The New World — Red Hair Pirates — Aboard the Red Force, on the main deck
A gentle sea breeze swept across the deck.
Shanks stood alone by the railing at the bow. The sleeves of the white shirt beneath his coat were casually rolled up, while the hem of his black cloak fluttered softly in the wind.
At his waist hung the famed blade Gryphon.
He gazed out at the sea, as if lost in thought.
Ever since he had formally ascended to the position of one of the Four Emperors—especially after that decisive clash with the Marines' G-10 powerhouse, Barrett—
Standing atop G-10's shattered prestige and the fear that battle had spread across the seas had indeed cleared away a great deal of trouble for him. His territories had entered a rare period of stability.
Still… schemes like that only held so long.
Once that man freed up his hands again—
"Boss!"
A booming voice suddenly shattered the calm of the deck.
Lucky Roux—rotund, wearing small sunglasses—came charging over, waving a freshly received intelligence report as he shouted loudly,
"Bad news! Something's happened in our territory!!"
Shanks turned around at the call.
Not far away, Benn Beckman sat leisurely at the center of the deck, a small table before him with a half-finished bottle of rum. He exhaled a long stream of smoke, fingers flipping through several sheets of intel as he calmly picked up Roux's words.
"It was done by a rookie.'Fire Fist' Ace. Portgas D. Ace."
Beckman paused slightly when he read the name aloud.
"This guy was already making waves before he even entered the New World. His bounty isn't low—one of the hottest Super Rookies.But after entering the New World, his movements have been… odd. He's mostly been circling the waters near G-10."
"Logically, he shouldn't have suddenly appeared in our territory—let alone pull a provocation like this."
"What's so hard to understand about that?"
The ship's doctor, Hongo, walked over with a drink in hand, smiling as he cut in.
"Obviously because 'Heaven-Shaking' Gern is too hard a bone to chew!"
He took a sip and continued casually,
"Every hotheaded brat who enters the New World wants to take down a big name to prove they've got what it takes to be Pirate King.Especially the man who captured the Pirate King himself!"
"Plus, toll fees, of course—haha!That kid probably loitered around G-10 for quite a while, never even seeing Gern… or maybe he saw something he shouldn't have."
Hongo shrugged, his tone teasing.
"Either way, he finally realized reality—that challenging that man is just asking to die.So he turned his spear toward us instead."
"After all, we've only been sitting in the Yonko seat for a short while. In the eyes of some rookies, we might look like a softer target, right? Hahaha!"
A few chuckles rippled across the deck as the crew echoed his laughter, the atmosphere relaxing slightly.
But as Shanks listened to their back-and-forth analysis, his brows knit together.
He didn't comment immediately.
Instead, he walked over to Beckman's table, picked up the bottle, poured himself a full cup of rum—and downed it in one go.
"Ace…"Shanks set the cup down, murmuring the name again in a low voice. A flicker of complicated emotion passed through his eyes.
As a side note, pirates in the New World rarely paid close attention to events in the first half of the Grand Line—Unless there was a special reason to, like how Shanks would later keep a close watch on Luffy's growth.
Most information came through the newspapers delivered by the News Coo.
And the World Economy News Paper didn't distribute papers on a massive scale unless the event was something that truly shook the world.
Shanks' fingers tapped lightly against the wooden table—tap, tap—the casual air on his face tightening.
"To what extent has he gone?" he asked.
"It's pretty serious."Hongo's expression darkened, the earlier levity gone.
"According to confirmed reports, five or six islands have already had the Spade Pirates' flag forcibly planted on them."
"Five or six?!"Lucky Roux froze mid-bite, forgetting to chew the meat leg in his mouth.
Hearing that, Shanks' gaze sharpened instantly. The easygoing aura around him vanished, replaced by something keen and dangerous.
He straightened slowly, his right hand unconsciously pressing against the hilt of Gryphon.
"This isn't some minor scuffle anymore…"
In the New World, order was built on strength and reputation.
