All major newspapers worked overtime overnight, urgently printed and distributed additional newspapers, and reported on it in series.
then.
In the next few days.
Newsbirds shook their wings and flew out of major newspaper offices happily carrying fresh reports. Newspapers scattered like snowflakes all over the world, setting off a storm...
…
Donghai, Windmill Village.
"Hey, Shanks, here's your change."
At the vegetable market, Aunt Louise stopped Shanks, who turned to leave, and complained, "You are such an idiot, how can you forget it every time? Tell me, how many times has this happened this month?"
"Ah, sorry, auntie."
The red-haired young man took the change, scratched his head, and laughed, "I will definitely remember it next time."
"Tch, I don't believe it."
Aunt Louise rolled her eyes and said angrily, "You might as well ask Beckman and the others to buy it from now on. Just take a rest. After all, you are a captain. How can you be responsible for such a small thing?
"
"It's okay to be idle. Anyway, I came to Windmill Village just for vacation."
The red-haired young man smiled and exchanged a few more pleasantries before waving his hands and turning around to leave.
Along the way.
The villagers I met along the way didn't look scared at all when they saw him. Instead, they all took the initiative to say hello with a smile, which was quite cordial and warm.
Shanks also smiled and nodded in response, feeling a little emotional in his heart.
In February, because Jesus wanted to return to his hometown to visit his son Usopp, he took his friends back to the East China Sea and accidentally stopped at Windmill Village.
I have made every effort, and I have only known these villagers for a little over a month.
In the beginning, he was not treated as well as he is now. The villagers were very hostile to the pirates who suddenly stopped at the village, so they almost went directly to the nearby navy branch to ask for help.
Fortunately, later on, the villagers gradually discovered that the entire red-haired pirate group was easy to get along with, and they were definitely not the kind of villains who were obsessed with burning, killing, and looting.
Coupled with the fact that the identity of the red-haired king Shichibukai was spread by unknown sources, the hostility of the villagers gradually subsided, and they gradually became familiar with them.
"Shichibukai..."
The red-haired man touched the stubble on his chin and clicked his tongue twice.
This name is very useful, especially since several extremely vicious people in the Shichibukai were killed by Nosha one after another. After the replacement, the Shichibukai basically had a positive image among the people, which saved them a lot of trouble.
but.
In the final analysis, the original agreement to sign the Shichibukai Covenant was just a compromise between the family and the Navy Headquarters in order to get him out.
He was forced to do it, and he didn't really want to keep hanging out with this identity. In comparison, it would be more interesting to go to the New World and compete with those sea emperors who stand at the top of the world.
Maybe one day we will be equals and become one of the emperors of the sea?
"The Four Emperors..."
Shanks chuckled. Over the years, the name "Three Emperors" has become deeply rooted in people's hearts. When it was changed to "Four Emperors" at first, it sounded a bit strange.
Well, let’s set off before the end of the year and return to the new world to continue our adventure...
Shanks made up his mind, as to why he had to wait until the end of the year to go back...
Stopping in his tracks, Shanks looked up at the shuttered door of the tavern that appeared in front of him.
Well, there is a reason why he has to stay here.
For more than a month, he slept on the boat at night, and spent most of the day drinking and partying with his friends in the only tavern in Windmill Village.
The so-called drunkard does not care about the wine, but the relationship between the boss and the wife.
The biggest reason why he wanted to stay in Windmill Village for as long as possible, apart from the simple folk customs, beautiful scenery and livable environment here, was the existence of Maginot.
The gentle and strong girl made him, a single man who had lived for more than 20 years, feel excited for the first time...
Of course, if you stay here, you can still do business.
As soon as he pushed open the shutter door, Shanks' eyes were attracted by a little black-haired kid lying in front of the bar.
Monkey D. Luffy.
When Shanks met this boy for the first time, he seemed to see the figure of Captain Roger back then, and his intuition told him that this humble little boy definitely had the potential to become the Pirate King in the future.
And you have the obligation to guide the other person on this path of freedom and dreams.
It's a pity... Shanks couldn't help but grimace when he thought about his experiences in the past month. Although this unlucky kid is very close to him now, they have become close friends.
But whenever he brought up the topic of pirates, Luffy would look contemptuous, and no matter how tempting he was, he didn't show the slightest interest.
