Summary:
Law and his crew take Jinbe and Luffy into their submarine. As they are both laid on the operating table, Buggy yells at Shanks for lying about the treasure map. When Buggy cools down and his followers praise him, Shanks threatens Blackbeard. With the two crews facing each other, Teach’s party decides to leave. Shanks then states that Ace and Whitebeard’s dead bodies should be properly buried by the pirates. Sengoku agrees and the war ends with the Marines announcing their victory to the world.
Shanks stands firm in front of Akainu while Garp acknowledges that his grandson was corrupted to become a pirate. Almost all the pirates and marines are surprised, while an amused Teach notices. The Red-Haired Pirates have arrived. As Law’s submarine sails away, his crew members race to save Luffy and Jinbe, who are rapidly losing blood. As they prepare for the transfusion, Bepo reminds his captain that they must go underwater soon. The Marines learn that Shanks’s crew had an encounter with one of the other four Emperors, Kaido, yesterday. Buggy freaks out when he sees Shanks because he is surprised to see him, but the clown pirate doesn’t want to be in Shanks’ presence. Shanks tosses his straw hat to Buggy for the clown to lend to Luffy. The pirate clown shouts that he doesn’t want any more favors from the red-haired pirate. Shanks also says he has a treasure map that might be useful for Buggy. When Shanks moves to give the map to another, Buggy quickly decides to comply with his former crewmate’s request and get the Straw Hat to Luffy. Lucky Roux wonders if Shanks will let Luffy go without saying hello.
As their time flies, Shanks remembers his first meeting with Luffy and how he sacrificed his arm to save him from the Sea King. He begins to wonder what Luffy would say in their moment. Bepo calls Law for attention because they don’t want the marines to hit their submarine hard or the captain to drown. Buggy then races the straw hat and throws it into Law’s hand. The pirate surgeon and Bepo head inside the submarine and it begins to sink. With both of them running to Luffy’s side, Shanks knows that his reunion with Luffy will have to wait. He also remembers when he gave his straw hat to Luffy and expects him to come back in good condition and meet where Luffy will become a great pirate. Once the submarine goes under, Shanks says he can’t see Luffy yet. Law begins his operation with Akainu going through both Jinbo and Luffy, but is more worried about the emotional scars Luffy has suffered.
Meanwhile, Akainu curses Shanks for allowing Luffy to escape, while his comrades are determined to finish Luffy off with Aokiji, who detonates the Ice Age and threatens to freeze the water. As Luffy’s pulse stabilizes, the submarine is hit, but Jean Bart makes the submarine go full speed to jump. Just as the ice is inches away from delivering the fatal blow to the submarine, he dodges. Bepo breathes a sigh of relief. However, Kizaru fires a shower of the Yasakani Sacred Gem, shaking the submarine violently. Hancock tries to protest. When they stop, the light admiral says that if Law’s group survived, luck might not be on the Marines’ side. Hancock hijacks a naval ship and tells the crew that he will capture Luffy on her authority as a warlord. Shanks stares at the horizon as Luffy leaves the area.
Buggy lunges at Shanks because the treasure map was just a trick. The red haired pirate captain says he was just hanging out with his old friend and is glad to see him again. The Clown Pirate reacts angrily to this, reminding Shanks that if he hadn’t noticed him with the Bara Bara no Mi or the map, he wouldn’t have lost it. Buggy exclaims that Shanks is a prodigy when it comes to making him angry. He also declares war on Shanks as his stunned followers internally vow to serve him forever. Shanks leaves Buggy to take care of his war affairs as Buggy objects, but soon realizes that he could ride with Shanks’ crew and leave Marineford safely.
Shanks walks past Marco and informs him that there is no need to fight anymore and he must resign. Mihawk walks past the marines as they protest, firmly telling them while he agreed to fight Whitebeard’s crew, Shanks was the next thing to tell the marines to quit and he left the area. Shanks warns everyone present at Marineford that their fight is becoming pointless. Every blow lands on one side, it returns to their own as well. He draws his sword as he tells them that if anyone wants another fight, the red haired pirate dares the pirates and marines to fight him. The Marines are in shock while Teach’s crew stands by. Shanks confronts Teach and asks if he wants to escalate things. Amused, Teach compliments Shanks on the scars he left on Shanks’ eye. Just as the two crews prepare to duel, Teach laughs and tells his crew to resign. He states that he already had what he wanted and does not wish to fight Shanks again, at least not yet. The Blackbeard Pirates retreat and leave the area.
Sengoku shifts back to his human form and Shanks sheathes his sword. With Ace and Whitebeard dead, Shanks tells everyone to accept their losses, honor the fallen, and leave with their dignity intact. Whitebeard’s crew mourns the loss of their captain and the marines tend to their fallen. In Sabaody, Reuder notes that the war seems to be ending.
Shanks requests that Ace and Whitebeard be given a proper burial and does not want their corpses passed around as trophies. When the Marines are finally victorious, they want to shoot down their dead enemies as proof of their triumph. However, Sengoku agrees and allows Shanks to give Ace and Whitebeard a proper burial, for which the pirate thanks. Sengoku then orders the wounded to be taken care of and announces that the war is finally over. As the wounded pile up, Garp orders the soldiers not to lose any more good men while he sheds tears over his loss.
Shanks then looks sadly at the bodies of Ace and Whitebeard.