Year 1509 of the Sea Calendar.
"One Piece:The True Codex"East Blue, Foosha Village.
Shanks and his Red-Haired Pirates had arrived in the village half a month ago, causing quite a stir upon their landing. Despite Shanks repeatedly assuring the villagers and Mayor Woops Slap that they meant no harm and were merely stopping for rest and supplies, the locals remained wary. It wasn't until two weeks passed, during which the pirates refrained from any malicious behavior and even displayed an unusually friendly demeanor, that the villagers began to lower their guard. However, a lingering sense of distrust, especially among people like Woops Slap, still persisted.
Inside the village tavern, the air was filled with laughter and cheer. Members of the Red-Haired Pirates were either engaged in drinking contests or fighting over food. Meanwhile, their captain, "Red-Haired" Shanks, sat at the bar, smiling as he watched his crew's antics.
This man, who had once lived and fought aboard the Pirate King's ship, exuded none of the imposing aura one might expect from a famed pirate captain. He wore a slightly tattered straw hat, with strands of red hair, greasy from neglect, peeking out from beneath its brim. His white shirt had yellowed with age, and his pants were casually rolled up to reveal hairy calves.
Paired with the dirt-covered sandals on his feet, Shanks looked more like a farmer than the captain of a notorious pirate crew. Even the three scars across his left eye failed to give him an intimidating presence.
As Shanks watched his crew's rowdy behavior, he would occasionally burst into laughter, his eyes narrowing and his mouth opening wide to reveal a set of enviably white teeth. His unassuming demeanor and genuine laughter made it hard for anyone not to feel a sense of goodwill toward him.
At one point, a crew member accidentally knocked a plate of steak to the floor, the ceramic shattering with a loud crash.
Hearing the noise, the tavern owner, Makino, peeked out from behind the bar. Shanks, leaning against the counter, immediately put on an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that. We'll pay for it," he said with a sheepish grin.
Makino, a young woman with a gentle demeanor, was taken aback by Shanks' straightforward and sincere apology. "It's just a plate," she replied softly. "It's been used for years anyway. No need to pay."
"Oh no, that won't do," Shanks said, shaking his head. He then turned to a small boy, no older than five or six, sitting nearby. With a playful smirk, he teased, "I'm a pirate, you know. I won't shortchange anyone, not even a single Berry. I'm not like certain people who just run up tabs."
"Luffy, I'm talking about you!" Shanks said, leaning closer to the boy. "How could you not realize that?"
The boy, Monkey D. Luffy, finally caught on and glared at Shanks. However, his youthful face, no matter how hard he tried to look fierce, only succeeded in being amusing rather than intimidating.
"You're really different from other pirates," Makino said with a smile as she watched Shanks tease Luffy. "I've never seen a pirate captain like you before."
"Is there a standard image for pirate captains?" Shanks asked, adjusting his straw hat. "Pirates pursue freedom. Living the way others expect you to sounds exhausting."
"I just mean that you're not like the other pirates—vicious and cruel. You're actually quite kind," Makino said. "You're unique among pirates, kind of like the Morgan Pirates in the East Blue."
"Hmph!" Mayor Woops Slap, who had been eavesdropping nearby, let out a disapproving snort and tapped his cane against the floor.
"The Morgan Pirates?" Shanks' curiosity was piqued at the mention of another pirate crew. Turning his attention away from Luffy, he asked, "What's so unique about them? Tell me more."
Luffy, equally intrigued, leaned in closer.
Makino tapped her chin playfully, trying to recall what she had heard. "I heard about them when I was restocking supplies for the tavern. Apparently, near the Navia Kingdom, there's this pirate crew called the Morgan Pirates. They never harm civilians and even go out of their way to help villages affected by disasters. They only target other pirates who commit atrocities..."
As Makino spoke, she realized that while Shanks and his crew weren't exactly villains, they still fell under the category of "other pirates." Feeling that her words might be inappropriate, she quickly stopped herself.
But Shanks showed no sign of offense. Instead, he looked genuinely excited. "From what you've said, this crew sounds amazing. I wonder what their captain is like. I'd love to meet him—maybe even invite him to join my crew!"
Still annoyed by Shanks' earlier teasing, Luffy stubbornly countered, "That's nothing special! The most amazing pirates are the ones who go on all kinds of adventures!"
Makino lightly tapped Luffy on the head. "How can adventure compare to fighting to protect the weak?"
Unable to tolerate the conversation any longer, Woops Slap stepped forward and said, "All of this might just be a bunch of lies made up by irresponsible storytellers! There's no such thing as pirates who willingly help civilians. They're not the Marines! Stop filling Luffy's head with these fantasies. What if he starts believing these lies?"
Meanwhile, in Maple Village, the very captain Shanks had mentioned—William—was seated at a banquet, casually reading the latest issue of the World Economy News.
Joining him at the table were Sherlock, the local head of the Four Seas Trading Company, his bodyguard Edmond, and several key members of the Morgan Pirates, including Hatcheson, Kuro, Selkirk, Yasopp, Diego, and Aramis.
The headline of this issue featured the captain of the Kuja Pirates, the infamous "Empress" Boa Hancock, who had been invited by the World Government to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Leaning against William's shoulder, Edmond glanced at the photo of Hancock printed in the paper and remarked with a hint of chauvinism, "Is the Grand Line running out of talent? They're letting a delicate woman like her become a Warlord?"
Sherlock, holding an identical copy of the newspaper, unfolded it and pointed to the text beneath Hancock's photo. "This 'delicate woman' has a bounty of 80 million Beli—more than four times Barbarossa's bounty. She's no ordinary pirate."
"That just proves the Grand Line is running out of capable people," Edmond retorted stubbornly. "A woman like her getting an 80-million bounty? The World Government must be blind. They should've invited William to become a Warlord instead."
"Why would anyone want to be a lapdog for the World Government?" Hatcheson chimed in disapprovingly.
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