled. "Then you have to know the truth is worse."
He paused, voice lowering.
"Xebec wasn't Xebec at that somehow he became a monster much stronger than he already was. He was only beaten because Captain and Garp poured every last fiber of their Haki into one strike. Everything. Every drop. Enough to negate Xebec's attacks… and even his monstrous defense."
Shanks swallowed. "Isn't that dangerous? Using everything at once?"
"Dangerous?" Gaban laughed bitterly. "It's suicide if you're not strong enough. Even for them… The cost was real."
He cleaned the last streak on his axe, looking out toward the horizon.
"That kind of strike… you don't use it unless the world leaves you no choice."
The Flashback Fades
Shanks opened his eyes.
The battlefield returned — the wind, the blood, the stink of burnt rock.
Onoki began floating upward, just as Shanks had already seen in his glimpse of the future.
"Minato. Jiraiya," Shanks said firmly. "Fall back."
Both froze.
"What? No!" Minato snapped. "We're fighting him together!"
Jiraiya stepped forward, frowning. "Shanks, I know you're strong, but this is still a Kage we're talking about. You're not—"
"RETREAT."
The tone was cold. Final. Without room for argument.
Minato grit his teeth. "But—"
"Minato," Shanks said quietly, without looking back, "you're too young to die here. And Jiraiya… you're needed for the rest of the war."
Jiraiya's jaw clenched.
Shanks added, softer: "Please."
A beat of silence.
Then Jiraiya grabbed Minato by the shoulder and dragged him back.
"Come on, brat. Don't make his decision pointless."
Minato glared at Shanks' back, but in the end, he followed.
Onoki rose higher and higher, preparing the same motion Shanks had seen wipe out the entire frontline.
Meanwhile — Deep in the Forest
Sakumo sprinted between the trees, cutting through branches like they were paper. His cloak fluttered violently in the rushing wind of his passage.
"Damn it…" he muttered. "Why did it have to be him?"
The order had been clear:
"Assist the Iwa front immediately. Shanks is in danger."
Sakumo didn't even wait for his reinforcements. He simply vanished, moving at his top speed.
Hold on, Shanks…
Back to the Battlefield
Onoki hovered above in the sky, his palms spreading apart.
Shanks stared up at him.
"Fine," he murmured. "You want to die so badly… then so be it."
But inside—
I pray my body can handle this… otherwise I'm dead.
Onoki raised a brow, amused.
"Come then, child of Konoha."
Shanks gripped his sword.
Then — the air cracked.
A monstrous wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him, far more than anything he had released in this world before.
People screamed.
Shinobi from both sides collapsed instantly — eyes rolling back, chakra flickering out like candles swallowed by a storm. Entire battalions shuddered and fell to their knees.
Even Jiraiya, far behind now, gasped. "What the—this pressure…!?"
Minato felt his legs trembling. "S-Shanks… this is—"
The wind howled. The clouds above split apart violently, sunlight bursting through like a divine spotlight shining directly upon him.
Onoki's eyes narrowed.
This brat… he's dangerous. Truly dangerous.
The Tsuchikage thrust both palms forward.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique — Octagonal Prism Variant!"
A massive geometric construct appeared, identical to the one Shanks saw in his future vision — the one that had killed everyone.
Onoki smirked.
"Die, Konoha's shinobi."
But then—
The world went silent.
Even the wind stopped.
A single step sounded.
Shanks was gone from the ground.
In the next instant, he appeared in mid-air, directly before Onoki.
His sword was pulled back.
Black lightning crackled around him, dancing like serpents, gathering onto the blade.
Onoki's eyes widened — just slightly.
"Impossible—"
Shanks swung.
"DIVINE DEPARTURE!"
The two attacks collided.
White annihilation met black lightning.
Stone met steel.
Chakra met Conqueror's Haki.
Sakumo was nearing the battlefield when a violent flash of light burst above the trees, shaking the forest. The shockwave hit him hard, forcing him to grit his teeth as he realized Shanks had clashed with something terrifying. He sped up instantly, heart pounding.
The collision devoured the sky.
For an instant, it looked like two suns had crashed together — only to be swallowed by a storm of violent black lightning and blinding white disintegration.
And then—
Cracks spread through the giant Dust Release construct.
They widened.
They shattered.
Onoki's technique broke apart piece by piece…
and Shanks' Haki-infused slash cut straight through the collapsing prism and carried on, unrestrained.
The blade slipped through the center of Onoki's defense and struck him full-force.
A roar tore through the air as the impact launched the Tsuchikage backward like a ragdoll.
At the same time, all strength left Shanks' body.
Gaban… you weren't lying… using everything in one strike… even Roger and Garp nearly collapsed afterwards…
Mid-air, gravity grabbed him.
He fell—not gracefully, not with style—just fell, hitting the crater formed by the clash. Dust shot upward around him as he crashed into the ground.
"Kh—!"
His vision swam. His body wouldn't respond.
Only a few threads of Haki remained in him. With what little focus he had left, he gathered all of it, forming a thin, fragile coating of Armament across his back to protect himself from the fall.
He hit hard.
Pain exploded across his spine.
But he was alive.
Barely.
Shanks managed to open one eye, breath trembling.
Did… I win?
He wanted to laugh.
Looks like… I really—
"You are really a threat that needs to be eliminated… Konoha brat."
The voice froze the blood in his veins.
Shanks blinked.
Onoki stood in front of him.
Missing an entire left arm from the shoulder.
The left side of his mouth sliced open, revealing teeth and torn flesh inside.
Blood dripped down his chin, sizzling as it hit his own chakra-infused cloak.
But the old bastard was still standing.
Still glaring.
Still alive.
"You have to die today," Onoki said quietly.
Shanks' fingers twitched. That was all he could move.
…Damn it.
Far behind, Jiraiya and Minato saw Onoki moving toward Shanks.
"SHANKS!!" Jiraiya roared, sprinting at full speed.
Minato broke into a full run, panic twisting his face. "NO—!"
And deeper in the treeline—
Sakumo arrived at the front.
His eyes widened the moment he saw Shanks on the ground and Onoki raising a kunai.
"SHANKS!!"
He blurred. A flash of pure white.
Sword already in his fist.
But this was real life.
Not a prediction.
Not future sight.
Reality didn't slow down for heroes.
And before any of them could reach him—
Onoki's kunai slid silently into Shanks' chest.
Straight into the heart.
A short breath escaped Shanks' lips. Not a scream. Not a shout.
Just—
"…ah."
His fingers relaxed.
His sword slipped from his hand.
And Shanks, Akagami no Shanks of Konoha…
died.
For real this time.