Chapter 97

On the deck of the East Sea Emperor, an open-air banquet hall.

Seven raised his cup high.

“Comrades, let us welcome the legendary pirate Shanks aboard!”

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Upon hearing that Shanks had joined the Morning Star Pirates, veteran crew members like Mihawk, Fujitora, Buggy, and Jin Ni showed no great reaction.

They had all witnessed their captain’s charisma firsthand.

Since Shanks reached an agreement with the captain and stayed aboard the East Sea Emperor, they had already anticipated that this legendary pirate would never escape the captain’s grasp.

It was just basic captain behavior.

Only Yuki Shiro’s breath momentarily paused, his eyes brimming with heightened battle lust and urgency.

There are now four great swordsmen on this ship!

If I don’t train harder in swordsmanship, soon… I might not even make the top five.

Though he had only joined the Morning Star Pirates for a few days, Shiro felt immense relief over his decision—his experiences aboard the ship had filled him with a bizarre yet undeniable sense of disorientation.

The captain is practically a god.

Shiro, as former warden of Impel Down, had personally witnessed Shanks’ severed legs—those very limbs were still on display in Impel Down.

Yet now, they had regrown.

Before joining, Shiro remembered clearly the two great swordsmen under the captain: Mihawk, hailed as the world’s greatest swordsman, and Fujitora, a lifelong blind man.

Yet Fujitora had regained his sight!

Such supernatural, godlike abilities—Shiro had never heard of them, never seen them—until now.

No wonder I, Yuki Shiro, recognize this man.

“Captain, I toast you.”

Seven raised his cup in return.

“Shiro, once we reach Hive Island, I’ll arrange specialized training for each of you. For swordsmanship, I’ll be your sparring partner.”

“For Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and martial arts, exchange techniques among yourselves.”

Shiro gripped his cup tightly: “Understood.”

Could he finally witness the captain’s swordsmanship? Not only Shiro, but the entire world was curious about the captain’s and vice-captain Mihawk’s techniques.

Because no one had ever heard of their sword moves.

Fujitora at least had passed down his techniques—Gravity Blade: Mighty Tiger, Iai, Meteor Strike—but the two captains had none.

Their secrecy was impeccable.

Shanks raised his cup and blustered.

“Hey, kid from Impel Down, how’s Barret doing since I left?”

By age, Shanks calling Shiro “kid” was perfectly fine—he was over fifty, while Shiro was only twenty-two.

Most Morning Star Pirates were in their twenties; only the captain was still a few months shy of eighteen.

“Shanks-senpai, Barret still trains relentlessly, just like before.”

Hearing this, Shanks cackled.

“Captain, once we take Hive Island, let’s attack Impel Down—the Sixth Layer’s Infinite Hell holds plenty of strong fighters. If we recruit them all…”

“Hehehehe!”

Fujitora’s eyelid twitched slightly; inwardly, he resolved: from now on, he alone would guard the captain—he would not let Shanks lead him astray.

Seven rubbed his cup, smiling slyly: “So, you want me to follow Lox’s path?”

Shanks was left speechless. Even the mighty Lox Pirates proved one thing—openly defying the World Government leads to ruin.

“Shanks-senpai, there’s an old saying: build high walls, stockpile grain, delay proclaiming yourself king.”

“Though the World Government is rotten to its core, it has stood for eight hundred years—surely it’s not as simple as it appears.”

“Even if we slaughtered our way to Mary Geoise, what then?”

Seven poured himself another drink.

“I know I’m not as strong as Lox. If even he couldn’t do it, why should we repeat his mistakes?”

“Steady growth is the way.”

According to online power rankings from before his transmigration, Seven was currently at the peak of Emperor rank, barely touching the threshold of King level.

Once he mastered Conqueror’s Haki defense, awakened the Gura Gura no Mi, and additionally consumed the Suisui Fruit to manifest a Nika form immune to Blackbeard’s control…

Only then would he consider attacking Mary Geoise.

Shanks chuckled.

“You’re the captain—you decide.”

In truth, after learning of Imu’s existence, Shanks had calmed considerably—he no longer considered destroying the East Sea, but instead waited to see what Seven would do.

To forge a path different from Lox’s?

The banquet continued; the impact of the East Sea Emperor entering the New World had only just begun.

All pirate crews, big and small, feared that the monsters might have set their sights on their territories, especially since this was the first time the Morning Star Pirates had entered the New World.

If they don’t plant flags, are they just here for tourism?

Some even hoped Barzab would fight Whitebeard, to prove which crew was truly the strongest on the seas.

New World, the Moby Dick.

“Papa, Papa.”

Crew members led by First Division Captain Marco, Third Division Captain Jozu, and Fifth Division Captain Bista gathered around Whitebeard.

“Papa, Senpai has entered the New World—shouldn’t we go see him?”

Fourth Division Captain and chef Sachi chimed in.

“Papa, I want to learn new recipes from Senpai—and Tichi especially wants to go.”

“Tichi?”

Whitebeard glanced at the black, fat man behind Sachi, a flicker of faint nostalgia crossing his eyes.

Back when Whitebeard’s crew fought Roger’s crew for three days, Senpai and Tichi had clashed bitterly over two teeth.

Tichi believed: the three teeth kicked out by the red-nosed brat and the red-haired brat had been snatched up by the white-haired brat.

But when he searched, he found nothing.

Sachi hurried to explain.

“Papa, Tichi has collected every single newspaper issue featuring Senpai.”

Marco joined in.

“It’s been so many years—we must go welcome an old acquaintance who’s come to the New World.”

“La la la la~”

Whitebeard laughed: “Barzab isn’t ‘Senpai’ anymore—he’s a 3-billion-berry Emperor.”

“Still… I miss him.”

“Marco, set sail.”

“Let’s go meet that kid.”

Rarely did his dream boy enter the New World—Whitebeard’s fingers itched to see just how strong this so-called “next-gen king” really was.

“Long live Papa!”

Led by Marco, the division captains cheered, eager to block the East Sea Emperor’s path.

Crew members took their posts to activate the Moby Dick; the black, fat Tichi trailed behind Sachi to the kitchen to help.

He collected the newspapers not to meet the white-haired brat, but to remind himself—

My former rival has become famous across the seas; though you still play childish games, a man’s dream never ends.