"Freedom, huh... I almost envy you," I muttered.
"What's this? You want to be a pirate too?" Shanks grinned, his eyes sparking with mischief. "Why not just ditch that coat and sail with us?"
"Hah! I'm a Marine through and through. I can't just swap sides for such a selfish reason."
"A shame. I've heard plenty of rumors about you... So, what does a Headquarters Captain want with a fresh, small-fry pirate crew like mine?"
"Hahaha! 'Small-fry'? If a crew led by a former member of the Pirate King's ship is 'small-fry,' then there's a serious case of fraud going on here."
"Gah! You've dug that deep? I wasn't exactly planning on broadcasting that..." Shanks' hand tightened slightly on his hilt.
"Hmm. I didn't come here with that intention, but meeting you here must be fate. Maybe I should just bring you in now?"
I shifted my grip, holding my 10-ton mace with both hands in a combat stance.
"Everyone, stay back! This is a one-on-one!" Shanks shouted to his crew, who responded with a chorus of cheers and rowdy jeers.
"Let's see what you're made of. Hup!!"
I opened with my signature move—a massive overhead swing from the Jōdan position. If anyone tried to block this head-on, the sheer weight and hardness would snap their weapon like a twig and bury them in the deck. This single blow had ended most of my fights so far.
"Tch!!! Damn... you're... HEAVY!!!"
Shanks drew his sword to parry, but he realized the danger instantly. Instead of a direct block, he tilted his blade, letting the massive weight of the mace slide off the edge of his steel.
"Heh, you noticed."
"What the hell is that thing?! It's insanely heavy! My hands are still tingling..." Shanks shook out his sword hand, wincing slightly.
"Hahaha! It's a custom-made 10-ton piece of certified indestructible alloy. Most pirates I've faced end up as a permanent part of the floor after one hit."
"What kind of body do you have... Are you using a Devil Fruit to make it light?"
"Nope. Just pure training. Ready for the next one?"
I followed up with a diagonal slash, a rising strike from the opposite side, a thrust, and a horizontal sweep in rapid succession.
Shanks managed to endure, dancing around the blows, deflecting where he could, and occasionally using his blade as a shield while searching for an opening to counter-attack.
But...
"Hahaha! This alloy vest of mine can't be cut by anything short of a laser! Are you sure you want to keep taking these hits?" I taunted.
From what I could see, he was using a standard-grade cutlass. Even if he was deflecting the brunt of my 10-ton strikes, the stress on the metal was reaching its limit.
CRACK.
A sickening sound echoed across the deck as a large fissure spiderwebbed across Shanks' blade. I stopped my mace an inch from his chest.
"Well, the whole 'arresting you' thing was mostly a joke anyway," I said, pulling the mace back.
Honestly, I was sweating a bit internally. Despite my boast about the "laser," the alloy vest already had several deep gouges from his slashes.
The impact of his strikes was vibrating through my entire frame. I mentally apologized for my arrogance—turns out even a "pre-Yonko" Shanks is a monster.
"Huh?! You stop now?" Shanks looked at his ruined sword, his face falling. "I actually liked this one, even if it didn't have a name!"
"Calm down, Red-Hair. I actually brought a business proposition for your crew. Just listen."
The fact that he could do that much damage with a nameless cutlass was terrifying. The future Emperor was already showing his teeth. Shanks looked disgruntled, but he lowered his broken weapon.
"Tch. Fine. What's this 'good talk' then?"
I began to lay out the plan I had been brewing for a long time. "The Navy is looking into establishing a system called 'Sanctioned Pirates.'"
"Sanctioned Pirates? You mean the Navy is going to start officially recognizing pirates?"
"Not all of them, obviously. There are many crews out there who fly the black flag but are actually explorers, treasure hunters, or seekers of the unknown."
"Well, that's us," Shanks shrugged. "Just because we're pirates doesn't mean we go around causing mindless destruction."
"Frankly, since the execution of the Pirate King, there are too many people calling themselves 'pirates.' The Navy is spread too thin to chase every single one of them down."
"Is a Marine really allowed to admit that to a pirate?"
"I think I can trust you. It's not like you're going to gain some grand advantage by knowing we're busy."
"I wonder where that trust comes from..."
"Back to the point. 'Sanctioned Pirates' would be removed from the Most Wanted lists and allowed to fly their flags, provided they never attack merchant ships, civilians, or Government vessels."
"Heh. I bet there are plenty of crews who find it annoying to be chased by the Navy when they're just minding their own business."
"Exactly. It's a Navy-led version of the Seven Warlords, but without the extreme political privileges."
"The Warlords, huh... They have privileges, but they have to answer the Government's call, right? Is this 'Sanctioned' thing the same?"
"We might call on you, but there's no penalty for not showing up. If you do help, though, we pay a reward."
"What's the catch?"
"Simple. It allows us to focus our resources on the 'Morgania'—the violent, bloodthirsty pirates who actually prey on people.
Most civilians can't tell the difference between a 'Peace Main' adventurer and a violent thug. We want to separate the two."
"So, the plan to make flying a pirate flag illegal across the board didn't stop the numbers from growing, did it?"
"Exactly. That's where this comes in. Any Peace Main crew can apply at a branch, pass a background check, and get sanctioned. So, here's the offer: do you want in? If you accept, I'll have your current bounties rescinded and the pursuit called off.
No more bounty hunters. You'll be free to have your adventure."
I watched him closely. I had a pretty good guess what the "Red-Haired" Shanks would say...
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