Very strong.
These three words made Red Hair pause slightly, and he couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Beckman.
Such unabashed praise was something rarely heard from his deputy captain.
"I'm not the type who likes to make exaggerated statements."
Beckman flicked the ash from his cigarette and said in a deep voice, "But the fact is just that."
"Among them, the most noteworthy is undoubtedly that female Sword Master named Kuina. She probably has reached the level of Flower Sword Vista... maybe even surpassed it, but we'd need a match to know for sure."
"There's also Jack the Wild Elephant, the Ancient Mammoth Fruit Ability User, quite formidable. Even for me, capturing him would require a lot of effort."
"The remaining crew members, the boatman, the chef, the archaeologist, and those two pets, all have commendable combat power."
"Even the youngest orange-haired girl is a Logia-type Ability User, with a bounty of 160 million Belly. Since the Navy gave her the title of 'Pet-Eating Demon,' I reckon she's not as simple as she seems on the surface."
Beckman offered Shanks another cigarette.
"So, even the least conspicuous crew member has a bounty over a hundred million?"
Shanks waved his hand in refusal, seemingly deep in thought. "They're taking the balanced iron wall approach, a bit like us after all."
In terms of team strength, there's still quite a gap, considering they're a genuine Royal Team.
But... thinking about it carefully.
Most of their crew members are excessively young, and they've only been at sea for just over seven months... yet they have all grown so much stronger from top to bottom, progressing at an astounding speed.
If this continues, who knows what the future might hold....
"Since that kid said they're not with us, we still have to stay vigilant."
Beckman took out a Life Card from his pocket and swayed it under the moonlight, smiling, "I swiped it from that big guy Jack while drinking with him."
Shanks looked at that piece of paper fluttering northwest against the wind.
Northwest was the direction where Shano and the others had left.
After concluding their meeting with him, they didn't want to stay on this island any longer and left with their crew late at night, continuing to sail deep into the New World.
He immediately realized.
This Life Card, it's unclear whose it is exactly, but it must belong to an important officer of the Shano Pirates.
Held so carefully close to them, it's very likely it belongs to Shano himself.
"Is it really necessary?"
Shanks frowned slightly, "Beckman, this doesn't seem like something you would do."
"If it were the other Sea Emperors, I wouldn't bother like this, but this group is too special. To maintain the balance of this ocean, we have no choice."
Beckman shrugged, "Looking at it negatively, it's insurance; on the positive side... deep down, you don't really want anything bad to happen to this group, do you? This way, if they act rashly in the future and encounter danger, we can rush to their aid."
"..."
Shanks was silent, in the end, he didn't argue back.
His deputy captain understood him too well....
...
Meanwhile.
On the Endgame, having left Black Stone City and sailing to the next destination.
Soaked in rain, Shano took a hot bath, relaxed in the sauna for a while, and then came out.
He draped a towel over his shoulder and was about to return to his room when he saw Jack, in the locker room, sweating profusely, searching for something everywhere.
"What are you looking for, Jack?" Shano asked with a smile, opening his own locker and changing into his pajamas.
"It's you, boss!"
Jack turned around abruptly, relaxed a bit after seeing Shano, but then urgently scratched his head:
"I-I've lost a Life Card! It was fine when I got off the ship today!"
"Lost a Life Card? Whose Life Card?" Shano asked with a frown.
Back in the Water Capital, because he went to Judicial Island with Kaido, he delayed making the Life Cards, but all the other crew members finished theirs and distributed them.
"Not our cards. Everyone's Life Cards, I was afraid of losing them accidentally, so I left them in my nightstand and didn't take them off the ship!"
Jack said with a frustrated expression, "The card I lost was sold to me by a Fishman brother at a street vendor on Fishman Island. He said he thought I was strong and happened to have a fragment of the Life Card of the current strongest member of the Fishman Race. If I had the ambition to challenge him, this Life Card would help me find him..."
"The current strongest of the Fishman Race?"
Shano raised an eyebrow, wasn't that Jinbe?
"A street vendor selling Jinbe's Life Card everywhere?"
Shano looked at him speechlessly, "Such a low-level scam, it's blatantly fake... and you believed it? How much did you spend?"
"Huh? It's fake!" Jack was dumbfounded.
"Of course."
"Wow, that damn Fishman! I saw he had white hair and raised three daughters, his life didn't seem easy, so I felt sorry for him and bought all the food on his stall, and he dared cheat me!"
Jack gritted his teeth and stomped his feet angrily, "Counting the Life Card, I spent a total of 100,000 Belly at his stall!"
Damn, that was his entire monthly allowance!