East Blue, Windmill Village.
A red dragon-headed sailing ship dropped anchor at the pier.
The black pirate flag at its mast declared the crew's name for all to see: the Red Hair Pirates.
Though Red-Haired Shanks's fame didn't yet rival that of Kaido the Beast or Whitebeard Newgate, his bounty of 1.04 billion Berries—earned from the large-scale destruction of the Ellegia Kingdom—had carved his name into the Grand Line as a notorious and formidable figure.
Inside Partys Bar, laughter and noise spilled into the street.
The crew sat crowded around tables, drinking and carousing, swapping stories from their adventures. Shouts of "Cheers!" rang out again and again.
At the far right end of the bar counter sat an unlocked wooden box, placed there openly.
Shanks himself was at the bar, a plate of fried rice in one hand and a spoon in the other. He ate slowly, chewing each bite with deliberate calm.
Beside him, Luffy made the request he'd repeated a hundred times before.
"Hey! Shanks, next time you go out to sea, take me with you! I wanna be a pirate!"
Shanks swallowed his mouthful of rice and laughed, refusing without a second thought.
"Hahaha! A kid like you, a pirate?"
Luffy scowled, his face scrunching with dissatisfaction.
"Ah! Why not!"
"No means no. I'm not taking some brat out to sea."
Just then, the bar's swing doors pushed open.
In walked Sephiroth, wearing a red floral shirt, white beach shorts, and slippers. Two sabers were tucked at his waist.
The bar noise died instantly. Every member of the Red Hair Pirates turned to look.
First Mate Benn Beckman's hand drifted toward the pistol on his hip.
Sephiroth hadn't interacted much with Shanks's crew—only once, during the Song Devil incident in Ellegia.
They'd coordinated that time, handling the sudden threat together.
But.
The unavoidable truth remained: their stances were different. One side was the Marines. The other was pirates.
And given that Sephiroth was someone who could clash with Kaido the Beast, in terms of strength alone, he was a deeply troublesome presence. Their relationship was undefined—not quite enemy, not quite friend.
So the Red Hair Pirates grew tense, ready to move at a moment's notice.
At the bar, Luffy glanced at the crew, then at Sephiroth. His not-so-smart little head struggled to piece it together.
Oh, right. Sephiroth was a Marine. Shanks was a pirate.
Thinking he'd figured it all out, Luffy spun toward the red-haired man and shouted.
"Run, Shanks! Sephiroth's a Marine!"
"Hey, hey, hey," Sephiroth cut in, raising a hand. "Don't make the atmosphere so tense. I'm off duty today—no overtime. I just came to chat with an acquaintance."
He walked to the left side of the bar and took a seat.
Shanks was quiet for a moment, then spoke, his tone wistful.
"Uta… is she doing well?"
"Yeah. She's doing great. I found her a famous music teacher. Lately she's been talking about releasing an album or something."
Shanks laughed, a real, warm sound, and clapped Sephiroth on the shoulder.
"Hahaha! Is that so? That's good…"
"I'm really looking forward to her new album. Hope I get to hear it soon."
Seeing the tension drain away, the Red Hair Pirates relaxed, and the bar's lively, noisy atmosphere returned.
Machino smiled from behind the counter.
"Sephiroth, what'll it be today?"
"The usual."
"Right away."
Machino placed a glass in front of him, then bent to retrieve a bottle of sherry from a drawer. She uncorked it and poured.
She hadn't stocked this wine before. On his first visit, Sephiroth had mentioned sherry, which piqued her curiosity.
So, on her next supply run, she brought some in.
When he visited again, she'd asked, "Care for a glass of sherry?"
Sephiroth had just smiled. "Nothing could be better."
Machino took that to mean it was his favorite, and she'd offered it every time since.
In truth, Sephiroth had no particular fondness for sherry. He'd mentioned it that first day simply because it was cheap, decent, and he figured a bar would have it.
He never corrected the charming misunderstanding, though. No point in making things awkward.
Over time, it just became their routine.
Sephiroth lifted the glass, took a small sip, and turned to Red-Haired Shanks beside him.
"You've been in the East Blue for nearly a year now."
"Are you looking for something?"
"Hahaha! Not looking for anything. Just wandering."
Shanks laughed it off, his answer deliberately vague.
