The pirates and pedestrians passing outside the bar kept stopping in their tracks because of the constant shouts of rock-paper-scissors coming from inside.
"What the hell is going on in there?"
"That bar sounds pretty lively. Should we go in and take a look?"
"If you want to die, go right ahead! The people sitting inside right now are members of the Red-Haired Pirates from the New World!"
"The Red-Haired Pirates? Damn, you mean the crew of Shanks, one of the Four Emperors?"
"You guys seriously don't know anything, do you? Didn't you see the Red-Haired Pirates' ship docked at the harbor? Ever heard of the Red Force?"
"Forget it, forget it. That's way above our level, brother!"
The pirates who had stopped outside because of the lively commotion immediately turned around and left after hearing the name of the Red-Haired Pirates. Although most of the people who came to Mock Town were lawless pirates, not all of them were as fearless as Shang De, who dared to challenge anyone and anything.
Before long, there wasn't a single person left lingering outside the bar!
Inside the bar, the members of the Red-Haired Pirates were having the time of their lives playing rock-paper-scissors with Kairo D. Arashi. One after another, however, they were defeated.
Shanks and Benn Beckman, who had been unable to join in at all, finally understood why Mihawk had specifically mentioned this strange hobby of Kairo D. Arashi's after watching nearly their entire crew get wiped out.
Even so, although Kairo D. Arashi had crushed all of their crewmates, both Shanks and Beckman were beginning to feel tempted themselves.
After Lucky Roux and Yasopp were defeated as well, Shanks immediately rolled up his sleeves and shouted toward Kairo D. Arashi, "Brother Kairo D. Arashi, my turn!!"
"You? Forget it!"
Looking at Shanks, who had rolled up his sleeves and was clearly ready for battle, Kairo D. Arashi said disdainfully, "You're not good enough. Better let Mr. Beckman beside you play instead!"
"Hahaha! Boss just got mocked!"
"But honestly, Boss really is terrible at games like this!"
"Boss, don't be scared! Let Beckman do it! He can win!"
When the members of the Red-Haired Pirates saw Kairo D. Arashi refusing to give their captain even the slightest bit of face, none of them got angry. Instead, they immediately started jeering along.
Shanks, however, looked completely unconvinced. Mimicking Kairo D. Arashi, he planted one foot on a chair and rolled up his sleeves.
"Come on, come on! I'm definitely winning today!"
"I don't play with disabled people!"
Kairo D. Arashi rejected Shanks once again, then looked toward Beckman and asked, "Mr. Beckman, how about a couple rounds?"
Seeing Kairo D. Arashi look down on him so blatantly, Shanks immediately pushed his luck. Without waiting for permission, he simply shouted at Kairo D. Arashi, "Rock-paper-scissors!!"
"??"
Looking at Shanks, who had already thrown paper, Kairo D. Arashi blinked blankly before reluctantly saying, "Fine. I'll play two rounds with you. But let's raise the stakes. Just making the loser drink is boring, right?"
"Fine, fine! You decide! How are we playing?"
Shanks was already completely caught up in the game. He couldn't have cared less what kind of wager Kairo D. Arashi proposed. At this point, even if Kairo D. Arashi asked him to wager the sword at his waist, Shanks probably wouldn't hesitate.
"How about this~"
Kairo D. Arashi motioned for the pirates around them to quiet down before continuing, "If you lose, you'll accept an interview from me! No matter what I ask, you have to answer truthfully. Mm, you can think of it as Truth or Dare!"
"An interview? Truth or Dare?"
Shanks blinked in confusion before nodding.
"Sure, no problem! Come on!"
Seeing how enthusiastic Shanks was, the smile on Kairo D. Arashi's face gradually turned sinister!
Of course, if he was going to play rock-paper-scissors with this guy, he couldn't casually rely on Observation Haki.
After all, for Shanks to become one of the Four Emperors of the New World at such a young age, it was impossible that his strength came from Conqueror's Haki alone. His Armament Haki and Observation Haki were undoubtedly formidable as well!
