"Red Hair… Shanks."
On the distant sea, a pirate flag bearing three red scars painted near the eye entered Ryokugyu's field of vision.
That iconic pirate flag, along with the overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, left no doubt about his identity.
"Boss! Could you not suddenly release Conqueror's Haki like that? The rookies are already foaming at the mouth. Would it hurt to give them a little warning?"
Aboard the Red Force, several pirates who had only recently joined the ship were already foaming at the mouth and had passed out. This wasn't something happening only on Shanks's ship.
The surrounding Marines, as well as the pirates on Karai Bari Island, had all fainted in large numbers.
That was only because Shanks had focused most of his Conqueror's Haki on Ryokugyu alone. For someone as skilled in using Conqueror's Haki as he was, locking onto a target was effortless.
Even some of his own men had been knocked out simply because they were too close to Shanks. Having never endured many of Shanks's Conqueror's Haki outbursts before, these Red Force rookies couldn't withstand Shanks's full-powered release, even if it was just the residual Haki.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I'll be more careful next time. This is an old friend of mine after all, so I have to look out for him a bit."
Shanks replied with a grin to his subordinates, and at his command, the Red Force continued sailing forward.
"Don't be so tense, Marines. I didn't come here to fight.
Of course, if you insist on fighting, I'll go all the way with you."
Under the tense gazes of the Marines who were still conscious, the Red-Haired Pirates' ship sailed straight toward Karai Bari Island as if no one else was present.
"Nearly all the senior officers are in position… You really do have quite a close relationship."
At this moment, Ryokugyu had already withdrawn his earlier attack.
"I have no intention of fighting you right now. The time hasn't come yet. Since you want to take him away, then go ahead and take him.
Stay sharp. We're retreating!"
Regrouping and retreating, Ryokugyu showed no intention of confronting Shanks, not even bothering to leave behind any sharp words, as he led the Marines away from the island.
Because of Ryokugyu's decision, this Marine force ended the operation with almost zero-casualty, a spectacular result.
"Boss, isn't that guy way too timid? Someone like that can really become a Marine Admiral?"
Ryokugyu's actions completely baffled the pirates. Logically, even if he wasn't going to fight, he should have at least said a few sharp words before leaving.
"Who knows? But don't underestimate him. Someone like that, once they get an opening, will bite without mercy."
Ryokugyu's personality could be described as extremely strange. Not just pirates, even the Marines themselves couldn't figure out what this newly appointed Admiral was really thinking.
As the Marines departed with Ryokugyu, the island was left with only Buggy's brain-dead subordinates. Of course, most of those pirates were also unconscious—either drained dry by Ryokugyu or knocked out by the aftermath of Shanks's power.
"That guy is… Red Hair Shanks?"
"Captain Buggy really isn't simple after all. No wonder he was so calm, so he'd already reached an agreement with an Emperor of the Sea?"
From their angle, they could only see a figure from behind and couldn't tell what Shanks was actually doing.
At this moment, Shanks had already come to Buggy's side. Looking at Buggy's rolled-back eyes, he hesitated for a moment, then slapped him across the face with his remaining right hand.
"Hey, Buggy, wake up!"
After a crisp smack, Buggy still didn't wake up. At this moment, Shanks's intelligence seemed to have gone offline as well.
"That's strange. Could it be that I didn't use enough strength? That shouldn't be the case."
Smack, smack, smack.
After pondering for a moment, a series of slapping sounds rang out from Shanks's hand, leaving the crew following him utterly speechless.
"I'm saying, Boss, isn't this a bit—"
Watching Shanks's bizarre behavior, Rockstar felt it was unreasonable. This didn't seem like a sensible way to wake someone up. But before he could finish speaking, he was dragged away by the others.
"Kid, you've been with us for two years already. Haven't you figured out what kind of person the boss is yet?"
"Exactly. The boss is just playing around. He knows what he's doing. It's time for the rest of us to pull back."
Shanks' old crew members dragged Rockstar away. Seeing the wine barrels scattered all over the ground, they started a banquet right then and there nearby, while the members of Buggy's Delivery were moved to tears.
The closer one was to Buggy, the closer they had been to Ryokugyu just moments ago, which meant the stronger the Conqueror's Haki shock they had taken.
Buggy's Delivery never had many high-level fighters to begin with; when faced with officers like Sweet Commander or Calamities, they would basically be wiped out. For the members near this range, there was no outcome other than fainting.
The survivors were all members who had been farther away. Through their self-beautifying perspective, it looked as though Shanks was merely anxiously shaking Buggy by the collar.
If Shanks had really used force, he could have flung Buggy's head clean off. Whether the Chop-Chop Fruit's splitting passive would trigger if the user were struck by blunt force while unconscious was a question worth discussing.
But Shanks wasn't trying to kill him, and after Buggy's face had swollen into a pig's head, he finally stopped.
"Why isn't this working? Looks like I'll have to try a different method. Huh? Whose treasure map is this on the ground? If nobody wants it, I'll take it!"
"Stop—! That's my treasure map…!"
Obsession is a mysterious thing. For Buggy, treasure was his obsession, and the soul that had been scared out of him came rushing back on its own at that moment.