He was lying.
Sephiroth's Observation Haki instantly judged the truth of the words.
The Red Hair Pirates had made Windmill Village their long-term base. Every time Sephiroth came to the village, he had to carefully pick a different time.
But...
He kept waiting, and Luffy still hadn't eaten the Rubber Fruit.
Finally, Sephiroth couldn't wait any longer. He showed himself to meet Shanks, to probe the man's intentions and give him a subtle nudge.
*If you're going to give him the Devil Fruit, hurry it up.*
*Bang!*
One of the bar's swinging doors was kicked in from outside. The force shattered it from its hinges, sending it skidding several meters across the floor.
A man swaggered in, hands in his pockets, wearing a brown robe with a saber at his waist. A cross-shaped scar marked his forehead, and a short beard framed his face. His expression reeked of arrogance. A group of vicious-looking lackeys followed.
The scarred man spoke, his tone utterly insincere.
"Excuse the interruption!"
He took a moment to size up the Red Hair Pirates scattered around the bar, then scoffed.
"Heard a pirate crew washed up in this village. That you?
You all look like a bunch of idiots..."
Conversation died. The Red Hair Pirates stopped drinking. Every eye turned to the man who'd insulted them.
Watching, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He instantly guessed who the newcomer was, and a few absurd lines drifted through his mind...
*If you ask who's strongest in the East Blue, only I, Higuma the Mountain King.*
*Bottle in hand, I take on the Four Emperors; underfoot, I tread the future Pirate King.*
*My bounty is eight million; I can defeat the sky, the earth, and the air.*
Were it not for the Lord of the Coast, Pirate King would have finished in four episodes!
Higuma stood at the bar, pulled his right hand from his pocket, and slammed it onto the counter with a heavy *bang*. He wore an evil grin.
"We're mountain bandits, but we aren't here to start trouble…" he said. "Just sell us wine. Twenty barrels. Now."
*Yeah, right.* Sephiroth stifled a sigh. *With that attitude, you might as well ask for the whole bar for free.*
Faced with the aggressive bandits, Machino hesitated. "I'm sorry," he said. "The wine is sold out."
Higuma's eyes turned cold. He glanced over at the glasses and bottles in the pirates' hands, his voice dripping with ill will. "That's strange. Are these pirates drinking piss?"
"What we've sold is all we had," Machino explained.
Beside the bar, Red-Haired Shanks watched Higuma's expression darken—the man looked ready to strike. Shanks decided to step in, drawing the bandit's attention to himself.
"My apologies!" he said, offering a warm, disarming smile. "Looks like we drank the place dry." He picked up an unopened bottle from the counter and held it out to Higuma. "If you don't mind, this one's on us. It's still sealed."
Higuma stared at the bottle. To him, the offer was an insult.
His right hand shot up, clenched into a fist, and smashed the bottle from Shanks's grip. *Bang.* Shards and liquor sprayed over Shanks's front.
Still not satisfied, Higuma pulled his left hand from his pocket. He thrust a wanted poster bearing his own portrait toward Shanks, his tone vicious.
"Hey! Who do you think I am, kid? Don't underestimate me." He jabbed a finger at the bounty. "Look close. My head's worth eight million berries. I'm a wanted man." A cruel smile twisted his lips. "I've killed fifty-six arrogant bastards just like you."
Behind him, his bandits snickered.
Around the room, the eyes of the Red Hair Pirates turned unfriendly. They watched their captain, waiting for a single word to wipe those smirks away.
But…
"Hahaha—!"
In the thickening tension, Sephiroth suddenly laughed—a loud, genuine howl that bent him double at the waist.
He couldn't fathom it. With a personality and level of idiocy like Higuma's, how had the man survived this long?
The "Bandit King," boasting an eight-million-berry bounty… was showing off his poster to Red-Haired Shanks, whose bounty topped a *billion*.
Hilarious. His proud price couldn't even buy a fraction of the other man's.
"Kid," Higuma growled, turning his head. Malice filled his eyes. His right hand settled on his saber hilt, ready to draw. "What's so funny?"
"I felt like laughing." Sephiroth's smile faded. His eyes sharpened like a blade, and a terrifying killing intent rolled off him, pinning every bandit in the room. "Got a problem with that?"
