"Kaido, what the hell are you trying to do?!"
The classic greeting between the Four Emperors—a clash of Conqueror's Haki—was always bad news for the bystanders. Shanks also has a grand fleet under his command, though its quality seemed questionable.
On ordinary days, aside from the main crew of the Red Force, other subordinate crews would also follow Shanks around. When Kaido unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, Shanks' top officers were fine, but the rest couldn't handle it, collapsing one after another on the ship's deck.
"Worororo, Shanks, your subordinates are too weak. Is this what you like?"
"That's none of your business, Kaido. Are you looking for a fight?!"
An equally powerful Conqueror's Haki pushed back against Kaido's. Gryphon was already unsheathed—facing the temperamental Kaido, Shanks did not lower his guard.
"That really is some strong Conqueror's Haki. The brat from Roger's ship has grown to this level, huh? Good, this won't be too boring..."
Clang!
Gryphon clashed with Hassaikai, and the confrontation of Conqueror's Haki escalated from a battle of wills to a physical confrontation.
Shanks had already foreseen all of this and wasn't surprised in the least.
When it came to Observation Haki, Shanks had a natural advantage. His Observation Haki had already reached the level of future sight, and he also possessed the unique ability—Observation Killing, allowing him to be immune to others' Observation Haki perception.
With these two abilities, he always gained the upper hand in battle.
The other members of the Red Hair Pirates made no move to interfere. This was their captain's fight, and unless someone else joined in, stepping in would only disgrace Shanks.
"Kaido, what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Shanks even started to doubt his own Observation Haki because he saw a vision of Kaido sitting down and drinking. The most baffling part was that after just a few brief clashes, Kaido actually did sit down and start drinking right then and there. And after that, Shanks completely lost his ability to observe Kaido's future.
It was as if Kaido had vanished from the future itself. This ability was eerily similar to Observation Killing, but in Kaido's case, it felt like he was relying on some external force.
"Ah, I was just bored, so I figured I'd drop by your territory for a bit. Didn't you see? I even brought my own booze—it's from West Blue, too."
"How would you even know about that… Uta?!"
"Yeah, that little girl still thinks about you all the time. I specifically asked about your preference on the way here."
"And, following your usual habits, I suppose I should say this—
"Give me some face, sit down and have a drink with me. Or, I could bring that little girl over and have her rejoin your crew. You're one of the Four Emperors now, and she is practically a world-renowned diva. It wouldn't count as breaking any promise, would it?"
This wasn't exactly a threat, but it worked well enough on Shanks. He definitely didn't want Uta to return to the pirate life, so he allowed Kaido to join the banquet. Besides, he also had some questions he wanted answers to.
…
"Kaido, about what happened to Sir Oden—do you have anything to say?"
"Why do you sound just like that old man Whitebeard? Always bringing up that guy. Sure, he was a decent opponent, but what's so fascinating about him?
"If you really want to know, it was all Kurozumi Orochi's scheme. If you don't believe me, you can come to Wano Country yourself and see what it's like now."
"Besides, Oden's daughter is Wano's Shogun now. You can ask her directly."
Shanks fell silent for a moment but ultimately decided not to press further on this matter. He had his own thoughts about it.
Kaido lingered for about half an hour. Even after he left, Shanks still couldn't figure out what exactly he had come for.
"Shanks, are you really not going to let Uta come back? The Beasts Fruits may not be a pirate crew, but they're still part of the Beasts Pirates. If Uta stays there... it could complicate things in the future."
"I know. But Uta's stage isn't this pirate ship—it's the whole world. Rather than being hunted alongside us by the Marines, this is the better option. Besides, Kaido is a battle maniac, he wouldn't use that kind of method to influence the outcome of a battle."
"What I really want to know is—what was his actual goal? There's no way he just came here to sit around, right? Though, that alcohol was pretty good. I should ask him where he got it..."
"Speaking of which, I ran into his daughter back in East Blue. Lately, she's been stirring up quite a bit of trouble there too."
Hawk Eyes, standing nearby, muttered this quietly. Kaido wasn't a swordsman, and this was Shanks's territory—he had no reason to interfere. He was simply providing Shanks with a bit of additional intel.
When he wasn't intentionally goofing around, Shanks was actually quite sharp. Putting himself in Kaido's shoes, he suddenly started to understand a few things.
"Looks like... I got played by that guy."
Less than ten minutes after Kaido left, a specially modified Den Den Mushi on his person rang. A deep voice came through.
"Shanks, what exactly did Kaido say to you?"
"He didn't say anything, just had a drink with me."
"Shanks, do you take us for fools? You expect us to believe that? Don't forget your position."
"If you don't believe me, then do as you please. But don't think you can order me around."
"You..."
Shanks hung up the call without hesitation. Then, he threw an arm around Hawk Eyes' shoulder and pulled him back to the drinking table—the banquet wasn't over yet.
"Shanks, that call just now..."
"Just some paranoid guys. Ignore them. Let's keep drinking!"
At that moment in Mariejois, the Five Elders remained silent for a long time as they stared at the now-disconnected Den Den Mushi.
"Can we trust Shanks?"
"That brat has his own agenda. Let's follow Sengoku's plan for now. Increase surveillance. Beyond that, there's not much else we can do."
…
Due to Kaido's inexplicable actions, nearly every Den Den Mushi within Marine headquarters was constantly busy. On top of that, some were privately sharing information with their contacts—even Kuzan joined in.
"Admiral Kuzan, is there something you need?"
The Den Den Mushi's expression slowly changed into a dead-fish-eyed stare, and its mouth even mimicked the shape of a cigar—though, of course, it didn't produce any smoke.
"Smoker, you've seen the latest orders from headquarters, haven't you?"
"Yeah, I have..."
"Then as a Marine Admiral, I'm ordering you—do not act recklessly. The situation in East Blue is not something you can handle. Do you understand?"
"I..."
"That woman is no ordinary pirate. She's even immune to my attacks and can unleash a freezing breath that rivals mine. Smoker, headquarters is planning a major operation—you are absolutely forbidden from disobeying orders at this time."
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