"Shanks?! Why the hell are you here? Where's Ryokugyu? What the hell happened? Wait, why does my face hurt so much…?"
Opening and closing his eyes, Buggy realized he seemed to be safe, though his head felt like it had grown several sizes.
"Shanks, you b*stard, what did you do to me?!"
"What are you talking about? The Marines did it. I'm the one who saved you."
"Don't give me that! Would the Marines only aim for the face?!"
"Buggy, the situation on the seas isn't very good right now. You might as well come with me."
"Cut it out! Don't suddenly get all serious and say something like that. You think I'd believe you?!"
Seeing Shanks suddenly turn serious only made Buggy react even more fiercely.
"Come with you? You want me to become your subordinate? Like hell I'd do something that stupid! Go dream on!"
"So that's how it is. I understand. Guys, we're leaving!"
Shanks wore a relieved expression, as if he truly understood Buggy's actions, and waved his crew over as he prepared to leave.
"Boss, the banquet was just getting started."
"Forget it, forget it. We'll talk about it when we get back. Let's call it a day."
"Then you've gotta treat us next time, boss."
Amid laughter and banter, the Red Force raised its sails once more and headed off toward the distant sea, leaving Buggy standing there awkwardly with his arm raised, his heart roaring nonstop.
You could've pushed a little more! Say a few more words and I would've given in!
Who is the most stubborn on the seas was hard to say, but when it came to being stubborn in front of Shanks, it was definitely Buggy.
His instincts made him reject Shanks outright at the first moment, a reflex he couldn't control.
Yet Buggy also knew the situation he was in. Grabbing onto a big leg just to survive wasn't anything to be ashamed of.
According to Buggy's plan, it should have gone like this: Shanks comes to him, he refuses; Shanks comes again, then he reluctantly agrees; after that, he spends his days delivering packages and getting by. Instead, Shanks just left.
"Lord Buggy, you actually turned down an offer from an Emperor of the Sea?"
"What guts! I knew it, your ambitions reached far beyond this!"
This time, Buggy didn't lose himself in the flattery. Carrying endless worries about the future, he could only put on a calm front, sending his subordinates off to celebrate having "repelled" the enemy, while he himself searched for a way out.
After Sengoku finished recounting what had happened, Akainu instinctively wanted to smash the table, only to realize there was no table to smash. He could only force down his anger.
"So in other words, the plan targeting the Shichibukai has completely failed, is that right?"
"If things failed on your end as well, then that's the outcome. On the Revolutionary Army's side, though, the results are fairly decent. Of the eight countries that were overthrown, two have reclaimed their royal authority, but the momentum of the Revolutionary Army hasn't been curbed.
The World Government's stance is that pirates can be put on hold for now, we should deal with the Revolutionary Army first."
"At a time like this, they still can't see where the real problem lies?!"
"You've been Fleet Admiral for over a year now. Do you still not understand how they think?"
If this had been before Akainu became Fleet Admiral, he would have been full of complaints had Sengoku given him such an order. But now that he sat in the same position as Sengoku once had, he understood some things instead.
"Return to base!"
After a long silence, Akainu could only issue the order to return in frustration.
Marine manpower was already stretched thin. Although recruitment was ongoing, hastily enlisted soldiers couldn't compare to seasoned veterans.
Some were full of hot-blooded enthusiasm but lacked any real combat ability, while those with some skill refused to follow discipline, even allowing many unqualified scum to slip directly into the Marine ranks. That the World Government can temporarily concentrate its forces is, in a way, a good thing.
At the same time, the Beasts Pirates' island-moving operation was still underway.
Supported by flame clouds, Amazon Lily floated high in the sky, while Yuda and the pirate ships were also relocated onto land.
Shakky and Rayleigh had already left. Unlike Gloriosa, Shakky, the empress from two generations ago, would only appear when the Kuja faced a major catastrophe. If not for the sheer scale of this commotion, she wouldn't have left the Sabaody Archipelago.
This was even truer for Rayleigh, who was an outsider. Though they belonged to the older generation, they no longer had any reason to interfere in Kuja's decisions.
Once the Kuja had decided to relocate, there was naturally no reason for them to stay.
Moreover, Rayleigh had no particular ties with Kaido, there wasn't even the option of hitching a ride. So once again, Rayleigh led Shakky swimming back toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
At this moment, Kaido was sitting on the Kuja shoreline. Flame clouds were one of his most basic abilities; controlling them didn't require him to stay in beast form, nor did he need to keep flying beneath the island.
That kind of situation only happened because those inferior, knockoff Devil Fruit users were too weak.
However, Kaido now felt a tiny bit of regret. Had he known things would turn out like this, he might as well have stayed in dragon form and kept flying outside the whole time.
"So… that's a man?"
"I guess so? Such well-built muscles, and he's got horns on his head. Do men all grow horns?"
Amazon Lily was an island of women. Men were a genuinely rare species here. Not only had the citizens who stayed on the island scarcely ever seen them, even members of the Kuja Pirates, who frequently ventured out, had little contact with men.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my pa*reon.