Chapter 352: Cellmates

Karl said with a smile: "How about it, Buggy, happy? This way, you won't be bored every day!"

Buggy, Shanks: ...

"Look, you two have such a good relationship, and you're both Roger's apprentices. You can chat whenever you're free, reminisce about the glorious past, and so on—how comfortable is that? Plus, you have special treatment!"

Buggy's eyes lit up, and he looked down at the chains binding his limbs: "Are you going to help me unlock these chains?"

Karl shook his finger mysteriously: "No, no, no, don't even think about that kind of treatment if you're a Devil Fruit user. Ta-da!"

Karl took out a newspaper and handed it to Buggy: "From today on, you and Shanks both have the privilege of reading the daily newspaper. Here, just Move Move Like that guy over there."

A certain unknown News King: Don't @ me.

Rustle~

"Go in! Shanks, once you're in, stay put and behave. Don't think about anything else, right, Warden Magellan?"

Magellan, standing behind Karl, nodded with a glowing face: "Correct. As long as you make any abnormal moves, I guarantee I will make you wish you were dead."

Clang~

The prison door closed. Shanks also enjoyed the same treatment as Buggy; his limbs and neck were all bound by heavy Seastone chains.

"Alright, you two take your time getting along. I don't have time to keep you company!"

Karl smiled, patted the prison door, and turned to leave.

On the other side, Doflamingo lay on the ground, looking at the ceiling while doubting his life.

How long had he been in here?

Big Mom is gone, Kaido is gone, the Straw Hat kid has become a new Emperor, and now, Shanks is in here too.

What is wrong with this world?

"Shanks, you bastard, how did you get captured too? Aren't you an Emperor of the Sea? What, did you try to attack Navy Headquarters too?"

Shanks turned his head to look at Buggy and smiled helplessly: "No choice. To save my daughter, I had to take the initiative to break into the Navy's encirclement. You saw the result."

"The Red Hair Pirates have likely become history..." After saying this, Shanks took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. A tear slid from the corner of his eye and dripped onto the ground.

Drip~

Buggy was silent, then said in a muffled voice: "Then, what about your subordinates?"

"Dead. Except for two who surrendered voluntarily, everyone else died in battle."

Buggy sighed: "Sigh, that's truly miserable! Perhaps this is the fate of pirates..."

"Fate... Heh, perhaps so! From the day we became pirates, our destiny was actually already decided."

"Either become the freest person on the sea, or end up in Impel Down or death."

Buggy was uncharacteristically silent. After a long while, he asked softly: "Whitebeard is dead, Big Mom is dead, Kaido is dead, and you've been captured. What will the Navy do next?"

Shanks shook his head: "I don't know. The Navy is no longer what it used to be. What the Navy will do next is probably something only the Navy knows."

Shanks looked at the ceiling and couldn't help but think: Is the end of this runaway era to be frozen? Or is it... a rebirth?

New World, Thousand Sunny.

Snap~

Nami closed the newspaper, looked at the low-pressure Luffy with a worried gaze, and wondered whether she should tell him the news.

Right, not just Luffy, but Uta too. Sigh, what a headache!

"What's wrong? You look Move Move Like you're in a difficult spot?" Robin walked over to Nami, sat down, and looked down at the newspaper in Nami's hand.

Nami held her forehead and sighed: "Yeah, I'm hesitating whether to tell Luffy. I'm afraid..."

Robin took the newspaper, scanned it quickly, and said softly: "The wood is already carved into a boat; tell him. You can hide it for a moment, but not for a lifetime."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll go find Zoro."

Click~

Zoro used the key to unlock Luffy's Seastone handcuffs. Luffy gradually regained his vitality, but his expression was very grave.

"What's the situation? How is Shanks?"

"The newspaper is out. The Red Hair Pirates have been defeated, and Shanks has been locked up in Impel Down."

Luffy's eyes widened immediately: "Shanks is still alive! That's great, I'm going to save him!"

Zoro and Sanji exchanged a look and tacitly blocked Luffy, telling him to calm down.

"Luffy, don't be impulsive!"

"Yeah! Luffy, Shanks was just sent to Impel Down. The Navy must be taking it very seriously. It's very likely that before we even manage to reach Impel Down, Shanks will meet with misfortune. Not to mention, we don't even know where Impel Down is."

Luffy: "I know! ...Uh, I actually don't think I know..."

Luffy gradually calmed down, and with a troubled face, he said: "Then what should I do? I can't just watch Shanks suffer in Impel Down!"

"Luffy, since Shanks specifically sent us away before starting the fight with the Navy, he definitely didn't want you to get involved. By the way, when he was on Elegia Island, did he say anything to you?"

Facing Robin's question, Luffy scratched his head: "Uh, let me think... Right, Shanks said to take good care of Uta, and he also said the last red Road Poneglyph is in Elbaf. Once we find it, we can head to Laugh Tale and find the great treasure left behind by Roger."

Robin's eyes lit up immediately: "Exactly. I think Shanks's intention was for us to reach Laugh Tale first and find the great treasure; that way, there might still be a turning point."

Luffy scratched his head, looking a bit confused: "A turning point? Is there something in the great treasure that can save Shanks?"

Sanji, standing to the side, blew out a smoke ring and said calmly: "Robin-chan means that the great treasure is something not only pirates want, but the Navy is also very interested in it. If we can reach Laugh Tale and find the great treasure, perhaps we can make a deal with the Navy."

"You mean, trade the great treasure for Shanks?"

"Hmm... pretty much. Otherwise, what do you want to do? Turn around now and go search for Impel Down in the crisis-ridden Calm Belt?"

Luffy took a deep breath and shouted: "Everyone, next stop, the land of giants, Elbaf!"

Seeing Luffy regain his energy, everyone smiled, and the ship soon became lively.

After the excitement, Luffy suddenly asked: "Right, I need to tell Uta about this."

Chopper said in a low voice: "Uta is in the infirmary. Are you going?"

"Yeah, I'm going to check on Uta and tell her about Shanks while I'm at it."

The group suddenly fell silent, watching Luffy walk into the infirmary.

"Uta, there's something I need to tell you."

Uta rested her head on her hand and turned to look at Luffy: "Is it about Shanks?"

"Yes, Shanks he..."