As Luna gave her response to the World Government, news of the newly appointed Shichibukai quickly spread across the seas.
Her former bounty of over two hundred million Berries placed her somewhere in the middle among the Shichibukai. Some people wanted to make a name for themselves by stepping on Luna and her crew, while others couldn’t care less. Even among the Shichibukai themselves, not many bothered to make any sort of statement about it.
Even Moria didn’t react particularly strongly. He simply intensified his grave-robbing operations, urgently searching for even more powerful corpses.
After considerable effort, he actually managed to find the corpse of Oars, the “Continent-Puller” who had once been active on the seas, on an ice field in West Blue.
Luna and the others encountered several challengers who came looking for them of their own accord, or rather, provokers. After going through several battles, they firmly secured their position.
The sea remained in a state of turmoil because of a single sentence from Roger. More than a year later, in the middle of the year 1527 of the Sea Circle Calendar, at Fishman Island’s office on the New World side—
Bullet continued his usual grueling training. Earlier that very year, he had once again challenged Nereus.
But the result hadn’t changed in the slightest. There seemed to be an insurmountable gulf between them. Nereus had merely played around using other people’s techniques and still crushed Bullet outright.
While Bullet continued tempering himself and waiting for another chance to issue a challenge, an old acquaintance of his arrived on the island.
“Isn’t that Bullet? Haven’t heard anything about you for all these years. So you’ve been here?”
“Hmph.”
Bullet merely snorted coldly and completely ignored Shanks, who had taken the initiative to greet him, as though he didn’t even know who Shanks was.
Shanks wasn’t surprised. Back when Bullet had been aboard Roger’s ship, this was exactly what he had been like. On the entire ship, Roger had been about the only person capable of communicating normally with Bullet.
Perhaps Roger had been the only one who had truly beaten Bullet into submission.
In Bullet’s eyes, the current Shanks was still a nobody and wasn’t worth paying attention to.
Perhaps because he’d been sailing alone for too long and still felt some nostalgia for the old days, Bullet finally spoke when Shanks was about to leave.
“You sailed here from the New World by yourself? Looks like you’ve grown too. What happened to that red-nosed brat who was always glued to your side back then? Did he die?”
“Buggy? I haven’t seen him in a while either. We had an argument back then. But I’m not alone. I’ve got a group of reliable companions. We just separated temporarily because of some business.”
This sentence caused the conversation, which had been making slight progress, to come to a standstill once again. After uttering the word “companions,” Bullet closed his eyes and began meditating once again, entering a new round of grueling training.
Shanks didn’t linger there. Following the procedures he had already confirmed in advance, he completed all the necessary preparations before heading to Fishman Island.
Pulled along by the sea current, the ship gradually descended. Sunlight was slowly swallowed by the deep sea, before the surroundings turned from darkness to light again with the aid of Eve.
This time, however, Shanks wasn’t merely passing through, nor had he come simply to get a signed record from Nanamo for Uta.
“I’d like to meet your king.”
“Huh?”
“It’s something very important. I need to discuss it with your king in person. Please pass along the message for me.”
“Even if you’re being very polite… this isn’t something a single guard like me can decide…”
Faced with Shanks’s request, the guards at the entry checkpoint looked at one another. They had never encountered something like this before. There certainly weren’t a shortage of people who wanted to meet Nereus, but those people all had their own channels of communication.
Whether through diplomacy or personal connections, who would come asking guards like them?
“But…”
“Look over there.”
The guard pointed toward a small building beside the entry checkpoint. It was the place where visiting merchants applied for licenses, including various trade permits.
“If you want to meet His Majesty, go apply there.”
“Thanks…”
As Shanks turned to leave, he overheard several soldiers discussing the small building after he’d gone.
[Is the sign not obvious enough?]
[Maybe there are too many words? A lot of pirates can’t read…]
[Let’s file a report later. We might need more pictures here.]
Realizing that they seemed to have taken him for an illiterate, Shanks didn’t quite know what to say. Still, considering the average literacy level among pirates, it wasn’t exactly strange.
Shanks didn’t choose some crude method like causing a huge disturbance to draw out higher-ranking officials. Instead, he obediently followed the proper procedures.
