Chapter 303 - 161

Chapter 161He wore a cheerful yet slightly apologetic smile: "I'm truly sorry for giving your ship such a daunting display of force the moment I arrived."Whitebeard's deep eyes landed on Shanks, specifically on the three distinct scars over his left eye. It seemed to stir some memories, and he began to laugh deeply:"Gurararara... Seeing that face of yours makes the wound that bastard left me start to ache again.""My apologies, but I have no intention of fighting."Shanks placed the sake jar in his hand before Whitebeard: "I've brought some healing water from my hometown in the West Blue.""You say you have no intention of fighting while exuding such powerful Haki?"Whitebeard sneered, but then let out a heroic laugh, "You bastard, gurararara!"Not far away, Marco looked at the crew members knocked unconscious on the deck and the scattered items, unable to help but shout: "Red Hair, you bastard! Look at what you've done! Pay us back for the deck repairs!"Shanks laughed heartily, saying without a hint of self-awareness: "Oh, it's Marco of the First Division. It's been years; why don't you consider joining my ship? We're actually quite short on ship doctors.""Get lost!" Marco rejected him immediately without a second thought.Soon, the bystanders withdrew, leaving only Whitebeard and Shanks along with the giant jar of sake."What kind of wine is this? It doesn't look like high-grade stuff.""It's from my hometown in the West Blue; it tastes great." Shanks poured himself a bowl and then tossed the jug to Whitebeard.Whitebeard slapped open the seal, and a rich aroma instantly filled the air. He tilted his head back for a large gulp and praised: "Not bad sake.""It's a pity... People like Roger, Garp, Sengoku... there are far fewer people who know the sea from those days.""Yeah," Shanks took a sip as well, a trace of reminiscence appearing in his eyes, "Twenty-two years have passed in the blink of an eye."Whitebeard looked at the man before him, who possessed a steady temperament and restrained Haki, and couldn't help but remark with emotion:"You've made a name for yourself too, Shanks. Back on Roger's ship, you were just an apprentice brat."In those days, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates frequently clashed; he had a deep impression of this red-haired brat on Roger's ship.He even remembered someone else, "Right, what about that red-nosed brat who was always with you? Is he dead?"Shanks smiled: "Buggy? After Captain Roger was executed, we went our separate ways. I heard he's still a pirate in the East Blue; he should be doing reasonably well."Shanks's smile was somewhat subtle."I see."Whitebeard shook his head. To a being like him, twenty-odd years felt like a mere moment.Those names that once shook the world, names that could be called legends, have mostly withered away now."The news of your duel with Hawkeye only reached my ears not long ago. For a man like you to lose an arm in the weakest sea, the East Blue, anyone would be shocked."Shanks touched his empty left sleeve, a meaningful smile appearing on his face, "I bet this arm on the New Era.""As long as you don't regret it.""However, that's not why I'm here today.""Oh?" Whitebeard set down the sake jar, signaling him to continue."It's about Teach."Shanks said in a low voice, "I hope you can recall Ace and stop him from hunting Teach. That man is extremely dangerous!""Gurararara."Upon hearing this, Whitebeard was silent at first, then let out an ear-splitting laugh: "Shanks, are you trying to tell me how to do things, brat?Teach violated the most unbreakable rule on this ship! Killing a comrade is an unforgivable sin! As the Second Division Commander, it is Ace's responsibility to hunt him down!"Chapter 235: The Legendary Pirate Makes His AppearanceAs the conversation deepened, the atmosphere between the two gradually became heavy and tense.Thick dark clouds began to gather in the previously clear sky at some point. The light faded rapidly, as if foretelling an approaching storm.On the other side of the Moby Dick, the Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Officers of the Red Hair Pirates tacitly remained in their respective areas, not approaching.They felt the heavy pressure radiating from the center of the two Emperors' conversation. Looking up, the clouds in the sky were shifting rapidly.Lucky Roux bit into a large piece of meat and said indistinctly:"It seems the talk isn't going very smoothly."Benn Beckman exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze sharp:"After all, it involves a matter of principle regarding family."Just then.*CRACK!*It was as if the sky itself had been torn apart.A massive bolt of lightning sliced through the dim horizon, followed by a deafening roar of thunder."It looks like the negotiations have broken down."Marco looked up.To everyone's horror, the thick dark clouds above their heads actually split open with a visible, massive rift. It was as if the sky itself could not withstand the clash of will and Haki between those two Emperors.The sky had split!...A few days later, Water 7.Under the reluctant yet blessing-filled gazes of Iceburg and the shipwrights of the Galley-La Company, the Straw Hat crew finally arrived at the moment of their departure.By the harbor was moored a brand-new, streamlined, and massive sailing ship full of vitality and technological prowess.The thousand sunny!This was the dream ship custom-built for the Straw Hat crew, designed by Iceburg, infused with Franky's immense effort and Battle