On an uninhabited island in the New World.
The Red Hair... no, the Straw Hat Pirates were currently setting up camp along the island's windswept shore.
Shanks had inherited many of Roger's habits. No fixed territory. No massive fleet of subordinates. His crew went wherever the wind took them, living free and unbound.
Of course, this was only his current approach. In another timeline, after ascending to the throne of the Four Emperors, things would change somewhat. Although his Red Force would remain an elite ship with a small core crew, he'd eventually command additional subordinates and occupy some territory.
But that was all in a different future.
At this moment, Shanks' ship had already gathered most of his future companions. Lucky Roux, Yasopp, Ben Beckman... all of them followed him. That much hadn't changed.
However, in the original story, he should still be wandering in the East Blue, not already having entered the New World ahead of schedule.
Lucky Roux and the others were busy setting up tents and organizing supplies, but Shanks sat alone on a large rock overlooking the beach, holding a small piece of paper in his hand, watching it carefully.
He adjusted his position several times, but the paper consistently shifted in one direction. Over the past few days at sea, he'd also changed course multiple times, and each time the paper's orientation had changed accordingly.
After a long moment, Shanks shook his head with a wry smile. "That guy's coming again..."
He was all too familiar with this pattern. The Vivre Card in his hand belonged to Hawk-Eye Dracule Mihawk.
Back in the East Blue, the two had hit it off when they boat stranded on the sea and clashed fiercely in battle, though in the end, neither had emerged victorious.
In the years that followed, he and Mihawk seemed to share an unusual fate. Though neither actively sought the other out, they constantly ran into each other across various seas.
And every single time they met, they fought.
Mihawk found that bastard Shanks incredibly annoying. But he had to admit that Shanks was exceptionally strong in swordsmanship. It was difficult to find another master like Shanks in the world who could test his blade techniques so thoroughly.
Therefore, even though he was perpetually irritated with Shanks, Mihawk recognized his strength. The two would spar and exchange insights every time they crossed paths.
Over time, they'd genuinely developed a strange bond.
Later, for reasons neither fully understood, they'd exchanged Vivre Cards.
In recent years, whenever Mihawk had nothing better to do, he'd seek out Shanks for a fight. Shanks' rapid growth in strength was partly thanks to Mihawk's relentless challenges.
In terms of overall strength, Shanks should be the stronger of the two, especially since he'd learned Conqueror's Haki infusion, which Mihawk, at least currently, hadn't mastered.
But if they were talking about pure swordsmanship alone, Mihawk was somewhat superior to Shanks. However, even this slight edge wasn't enough for Mihawk to overwhelm Shanks decisively. Mihawk clearly intended to use Shanks as his "whetstone," so when they truly fought, they were mostly testing each other's sword skills rather than fighting to the death. In all these years of exchanges and competition, neither had ever definitively won.
As for Shanks, he'd also realized that constant battles with Mihawk could rapidly hone his strength.
On the other hand, he genuinely hadn't given up on recruiting Mihawk as a crewmate.
After all, in Shanks' opinion, Mihawk was definitely strong enough to be his partner. If the two of them could join forces, it would be an incredible boon for his Straw Hat Pirates.
Unfortunately, Mihawk was so devoted to his sword that he had absolutely no interest in Shanks' repeated proposals.
"What's wrong, Captain?" After Lucky Roux had finished setting up a tent, he noticed Shanks' helpless expression and asked with a grin, a half-eaten chicken leg in his hand.
Shanks held up the Vivre Card. "Mihawk's coming. Judging from how frequently this card is adjusting, he shouldn't be too far from us. He'll probably find us within ten days to two weeks."
"Hahahaha! We get to see you and him duke it out again, Captain?" Yasopp called out as he approached from a distance, a bottle of wine in his hand.
Shanks nodded at first, then sighed helplessly. "This is the New World, though. If I fight him here, the commotion we make will probably alert Charlotte Linlin immediately..."
"So what if she finds us? If we could beat the old hag once, we can beat her ten times," Yasopp said bluntly.
Shanks shook his head, about to explain, when a man with a cigarette between his teeth walked over, patted Yasopp on the shoulder, and said, "Yasopp, don't underestimate the Big Mom Pirates. We were lucky we only encountered her that day. She was outnumbered, no match for four against one. If she'd been able to gather more people and pin us down for even a while, I don't think the Captain would have been her match."
"That's exactly right. No need to hide it." Shanks spoke casually, utterly unconcerned about admitting his shortcomings.
He understood perfectly well that although his strength had improved rapidly in recent years, it was still a bit short of reaching the level of monsters like Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Whitebeard.
At this moment, he was probably like Finn when Finn had first encountered Whitebeard. His feet had already stepped across the threshold into the realm of top-tier masters, but he couldn't yet stand in the first rank among them.
It was just a small gap. And this small gap might be bridged in three to five days with a sudden flash of insight, a moment of enlightenment, and then everything would come naturally. He'd break through and become stronger.
Or it was possible he'd remain at this level for the rest of his life, never able to advance further.
Shanks' current frustration was that after fighting Charlotte Linlin, though he'd won, he'd also realized this truth. He wanted to have a proper fight with Mihawk to see if he could achieve a breakthrough.
But he was also worried that if he fought Mihawk here, it would provoke Charlotte Linlin again, which would be extremely troublesome.
"Captain, you don't need to worry too much. We've heard news in the New World these past couple days. The Big Mom Pirates are planning to form an alliance with Kaido. I'm afraid they don't have time to bother with us right now," Ben Beckman said, exhaling a stream of smoke.
