Red Hair Shanks, the most special among the current Four Emperors.
He is not only the youngest of the Four Emperors, but also was once an intern on Roger's ship, and has the privilege of communicating with the Five Elders.
[He is not someone who would destabilize the world's balance for personal gain]
This was the Five Elders' previous assessment of Shanks, but now they are starting to question whether this judgment might be flawed.
The prior meeting between Red Hair and Kaidou already made them feel uneasy.
When they questioned what Red Hair and Kaidou discussed, Red Hair claimed Kaidou specifically sought him out to drink.
The Five Elders completely disbelieve this reason, assuming Shanks is just perfunctory with them. If it were just for drinking, Kaidou did not need to make this trip, and if Shanks was unwilling, could Kaidou truly force him to drink?
From that point, the Five Elders suspected Shanks might be hiding something.
Red Hair doesn't seem like a vicious pirate, but regarding his own power, to protect his underling pirates, he would obliterate enemies in a single strike, as Kid knew all too well in the original timeline.
As for Kaidou, he might appear as a brute, but he is extremely cunning, and similarly, the Five Elders do not think Kaidou would seek out Red Hair just for drinking, they'd more likely believe it was a brawl.
"So everything he showed us before was a facade?"
"Probably not, if it was all fake, Red Hair wouldn't expose himself so readily. It's just his motive... is completely baffling.
Shanks also destroyed that fleet, indicating his strength has likely increased."
"Don't forget, Kaidou, Whitebeard, BIG MOM are remnants of Rocks, while Red Hair is an outsider. If Kaidou was planning something big, it'd be more reasonable for him to approach BIG MOM."
Kaidou's inexplicable actions thoroughly disrupted the Five Elders' train of thought. To them, Kaidou is not someone without brains.
Otherwise, he wouldn't do business with the World Government. But the problem is, they cannot fathom Kaidou's mindset, causing their discussion's direction to increasingly deviate.
"At the very least, they have not taken further action, let's observe first. If maintaining the status quo... seems to be a comparatively good outcome?"
"Hopefully, speaking of which, CP9's report mentioned Rob Lucci died during a mission, and the blueprints were destroyed."
The blonde Five Elder seemed to recall something, mentioning Rob Lucci's name before the other four.
"A bit unfortunate, but dead is dead. Compared to the current situation, this loss is insignificant. Everyone also knows where the Netherworld King is, that blueprint doesn't matter."
"Exactly, rather than discussing this, think about Blackbeard's proposal? Should we really let this guy fill the Seven Warlords spot?"
The Five Elder with the sword tapped the ground with it, skipped over Rob Lucci's matter, dead people hold no value to them.
The Seven Warlords was originally established for balance, Crocodile's defeat isn't good news.
Blackbeard actively sought the Seven Warlords position, appearing as an anomaly to them.
"He has grudges with Whitebeard, if he can prove his strength, it might not be impossible."
"Let's proceed like this, remember to send out new surveillance ships, preferably to ascertain the details of Red Hair and Whitebeard's meeting."
...
The discussion among the five determines the world's future direction, and on the Sea, the conversation between two can also greatly influence the future.
The meeting between Red Hair and Whitebeard put soldiers of several Navy Bases on high alert.
"I heard the fleet has been defeated, is it true?"
"It's true, Red Hair and Whitebeard... are about to interact."
"Attention!"
The commanding officer's stern voice interrupted the soldiers' whispers, as he instructed his underlings.
"Listen carefully, everyone. We do not know what will happen next. Everyone, be on highest-level alert. If any special situation arises, we'll be on the frontline first! For Navy's justice!"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, at the border of Red Hair and Whitebeard's territory, the Moby Dick has already lowered its sails, and the Red Fos has followed suit.
Thud, thud, thud.
One by one, people onboard Whitebeard's ship fell down. Pirates with shaky resolve couldn't withstand Shanks' Supreme King, under Marco and others' rebuke, those acknowledging their insufficient strength retreated to the cabin, away from the deck.
With increasing footsteps, Shanks arrived in front of Whitebeard.
...
"Gu lah lah lah, the brat from Roger's ship has already grown up, what about that red-nosed one with you? Is he dead?"
"Buggy? I heard he's still being a pirate, we split after Captain Roger died, but Whitebeard, I'm not here for a reunion.
I've gone through countless battles, many injuries, yet only this scar constantly aches."
Pointing to the scar on his face, Shanks mentioned Blackbeard.
"That guy has always been patient, neither seeking fame nor the captain's position, waiting for the opportunity, only acting after gaining strength, eventually aiming for your position."