Frankly series creativity, and incorporating precious materials like the treasure tree adam.Beside the thousand sunny was the modified, smaller, and more delicate going merry.The two ships had been welded together side-by-side, one large and one small.Little Merry was the most excited one at the moment. She flew back and forth happily between the two ships, her small face flushed as she loudly announced:"I'll get along well with sunny, and together we'll carry everyone even further!""Let's go further together!" Luffy smiled, then bid farewell to the crowd on the shore.Naturally, Franky was among those boarding the ship.Not only was he drawn by Merry, but Franky had also been given a bounty; staying in Water 7 would be too dangerous.Franky stood at the ship's rail, adjusting his sunglasses with a finger:"You bunch of idiot underlings!""Franky, they don't seem to have come," Luffy said, looking toward the shore while holding his Straw Hat."Hmph, they're probably worried I'd change my mind."Franky crossed his arms, striking a cool pose:"Parting doesn't need to be sad; we will eventually meet again.""That's quite a poetic thing to say.""Of course it is!"Franky turned his head, and beneath his sunglasses, on that deadpan face, two streams of tears were flowing uncontrollably.Everyone: "..."Luffy stood on the lion-head figurehead of the thousand sunny, spreading his arms to the sea breeze, "Everyone, set sail!""Oh!"The crew responded in unison.However, in the next second.*BOOM!**BOOM BOOM!*Several cannonballs whistled sharply through the air, suddenly attacking from the distant sea and landing precisely in the water near the two ships, exploding into towering columns of water."Waaah, what's going on?!"Usopp was so scared he ran around with his head in his hands.Everyone looked back to see a Dog-headed Warship with a bone in its mouth approaching unhurriedly. Standing at the bow was Garp, wearing his dog-head hood and laughing with his hands on his hips!"You old geezer! Didn't you say you wouldn't capture us?!"Luffy jumped up and down at the bow in anger."Puhaha!"Garp laughed heartily from his warship, his voice booming across: "That was then, this is now, you brat!At least let your grandpa save some face by firing a few shots at you, otherwise I won't be able to explain things to Sengoku when I get back!"The many Marines: "..."Could you maybe try to'save face' in front of us too?"This isn't good, we'd better run quickly."Nami reacted instantly, immediately stepping into her role as Navigator and shouting commands, "Franky, get your secret weapon ready! Everyone, hold on tight!""Understood! Super!"Franky excitedly struck his signature pose and slammed a button on the control console.The stern of the thousand sunny suddenly opened, and the going merry was quickly pulled into a specific dock inside the hull by an invisible force.Immediately after, structures resembling jet nozzles popped out from both sides of the stern!"Coup de Burst!"With a loud shout from Franky, the thousand sunny's stern nozzles instantly erupted with an incredibly powerful blast of air.The entire ship was thrust forward as if by a giant invisible hand. The bow instantly pitched high up, nearly leaving the surface of the sea.At the same time, Vivi stood on the deck, waving her hands lightly to channel the power of the Wind-Wind Fruit, adding a precise tailwind to the sails and the hull.Merry also worked hard to channel her power as a Klabautermann, guiding the waves and air currents to complement Vivi's power.Under the combined effect of the triple forces, the thousand sunny seemed to transform into a golden stream of light. At an unprecedented and terrifying speed, it cut through the waves, practically flying, and in the blink of an eye, it left Garp's Dog-headed Warship far behind, becoming a small black dot on the horizon.Garp stood at the bow of the warship, watching the golden speck vanish into the skyline. He scratched his messy hair, and instead of frustration, a gratified yet slightly lonely smile appeared on his face: "That brat, he really runs fast."Just then, the transponder snail in his coat rang."Buru buru buru... Kacha."The transponder snail mimicked Sengoku's furious expression:"Garp! Where have you gone off to again, you old bastard?!"Garp picked his ear and said lazily: "Oh, Sengoku. What's up? I found that Straw Hat brat, but unfortunately, I couldn't catch him.""Stop putting on an act for me!"Sengoku roared: "There are two urgent pieces of news. First, it's confirmed that Whitebeard and Red Hair have made contact in the New World. The specifics of their talk are unknown, but the clash of their Haki caused an atmospheric anomaly, and our surveillance fleet was completely wiped out!"Garp's eyes narrowed slightly.A clash between Four Emperors?Sengoku took a deep breath, his tone becoming even heavier:"The second news: according to top-secret intelligence from CP0, the legendary pirate who was the only one to successfully escape from Impel Down twenty years ago, Golden Lion Shiki, has been appearing frequently in the South Blue and West Blue with his floating island fleet. There are signs of a large-scale operation!"The playfulness on Garp's face finally vanished completely.A legendary pirate from Roger's era who survived until now... after twenty years of no movement, is he finally taking action?"That old lunatic Shiki finally couldn't sit still either. It seems this sea is truly about to welcome an unprecedented storm."The wind blew his Justice coat, making it flap loudly.