Damn it!
It was all his fault that he came a step too late, allowing that guy Bai Long to establish a commitment and bond with this boy first, which made Luffy unable to listen to a word of his words, and would always yell something like "I want to be"
The best man in the navy."
"Shanks?"
The girl's chuckle suddenly came, bringing Shanks' thoughts back to reality, "Why are you so stunned as soon as you come in? What are you thinking about?"
Are you distracted? Shanks smiled and didn't explain anything. He walked all the way to the bar, only to find Luffy lying there, immersed in reading a newspaper, his eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement.
excited.
"What's wrong, Luffy, it's rare to see you so focused. What are you looking at?"
Shanks sat down with a smile, rubbed Luffy's head, looked up at the bar and said with a smile, "Please bring me a bottle of wine, Miss Maginot."
"Sherry? Same old thing?"
"Same old thing."
Weird person... Maginot smiled and turned around to go to the wine cabinet to get some wine. Shanks has been ordering a bottle of sherry every day for a month and sitting there for most of the day. She has long been used to it.
"Shanks."
"Shanks?"
Luffy called twice but got no response. When he looked up, he saw Shanks staring blankly at Maginot's bent back, and tugged his arm dissatisfiedly: "Hey! Shanks, hear me.
Have you spoken?"
"Eh?"
Shanks woke up and looked back at Luffy in a panic, "What's wrong?"
"You told me last time that you had a fight with Uncle Nosha a long time ago, right?" Luffy said with a smile, "And then you were beaten mercilessly and you had no power to fight back?"
"Hey, hey, you forgot, right? It's not that exaggerated."
Shanks curled his lips and muttered, "Losing is indeed a defeat, but that happened a long time ago. I was only eighteen or nineteen years old at that time, so I can't beat him..."
He couldn't speak anymore, because he suddenly realized that Nosha was only one year older than him, so he changed the subject with a groan, "Why do you ask this suddenly? Don't look down on people too much, Luffy, I haven't seen you for several years.
I have met him, but if it were now, that guy might not be my opponent!"
"Hahaha, the idiot captain is bragging again!"
"Ms. Maginot is still getting the wine, so I didn't hear you. Hey! Shanks, please speak louder!"
At the nearby wine table, Lachilu, Jesus Bu and others were laughing and making noises. Shanks flushed, secretly glanced at Makino's back, turned around and roared with fangs: "Shut up, you don't even look at what you are saying.
It’s just the occasion, a bunch of idiots!!!”
"Is it true?"
Luffy looked at Shanks with doubts in his eyes, "I also think you are bragging, Shanks, Uncle Nosha is so powerful, how could he not even be able to beat you..."
What do you mean you can't beat me? I'm also a very powerful boss! Three black lines appeared on Shanks' forehead. He was about to complain when he suddenly realized something and frowned:
"You suddenly ask these questions, Luffy... is there any news about that man in the newspaper?"
"Yeah." Luffy nodded and pushed the newspaper over, "The new newspaper I just bought is on the front page. Read it yourself."
The headline on the front page... The corners of Shanks' eyes twitched slightly. He felt a little ptsd about this word, but the next moment, when he picked up the newspaper and saw the title and photo on the front page clearly, his eyes suddenly widened.
, and screamed in disbelief:
"Eh????"
This scream attracted the other members of the red-haired pirates in the tavern. They gathered around the red-haired man and looked over curiously, and then...
Hiss~~ There was a chorus of gasps throughout the tavern.
"Hey, hey, isn't it? Well, that's Big Mom! She was killed directly?"
"There are still a bunch of people helping to besiege... I have never fought in this situation. Is that man so scary now?"
"Hey! Captain! The Charlotte family is finished, and the position of Sea Emperor is vacant. How about we go back now..."
"Idiot! It's time to stop being a Shichibukai and go back to the new world? Do you want Shanks to become the next big mom?"
…
Amidst the noise and boiling, Shanks did not speak. He stared at the figure standing proudly in the sky like a thunder god in the photo, his expression solemn as never before.
Unlike his subordinates who were fussing, after he recovered from his shock, he immediately realized the significance of this matter and how important it was.
It only took less than one night to kill Big Mom under heavy siege by myself.
