Chapter 152: The Emperor Blocks the Way!
"He said it so casually, as if taking down Yonko Kaido was as easy as going for a stroll in the park after dinner."
The muttered comment drifted away in the sea breeze, swallowed by the vast, rhythmic sound of the waves.
On the forward deck of the Pola, the sunlight was dazzling, reflecting off the azure ocean surface like a million scattered diamonds. Suzaku Yareon lay reclined on a comfortable beach chair, his posture the very definition of relaxation. He held a glass of chilled juice, the condensation sliding down his fingers, and watched the clouds drift lazily across the sky.
The atmosphere on the ship was tranquil, almost to the point of laziness. It was hard to believe that this very crew had just turned the New World upside down, shattering the balance of power that had held for decades.
Just then, the space behind Suzaku distorted slightly.
There was no sound of footsteps. No displacement of air. No warning from the wind.
A silent figure appeared behind Suzaku, manifesting from nothingness like a ghost stepping out of a shadow.
It was a man with a stern, pale face and profound green tear troughs running down his cheeks. He wore a simple, pristine white robe, his hands tucked calmly into his opposing sleeves. His gaze was indifferent, holding a nihilism so deep it felt like looking into a bottomless well.
It was the 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer.
"Report."
Ulquiorra's voice had no emotional fluctuations. It was flat, cold, and crisp, like an iceberg that had not melted for ten thousand years. It cut through the warm tropical air, bringing a sudden chill to the immediate vicinity.
"Three o'clock ahead," Ulquiorra stated, his eyes fixed on the horizon without blinking. "A pirate ship has been sighted."
Suzaku raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses at the news, but he didn't pay much attention. He didn't even bother to sit up, merely swirling the ice in his glass.
"Oh? Just a pirate ship?"
Suzaku yawned, a bit bored.
"Just sail past them. When they see our flag—the Vermillion Wing—they'll probably scare themselves away. Or they'll faint."
Since the news of their defeat of Kaido spread like wildfire through the News Coos, the reputation of the Suzaku Pirates had reached a mythological status in the New World. They were no longer just rookies; they were monsters who hunted Emperors. Ordinary pirates would usually detour a hundred nautical miles if they saw the Pola's silhouette, fearing they couldn't avoid the "God of Death" fast enough.
However, Ulquiorra did not move to relay the order. His next words made Suzaku pause.
"The other party is not evading."
Ulquiorra's tone remained calm, but the content carried a specific weight.
"They are sailing directly towards our course. Judging from their heading and the lack of deviation, it doesn't seem like a chance encounter; it's more like they are... waiting for us."
"Hmm?"
Suzaku finally sat up straight from his lounge chair, pushing his sunglasses up to his forehead. He looked at Ulquiorra, truly interested now.
Waiting for us?
In this day and age, in this terrifying sea, was there still such a stubborn pirate crew? Did they have a death wish?
Didn't they know that any random person from this ship—whether it was the maid, the navigator, or the moody man standing right here—could turn a kingdom upside down? Were his Suzaku Pirates really that lacking in deterrence?
"Finally... finally, an enemy has arrived?!"
A delicate cry, suppressing wild, manic joy, exploded like thunder nearby!
Crack...
The sound of ice forming rapidly on steel echoed across the deck.
Esdeath, who had been leaning against the ship's railing looking utterly bored just moments ago, instantly vanished from her spot. Her languid figure moved faster than the eye could track.
The next second, she had already appeared in front of Suzaku and Ulquiorra.
Her long, ice-blue hair whipped around her as if caught in a blizzard. Her eyes, usually cold and arrogant, now burst forth with a terrifying, predatory light. It was the look of a beast that had been hungry for three days and three nights, finally seeing a plump prey walking into its trap.
"Where is it? What kind of enemy is it?"
She licked her scarlet lips, her hand instinctively hovering over the hilt of her rapier. A fervent aura called "war" radiated from her body, causing the temperature on the deck to plummet instantly. Frost began to creep across the floorboards, expanding outward from her boots.
"I'm so bored I'm almost molding! This sea is too quiet! I'm going too! Take me to see!"
Esdeath's voice trembled with excitement. She looked as if she couldn't wait to rush up, board the enemy ship, and start a massacre single-handedly just to alleviate her boredom.
Seeing her look, Suzaku smiled helplessly. He stood up and brushed a few snowflakes off his shoulder.
"Alright, alright, General. Let's go take a look together."
He beckoned to the trembling-with-excitement Esdeath and the expressionless Ulquiorra.
"Let's see who has the courage to block our path."
They walked together towards the bow of the ship.
Standing on the bow of the Pola, which resembled a futuristic steel fortress, Suzaku raised his high-powered binoculars. He looked in the direction Ulquiorra had indicated, squinting against the glare of the sun.
Where the sea met the sky, a black speck was rapidly enlarging.
As it drew closer, the details became sharp. It was a ship distinctly different from the giant, grotesque pirate ships common in the New World. It had no exaggerated ramming horn shaped like a dragon, nor did it have dense, chaotic gunports sticking out like porcupine quills.
The ship's lines were smooth and elegant, built for speed and masterful sailing. Its hull was a deep, rich red, reminiscent of dried blood or fine wine. On its towering single mast, a pirate flag that could not be ignored was hoisted high, snapping violently in the wind.
As the distance closed to within visual range, the pattern on the flag became clearer.
It was a classic skull. But behind it were crossed swords.
And most importantly, there were three jagged, vertical claw marks scar across the left eye of the skull.
Suzaku was somewhat puzzled. He lowered the binoculars, rubbed his eyes, and looked at it twice more, making sure he hadn't seen it wrong due to the sun's reflection.
