"You sure you want to do this Captain? It's going to piss off a lot of people." Benn asked as he approached Shanks at the bow of the ship.

"We can't risk it going south if we do nothing. There's too much that could go wrong." Shanks replied still staring out at the open sea. "Besides we tried things diplomatically and got told to fuck off."

"Everything is ready to go then. The Den Den confirms that the marines are on route. They should be in view in an hour. There's five warships with 5 vice admirals being led by Vice Admiral Onigumo."

Shanks smirked. "Five Vice Admiral and some low level marines… It's almost going to be too easy. That fool Sengoku has summoned all his strongest men and left everywhere else wide open for attack. Mihawk has confirmed that all of the Admirals are present, as well as almost 100 000 marines and 5 of the warlords."

Benn chuckled as he lit a cigarette. "He knows that Whitebeard is an honourable man who needs to make a public example to maintain his reputation. Though it was a mistake to forget there are 3 other yonko's who love to take advantage of others misfortune."

"Kaido is going to be a problem for Whitebeard. Hopefully his allies and crew will avoid having a war and can handle their own territory. I'd hate for that monster to get more power." Shanks sighed and finally turned to look at his best friend and right hand man. "Its not our concern either way. We're doing this for Anchor and because Ace shouldn't be a pawn in old men's games."

Shanks glanced up at the Marine flag on the mast and shook his head in disgust. "Men! We leave no survivors. Let's make this fast and get back to the Red Force. Being on this ship is a punishment on its own." His men and chosen allies gave a cheer of agreement and settled into positions, stolen coats draped over shoulders and watched for the first view of Ace's prison transport ships.

It has been easy to get on the Tarai current. They had simply needed to take out the crew and take control of a Marine Warship. They had kept an unlucky captain alive and entered through the Enies Lobby gate which thanks to Luffy was still in ruins. Shanks had felt a surge of pride and absolute panic seeing the destruction his kid had managed to do and so shortly after setting sail as a pirate. The island used to be swarming with Marines but now there were only the men required to man the gate and oversee construction. Sengoku had ordered most of his men to Marineford so the marines manning the gate assumed that they were stragglers to the war and waved them through with only quick contact for the proper code. The poor hostage on board had given up the information with minimal effort from his crew and they had traveled the current to their chosen ambush point before dropping anchor. It was the getting out of the current that would be the difficult part. It all depended on how fast the Marines realized there was a problem.

"Ships approaching Cap!" Yasopp called out and Shanks let his hand rest on Gryphon. Quick and dirty, he reminded himself. Get in, kill everyone, grab Ace and then get the hell out of here. His men were ready, they knew what they were doing and who they were doing it for.

Shanks hadn't been able to do much for Luffy throughout his childhood since he hadn't been free to return to the East Sea but they had stayed in touch. He'd loved reading the letters he'd receive a couple times a year and they had a yearly Den Den call on the kid's birthday. Anchor would go on and on about his adventures and yet somehow never told him the important details. Such as the fact that he'd gone and found himself two brothers. He'd mention their names occasionally but Shanks had always assumed they were a) random village boys b) imaginary or c) animals, especially since Sabo's name stopped showing up in his tales. It was a shock to meet the mysterious Ace when he came to thank him for saving Luffy and realize that he was a real live kid who treasured his brat and had practically raised him.

Ace's crew had stayed with them for a week, sharing tales of Luffy and drinking. They had bonded quickly, so when he heard that he was going after Teach, Shanks had gotten concerned. Whiteboard refused to listen to him which still pissed him off but he couldn't let Ace get in trouble without trying to help. Unfortunately the kid had gotten himself captured before he could chase him down and knock some sense into his brain.

Shanks and Benn had thought about what to do when the news of his execution came out. There were plans to join Whitebeard for the war, to use some of their deep contacts in Impel Down to hide Ace away or do their best to cover the abandoned territory of Whitebeard knowing that Kaido had been trying to expand his territory and would be looking to attack a weakened enemy. But those plans had all centered on helping the Whitebeards instead of focusing on the one person they needed to save. So here they were, ready to steal Ace away and piss off the marines, Whitebeard and quite probably Ace. It was going to cause a lot of grief in his life and his crews but the thought of Luffy learning that his brother died was enough to make him throw politics out. They were strong enough to handle whatever came from their choice and hopefully there would be no evidence it was them at all.

