With Rouge's blessing, Shanks officially took in An and Ace.
But their status was merely that of ship's apprentices. This wasn't entirely because of their age. More importantly, Shanks hoped that when they grew up, they would form their own crews rather than follow him forever.
After all, they were the children of his former captain. Setting sail on their own and making a name for themselves in the New World should be a walk in the park.
Perhaps…
The Joy Boy he had learned about at Laugh Tale — maybe it would turn out to be one of them.
No one could predict the future, and Shanks wasn't the type to put much stock in fate anyway.
But now that An and Ace were on board, the hat on his head was due for a handoff.
"An, this is the straw hat your father gave me all those years ago. Let me give it to you?" Shanks lifted the straw hat from his head with the care of someone handling a priceless treasure and held it out.
He had received this hat from their father. Now he was returning it to them. Wasn't that a beautiful form of passing the torch?
"I don't want it!"
Shanks: ???
"Shanks, are you stupid? A straw hat like that doesn't match a girl like me at all," An shot him a look. "I prefer something more fashionable."
"Besides… I've never even seen Dad wear this hat. Did he give it to you because he thought it was too ugly?"
Shanks was stunned. A holy ugly hat?
This was an incredibly important treasure, thank you very much!
It was the giant straw hat figurine — special edition — from the Celestial Dragons' Holy Land!
"Ahem… the captain gave it to me when I was still just a kid, An. It's normal that you don't know about it. If you don't want it, I'll give it to Ace instead."
Shanks coughed to cover his embarrassment, then — as if terrified Ace might also say something dismissive — shoved the hat onto Ace's head without waiting for a response.
"There we go. Nice, Ace — that hat suits you perfectly!"
"Really?" Ace's face lit up a little. His small hands picked up the hat and put it back on, turning it over and over to examine every angle.
"Hey, you'd better take good care of it! Don't you dare throw it around like a frisbee, got it?"
"…Okay."
Ace stared at the straw hat in his hands and went quiet for a moment.
If Shanks hadn't reminded him, he probably wouldn't have thrown it. But now that Shanks had mentioned it, he couldn't help feeling like if he didn't give it a good throw or two, something would be off.
Setting aside the rebellious Ace — who stood one meter tall but had two meters' worth of attitude — and the amount of laughter he brought to Shanks's ship, the presence of An as a female crew member had fundamentally changed the Red Hair Pirates' lifestyle.
The ship was significantly cleaner.
…
Inazuma, Flower Capital, Grand Narukami Shrine.
"So, Yamato, what are we doing today?"
The kids who had snuck out of the Shogun's residence gathered together, chattering excitedly. The cherry blossom trees that never lost their petals throughout the four seasons were, in fact, shedding them at every moment.
But every time a pale pink petal drifted down, a new bud bloomed to take its place.
"Hmm… I'm thinking of going to the amusement park," Yamato said after a moment's thought.
Inazuma had been integrating with the outside world over the years, and in many areas had even surpassed the overseas nations.
With Ren — a soul from another world — Inazuma's technology tree couldn't possibly develop in only the direction of weapons. Beyond various scientific products for everyday convenience that had been integrated into people's lives, Inazuma's entertainment industry was also growing rapidly.
Now, every province had its own themed Inazumi Land. Attractions like the Cloud Mountain Roller Coaster thrilled even a naturally super-strong kid like Yamato.
The Flower Capital's park, however, wasn't defined by its rides but by its scenery.
The ever-spring Flower Capital was like the home of the Flower Goddess herself, with ten thousand colors blooming in competition. Every year it hosted the Flower Goddess Dance Festival. Though the festival was held only within the amusement park, it had become the grandest celebration in the Flower Capital besides the Night of the Fire Festival and New Year's.
Beyond the Flower Capital, the other provinces' Inazumi Lands had their own distinctive features.
Kuri's theme was a water park. Shirahui hosted the Maple Forest Hundred Demons Festival. Udon featured rocky caves. Bell After became an Ice and Snow Kingdom. And Himi, which had long served as Kaido's factory district, had been remade in a cyberpunk aesthetic.
