Chapter 46: Brother, Fly Slowly

The urging of his brothers made Bista take a deep breath to calm his inner turmoil, then spoke loudly.

“Barzab Seven, captain of the Morning Star Pirates, bounty thirty billion; first mate Joraku Mihawk, bounty twenty billion; fighter Tenghu Yisheng, bounty twenty billion… dead or alive.”

“Defeated a force of over ten thousand Marines led by five admirals—Sakazuki and Kuzan—and rescued the Devil’s Child, Nico Robin.”

“Known as the second Emperor of the Sea.”

The Whitebeard crew stared in stunned silence.

“Nani?!”

“An Emperor of the Sea, just like Old Man?!”

“Are you kidding?!”

“Seven-kun’s only been at sea two years!”

Seeing his sons’ reactions, Whitebeard laughed even harder: “Alright, alright, Marco—go prepare the feast. We’ll drink and talk.”

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes.

Marco shook his head, sighing deeply.

“Old Man, I never imagined it would be Seven-kun from Roger’s crew who became the first great pirate—I thought he was just a good cook.”

“Gurara rara rara!”

Whitebeard downed a large bowl of wine and set the bowl on the deck.

“Roger told me Seven awakened Conqueror’s Haki at eight. Now he can trade blows with the magma brat—truly extraordinary.”

“He’s only seventeen,” Marco murmured.

“Next time I meet Seven-kun, I’ll have a proper sparring match with him.”

Bista laughed loudly: “Seven-kun’s a great swordsman—I should be the one to challenge him first.”

Perhaps because they’d known him for years, or because Seven’s cooking and brewing were exceptional—especially since Whitebeard had long dreamed of his favorite drink—most members of the Whitebeard Pirates held a favorable impression of Seven.

Only one black, fat man stared blankly at the bounty on the newspaper.

Became this strong in just two years at sea?

Shouldn’t I have gone to sea too, instead of hiding here among the Whitebeard Pirates, waiting for a Dark-Dark Fruit that may never come?

Tichi felt a sudden surge of irritation: the white-haired brat, once Roger’s rival, now the second Emperor of the Sea.

Kusshii!!!

It’s not fair! That bastard who stole my teeth—how can he become an Emperor of the Sea?

When he thought of the red-nose brat and the red-haired brat still making no name for themselves, Tichi finally felt a little better: I’m not the only one falling behind.

Barzab Seven’s already an Emperor of the Sea, while the red-nose brat and red-haired brat are probably still stuck in some backwater corner.

At least I’m a crewman of an Emperor of the Sea!

…

“Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!”

On an unnamed island, a red-haired boy wearing a straw hat sneezed repeatedly, rubbing his nose as he muttered.

“Who’s thinking of me?”

“Extra! Extra! Ohara’s Holy War… The Second Emperor of the Sea is born!”

The newsboy’s cry caught the red-haired boy’s attention; he pulled out a hundred Berries from his pocket and called out.

“Kid, give me a newspaper.”

Seeing the coins in the red-haired boy’s hand, the newsboy grinned and chattered: “Big brother, this paper’s five hundred Berries.”

“Five hundred? Isn’t it one hundred?”

The newsboy explained: “This edition sold out—price went up.”

“Nani? Sold out?” The red-haired boy quickly pulled out five hundred Berries—something major must’ve happened, or else the newspaper wouldn’t sell out.

“Thank you!” The newsboy handed him a paper.

When the red-haired boy saw the news, he nearly buried his face in the paper, as if only by doing so could he confirm whether it was real.

“Nani?!”

“Seven? Emperor of the Sea?”

Shanks rubbed his eyes, seriously doubting he was dreaming: A great swordsman? Captain of the Morning Star Pirates? He defeated a Marine Holy War force?

He recognized every word—but together, they made no sense.

“Is this the Seven I know?”

White hair… yes. Facial features… yes. Confident gaze… also correct—but how is this possible?

We’ve only been apart three years.

Three years ago, Roger’s crew disbanded; Seven vanished with Captain Roger. Two years ago, the captain turned himself in and was executed in Loguetown.

In just three years, his good brother Seven became the second Emperor of the Sea?

Shanks’ shock at this moment mirrored that of Doflamingo, imprisoned years later in Impel Down, upon seeing a newspaper headline declaring Luffy an Emperor.

His mind was full of: How is this possible?

After a moment, Shanks returned to his temporary hotel room, took out his long-unused Den Den Mushi, and called Vice-Captain Lei Li for answers.

Den Den Mushi: “Hello? Who’s calling?”

“Vice-Captain Lei Li, it’s me, Shanks.”

The Den Den Mushi replied lazily: “Oh, Shanks? How’ve you been lately?”

“Fine, Uncle Lei Li.”

After some small talk and updates on his two years of travels, Shanks finally returned to the point: “Uncle Lei Li, how have Baki and the others been?”

The Den Den Mushi chuckled, not exposing anything.

“Baki? I haven’t seen him in ages. But I’ve been in touch with Seven often—he borrowed three billion Berries from me just recently.”

“Seven’s really something now. I saw the paper—he’s called an Emperor of the Sea, bounty thirty billion. Both his crewmates have twenty billion bounties.”

Shanks suddenly felt terribly thirsty; he quickly poured himself a glass of water and drank it down in one gulp.

It really is Seven!

An Emperor of the Sea at seventeen? Brother, we promised to just drift through life together—how did you take off so fast? How am I supposed to catch up?

The Den Den Mushi laughed. “Shanks?”

“I’m fine, Uncle Lei Li,” Shanks changed the subject, trying to hide his embarrassment: “I’ll visit you and Aunt Xia soon.”

The Den Den Mushi continued: “Aunt Xia and I aren’t on Sabaody Archipelago—we’re heading to Elbaf for a while.”

“Seven took down a Marine Holy War force; he’s afraid the World Government will come after us old-timers, so he told us to go into hiding.”

“Shanks, be careful out there on your own.”

“Mm.”

After hanging up, Shanks gave a bitter smile: Brother, fly slow—give me a chance to catch up!

Became an Emperor in two years? That’s just not fair—how can such an absurd thing exist on the Grand Line?

Is this even real?

Where’s justice? Where’s the law?

Shanks could already imagine how Baki would mock him once he saw Seven become an Emperor.

Baki might even shout out loud.

【Shanks, you idiot—if you hadn’t changed your mind and invited Seven aboard, he might’ve become an Emperor too!】

…