A Yonko's authority was the foundation that sustained vast forces and protected their territories—and it could not be challenged lightly.
Especially since Shanks had only recently claimed this throne. Countless eyes were watching from the shadows, waiting to see whether he could truly sit firmly upon the seat of an "Emperor."
If he ignored such blatant acts of flag-burning and island-grabbing, he would not only become a laughingstock—He would invite even more greedy hyenas to covet his lands.
Reputation had to be defended with strength.
Shanks' eyes swept across the core members on the deck. Without hesitation, his voice rang out—clear and forceful.
"Change course. We're paying a visit."
As he spoke, he paused slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting into a confident curve—the domineering presence of a king of the seas.
"We'll teach this rule-breaking rookie that this ocean… is not his playground."
"YEAH!!!"
...
At the same time—
On the edge of a village plaza that had just been forcibly claimed by the Spade Pirates' flag—
Ace leaned against a broken low wall, brow deeply furrowed as he stared at Gern, who was squatting in front of an elderly woman selling fruit.
Gern was chatting and laughing with her, even bending down to help pick up oranges that had rolled across the ground.
The golden sunset outlined Gern's tall, out-of-place figure in a warm glow.
Just a short while ago, he'd been the bastard who'd encouraged Ace to burn a Yonko's flag and seize islands by force—
And yet now, the contrast made Ace feel an intense sense of dissonance.
"I really… can't figure this guy out," Ace muttered.
Sometimes he was cold and merciless, crushing everything in his path.Sometimes he was a shameless hooligan, stirring trouble just for fun.
And now… he looked like a gentle passerby.
Which side of him was real?What was his true purpose?
"Not being able to figure him out is normal."
A voice tinged with mockery drifted over.
Ace turned his head to see Enel squatting on the nearby wall at some point, idly tossing a pilfered grape up and down in his hand. His long earlobes swayed slightly as his eyes slanted toward Ace, a faint smile curling his lips.
"Because with him around…" Enel sneered lightly,"…this lawless New World can barely maintain a laughable thing called 'justice,' isn't that right?"
Ace turned back, his confusion deepening.
"Tch."Enel snorted disdainfully and tossed the grape into his mouth.
"You so-called pirates squeeze your way into the New World, shouting slogans at the top of your lungs.Isn't it all for the same thing? ONE PIECE. The throne of the Pirate King."
"Wealth. Fame. Power. Freedom to rule this sea."
He jumped down from the wall and stopped in front of Ace, a subtle pressure radiating from him.
"But year after year, pirates flood into the New World like schools of fish—countless.Tell me, how many of them can actually keep those ridiculous dreams alive… and truly reach that throne?"
"As long as it's in front of that man…"
Enel tilted his head slightly, gesturing with his eyes toward Gern, still chatting with the old woman in the distance.
"All bloated ambition, all burning dreams—They either get crushed outright, or…"
"…end up like what you're seeing now. Forced to detour and bully targets that look softer."
Ace fell silent.
He understood the unspoken meaning in Enel's words.
To become Pirate King, the mountain named Gern Reginald Sigmar standing before the finish line was something that had to be crossed—no matter what.
And yet, no one had succeeded.
Because not everyone was as relentlessly stubborn as Luffy.
But it was precisely because that insurmountable peak existed that this most chaotic, most violent sea was forced to accept an invisible boundary—
Maintaining a fragile yet crucial order.
The strongest "evil"—By pirate standards, Gern was an absolute villain who crushed dreams—
Had instead become the cornerstone of a certain kind of "justice"(Order. Limits.)
This extreme contradiction weighed heavily on Ace's chest.
The fleeting exhilaration he'd felt when burning flags and raising his own now seemed pale… and childish in the face of a far greater reality.
Slowly, he lifted his head and looked once more at Gern's back.
This sea was far more complex than he'd imagined.
And that man—
Was far deeper, and far more terrifying, than Ace had ever understood.
One man suppressing four Emperors.
Perhaps that had never been a slogan—
Nor merely an honorific at all.
...…
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