Whitebeard and Red Hair

Word that the two captains are nearing each other throws Marine Headquarters into a frenzy. As the crews draw close, Marco warns the greener Whitebeard pirates to back off because they cannot withstand it, and sure enough the weaker men drop unconscious one after another under the weight of Shanks' Haki, which Jozu notes has lost none of its edge. Shanks offers an apology for the effect, citing caution toward a rival vessel, then casually asks Marco to join him, an invitation Marco rejects with fury. Whitebeard pours out sake brought all the way from the West Blue, and the old rivals begin trading memories.

The pair reminisce about the Roger era, Whitebeard recalling a young Shanks serving as an apprentice beside the funny big-nosed Buggy, and the heated rivalry between Shanks and Mihawk. Pressed about his missing arm, Shanks says he staked it on the future, his thoughts on Luffy. The tone grows grave as he points to the scar across his eye, dealt by one of Whitebeard's own crew, Marshall D. Teach, and pleads with Whitebeard to call off Ace's hunt before the two collide. Whitebeard refuses, swearing to teach Teach about morals, and Shanks unsheathes his sword, declaring the oncoming era of upheaval unstoppable. Their blades meet and rend the heavens. Elsewhere, Ace finally overtakes the Blackbeard Pirates before they can pursue Luffy.

Having first appeared when Rockstar came calling, Marco and Jozu are now formally presented as the first and third division commanders. The scar over Shanks' eye is revealed to be Blackbeard's doing, and Whitebeard is shown wielding a bisento. Flashbacks place a young Shanks and Buggy aboard Roger's crew and cast Shanks and Mihawk as youthful rivals. Ace catches up with the Blackbeard Pirates, and the Whitebeard emblem changes, its old manji symbol replaced by a cross.