Chapter 431: Overturning the Heavens
The night was deep, the sea breeze surging like the tide.
"Return to Mary Geoise."
Roy's words fell like a heavy hammer smashing directly into Shanks' heart.
Shanks froze in place. His breath caught as his chest suddenly tightened.
—Tell me to return to Mary Geoise?
Wouldn't that mean returning to that decaying, filthy cage filled with blood and shadows?
How was this any different from releasing a tiger back into the mountains?
His gaze sharpened, staring dead at Roy. His voice sounded as if it were squeezed through his teeth: "Roy... what exactly are you scheming?"
Roy stood with his hands behind his back. His indifferent gaze was like the dead, silent night sky, devoid of joy or sorrow.
"You will return to Mary Geoise and rejoin the Holy Knights."
"With your aptitude and your Haki, taking the position of Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights won't be difficult at all."
Shanks' brows locked tightly, a strong sense of absurdity welling up in his heart. He sneered, "Heh. Even if you really let me go, the people in the Holy Land won't believe it."
"That 'Red-Haired Shanks' escaped from your hands? They'll only think it's a joke... a conspiracy!"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Roy's indifferent voice cut him off.
"As for that father of yours... how you deal with him is your own business."
He paused, his gaze like the edge of a sword, piercing straight into the depths of Shanks' heart.
"If you want revenge, if you want to protect everything you care about—you know better than anyone how to break through your own limits."
With those words, Roy turned and left. The night wind wrapped around his silhouette, as if swallowing everything.
Before he disappeared into the darkness, a final, low echo drifted through the wind:
"Oh, right. As for the group associated with the 'Flame'... you don't need to contact them. Someone else will handle it."
"!!!"
Shanks' pupils shrank violently, his chest heaving.
"Even the 'Flame'... is within his calculations?!"
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.
Roy's words constantly echoed in his mind, along with the truth that had torn his heart apart.
—The bloody image of his mother being slain by his father;
—His older brother being abducted by the Celestial Dragons;
—Uta's tear-streaked cries;
—The laughter of his crew on the deck.
Scene after scene intertwined, turning into a raging inferno that burned his soul.
"Roy..."
He slowly closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently, as a long-lost fighting spirit quietly ignited from the bottom of his heart.
"No matter what gives you the confidence to challenge the entire world... I will not retreat again."
"Even if I'm being used by you, I will become stronger."
Meanwhile.
Deeper into the night, Roy's figure stood quietly in the shadows.
Illuminated by the moonlight, his profile was cold and stern. He took a Den Den Mushi from his coat, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Hello, hello—Brother Dragon."
The Den Den Mushi's eyelids slowly opened, seemingly connecting with the presence on the other end.
Roy's voice was lazy, laced with teasing: "For your sake, I went through a lot of trouble... to release that little red-haired tiger back into the mountains."
The night was deep, the sea breeze as dark as ink.
A deep, hoarse voice came from the Den Den Mushi: "...I'm sorry, Roy."
"Because of me, Shanks had to—"
"Maa~"
Roy interrupted softly, his tone lazy as if just making idle chatter: "You don't need to blame yourself. I never intended for him to exit the stage so early anyway."
He looked up at the night sky, starlight reflecting in the depths of his pupils, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"After all, I don't have absolute, one-hundred-percent certainty just yet."
He paused, then casually spat out three words:
"—Overturn the heavens."
Those short words were like a booming thunderclap, the air suddenly freezing.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Monkey D. Dragon's breath hitched slightly.
That world-suppressing confidence made it feel as though a thousand-ton boulder was pressing against his chest, causing his mind to tremble.
After a long moment, he finally spoke in a deep voice: "...Roy, do you need my help?"
"After all, the 'immortal bodies' you mentioned cannot be broken without extremely powerful Haki."
"Arara~" Roy dragged out his words, his tone carrying a frivolous smile. "About that, you really don't need to worry."
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Right now, the 'mindset' of those old men in the Marines is better than anyone else's!"
"...!!"
On the other end, Dragon froze, his pupils shrinking slightly.
He instinctively recalled what he had "seen and heard" recently—
—According to intelligence, during the Paramount War, Fleet Admiral Sengoku forcefully blasted one of the Five Elders into a "beef meatball" using his Buddha Haki, shaking all of Marineford to the point of near collapse!
—And there was his own old man, Garp... Not long ago, he actually brought Instructor Zephyr, and even Roy's parents, to pay a "surprise visit" to the Revolutionary Army base.
They called it a "senior citizen sightseeing tour." He had originally intended to use official business as an excuse to refuse, but before he could even open his mouth, the old man had already shown up at the door.
That pair of feet wearing slippers nearly added a new "slipper tattoo" to his face... That Haki still sent chills down his spine to this day.
—Instructor Zephyr was even more extraordinary. That man known as "Black Arm" seemed to have obtained some sort of incredible power recently.
His brief sparring session with Garp, even from dozens of miles away, had terrified the scouts so much that their legs trembled, forcing them to their knees, unable to even lift their heads.
Dragon's Adam's apple bobbed, cold sweat sliding down his temples.
Even though his current strength allowed him to rank among the absolute apex of the world, the moment he placed himself alongside these old monsters and Roy...
—That scene, just imagining it, was enough to suffocate someone.
"Phew..."
He exhaled a deep breath of foul air, his brows furrowing tightly as he muttered softly:
"Seriously... if he really brings that group of old men along, I'm afraid even the Holy Land will be flipped completely upside down..."
From the Den Den Mushi, Roy's leisurely laughter drifted over, laced with a trace of chill:
"Maa maa maa—And so, Brother Dragon."
"Once I have the absolute certainty to protect everyone—I plan to thoroughly flip the heavens."
The Next Day.
When that red-haired figure stepped onto Mary Geoise once again without a single scratch, the entire Holy Land felt as if it had been struck by lightning.
Whether it was the Celestial Dragons or the heavily guarded sentries, everyone instinctively held their breath.
—"Red-Haired Shanks escaped from Roy's hands and returned."
The news spread across the Holy Land at astonishing speed.
Soon, he was directly summoned into the highest hall—the Room of Authority.
In the dimly lit hall, the Five Elders sat in their high seats, their gazes falling upon him like sword blades.
The silence was so oppressive it felt as if the air itself had solidified.
Shanks' eyes were calm, yet they brought an invisible pressure.
At this moment, the Five Elders' Warrior God of Science and Defense had been replaced—by Saint Figarland Garling.
When his gaze landed on the red hair before him, his brows furrowed fiercely.
In that instant, shock and confusion flashed in the depths of his pupils.
—He was very well aware.
Roy had wanted to thoroughly execute Shanks on more than one occasion.
And he himself... had once risked his life to save Shanks from a certain-death situation.
Yet now, he was actually standing here, completely "unscathed"?
Why exactly?
Why was there such a violent sense of unease in his heart?
The silence in the hall grew even thicker.
The candlelight flickered, the light and shadows looking like the whispers of devils as they reflected on Saint Garling's gloomy face.
His gaze was locked dead onto Shanks, as if trying to rip the truth right out of him.
♧♧♧
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