As for factories, Inazuma itself no longer housed heavy industry. That entire sector had been relocated out of Inazuma by Ren decades ago.
So after hearing Yamato's suggestion, Black Maria and the three Boa sisters set off toward the amusement park.
All five were roughly the same age, but once they hit their growth spurts, the height differences began to widen.
The tallest was Black Maria. As an adult, she even surpassed Kaido in height. Second was Yamato.
Next came Boa Marigold.
Marigold was the youngest of the three sisters. Having not eaten a snake-type Devil Fruit, her build was nowhere near as massive as in the original story. She wasn't exactly pretty, but she wasn't ugly either — slightly plump with a round face.
Boa Sandersonia was in much the same situation.
And finally, the Empress — who in adulthood stood a full one hundred and ninety centimeters — was actually the shortest of the group.
"What a shame Robin couldn't come today," Hancock said with regret.
Finding someone shorter than herself was truly difficult.
"I heard Robin's research hit a critical stage? That woman is really incredible. So much smarter than me — we're nothing alike," Yamato said with admiration.
She had a perfectly healthy sense of self-awareness — she was an idiot.
"Just looking at all that knowledge gives me a headache."
"Yamato really is an idiot," Black Maria nodded in complete agreement. "Every single exam she fails. Nobody else does that."
"Is Lucci not coming out to play either?"
"That guy… he's probably at the training camp?" Yamato thought for a moment.
Lucci was a child Ren had taken in even before her. In truth, he had been chasing Buggy and Enel as his goals, spending every day either training or training some more.
But in Yamato's view, Lucci's talent might not be that great.
He trained so hard, yet his strength was about on par with hers.
"Speaking of Lucci, I heard he's already an Oni now. Your strength is similar to his — have you eaten a Devil Fruit?"
Yamato shook her head.
"Lord Ren said he would pick a suitable Zoan for me. I think a Logia like Lord Ren's would be cool, but a Zoan that lets me use my fists directly is probably a better fit."
[
Dear Readers,
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Despite everything, I am still posting 5 chapters every single day across all my active fictions. That is a relentless schedule, and I am pouring everything I have into making sure you never have to wait. I love doing this, and I do not want to stop — but I cannot do it alone for much longer.
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Important: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30% fee due to Apple/Patreon policy, and payments are delayed by 2–3 months. Please subscribe through your browser so more of your support reaches me when I need it most.
I am not asking for charity — I am asking because this is what keeps the daily chapters coming, what keeps the stories alive, and what keeps me from drowning right now. Even $3 makes a real difference. If you cannot subscribe, sharing my work with even one person who might enjoy it helps more than you know.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for your time. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for even considering it.
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[
Dear Readers,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you today because I need to be completely honest — things are genuinely tough right now, and I cannot keep going without your help.
My financial situation is the worst it has ever been. I am struggling to stay afloat, and every bit of support matters more than I can put into words. I do not say this lightly, but I really need your help as much as you can give.
Despite everything, I am still posting 5 chapters every single day across all my active fictions. That is a relentless schedule, and I am pouring everything I have into making sure you never have to wait. I love doing this, and I do not want to stop — but I cannot do it alone for much longer.
If you have been reading and enjoying the work, please consider supporting me. I have structured the tiers to give you incredible value in return:
Adventurer — $3/month
- 20 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
Warrior — $7/month
- 40 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
Immortal — $10/month (Best Value)
- 60 chapters ahead of free release for all my works
- Access to character images and visual references
- Bonus side stories and exclusive content
Special Note: On top of the early access above, every tier receives 150 chapters across all fics per month — a massive library of content waiting for you no matter which level you choose.
Important: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30% fee due to Apple/Patreon policy, and payments are delayed by 2–3 months. Please subscribe through your browser so more of your support reaches me when I need it most.
I am not asking for charity — I am asking because this is what keeps the daily chapters coming, what keeps the stories alive, and what keeps me from drowning right now. Even $3 makes a real difference. If you cannot subscribe, sharing my work with even one person who might enjoy it helps more than you know.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for your time. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for even considering it.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]