"What a pity… Since that's the case, how about we have a drink together later? My ship is docked at—"
Shanks' personality was the type that seemed careless most of the time, yet became especially reliable at critical moments. Right now, he was clearly in a rather carefree mood.
"My ship's at the scrapyard, not in the docks. If you really want to drink, come over tonight. It's more comfortable there than inside the dock."
After saying that, Vane also left the place. The ship would still need some time to be built, so he didn't want anyone to know that the destruction of the auction house had been partly his doing, lest it provoke hostility from the local forces of Bliss Island.
Everyone who had remained there had been knocked unconscious by the Conqueror's Haki from the two of them at the start. No one was clear about his later appearance. As long as he left quickly now, no one would notice him.
"Met two pretty good people today. Too bad neither of them can come aboard."
That Hawk Eyes was clearly the type of swordsman who challenged the entire world. And Vane already had his own team—there was no way he'd board someone else's ship.
"Give me some respect… I'll use that line to persuade people from now on."
…
"The damage outside is this severe… Looks like the bliss district has some shoddy construction too."
After walking a bit further, he realized that the underground space beneath the gambling street had collapsed. The gladiators the gambling street had prepared for the Death Cage had escaped.
Most of them blended into the crowds of the bliss district not long after escaping, unwilling to be captured and dragged back. A small number who held deep grudges against the gangs were still fighting them.
Among them was also Dice, who simply loved fighting people. He was the strongest one. Not long ago, when he had first been locked up, he only had the strength of an ordinary vice captain. Now, however, he was even more troublesome than some captains.
"Hah!"
Dice's arms, nearly hanging down to his ankles, swung like a small whirlwind. Wherever he passed, gang members were sent flying.
"This guy's harder to catch than a mad bull."
"My attacks land squarely on him, and he actually looks like he's enjoying it!"
The gang members were on the verge of mental collapse. Their blows struck solidly, yet the man reacted as if he were at a massage parlor, wearing an expression of pure pleasure.
Worse still, a girlish flush appeared on his face. He was practically a complete deviant.
"Forget it. Use the heavy weapons."
"Boss, someone else just showed up."
"Doesn't matter who it is—blast him together."
When Vane reached the center, not only did the gang members take him as a target, but Dice also locked onto him. The man charged straight at him, intending to ram him into the air.
On the other side, a weapon resembling a rocket launcher was about to be fired.
Vane's eyes widened. A circle of blue Conqueror's Haki spread outward across a hundred-meter radius. Within that range, people's eyes rolled back one by one.
Dice, who had been charging with the force of a raging bull, began to stagger after being swept by the Conqueror's Haki. In the end, three to four meters in front of Vane, he could no longer hold on and dropped to one knee.
He struggled to glance at Vane once before finally rolling his eyes back and passing out.
"Good potential."
In the future, Dice would be someone capable of trading blows with Zoro and mastering Armament Haki. His achievements would not be low. In a way, his personality was simple—he just liked being hit and enjoyed the sensation of pain.
Right now, he was still relatively weak, but his growth potential was excellent. Even without eating a Devil Fruit, he might have a brighter future than Tant.
With that thought, Vane grabbed his leg and left the scene.
…
When Dice woke up, it was already midnight. Around him, orange bonfires flickered and swayed. People were drinking and chatting cheerfully.
"You're awake."
A voice came from behind. Dice rolled over immediately to face the enemy. Standing before him were a rough-looking man over two meters tall and nearly three meters in height, and another dark-skinned, rough-looking man around two meters tall.
Tant patted his chest. "You're Dice, right? Our boss told us to treat you well. Join our team."
Dice: "Join your team?"
"That's right, for a beautiful tomorrow—"
"Enough with the slogan. The boss said Dice likes fighting. If we want him to join, let him see our team's strength."
Fighting? Just the thought of it made Dice excited. He loved fighting people the most.
"Bonez, let me play with the newcomer first."
Tant stepped forward first, directly transforming into his Lion-Man form.
Instead of frightening Dice, Tant's rapidly expanding figure made him even more excited.
Boom—
…
At the camp on the other side of the abandoned ship.
"What was that noise?"
Red Hair and some of his crew turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
"My crew's training. Got a bit loud."
Shanks: "Training while drinking and eating meat? Your pirate crew is really strange."
"Yeah, your pirate crew is really strange."
Vane rolled his eyes and pointed to the other side.
"And you've got the nerve to say that about me? There's actually a two-year-old kid in your pirate crew."
When Red Hair Shanks came over, he had brought some crew members with him. The only two who stirred Vane's memories were one who was constantly eating meat and was himself full of meat—Lucky Roux.
The other was the future Red Hair songstress, the user of the Sing-Sing Fruit—Uta.
Uta was the same age as Luffy, just two years old. After today, she would officially enter her third year.
Children in the pirate world were truly different. At just two years old, they already had mobility comparable to five- or six-year-olds in the real world, and their emotions were even stronger.
For example, when Martha teased her, she would reveal an expression as if to say,
"Why are adults all like this?" Then she would helplessly cooperate with Martha's somewhat childish games.
"Uta… We found her after defeating some pirates. She was in a pile of treasure at the time…"
When speaking about Uta, Red Hair went on endlessly, just like an ordinary father talking about his daughter.
Vane listened quietly. Uta and Shanks were somewhat alike—they had both been dug out of treasure piles by captains. But Uta was of ordinary bloodline, while Shanks was a descendant of the Celestial Dragons.
"…Such a troublesome little one. We're planning to head to the East Blue next. It's more peaceful there. We can avoid some conflicts and recruit more companions."
Compared to Luffy, who took only three years to rise from a small-time pirate to one of the new Yonko, Red Hair had spent over a decade.
That was partly related to his personality—traveling all over the world, sometimes going quiet for months or even an entire year.
In the year 1510 of the Sea Circle Calendar, Red Hair encountered a World Government ship. They fought, and Red Hair won, seizing the "rubber" fruit aboard. At that time, his bounty had only reached over a billion Belly, already showing the bearing of a Yonko.
Of course, the current New World was still in extreme chaos. Aside from Whitebeard, the veteran powerhouse worthy of the title of Pirate Emperor, Big Mom Charlotte and Kaido of the Beasts were still lacking in stature.