“I’m not blind, I can see a living person that big. So what kind of trouble have you stirred up this time?”
“Someone just wanted to talk to you. How would I know what this guy wants to say?”
Kaido spread his hands, indicating he knew nothing about it.
“Excuse me. This should be our second meeting. In that case, would you allow me to speak with you alone?”
Unlike Kaido, who spent his days going out and fighting, Shanks had very little interaction with Arceus. Their only formal conversation had been during the Summit War.
But that one encounter made Shanks realize something. Unlike Kaido, who was obsessed with war, this one merely observed from the sidelines with a certain purpose.
The intensity of war seemed irrelevant to him. He was only searching for something within the gaps, and he had a kind of order he preferred.
That sense of order was far better than Kaido’s war.
After all, Shanks had heard words like “social gathering” and even “matchmaking.” Hearing such terms come from the leader of a pirate crew was extremely strange.
The most absurd part was that Arceus and Kaido had actually found a balance between them. Logically speaking, their relationship shouldn’t have been this harmonious.
“Worororo, if you want to talk, then go ahead and talk. I’m not interested in whatever you have to say anyway. But you’d better be careful.”
Kaido patted Red Hair on the shoulder with his large hand before walking out. For Kaido to act purely as a guide for once, Shanks was already being given considerable face.
“Be careful, don’t die here. That’d be troublesome.”
Kaido wasn’t threatening Shanks.
For now, he found Red Hair fairly agreeable. Even if Shanks said something strange right in front of him, he wouldn’t care. But Arceus was different; if you provoked him, the outcome was usually unpleasant.
As long as you didn’t cross Arceus’s bottom line, he was indeed very tolerant. But once that line was broken, Arceus was far more terrifying than Kaido.
“You came all this way, what do you want to say? For the sake of your adopted daughter, I can spare you some time.”
The profits generated by a top-tier idol were terrifying. With the fan effect and Tesoro’s management, Uta had become a living advertisement, bringing immense profits to Beasts Fruits.
It was precisely because of that profit that Arceus was willing to give Shanks some of his time.
“I have two questions. I hope to get answers from you. Is this war unavoidable?”
“It is unavoidable.”
“I figured as much…”
Shanks had once speculated about the internal factions within the Beasts Pirates. Arceus and Kaido represented two extremes, and no matter how one looked at it, Arceus seemed to belong to the more moderate side.
But now that the Lunarians’ identity had been confirmed, and recalling what Shayna had just called him, the answer was almost certain.
Shanks understood very well the current situation of the Lunarians, and why they had ended up this way.
Shayna’s attitude earlier had been very unusual. Not just toward him, but even toward Kaido, there had been no submission or reverence, only a degree of respect. But when she mentioned the name Arceus, the loyalty in her tone was impossible to conceal.
Shanks was certain that the term “Sacred Beast” of the Lunarians had never appeared in history. The only recorded term was “Sacred Relic.”
If that was the case, then it meant this being had come into existence recently.
No matter how Arceus had appeared—whether transformed from a Sacred Relic or descending later—it meant he had a deep connection with the Lunarian race.
If he truly didn’t care about the Lunarians, then the few remaining members of that race would never treat him like this.
From that alone, the conflict between them and the World Government was absolutely irreconcilable.
Back when Egghead had been attacked, Shanks had even lamented the death of the genius scientist Vegapunk.
But now, he suddenly understood—he understood why the Beasts Pirates had launched such a fierce assault on Egghead, a research institution, and why they had chosen the option with the least benefits.
“Then my second question, after the war ends, what happens next?”
“When it ends, it ends. Endless war won’t last forever. Once everything settles, there will naturally be a new beginning.
Your question doesn’t really have any meaning. If anything, you’re wasting your chance to ask.”
“I don’t see it that way. Our perspectives are different, I think that answer is already enough.”
Shanks didn’t believe the other party would lie about something like this. The World Government would not allow pirates to expand without limit.
Although they tolerated the existence of pirates and used their plundering of the seas to shift conflicts between other nations and the World Government, once a pirate force grew to the point of becoming a threat in their eyes, it would inevitably be erased.
Rocks was one such example. Back then, the existence of the Rocks Pirates had already become an intolerable cancer.
The Beasts Pirates were in a similar situation. Kaido loved war, and Arceus’s stance made any negotiation with the World Government impossible. Since the outbreak of war was inevitable, the most effective way to mitigate it was to accelerate its course.