Only when you reach this level can you feel more deeply how terrifyingly powerful it is.
Nuo Xia's current strength may have surpassed the level of sea emperor and general. If he continues to follow this progress and push forward in the new world, it will not only rewrite the new world pattern, but also...
Completely end the era of great pirates!
The wheels of the torrent of time have begun to roll, and no one can resist it, not even Big Mom, not even Kaido. As for the most powerful Whitebeard Pirates in the world...
Shanks was silent. He was once a member of the Roger Pirates and had witnessed Whitebeard's peak power. Logically speaking, he should be more inclined to Whitebeard's side.
But I don't know why.
A kind of intuition told him that if the remaining pirates did not unite, then the Whitebeard Pirates alone would have a very low chance of winning against Noxia...
Is it too exaggerated?
Shanks patted his head, took a sip of sherry, squinted his eyes and pondered quietly, but at this moment, the sound of the shutter door being pushed open suddenly came from behind.
The next moment, Luffy next to him suddenly jumped up from the bar seat and shouted in surprise:
"Grandpa? Why are you back!"
What?
Luffy's grandfather?
Shanks was slightly startled, and subconsciously put down his wine glass. When he turned around, he happened to see a very familiar white-haired old man carrying a large bag of food and greeting Luffy with a smile.
It was at this moment that he seemed to notice his gaze, and the white-haired old man turned his head and looked over cheerfully, and their eyes intertwined in mid-air.
The atmosphere in the tavern suddenly solidified.
The next moment.
"What's the matter, Grandpa?"
Under Luffy's puzzled gaze, Garp put down the snakeskin bag filled with food expressionlessly, walked towards the bar step by step, and slowly rolled up his sleeves...
…
Windless Zone, Nine Snake Island.
In the country known as the "Land of Girls" - the Amazon Lily Palace.
The previous emperors of Amazon Lily, Guluoliosa, who was called "grandma" by the people, was standing there with a cane, earnestly advising the figure on the throne.
"Hancock! No matter what, you must take back this order and listen to me for once! Agatha and the others must not be executed!"
Grandma Ze's voice was a little weak and hoarse. It was obvious that she had been trying to persuade her for a long time, but she still looked determined and had no intention of giving up.
"Don't forget, our Amazon Lily's biggest source of income is the spoils of plunder from the sea. This has been a tradition since the founding of our country!"
"As a result, since you came to the throne, you have been insisting on issuing orders to prohibit everyone from plundering merchant ships and limiting the targets to pirates. As a result, the living standards of the people have dropped drastically in recent years."
"If it hadn't been for Kikyo and the others two years ago that they accidentally discovered a few Devil Fruits that could produce food out of thin air, and the farmland was forced to expand several times, the island would have started to suffer from famine long ago!!"
"You are now the Shichibukai, Hancock! You already have this legal right to plunder. It would be a waste if you never use it. Agatha and the others also had this idea in mind, so they just robbed two merchant ships.
, the navy didn’t ask anything about it, and it didn’t cause any trouble, so why did you have to make it like this!"
"Why?"
The graceful lady on the throne is lowering her head and carefully cutting her nails with a knife.
She has long black hair in the style of a princess, beautiful dark blue eyes, a pair of snake-shaped earrings, and a slim and attractive figure. She is one of the Shichibukai, the "Pirate Empress" Bo who is known as the most beautiful woman in the world.
Ya Hancock.
Listening to the former emperor of Amazon Lily keep talking in his ears, Hancock finally raised his head slightly, glanced at his mother-in-law, and spoke with a bit of indifference:
"Since you also know that I am the emperor, the citizens must abide by the decrees issued. Those who dare to disobey will naturally pay the price."
"Then there's no need to kill them! Hancock!"
Grandma Ze was so angry that she hit the ground with her crutches, "Of course it's okay to punish her appropriately. For example, two years in prison is enough. Agatha was the strongest female warrior who was famous ten years ago. If you kill her directly,
Not only will it weaken the country’s power, it will also make people resentful and make many people dissatisfied with you!”
"It's okay."
Boya Hancock put down the small file, gently slid his slender fingers over his red lips, and said with blurred eyes:
"Not to mention weakening the country's power, even if the country is destroyed in my hands, I will be forgiven by everyone, because I... I am so beautiful!"