Still, for a game this simple, Kairo D. Arashi didn't need Observation Haki to predict Shanks's next move in the first place!
When it came to playing games, Shanks was a textbook idiot.
That much could already be seen from the way he had completely panicked back in Windmill Village when Luffy was taken away. Whenever he was having fun, he really did become a complete idiot!
Many times, Kairo D. Arashi felt that most people in this world were practically illiterate when it came to basic education!
This world valued martial strength far more than scholarship, which was probably why so many idiots existed in the first place!
Of course, whether it was Shanks or Luffy in the future, they might look hopelessly stupid on the surface, but underneath it all, they possessed an unusual kind of wisdom.
Then there was that reckless brute Kaido, who would randomly travel around the world attempting suicide whenever he felt like it. One moment he would be laughing loudly, and the next he'd suddenly burst into tears.
Yet that same man had built massive factories throughout Wano Country and had even worked with Doflamingo, whose intelligence was at least relatively normal, to prepare for the ultimate war he longed to see!
Then there was Dragon, the elusive leader of the Revolutionary Army, who had personally built an organization powerful enough to openly launch a sweeping revolution against the rule of the World Government.
There was also the ambitious Crocodile, whose intelligence and scheming were both top-tier.
Oh, right.
And Benn Beckman, who was sitting right beside Shanks...
All right.
Even with people like that around, it still couldn't change the harsh reality that the majority of this world was filled with illiterate fools!
Without a doubt, Shanks lost!
"Hahahaha! Sure enough, I lost!"
After losing the best-of-three match miserably, Shanks burst into hearty laughter.
"Come on, Brother Kairo D. Arashi! Ask whatever you want!"
"No rush, no rush!"
Kairo D. Arashi smiled before taking out his Video Transponder Snail from inside his clothes.
He then looked around the hall and said, "Everyone, from now on, you need to stay absolutely quiet! Even if this started as a game, we still need a little ceremony, right?"
After positioning the Video Transponder Snail toward Shanks, the smile on Kairo D. Arashi's face became even more sinister.
"We're starting now, so nobody say anything!"
"Got it, got it! We definitely won't interrupt!"
Shanks waved at his crewmates, signaling for them to quiet down. Then he sat upright and looked seriously at Kairo D. Arashi.
"Come on! I'm ready!"
"Hello, Shanks. I'm Kairo D. Arashi, a traveler."
Looking at the unusually serious Shanks, Kairo D. Arashi suppressed his laughter and formally began the interview procedure.
"Thank you very much for agreeing to accept my interview…"
"Hahahahahaha..."
"Brother Kairo D. Arashi, you're being way too formal! Hahaha! Are you secretly a reporter or something?"
"I think he is!"
"This is hilarious! Now I finally understand why Mihawk became friends with Kairo D. Arashi! Hahahaha…"
No one had expected Kairo D. Arashi to suddenly become so formal. The pirates couldn't hold it in anymore and immediately burst into laughter, loudly joining in on the teasing.
"Ahem, ahem!"
Seeing them causing trouble again, Kairo D. Arashi quickly shouted, "Didn't we agree you'd all stay quiet? Could everyone cooperate for a moment?"
"Yes, Mr. Kairo D. Arashi!"
"Pfft—hahaha! No, I can't do this. I'm going outside for a bit, or I'm seriously going to burst out laughing!"
"Me too!"
As they spoke, the drunk members of the Red-Haired Pirates stood up one after another and walked outside.
It wasn't that they didn't want to cooperate.
This whole situation was simply too ridiculous.
Especially when they saw their captain sitting upright with such a serious expression while Kairo D. Arashi conducted the interview with an equally solemn face.
They really couldn't hold back!
"Ahem…"
After the pirates with the lowest resistance to laughter left, the bar finally became quiet again.
Seeing this, Kairo D. Arashi cleared his throat and continued.
"Let's begin. First question."
"Mr. Shanks, may I ask what relationship you have with Rocks, the pirate who dominated the seas forty years ago?"
"Are you his son?"