Under that gaze, Higuma felt an invisible saber press against his throat. His right hand grew heavy as stone; he didn't dare pull the weapon from his waist.
He wasn't the only one. His men felt it too. Some of the more timid ones began to tremble.
*This is the feel of death.*
Gulp.
Higuma swallowed, quickly released his grip on the saber hilt, but he was stubborn, refusing to lose face:
"Hmph! Nothing to drink here... What a disappointment!"
"Let's find another place."
With a dismissive wave, he turned and strode out of the bar, his terrified bandit crew scrambling after him.
Once Higuma and his men were gone, Red-Haired Shanks just grinned, utterly unbothered by being drenched in booze. He chuckled lightly.
"Whew! Good thing you were here to chase them off, Sephiroth..."
Seeing this, the rest of the Red Hair Pirates in the bar piped up, ribbing their captain.
"Hahaha! The boss got bullied!"
"No kidding! Pretty embarrassing, boss!"
"The kid's still the best!"
"Boss, you oughta take lessons from him..."
Luffy's eyes swept over the laughing crowd. He bit his lower lip hard, his small body shaking with fury. The words burst out of him almost before he knew it.
"Why are you laughing!"
"Aren't you ashamed?"
"Why didn't you fight!"
"Even if they had more guys, even if they looked tough... Letting them do that to you and then laughing about it? You're not men! You don't deserve to be pirates!"
Red-Haired Shanks just kept smiling. Not a trace of shame touched his face.
"I get how you feel..."
"But it was just a little spilled booze. No need to get so worked up, right?"
"Shut up! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
Luffy spun around, presenting his back to Shanks in a clear dismissal.
"Shanks, dry yourself off."
Machino pulled a cloth from behind the bar and handed it over. Shanks thanked him, took it with his left hand, then removed his straw hat with his right. He cradled the hat in the crook of his arm and began carefully wiping it down.
Captain Roger had given him this. It meant something.
Sephiroth's voice held a teasing lilt.
"Well now, Shanks. I must say, you've got a real talent for handling people."
"With my temper, I'd have gone over and given him a couple new smiles."
Shanks turned to look at him and laughed, a full, hearty sound.
"You give me too much credit. I just don't sweat the small stuff... Hahaha!"
"Oh? Is that really it?" Sephiroth mused, his tone noncommittal. "Or do you sweat it more than anyone?"
Meanwhile, the oblivious Luffy, right in front of a dozen people, popped open the small wooden box beside him. He grabbed the Gum-Gum Fruit inside and started taking huge, eager bites.
"Luffy! What are you eating?!"
As if snapping back to reality, Shanks whipped his head toward the boy.
But he was too late. By the time he looked, Luffy was swallowing the last bit of the Devil Fruit... stem and all.
Shanks's eyes went wide. His expression turned theatrically grave.
"That box? Did you eat what was in that box?"
"Yeah?" Luffy nodded, confused.
"Spit it out! Spit it all out right now!"
Shanks lunged forward, grabbing Luffy by the ankles and hoisting him upside down. He shook him vigorously in the air.
"Shanks, what are you doing?!"
As Luffy squirmed, his legs suddenly stretched like rubber. His head thumped against the floor, then snapped right back up.
He didn't feel a thing.
"What was that?" Luffy asked, utterly bewildered.
"What you ate was the Gum-Gum Fruit, also called a Devil Fruit. After eating it, your whole body will turn into rubber!"
"And you'll never be able to swim again. If you fall into the sea, you'll sink like a stone."
Sephiroth sipped his sherry, watching the farce unfold with mild amusement.
His own intelligence suggested the Red Hair Pirates had stolen the Gum-Gum Fruit from CP9 a full year ago.
Yet Shanks had never given it to a crewmate. He hadn't sold it, either.
If he'd wanted it for himself, he surely would have eaten it by now.
Who hesitates for an entire year over a Devil Fruit? The man must have a chronic case of indecision.
And at auction, even the most common Devil Fruit would sell for a hundred million Berries, minimum.
So why was something as valuable as the Gum-Gum Fruit left in a flimsy wooden box… without so much as a lock?
The show over, Sephiroth finished his drink. He slid a ten-thousand Berry note beneath the glass.
Then, he stood up and left Party's Bar with a smile on his face…