It was somewhat slow, but it didn’t drag on for too long. A few hours later, Shanks had already arrived at the Royal Palace.
…
“I heard you wanted to see me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. There’s something you need to know. Some time ago, Harald, the king of Elbaf… died.”
[He died at this time?]
Shanks’s words surprised Nereus somewhat. What surprised him wasn’t Harald’s death itself, but rather that Harald had died at this particular point in time.
When Nereus had arrived in this world, Harald had only just been mentioned in newly updated information, so Nereus had no idea exactly when Harald was supposed to die.
And as for the news coming out of Elbaf last year… things could be said to have been going extremely well.
The Giant warriors in the Marines had improved the reputation of the Giants as a whole. After working under the table for so many years, they had finally received some returns.
Harald had even been preparing to build a sightseeing ship so that ordinary people from the outside world could use it to tour Elbaf.
According to Harald himself, Elbaf was already very close to becoming an affiliated nation.
Yet just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, news of Harald’s sudden death arrived.
Nereus didn’t know that all of this had been the result of Imu personally stepping in to micromanage the situation.
Through these detailed, hands-on operations, Imu successfully managed to lose a powerful combatant, create a “father’s killer” enemy for themselves, and turn Elbaf into an opposing faction.
If Imu hadn’t micromanaged things, the World Government really would have gained a powerful force.
“Who killed him?”
“It’s rather complicated. It’ll take some time to explain.
Even among the Giants of Elbaf, only a handful know the truth. But Harald’s dying wish was that you be informed of this. He said… ‘Your preparations’ were correct.
“First…”
Shanks rolled up the sleeve on his left arm and showed Nereus a symbol.
“I heard that you also experienced what happened at God Valley back then, so there are some things I probably don’t need to repeat. This symbol is a mark bestowed by the World Government’s ‘Boss.’
“It’s called the Shallows Covenant. Those in the Knights of God’s reserve force, the Devoted Blades of God, all bear this mark. Harald had one as well.
In other words, Harald and I were once colleagues.”
After a pause, Shanks continued, “But even with the lowest-level Shallows Covenant, as long as we’re within the range of their ability, we still can’t resist their power.
That’s why I only ever discussed certain other matters with Harald when we were far away from Mariejois.”
“Far away? Then you think the distance between Fishman Island and Mariejois is enough?”
“Yes. Here, I can’t feel the covenant’s control. Even though Fishman Island is directly beneath Mariejois, the ten-thousand-meters of deep sea, combined with the towering Red Line, seems to be enough. Or maybe the deep sea blocks that kind of perception?
I’m not entirely sure myself.”
While in Mariejois, Shanks looked every bit like Saint Shanks. None of the Celestial Dragons noticed anything strange about him. Only when he was far from the Holy Land was Shanks truly himself.
It was only in distant lands overseas that Harald and Shanks had more opportunities to interact.
“Under their system, I’m first in line to become a full member of the Knights of God. A deeper covenant can grant power far beyond that of ordinary humans—an immortal body and special teleportation ability—but the degree of control also increases.
No matter where you are, you can’t escape that person’s control.
But Harald accepted it…”
What followed was the truth of what had happened in Elbaf. Imu had wanted to completely take control of Elbaf and turn every Giant into a soldier for war—or more accurately, into slaves.
Harald refused, but he was unable to resist the power of the Depths Covenant.
Shanks and Gaban held him back for a time, while Loki gained recognition and ate the Devil Fruit that the Giants had preserved all this time—the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nidhoggr.
It was a Devil Fruit whose power increased the larger its user’s body was.
Afterward, Loki killed Harald and concealed the truth. He was now preparing to head out to sea under the identity of a rebel.
Although Shanks didn’t know every detail, the overall sequence of events was correct.
And the reason Shanks had come to Fishman Island to explain all of this was that Harald had briefly regained consciousness before his death and entrusted Loki with several things. Loki then passed Harald’s words on to Shanks.
After adding some of his own considerations, Shanks had finally chosen to reveal everything.
Shanks had channels through which he could learn about that era. Of the powerful people from back then, the most radical one had died, and the one most willing to compromise had died as well. Only Nereus remained.
