Chapter 411: Shanks' Compromise
Moonlight spilled coldly through the iron window, slicing the cell into fragmented shadows.
Shanks huddled in the corner. His red hair had lost its former luster, and his eyes were hollow, like a dried-up well.
His entire being seemed hollowed out, leaving behind nothing but an aimless shell.
Roy stood outside the bars, blending into the darkness. Only his eyes pierced through the iron grating, striking straight at the soul.
The silence stretched on, suffocatingly long.
Until Shanks squeezed a hoarse, broken whisper from his throat: "Roy... I've lost... I lost completely."
"The Great Pirate Era that Captain Roger used his life to open... has ultimately been ended by you."
Roy's voice was calm and indifferent, without the slightest ripple: "Shanks, I've always been curious—was this so-called Great Pirate Era truly necessary?"
Shanks's body jolted. He slowly raised his head, hesitation and trembling flashing in his eyes.
Roy continued, "The Roger Pirates could perhaps be called 'free,' committing fewer sins and slaughter than ordinary pirates."
"But the ensuing tidal wave of pirates... has long since completely slipped out of your control."
"Countless civilians have had their families destroyed and their lives ruined by the rampage of pirates—is this the 'freedom' you wanted?"
Shanks's jaw trembled as he clenched his teeth. Blood seeped from the corner of his lips, yet he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.
Roy slowly took a step forward, the iron bars seemingly nonexistent in his eyes. "I don't know what Roger saw on Laugh Tale, nor do I know what his true arrangements left behind were."
"But Crocus at Twin Cape, Rayleigh at Sabaody, and even Gaban at Elbaf..."
Shanks's pupils abruptly shrank, his voice trembling: "You... how do you know?!"
Roy's gaze was as cold as a blade, completely ignoring his shock. "You are all nothing more than pawns on the chessboard of fate—puppets walking along a predetermined path."
These words struck the prison cell like a thunderbolt.
Shanks's entire body convulsed. His chest heaved like a beating drum, and intermittent gasps escaped his throat.
In his ears, Buggy's hoarse, exhausted roar seemed to echo once more:
—"You guys don't understand the true nature of pirates at all!!! All you think about is destiny, balance... you've all become idiots!!!"
The prison cell fell deadly silent, until Shanks let out a long breath and muttered in a low voice, "At this point... what's the use of saying all this?"
"That pink-haired boy... you've probably caught him too, haven't you?"
Roy said lightly, "Ah~ Bumped into him on the way."
Shanks's eyes lit up slightly, a long-lost gleam flashing in their depths. "That boy, he is the hope I've placed great expectations on..."
"His hard work, his perseverance, that stubborn look in his eyes. If he can grow up, one day—he will definitely make you..."
Before he could finish, Roy interrupted impatiently, "I didn't touch him. I just released a little bit of my aura, and he fell to his knees on the spot, so scared he wet his pants."
The air instantly froze.
"??!!"
Shanks froze in place, looking as if he had been struck by lightning.
In his mind, images of the world-destroying Haki clash between Roy and "Him" on the battlefield, where black-red lightning tore the sky asunder, flashed involuntarily.
Then, he let out a long breath and chuckled helplessly, his expression full of bitterness.
"With your Haki... the fact that the kid managed to survive falling to his knees is already a miracle, isn't it?"
"You're bullying people too much..."
Roy lifted his eyelids, his tone casual: "I didn't. I just casually used less than a ten-thousandth of my power—the kind of pressure I'd use to bully some rookie pirate in the New World~"
Inside and outside the cell, a deathly silence fell once again.
...
Roy's voice, cold as iron and stone, severed the silence in the prison: "Alright, I'm done chatting with you."
Shanks's Adam's apple bobbed. He slowly closed his eyes, his voice hoarse and deep: "Ah... are you sending me on my way?"
"You won't die, for now."
Roy's tone was flat. "But you're going to do something for me..."
As the words fell, Shanks abruptly opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, and his voice was so hoarse it was almost a roar:
"Roy!!! We are sworn enemies until death!!! Beckman... and my crewmates were all killed by you!!!"
"Marines killing pirates is a matter of natural law and justice."
Roy coldly interrupted, his gaze indifferent: "Do you think the number of Marine warships you've sunk over the years is a small amount?"
He paused, stating lightly: "The Intelligence Department sent over a report—just as the news of your defeat spread across the seas, a certain 'Diva' suddenly announced that she will hold a concert near Marineford to celebrate the Marines' victory."
BOOM—!
As the words fell, Shanks looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He violently lunged at the iron bars, his hands gripping them in a death-grip as his roar shook the cell:
"ROY!!! YOU CANNOT TOUCH HER!!!"
Roy's gaze didn't shift. With a lift of his hand, spatial power surged instantly.
With a BANG!, Shanks's body was crushed back into the corner by an invisible force, rendering him completely immobilized, like a dying beast.
"Why so agitated?"
"My tolerance for the innocent has always been quite high."
He turned around, his back fading into the darkness, his voice remaining unhurried: "I've raised your captain's child as my own little brother. As for how he's faring under my command..."
"You wouldn't happen to be unaware, would you?"
Shanks's chest tightened. A complex look flashed through his eyes, and he was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Roy's next words pierced his heart like an ice pick: "But—you don't actually think I'm ignorant of the truth behind the tragedy of Elegia, do you?"
"——!!!"
Shanks's eyes instantly turned blood-red, his veins bulging. He roared as if trying to snap his invisible shackles: "THAT WAS NOT HER FAULT!!!"
Roy did not stop walking, his back as cold and unyielding as iron.
Before the iron door slammed shut, he dropped a final, temperatureless verdict: "I'll give you one night to think it over."
CLANG—!
The iron door closed tight, and darkness swallowed the prison cell.
Shanks's furious roars and screams echoed into the boundless night, until they faded into an echo of absolute despair.
...
Meanwhile, on the distant horizon...
Aboard a magnificent, colossal concert ship, brilliant lights shone brightly and colorful flags fluttered in the air. The sea breeze swept across a deck built like a grand stage.
At the bow of the ship, a young girl stood entirely alone.
She had uniquely two-toned long hair—flame-like red on the right, and pure snow-white on the left—dancing in the wind.
Headphones rested over her ears, as if to isolate her from the noise of the world.
She wore a gorgeous outfit adorned with feathers, featuring a black bow tie at her chest, and a white miniskirt at the hem. Her bare legs reflected the cold light of the moon.
On her feet were an exaggeratedly thick pair of white boots, dotted with pink circular patterns, making her look both dreamy and childish.
Her slender silhouette stood in stark contrast to the luxurious, massive ship.
The girl gazed into the distance, where the silhouette of the Sabaody Archipelago was gradually emerging from the sea mist.
But her eyes held not a single trace of the joy expected before a concert; instead, they were filled with suppressed anxiety and unease.
Her lips parted slightly as she murmured softly: "Father..."
The sea breeze howled, sweeping her voice into the boundless darkness, as if echoing that very unease.
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