"Maybe they're planning to target us specifically?" Lucky Roux suggested thoughtfully.
"How is that possible? We're not that threatening yet. Charlotte Linlin knows very well we're not her match. Losing one battle isn't enough to make her that furious. In my opinion, if the Big Mom Pirates and Kaido really do form an alliance this time, their targets can only be one of two forces," Beckman said seriously.
Shanks chimed in, nodding. "That's right. It's impossible they're targeting us, the Straw Hat Pirates. If nothing unexpected happens, there are two possibilities. One, the Marines have been constantly pressuring the New World gateway waters for the past two years, creating a sense of crisis. They want to form an alliance against the Marines and drive them out of the New World. Or two, they can't stand the constant pressure from Whitebeard anymore, so they want to join forces to take him down." He paused. "As for us? We're not strong enough to warrant that kind of attention yet."
Beckman nodded again, then smiled. "But now, I've basically ruled out the possibility that they're joining forces to target the Marines."
"What do you mean?" Shanks asked, his eyes brightening with interest.
He valued Beckman's intelligence analysis highly. Ever since Beckman had joined the Straw Hat Pirates, he'd played the role of strategist and tactician. Beckman had never disappointed them.
Beckman exhaled another puff of smoke. "I think you've all heard about Admiral Rodriguez Finn leading forces into the New World. Someone mentioned it at the tavern on Vistara Island a few days ago."
"Finn..." Shanks felt a flash of annoyance at the name.
He hadn't had much direct interaction with Finn, but back in the East Blue, that bastard had capsized his ship with a single cannonball, leading to a fight with Mihawk in the middle of the ocean. He'd drifted for several days before finally finding another ship.
"What's your point?" Yasopp asked.
"If they were planning to deal with the Marines, Charlotte Linlin and Kaido would have conspired together in secret. It's impossible that the entire New World would know they were forming an alliance within just half a month. Secondly, Admiral Finn's arrival in the New World was actually a statement of the Marines' attitude and a test of Big Mom and Kaido. But after Finn arrived, not only did they not restrain themselves, they let all the news leak out deliberately. That was their statement to the Marines. Therefore, the target of their alliance this time is most likely not the Marines, but Whitebeard," Beckman explained with a knowing smile.
Shanks nodded, seemingly agreeing with Beckman's assessment. Then, as if genuinely curious, he asked, "Do you think the Marines will intervene?"
"Of course not," Beckman said without hesitation.
"Why?" Yasopp pressed.
"First of all, the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates joining forces to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates is, for the Marines, a perfect scenario. They're hoping these pirate groups fight to the death. Why would they possibly stop it?" Beckman smiled.
After a brief pause, before anyone else could interject, he continued, "Secondly, the Marines are somewhat... bluffing. Or perhaps, genuinely unable to commit forces."
However, as he said this, Beckman's expression turned slightly puzzled. He had a vague suspicion that the Marines might actually be hiding their true strength. After all, the Marines' development in recent years should have been extremely rapid. The wave of the Great Pirate Era had brought countless pirates. The Marines had also aggressively expanded their forces, and recruits had quickly gained rich practical experience. Over the past decade, the Marines should have been in a process of "eliminating the weak and retaining the strong." Logically speaking, their strength should be greater than before.
But unfortunately, in the past ten years, the Marines hadn't taken any major action, which confused Beckman greatly.
This didn't make sense.
But whether the Marines were bluffing, hiding their capabilities, or truly powerless...
In any case, judging from the current Marine deployment in the New World, the Marines had no intention of truly penetrating deep into the New World and initiating an all-out war to eliminate pirates.
Thinking this through, Beckman continued, "In short, the Marines shouldn't make any major moves in the short term. Otherwise, the conflict in the New World gateway area wouldn't have remained at such a low-level stalemate. I have reason to suspect that the Marines' actions in the New World gateway are all training exercises. They simply haven't completed their preparations yet."
Shanks couldn't guess what the Marines' true plans and arrangements were. No matter how intelligent Beckman was, he couldn't create something from nothing and see through everything so easily. He could only speak in general terms.
The conclusion was simple: as long as Charlotte Linlin and Kaido weren't targeting the Marines, the Marines probably wouldn't interfere with their alliance.
"In that case, will the Marines be the final winners? When Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard are all exhausted, the Marines suddenly strike to suppress the chaos or something?" Yasopp asked.
"Still unlikely. If the Marines don't take action, perhaps those three will fight to mutual destruction. But once the Marines make any move, it might quickly affect the balance between the three pirate groups. They'd probably stop fighting each other..." Beckman took a drag from his cigarette. "It's even possible they'd join hands and turn on the Marines instead."
But in the end, he added with a slight smile, "However, everything I've said is based on conventional strategic analysis. People make their own choices, and many seemingly impossible things often happen. Therefore, these possibilities can't be completely ruled out either."
"What have you been saying? It's all just speculation and maybes, isn't it?" Lucky Roux complained while biting into his chicken leg.
"Hahahaha! No, what I'm actually saying is that perhaps many people have overlooked one thing. It's not just the Marines who can take advantage of the situation and watch those three fight. In fact, there's another group in the New World who can benefit from this chaos..." Beckman suddenly grinned widely.
"Who?" Yasopp asked curiously.
Shanks' eyes lit up, as if he'd already figured it out.
Beckman pointed to his own nose. "Us, of course."