"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
A giant ice bird shot through the icy mist, rapidly crashing towards him. There was more movement within the mist; two thick ice spears followed closely behind.
Bege quickly slashed out. His flaming sword aura blasted the ice bird apart. Two more slashes shattered the ice spears, and his figure rapidly retreated.
"Ice Rain: Roosting Birds!"
A flurry of sounds came from within the icy mist. One by one, palm-sized ice birds burst out, shooting towards him like a torrential downpour.
Bege swiftly swung his sword twice. Thick arcs of flaming sword aura swept out, destroying the ice birds one after another. He continued to retreat while swinging his sword.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind him. Kuzan had appeared behind him at some unknown point, his bone-chilling ice saber slashing abruptly towards Bege's neck.
Bege frowned. His externalized space instantly expanded to a meter. The space seemed to solidify, and Kuzan's movements slowed visibly.
"What's happening?" Kuzan's pupils contracted, his expression changing drastically as he looked at Bege.
Bege's figure twisted in an odd way and, in an instant, vanished.
"Where?!"
Bege abruptly reappeared behind Kuzan, his Fire Cloud Sword piercing through Kuzan's body with extreme speed.
Kuzan's entire body turned to ice in that instant.
"Elementalization? Quick reflexes!"
Bege thought with a sigh. The next moment, he vanished from the spot again. Kuzan swung his ice saber, cleaving through Bege's afterimage.
Kuzan's entire body emitted a white, icy mist, half of his form encased in frost. His cold expression was incredibly grave.
"I don't have time to play with you." A terrifying aura blasted the icy mist apart, followed by a horrifying sword qi. That sword qi instantly tore through the icy mist and, in the blink of an eye, struck Kuzan. Kuzan's body instantly shattered. The violent sword qi sliced open the frozen sea surface, carving a path hundreds of meters long before plunging into the ocean, parting the waters.
Beside the fractured ice, an ice sculpture of a human figure emerged from the ice layer, quickly reforming into Kuzan.
His expression was grim. He leaped into the air and looked up to see Bege already hundreds of meters away, treading on air.
"He got away. What a troublesome enemy." Kuzan's stern expression slowly relaxed into his usual laziness.
"Well, I did my best. Can't help it if I couldn't catch him."
Kuzan landed back on the ice, hopped on his bicycle, and continued his journey across the sea. He even took out a Den Den Mushi to call Fleet Admiral Sengoku and report the situation.
In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford, Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, his face dark.
"Capone Bege, who disappeared for three years, has reappeared. And he can now easily escape from Kuzan. That guy's strength has grown a lot. What a troublesome fellow."
"Only he appeared, which means the Fire Tank Pirates aren't fully prepared yet."
Sengoku waved his assistant out of the office. He picked up a Den Den Mushi and made a call.
"Demon Dragon has appeared. Activate the sleeper agents for the Dragon Extermination Plan."
Sengoku relayed the sea area where Demon Dragon had been sighted, then hung up. The Dragon Extermination Plan had been ongoing for the past three years. The World Government's CP organizations had dispatched numerous intelligence personnel and Marine special agents to work on this plan, just waiting for the Fire Tank Pirates to show themselves.
After flying through the air for a thousand meters, Bege noticed Kuzan wasn't pursuing him. He then took out another sea vessel and continued his voyage across the ocean.
New World, Purple Grape Island.
This island was famous for a type of purple grape, each as large as an egg, which was excellent material for winemaking. As a result, a purple grape wine from the island was extremely renowned, well-known even throughout the New World.
Bege was passing by Purple Grape Island and decided to stop briefly to taste this purple grape wine.
In a bar on the island, a group of pirates was cheerfully drinking and shooting the breeze.
Suddenly, the bar doors were kicked open. A terrifying aura swept through the entire establishment. The violent and ferocious Conqueror's Haki made the tables and chairs in the bar tremble.
The pirates in the bar paled, instantly jumping to their feet and grabbing their weapons.
"What fierce Conqueror's Haki! Who is it?" A middle-aged man in a blue cloak had a solemn expression, a delicate pistol in his hand, as he stared intently at the figure in the doorway.
Only one person in the entire bar remained seated, a look of delight on his face.
"Don't be nervous. It's not an enemy."
"Bege, this entrance of yours isn't exactly subtle, is it?"
"Bege? Capone Bege? Demon Dragon!" The middle-aged man in the blue cloak instantly recalled a name, a notorious pirate his captain had once mentioned.
Bege walked in, his domineering presence palpable as he looked around and then burst out laughing. "Shanks! Long time no see!"
That's right; the pirates in this bar were none other than the crew of Red-Haired Shanks.
Bege looked at Shanks' crew, especially the blue-cloaked middle-aged man holding the pistol. The moment Bege had unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, he had been locked onto by an Observation Haki, and it was from this man.
Judging by his face and attire, there was no doubt this was Shanks' vice-captain, Benn Beckman.
Besides him, there was the portly Lucky Roo, as well as some crew members whose names Bege didn't know, but all of them had the look of those who would later form the core of Shanks' crew when he became one of the Four Emperors.
"Shanks, looks like you've found yourself a fine group of companions," Bege swaggered over.
"Hahaha, of course! They're all excellent companions!" Shanks praised his crew without reservation.
"What an incredibly imposing man," Benn Beckman thought, sensing the aura around Bege, his expression extremely serious. However, knowing Bege wasn't an enemy, he put away his pistol, and the others also lowered their weapons.
"Bartender, a drink! Your best stuff!" Bege called out to the barman.
"Shanks, it's my treat today!" Bege laughed heartily.
"You said it!" A smile spread across Shanks' face. He looked at his crew and laughed. "Bege's treating today! Everyone, drink your fill! He's a rich guy, so let's make it a party!"
Shanks' crew members immediately cheered excitedly.
"Cheers!" Bege and Shanks clinked their mugs, downing an entire large glass of purple grape wine in one go.
"This really is good wine."
"Bege, how did you know I was here?" Shanks asked.
"I was just passing by Purple Grape Island, wanted some good wine. After landing, I heard someone say the Red-Haired Pirates were on the island, so I came looking," Bege said.
"Oh, so that's how it is! We came for the good wine too. We haven't seen each other since Loguetown. Come, come, come, another drink!" Shanks poured Bege a drink, then downed his own in one gulp.
"Shanks, I hear you've been doing quite well these past three years. Your bounty has even surpassed mine. Red-Haired Shanks, hahaha, that title suits you well," Bege said, looking at Shanks. The current Shanks had long since shed his immaturity and was much more composed and mature than he had been three or four years ago.
Over these three or four years, Shanks had gathered a group of powerful companions and made a great name for himself on the seas.
The fame of the Red-Haired Pirates had already surpassed that of his Fire Tank Pirates, and Red-Haired Shanks' name was second only to the hegemons of the New World.