He put down the binoculars, and the expression on his face became strange. It was a complex mix of surprise, doubt, and a hint of playful amusement at the unfolding drama.
Esdeath didn't have binoculars, but her eyesight—honed in the white wastelands where spotting a white bear in snow was a matter of life and death—was equally astonishing.
She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the approaching vessel.
She could sense it.
A faint yet vast aura was emanating from that ship. It wasn't the chaotic, bloodthirsty aura of a beast, but something deeper. It felt like the ocean itself—calm on the surface, but hiding a crushing, abyssal pressure beneath.
Her smile became more dangerous and captivating.
"Oh? There seem to be two decent fellows on board... maybe three."
She tapped her finger against her scabbard rhythmically.
"I hope they won't disappoint me; they should be enough for this King to stretch her muscles a bit. It's been too long since I felt a challenge."
Suzaku, however, ignored her declaration of war. He merely stroked his chin, his gaze wandering, as if recalling some distant script or memory from another life.
"Red Hair... Shanks?"
He whispered the name.
"Why is this guy here?"
Suzaku's mind raced with questions.
"According to the 'script' of this world, shouldn't he be leisurely holding a banquet in some remote corner of the New World right now? He should be drinking sake, singing songs, and waiting for the arrival of that 'Child of Destiny'—Luffy—so he can give away his reputation as a beginner's gift package to the new generation."
"Why does he have time... to come looking for me?"
A glint flashed in Suzaku's eyes, and a profound, mischievous curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. A modern earth joke crossed his mind.
"Could it be... he smelled something and came to collect protection money for the 'Face-Face Fruit'?"
He chuckled at the absurdity. The man who could stop wars just by saying, "Give me face."
The Pola did not slow down.
This steel behemoth of a cruiser continued to tear through the sea ahead, its engine humming with a low, powerful vibration that spoke of superior technology. It carried an air of absolute dominion.
In front of it, the elegantly lined Red Force looked almost like a small wooden boat before a giant steel dragon.
However, that ship did not flinch!
It lay quietly anchored directly on the Pola's predetermined course. It was like a silent reef in the middle of a raging river, awaiting the impact of a raging wave without fear.
Finally, when the two ships were less than a hundred meters apart, the Pola's engine noise gradually subsided as the thrusters reversed.
The massive steel hull carved a huge arc on the sea, displacing tons of water, before coming to a steady, intimidating stop.
For a moment, the wind seemed to stand still.
The lapping of waves against the hulls of the two ships became the only sound in this part of the sea.
But the air was not empty.
An invisible yet mountain-heavy pressure permeated the space between the two decks. It was a clash of wills—the conqueror's spirit of the Red Hair Pirates against the monstrous presence of the Suzaku Pirates.
On the deck of the Red Force.
Red Hair Shanks, clad in a loose white shirt, floral pants, and a black cloak draped over his shoulders, stood at the very front. The wind blew his red hair back, revealing the three scars over his eye.
He rested his right hand casually on his famed sword, 'Gryphon,' at his waist. His left sleeve hung empty, fluttering in the breeze.
He narrowed his eyes, gazing across at the colossal war fortress.
His gaze immediately locked onto the seemingly most harmless young man at the bow.
Black hair, black eyes, a handsome face, and a faint, polite smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Is that him? Shanks thought.
The one who stirred up monstrous waves on Cake Island, turning Yonko Charlotte Linlin's Totto Land upside down... and whose subordinates even defeated one of the Yonko, 'King of the Beasts' Kaido?
"Suzaku" Yareon.
For the first time in many years, a feeling called "absurdity" arose in Shanks's heart.
Too young.
Unbelievably young.
At this age, Shanks remembered, he himself was still an apprentice on Roger's ship, cleaning decks and getting scolded by Rayleigh. He hadn't even begun to understand what it meant to carry the weight of the era.
But this man had already reached a height where he could contend with, or even surpass, those old-era overlords.
However, what shocked Shanks even more was not Suzaku himself, but the lineup standing around that young man.
His eyes swept over them, his Observation Haki probing their strength.
What kind of monsters were those?
His gaze landed on the woman with the ice-blue hair. She wore a pristine white military uniform that hugged her curves, and she exuded a cold aura that seemed to freeze the very air she breathed.
Her eyes... Shanks tightened his grip on his sword slightly. Those are not the eyes of a pirate. They are the eyes of a predator. She sees slaughter and conquest as instinct. A natural-born calamity.
Another newcomer not mentioned in intelligence reports?
Next to her stood a beautiful woman in a pure white dress, with black wings folded behind her back.
Albedo.
When her golden gaze swept towards his side, it didn't hold hostility. It held something worse: absolute indifference. It was the gaze of a goddess looking down at ants. To her, Shanks and his crew were nothing but dust.
It was she who had clashed with Admiral Kizaru twice... truly a terrifying woman. Her defense feels impenetrable, like a wall that separates worlds.
And then, there was the pale-faced man with green tear marks at the corners of his eyes.
Ulquiorra Cifer.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, his posture slouched. But his presence was a void. While the others radiated power, he felt like a hole in the world.
Capable of injuring Admiral Akainu... Shanks mused. Each of them is such a terrifying existence.
Any one of these individuals, taken alone, would be enough to forge a formidable reputation in the New World. They could be captains of their own fleets, rulers of their own territories.
Yet now, they clustered around that young man like the most loyal knights. They stood a step behind him, ceding the spotlight, their loyalty absolute.
To be able to gather so many top-tier powerhouses under his command...
Shanks shifted his gaze back to Suzaku.
This "Suzaku" Yareon... is far more terrifying than described in the intelligence reports!
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