"W-what?! No way!"
Yasopp, carrying several barrels of liquor from backstage, instantly broke into a sweat.
"Charlotte Linlin?"
Why was this woman here?
It was one thing for Mihawk—that guy had a deep history with Ian—but Charlotte Linlin? What was going on?
"Yo! Mihawk!"
While the entire Red Hair Pirates fell into silence, Shanks remained calm as ever, speaking up. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"You still manage to smile at a time like this…"
Mihawk sighed.
At that moment, through the gap in the wall that Linlin had torn open, another man stepped in.
His hair and beard were completely white, yet Redfield surveyed the Red Hair Pirates with sharp clarity.
Finally, his gaze settled on Shanks.
As Ian had said, he had grown into a man worthy of that straw hat.
"Patrick Redfield!"
Lucky Roux was drenched in sweat. "What kind of day is this?! Monsters just keep showing up one after another!"
Ian represented the Beasts Pirates, Charlotte Linlin the Charlotte Family, Redfield the Cross Guild, and then there was Mihawk.
And now, adding the Red Hair Pirates to the mix.
The major figures of the pirate world—apart from Whitebeard—were basically all gathered here.
This was not good. The situation was definitely not good.
"So…"
Shanks scratched his head, looking slightly bewildered. "Ian, what exactly is going on? You didn't team up with the Charlotte Family and Cross Guild to wipe us out, did you?"
"In simple terms," Mihawk spoke up, "I've joined the Beasts Pirates."
"What?!"
Yasopp's carefully maintained dreadlocks were almost lifted by the tightness of his scalp. "Mihawk! You became Ian's subordinate?!"
What a joke!
This guy was the captain's rival, the world's greatest swordsman, the pinnacle of all swordsmen!
The ever-proud and solitary Hawk would bow to someone one day?
"Could it be…"
Beckman thought of a terrifying possibility, his voice suddenly dry. "The Charlotte Family and Cross Guild have already submitted to the Beasts Pirates as well?"
"Not exactly."
Mihawk shook his head.
The pirates of the Shanks crew finally let out a small sigh of relief.
If the Charlotte Family and the Cross Guild were to be conquered by the Beasts Pirates, then they would likely have no chance of survival either.
"But," Mihawk added, "Charlotte Linlin and Redfield only came here because the captain coerced them."
Beckman silently flicked the cigarette from his mouth.
Lucky Roux immediately found the meat in his mouth tasting unpleasant.
"How can you call that coercion, Mihawk," Ian corrected, "It's just that we reached a cooperation agreement with the Charlotte Family and the Cross Guild. Aunt Linlin and Redfield are participating purely for this collaboration, which is why they joined us."
Yasopp's mouth twitched slightly.
Leaving aside the Charlotte Family, who wasn't aware of the hatred between the Cross Guild and the Beasts Pirates? That Moria guy would probably love to grind Ian and Kaido to dust.
Under normal circumstances, how could such a collaboration even be achieved?
Given the situation, who would believe Ian hadn't used force?
"Oh, I see!"
But one person did believe him. Shanks laughed heartily. "Impressive, Ian. So, now you're looking to collaborate with us too?"
"Of course."
Ian smiled. "I'm planning to go all out against the World Government soon, so I'm gathering every force I can on the seas."
"Oh?"
Shanks' eyes instantly brightened. "It's already come to this point?"
"Almost," Ian said. "Even if I wait any longer, the World Government won't wait."
"I see," Shanks nodded lightly.
"Besides gathering allies, my second goal is to eliminate anyone who might interfere with my final showdown against the Government."
Ian spoke bluntly. "Shanks, you understand, right? If we reach a critical point against the Government and suddenly some troublemakers appear, it would be as annoying as flies."
Yasopp felt a chill run down his spine.
He understood: if they couldn't help Ian deal with the World Government, they'd be swatted away like flies.
One could only imagine what Charlotte Linlin and Redfield must have endured before.
"Hahaha! That's certainly true!"
But Shanks, seemingly oblivious, laughed like a fool, unable to grasp Ian's underlying meaning. "It is indeed irritating when someone tries to disrupt a crucial battle!"
"Then, Shanks," Ian looked at the man. "What's your answer?"