A short-term tug-of-war and a prolonged war of attrition were not the same. Once it turned into a prolonged war, it would become a contest of endurance; whoever’s economy collapsed first would lose.
And in that process, it would be the ordinary people who suffered.
That was also one of the reasons Shanks made his choice. The addition of a new force to bring this war to a quicker end was not necessarily a bad thing.
“Your questions have been answered. Do you have anything else you want to do?”
“Actually, I’d like to go see the current Shogun of Wano Country. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“You’ve already come here; of course that’s no problem. Let Kaido take you around. After all, he’s the one who brought you here. If you have time, you can even stay a day or two and attend the ceremony.”
“It would be my honor.”
Shanks replied politely, still unaware of what this so-called ceremony actually meant.
As for Arceus, he merely intended to use the Divine Blessing Ritual as a way to display his power.
“It seems you’ve gotten the answers you wanted.”
Even without a guide, Rotom could direct someone’s path by opening doors. With Rotom’s assistance, Shanks was eventually led back to Kaido.
Seeing that Shanks looked much more at ease, Kaido guessed a few things and planned to ask Arceus about it later.
If something could be answered simply by asking, he had no interest in thinking it through himself.
“More or less. In a way, this is far better than the worst outcome I had anticipated.”
Buru buru buru—
Another Den Den Mushi rang. The one on Shanks started ringing again.
The previous Den Den Mushi had been used by the Five Elders to contact him, and outsiders didn’t know its number at all. To communicate with others, Shanks carried additional Den Den Mushi.
After a moment’s thought, Shanks didn’t hang up. Instead, he answered the call.
“Hello.”
“Shanks, it’s me, Beckman.”
“Ah, I recognized your voice. What’s up?”
“Is it convenient for you to talk over there?”
Shanks could hear a hint of seriousness in Beckman’s tone. After thinking for a moment, he decided there was nothing to avoid.
He had already made his decision, so a certain level of openness was reasonable.
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
“Get your ass back here right now! How long have you been sneaking off without a word?! Do you have any idea how many problems have piled up these past few days?!”
The Den Den Mushi sprayed saliva from its mouth, one of its unique traits. When you’re enraged, it vividly mimics your expressions, including spitting everywhere.
Den Den Mushi even have saliva, allowing them to recreate the effect of someone shouting in anger on another level.
“Explain this to me, why did you sneak off in the middle of the night?! Watching Uta’s concert is one thing, but now there’s news saying you’re with Kaido?!
Sure, you’re the boss and we follow your orders, but at least give people a heads-up, will you?!”
“Huh? How did you even find out about that?”
“We paid for it! It has spread all over the Underworld. A couple days ago it was rare information. Now, it’s 500 Berries a copy!”
“Hey, hey… what did you say? The signal’s bad, I can’t hear you clearly. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in two days. I’m sure you can hold things together until then.
Oh dear, how did the receiver fall…”
Shanks activated his classic act of playing dumb again. He “accidentally” lost his grip on the receiver and dropped it back onto the snail’s shell.
“My apologies, my vice-captain is a bit impatient. He probably got dumped by a woman and hasn’t been in the best mood lately.”
“Worororo, you’re more interesting than I thought…”
Kaido had just started laughing and was about to mock Shanks’ subordinate, but sometimes, opportunities just happened to arise at the perfect moment.
A crack suddenly split open in the space behind Kaido, and a kanabo swung out from it, smashing straight into the back of his head.
“Thunder Bagua!”
Only after his head was struck did Kaido hear the shout of “Thunder Bagua,” as Yamato leapt out from the crack.
There was no need to shout during a sneak attack—assassination in the style of King Hassan didn’t apply to every situation, so Yamato only called out the move’s name after landing the hit. [TN: Fate/Grand Order King Hassan.]
“Hahaha! I did it! These past two days weren’t wasted at all… huh? Why is there another person here?”
Looking at the swelling on the back of Kaido’s head, Yamato’s face was full of pride.
During this time, Yamato had relied on the power of cooperation. She spent a whole day scrubbing Rayquaza’s back, successfully persuading it to help her. Then she went to the Reverse World and, with Rayquaza’s help, found Giratina.
After another full day of doing the same for Giratina, her persistence finally paid off, and Giratina agreed to open a small portal for her.
“My apologies, my daughter here doesn’t always know the time and place….”
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