First Mate Benn Beckman helplessly massaged his forehead and let out a long sigh, nearly dropping the cigarette from his mouth. Watching his captain act like a fool and "worship" the beach, he couldn't help but wonder, not for the first time, if he'd made a huge mistake joining this crew.
But Beckman's quiet frustration did nothing to dampen the crew's excitement. It wasn't just Shanks; everyone had been stuck on the ship for so long that stepping onto solid ground made them cheer like animals freed from a cage.
As the crew celebrated, Yasopp, the sniper, who always kept his guard up, suddenly frowned. As one of the best marksmen in the world, his Observation Haki was far more sensitive than most.
"Shanks, hold on," Yasopp called out, his voice serious. "Something about this island doesn't feel right."
"Hm?" Shanks immediately dropped his goofy act and looked to where Yasopp was pointing.
A little way down the beach from where they landed, there was a large, neat stack of processed timber. The logs were all thick, at least a meter in diameter, and the cuts were clean. Someone had clearly chopped these trees down and piled them up with care. This was no deserted island; someone was living here.
"Yasopp," Shanks said, his eyes narrowing. He instinctively looked to his most trusted sniper for answers.
Yasopp understood at once. He closed his eyes, and his invisible Observation Haki spread out like ripples in a pond, carefully scanning the pile of wood and the area around it. A moment later, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "There's no one nearby. The woodpile is clear."
Shanks nodded, but he didn't relax his guard. He gave a silent signal, and the officers of the Red Hair Pirates gathered around him, their playful moods gone. They followed their captain cautiously into the forest.
The deeper they went, the stranger the island felt. The forest was unnaturally quiet, with almost no signs of birds or animals. The air was thick with a heavy, tense feeling. With his years of experience sailing the seas, Shanks knew this wasn't natural. A powerful creature or person must have claimed this island as their territory, scaring everything else away.
They soon arrived at a large clearing in the middle of the forest, and what they saw there surprised even the world-weary Red Hair Pirates. The clearing was a complete mess. The ground was torn up with pits and trenches, and countless thick trees were snapped in half or completely uprooted. In the very center of the clearing stood a massive boulder, as big as a small house. The ground around it was heavily disturbed, with clear drag marks and what looked like human hand and footprints on its surface. This was definitely not natural.
"Someone's… training with this boulder?" Shanks's pupils shrank as he instantly put the pieces together. An image flashed in his mind: a powerful hermit, several meters tall with muscles like steel, living alone in the wilderness. Only a monster like that would use such a brutal training method.
The thought made Shanks's heart beat faster. A familiar thrill, one he hadn't felt in a long time, surged through him. It had been years since the Roger Pirates had disbanded. He had never made it to the final island, Laugh Tale, with Captain Roger, and it was a regret he still carried. To make up for that, he had formed the Red Hair Pirates, searching the world for strong and like-minded companions to join him.
Could it be that on this random island, he had stumbled upon such a person? This felt like a gift from the heavens.
"I wonder what kind of person they are," Shanks licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Are they strong enough to join my crew?"
He slowly drew his famous sword, Gryphon, from its sheath. The blade shimmered in the light filtering through the trees.
"Well then, let's start with a proper greeting," Shanks said with a wide, daring grin. He casually swung his arm.
Swish—!
A flash of crimson energy, condensed into an incredibly fast flying slash, shot from his blade. It tore through the air with a sharp whistle and hit the mountain-like boulder dead center. There was no loud explosion, only a clean slicing sound. The massive boulder, which should have been incredibly hard, split apart like a soft apple. The cut was perfectly smooth, like a mirror.
Boom! The two halves of the boulder crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"That should get their attention," Shanks said, sheathing his sword. He crossed his arms and waited. On the high seas, this was how the strong often greeted each other—with a direct display of power. If you weren't strong enough to respond, you weren't worth talking to.
Sure enough, within minutes, Shanks's sharp senses picked up movement.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
In the distance, the loud sound of trees being snapped like twigs echoed through the forest. A figure was rushing toward them at an unbelievable speed.
"Haha! Here they come!" Shanks's smile grew wider. Even without using his Observation Haki, he could feel a wild and powerful aura coming from the approaching figure. It was exactly the kind of aura he expected from a reclusive powerhouse. He watched with great interest as the figure charged closer.
Finally, the person burst through the bushes and into the clearing, trailing a cloud of dust. When the Red Hair Pirates got a clear look at them, Shanks's excited smile froze on his face. He and his battle-hardened officers stood completely stunned, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief.
The person standing before them was a kid. He was short, with wild, spiky black hair, and was wearing only a simple grass skirt. His arms and legs had some muscle, but he was far from the giant they had imagined. Most importantly, he had the face of a boy who couldn't be more than ten years old.
Takero came to a stop, breathing heavily. He first glanced at his "gym equipment," now split in two on the ground, before looking up at the group of strangely dressed strangers. His eyes landed on the red-haired man wearing a straw hat. The boy's face filled with pure anger. He pointed a finger straight at Shanks.
"Hey! You people!" his indignant young voice shouted. "Who do you think you are, just showing up on my island and breaking my stuff? I worked really hard to move that! Have you no manners?!"