The prisoner ships were approaching and Shanks heard the Den Den ringing. Benn picked it up and brought it to their prisoner. "Remember, one word of warning and you lose your tongue." Benn hissed before pointing the Den Den at the man's face and answering.

"This is Vice Admiral Onigumo. The sun shines on us."

"And justice comes swiftly. This is Captain Shinou, F321544" Responded the captain.

"What are you doing here Captain? All troops are meant to be at Marineford and ready for the execution."

"Yes Vice Admiral. Unfortunately our crew got delayed by some pirates and the fleet admiral ordered us to wait and join your protection detail to minimize the opening of the gates so close to execution time."

"Delayed by pirates?"

"Yes sir! Some low level rookies thinking to take advantage of the upcoming war to increase their notoriety." Shinou responded, trying not to shake at the sight of Benn twirling a blade gracefully through his fingers.

"Alright Captain. Fall in behind. We don't want to run behind schedule."

The Den Den fell back asleep and Shank's smiled condescendingly at the cowering marine. "Well done Captain. A few more minutes and this will all be over with." They waited patiently as the five ships approached and sailed past their crew. Once they were too close to be able to run, Shanks flung his Haki out, knocking out a good portion of their enemy as well as all the Den Den Snails they had. Immediately his crew dropped the stolen Justice coats and multiple shots rang out as Yasopp, covered the decks from the crows nest. Lucky, Bonk Punch, Limejuice and Benn each flew out at one of the marine ships. Shanks and Hongo shot themselves onto the prisoner's ship and got to work. Shanks focused his observation Haki and almost felt disappointed as he noted how few conscious people were on board. Marines just weren't as strong as they used to be. He raced towards them, letting Gryphon dance through the air and quickly cleared the deck of threats besides a seething Vice Admiral. He actually managed to block a few of Shank's blows before his sword shattered under a particularly devastating swing. Seconds later there was only one weak presence left. Shanks turned to where Hongo was crouched by a chained down Ace.

"Shanks?" Came a startled whisper from the boy chained in front of them. Shanks felt a little guilty as he stared at the shaky, dazed kid fighting not to collapse from his haki attack but impressed that he had managed to stay conscious.

"Emaciated, and signs of severe Sea Stone poisoning. We shouldn't remove the cuffs until we are in a safe location as his powers will likely be uncontrollable at first. There is also severe bruising and trauma that will need to be dealt with soon but he is clear to transport Captain." Came a brisk summary as Hongo expertly checked Ace's vitals, undoing one wrist cuff and sliding a cloth between the other and the bloody raw skin of his wrist.

Shanks nodded at his doctor and watched as the man scooped up his patient and made for their stolen ship. As soon as they were out of the way, he turned and systematically went through the entire ship, ensuring that none of the men would ever wake up again. He despised himself for killing the men while they were unconscious and unable to fight back, but he couldn't risk them alerting headquarters before they were out of the Tarai current and back on the Grand Line.

Finally he met up with Benn on deck and they nodded solemnly. The crews had all been dealt with and it was time for them to get the hell out of there. "Make for Enies Lobby and alert Rockstar that we are on route." Shanks ordered his first mate as he strode towards their temporary infirmary. He could hear the sounds of a struggle and muttered curses as he approached and he hurriedly flung open the door. That's Enough!" He ordered as his Haki flared warningly. He looked at his frustrated doctor who was half sitting on the struggling and more aware form of Ace. "Settle down kid. We are getting you away from here and heading back to our territory. We will make sure that you are safe and contact your crew as soon as we are safely out of Marine waters."

Instead of relaxing, Ace's struggle became harder. "No! You've got to turn around. Please! Luffy is in trouble."

Shanks froze and stared at Ace in horror. "What do you mean Anchor is in trouble? Last I heard he was laying low in Sabaody."

Ace looked up at him with anguish clear in his face. "That goddamn idiot tried to save me. He's in danger. Luffy is in Impel Down and I don't know what's happened to him."