"Of course!"
Shanks didn't hesitate at all.
"What?"
Aunt Linlin was shocked.
He agreed just like that? Does this brat have no trace of Roger's backbone at all?
Uta's expression was even stranger, seeming both annoyed and relieved at the same time.
But Mihawk truly let out a long sigh of relief.
No one could have expected Shanks to be so straightforward. He barely hesitated and directly agreed to Ian's clearly unreasonable request.
Aunt Linlin nearly ground her teeth to pieces.
This was not the scene she had been anticipating!
She had imagined fierce battles, life-or-death struggles, and ultimately a decisive, clean victory.
What on earth was Shanks thinking? Was this really the kind of man he was?
Ian's face instantly lit up with a delighted smile. "I knew it. If it's you, Shanks, you would definitely understand me."
"Because," Shanks smiled, "if the target is the World Government, then of course I should help out."
"This is something even Captain Roger wanted to do but never managed."
"Roger?"
Roger had indeed been the eternal first love in the hearts of the previous generation. Both Marines and pirates alike held him in exceptional regard.
Hearing Shanks's words, Redfield spoke up immediately.
"That's right."
Shanks nodded. "Although Captain Roger never told me exactly what he saw on the final island, he did say that sooner or later someone would inherit the will of the previous generation and continue the unfinished war from eight hundred years ago."
"A war with the World Government?"
Redfield was shocked.
Eight hundred years ago?
"I don't know the specifics either," Shanks said, simply looking at Ian, "but I think perhaps now is the moment Captain Roger has been waiting for."
If you searched the entire world now, besides Ian, is there anyone else capable of defeating the World Government?
No one.
The Beasts Pirates, as they exist today, seem to have appeared as if destined by fate.
When Kaido first formed the Beasts Pirates, the organization was nothing special.
Until Ian began to shine with his own brilliance.
With unstoppable force and unparalleled presence, he became the strongest person in the world, leading the most powerful pirate crew on the planet.
In eight hundred years, no one had ever stood on equal footing with the World Government like he did.
If not him, then who else?
Though Ian was not the Devil Fruit user Captain Roger spoke of, why couldn't he be the new Sun God?
He not only possessed a radiance like the sun, but his very presence and abilities burned as fiercely as the sun itself.
"Is it the moment Roger was waiting for? I don't know."
Ian chuckled lightly. "But what comes next is clear: between the Beasts Pirates and the World Government, only one will survive."
"So, of course, I have to eliminate all factors that could affect the final outcome in advance."
"But before the ultimate showdown with the Government, Ian," Shanks spoke seriously, "shouldn't we first make a trip to the Final Island?"
"Not only does it hold the ultimate secrets of the world, but it also contains the precious legacy left to us by those who came before."
"Those are things that could play a decisive role in the final battle."
The Ancient Weapons, right?
Aunt Linlin thought to herself.
This Shanks guy really knows things even she doesn't.
However, looking at it now, it seems he only knows some of it. That bastard Roger didn't seem to tell Shanks exactly what awaits on the Final Island.
"In fact, I plan to head to the Final Island after taking care of your side of things," Ian said with a smile.
"Oh?"
Shanks's eyes lit up. "Have you already collected the Road Poneglyphs?"
Speaking of the Poneglyphs, Ian couldn't help but give Shanks a long look. "Of the four Road Poneglyphs mentioned in the historical texts—one in Wano, one with Aunt Linlin, and one on the back of Zou—I've already secured these three."
Shanks nodded lightly; he wasn't surprised at all.
After all, he had sailed the seas with Roger and personally witnessed him collecting all four Road Poneglyphs. He knew where each one was.
Leaving aside the one in Wano, Shanks had also heard about the commotion the Beasts Pirates caused at the Charlotte family headquarters in the North Blue.
By that time, the Beasts Pirates should have already obtained the Road Poneglyph in Charlotte Linlin's possession.
As for the one on Zou's back, there was no need to elaborate. Over the past six years, the Mink Tribe army under the Beasts Pirates had made a name for themselves in the New World.
They had already established a Mink Tribe army. If Ian hadn't discovered that there was a Poneglyph on Zou, Shanks would never have believed it.
**********
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