His brothers' urging made Vista draw a deep breath to steady himself, then announce aloud:
'Captain of the Morning Star Pirates, Barzeb Seven, bounty three billion; First Mate Dracule Mihawk, bounty two billion; combatant Fujitora Issho, bounty two billion… wanted dead or alive.'
'Defeated the ten-thousand-strong Marine Buster Call force led by five Headquarters Vice Admirals including Sakazuki and Kuzan, and rescued the Devil Child, Nico Robin.'
'Hailed as the second emperor of the sea.'
The Whitebeard Pirates stared in stunned silence.
"What?!"
"An emperor of the sea like Dad?!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
"Little Seven's only been sailing two years."
His sons' reactions made Whitebeard grin even wider. "All right, Marco, go set up the banquet; we'll talk over drinks."
When the wine had gone three rounds and the dishes five courses,
Marco shook his head and sighed.
"Dad, I never imagined that among Captain Roger's boys, little Seven would be the first to become a great pirate. I thought he was just a good cook."
"Gurarararara!"
Whitebeard downed a huge bowl of sake and slammed it on the deck.
"Roger said Seven awakened Conqueror's Haki at eight; now he can trade blows with that magma brat—impressive indeed."
"He's only seventeen," Marco marveled.
"Next time I see little Seven, I'll definitely spar with him."
Vista laughed. "Little Seven's a Great Swordsman; if anyone spars first, it's me."
Perhaps because they'd known him for years, or because Seven's cooking—and brewing—were superb, especially the dream sake Whitebeard craved, almost every member of the crew thought highly of him.
Only a certain fat black man stared blankly at the bounty poster.
He got this strong in just two years?
So should I set sail too, instead of hiding on the Whitebeard Pirates and waiting for who-knows-when the Dark-Dark Fruit will appear?
Teach felt a sudden irritation; the white-haired brat from Roger's ship—one of his old rivals—had become the second emperor of the sea at seventeen.
Damn it!!!
Where's the justice? How can that bastard who knocked out my teeth become an emperor?
Thinking that the Red-Nosed Kid and the red-haired brat still hadn't made names for themselves, Teach finally felt better: I'm not the only failure.
While Barzeb's already an emperor, those two are probably stuck in some backwater.
At least I'm crew to an emperor!
..."Achoo, achoo, achoo."
On an unknown island, the straw-hatted red-haired youth sneezed several times, rubbing his nose and muttering.
"Someone… thinking of me?"
"Extra! Extra! Ohara Buster Call… the sea's second emperor is born!"
A paperboy's shout caught the youth's attention; he fished out a 100-Berry coin and called,
"Hey, kid, give me a paper."
Seeing the coin, the boy grinned. "Big bro, it's 500 Berries now."
"Five hundred? Wasn't it a hundred?"
"This issue's sold out, so the price went up."
"Sold out?!" The youth quickly paid; something huge must have happened for the paper to sell out.
"Thanks!" The boy handed over a copy.
Reading the headline, the red-haired youth nearly buried his head in the page, as if that would prove the story true.
"What?!"
"Seven? emperor of the sea?"
Shanks rubbed his eyes, certain he was dreaming: Great Swordsman, Captain of the Morning Star Pirates? Crushed a Buster Call fleet?
He knew every word, but together they made no sense.
"The Seven I know?"
White hair—check. Features—check. Confident gaze—still there. But how?
We split only three years ago, right?
Three years back, the Roger Pirates disbanded; Seven vanished with Captain Roger. Two years ago the Captain surrendered and was executed at Loguetown.
In just three short years his buddy had become the sea's second emperor?
Shanks's bewilderment rivaled that of a certain future Warlord imprisoned in Impel Down upon reading that Luffy had become one of the Four Emperors.
All he could think was: How is this possible?
Moments later, back in his hotel room, he pulled out an unused den den mushi and rang Vice-Captain Rayleigh for answers.
den den mushi: "Hello, who's calling?"
"Vice-Captain Rayleigh, it's me, Shanks."
The snail replied lazily, "Shanks, how've you been?"
"Doing fine, Rayleigh-san."
After small talk and travel tales, Shanks finally asked, "How are Buggy and the others?"
The snail chuckled, not exposing the dodge.
"Haven't seen Buggy in ages; I talk with Seven often—he borrowed three hundred million from me the other day."
"Seven's huge now; the papers call him an emperor—three-billion bounty, both his officers at two billion each."
Shanks's mouth went dry; he gulped a glass of water.
So it really is Seven!
Seventeen-year-old emperor of the sea. Buddy, we agreed to take it easy; you've blasted off so fast how am I supposed to catch up?
The snail laughed. "Shanks?"
"I'm fine, Rayleigh-san." He changed the subject to hide his shock. "I'll come visit you and Shakky soon."
"We're not on Sabaody right now; we're heading to Elbaf for a while."
"After Seven smashed that Buster Call, he's worried the World Government might hassle us old folks, so we're lying low."
"Shanks, travelling alone, stay safe out there."
"I will."
Hanging up, Shanks gave a wry smile: Brother, fly slow—give me a chance to catch up!
Becoming emperor in two years? That's just cheating; how can the seas be this crazy?
Is this for real?
Where's the justice, where's the law?
He could already picture Buggy's reaction to Seven's rise: endless mockery for his poor judgment.
Buggy would probably shout:
"Shanks, you idiot! If you hadn't changed your mind and invited Seven aboard, we might be emperors too!"