```
"What do you want me to do then?"
"Stop Ace, don't let him get close to Blackbeard."
"Gurararara, the little brat with a runny nose back in those days has grown up to speak eloquently, even starting to instruct me on what to do..."
"The era is in turmoil, Whitebeard, you're old, and one day you'll die, but others are still young, like Kaidou, that guy is obsessed with war. Although there hasn't been any major action these years, he has been amassing his strength.
When he unleashes the Hundred Beasts war machine, without your Whitebeard Pirates, is there any way to stop him?!"
Lacking someone to carry the flag after Whitebeard is the dilemma facing the Whitebeard Pirates.
In other words, only the Red Hair Pirates and the current Hundred Beasts Pirates have someone who can carry the flag after losing their captain.
Katakuri and Marco are still a bit lacking.
Red Hair's words hit home for Whitebeard, but he wouldn't openly accept them.
The sky seemed to be affected by the two, as their conversation gradually reached a deadlock, the sky turned dark, heavy clouds gathering, blocking out the once bright sunshine.
"Getting old... Gurararara, but I am, Whitebeard!"
Murakumogiri was swinging in Whitebeard's hand; he wanted to prove by force that he was still the same Whitebeard of the past.
With the medicinal treatment of the Hundred Beasts Fruit, Whitebeard maintained a relatively healthy state, the large blade swinging fiercely, his Supreme King entanglement was also wrapping around the blade.
Without using the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit, Whitebeard solely relied on haki and brute force, swinging a strike towards Shanks.
Clang!
Gryphon was unsheathed, equally powerful, even stronger, with Supreme King entanglement wrapping around Gryphon, blocking Whitebeard's slash from below.
The sky became the victim of the clash of Supreme King entanglement, the heavy clouds scattering under the impact, leaving a deep chasm in the cloud sea like Moses parting the sea.
Shanks understood, Whitebeard ultimately didn't heed his words, and the era's turmoil had become something unstoppable.
During the Navy's vigilant time, neither Whitebeard nor Red Hair did anything extreme.
Instead, Navy Headquarters received a command from the World Government, ultimately forming a team led by Gion, with Yamakaji and Strawberry as support.
Three Vice Admirals, three warships formed a small fleet, advancing towards a destination given by the World Government, to retrieve a crucial prisoner.
...
A few days later, a group from the Blackbeard Pirates waited at an abandoned dock for the Navy's arrival. This island was once prosperous, but under the destruction of the Great Pirate Era, it had become dilapidated.
Aside from Blackbeard and his men, the island was practically deserted.
To be precise, besides them, there was also Ace; the Flame-Flame Fruit ultimately fell to the Dark-Dark Fruit, and Ace became a bargaining chip in Blackbeard's hands.
"Zehahahaha, Captain Ace, the Navy is arriving soon. If you regret now, you might still have a chance. Truly not planning to become my partner?"
Once I hand you over to the Navy, you won't have a chance to regret it."
"Heh, Teach, you're dreaming."
"Humans have futures because they have dreams, but Captain Ace, you might not see this future. Burgess, keep an eye on Captain Ace, these Seastone Handcuffs are hard to come by, it'll be trouble if he manages to pick the lock."
Just at that moment, a figure burning with flames streaked across the sky.
King's pupils reflected the figures of Blackbeard and the others.
"Finally found you... "
Chasing Blackbeard's trail, King persisted, just two days ago finding a town flattened by the Dark-Dark Fruit. Through inquiries from the townspeople, he finally pinpointed Blackbeard's location.
Standing below, Blackbeard only felt a shadow flash overhead, then a fatal sense of crisis rose in his heart.
He awkwardly rolled to the side, pressing Van Augur as he rolled aside.
Bang!
The dock shattered; a sudden slash from above split the dock in two, leaving a terrifying mark at the coast.
Watching seawater flooding into the slash mark, Blackbeard's heart felt a chill. If that strike hit him...
"Who is it!"
Just after the words left his mouth, King's figure had already landed in front. The towering figure brought powerful pressure, flames behind him blazing fiercely, like a demon from Hell.
"Flame Disaster... King..."
Blackbeard swallowed; he thought it was the Whitebeard Pirates' reinforcement arriving, but it turned out to be the Hundred Beasts' main force.
"Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach."
"Zehahaha, someone like you knows my name, what an honor. I don't think I've ever crossed you though..."
"No, but my subordinate benefited from your attention, I'm here on her behalf, demanding repayment!"