“So, despite carrying Figarland blood, you don’t approve of the existence of the Celestial Dragons?”
“I agree more with what Captain Roger said. Your environment… can change a person. Oh, right. Could you give me a signed record from your daughter? There’s a little girl on my ship waiting for one.”
He had just been seriously discussing matters of great importance, yet once everything had been explained, Shanks suddenly relaxed. A trace of playfulness appeared in his expression as he brought up the promise he’d made to Uta.
Regardless of how high the record’s price is driven up outside, they were dirt-cheap at the source, especially while the original artist was still alive. There were still plenty stacked up in Ryugu Palace, and before long, someone brought over a complete set and handed it to Shanks.
Shanks didn’t linger. As far as Mariejois was concerned, he was still “missing,” having left abruptly on his own. After only a brief stay, he departed Fishman Island.
Shanks’s appearance did allow Nereus to update quite a bit of his information. At the very least, it proved that even someone who had signed a Depths Covenant could still be killed.
Harald’s case, however, was somewhat special. In the end, he had regained consciousness and personally asked Loki to kill him.
The other Celestial Dragons certainly wouldn’t willingly seek death, so whether the situation could be replicated was another question.
“Dad, when that person came earlier, a ‘person’ spoke to me.”
While Nereus was revising some of his plans, Chloe climbed up from behind the chair and whispered into his ear.
Chloe had been there when Shanks arrived. She simply hadn’t spoken up and interrupted them.
“Who?”
“A voice from the deep sea. It sounded like it had just woken up.
I was talking with those big guys just now when it suddenly joined in and said that there are some special individuals among the Sea Kings too.
According to what it meant… a covenant at this level can be severed by the fangs of those special individuals.”
As the only being outside the Sea King race who could freely communicate with Sea Kings through an innate ability, Chloe’s exchanges with them were gradually becoming deeper.
At first, she had received only a few responses. Then came increasing acknowledgment. And now, even an enormous Sea King that normally slept on the ocean floor had responded.
The method of communication wasn’t limited to simple verbal exchanges either, but had expanded into a kind of telepathic connection.
There was no need to worry about information leaking when communicating with Sea Kings, so Chloe had also asked these living histories of the deep sea whether any among them knew about those matters. As it turned out, she really did receive a response.
“I see. In that case, some things… do make sense.”
The Depths Covenant reached deep into the soul. Even if someone was smashed into pieces, they could still recover. The Shallows Covenant’s influence wasn’t as deeply rooted, so if it could be severed through some special method, that would better explain the issue of the severed arm.
“What things?”
“Nothing. Just some things that haven’t happened yet, but might. Go play. But don’t tell Yamato about what happened here.”
It wasn’t that Nereus was afraid Yamato would collude with anyone else or anything like that. She was actually very straightforward. It was just that she hadn’t inherited Kaido’s intelligence.
She might not mean anything by it, but she could accidentally let slip things that shouldn’t be said. It was better simply not to let her know.
However, not many people knew about Harald’s death. Although the reputation of the Giants had improved somewhat through Harald’s efforts, Elbaf still remained shrouded in mystery.
In terms of a nation’s fame, it was far less well-known than Fishman Island. Even so, it wasn’t long before word spread that Loki had taken people out to sea. Judging by their sailing speed, it wouldn’t be long before they reached Fishman Island.
Time passed slowly. Shanks also returned to the companions he had been separated from for several years. A grand banquet was held aboard the Red Force to celebrate their captain’s return.
However, Uta felt that something was a little off about the complete set of signed records Shanks had brought back.
“Shanks, are these really hand-signed?”
“Of course. Her father gave them to me personally. Is something wrong?”
“Mm… no. I probably just saw it wrong.”
Uta carefully put the records away. Whether they were real or fake didn’t really matter. The fact that Shanks had remembered the promise was enough.
What Shanks didn’t know was that the records normally sold outside were all signed by Hermes, who imitated Nanamo’s handwriting.
As a result, after those signatures became widespread, Nanamo’s genuine autograph actually differed slightly from what people were used to. Someone who didn’t pay close attention wouldn’t notice, but if they studied them carefully, they could still spot a few subtle differences…
OPUK 291 Harald’s Death
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