Then he threw the wine pot and shouted loudly, "Shakky! Give me another bottle!"
"Settle your old account first, or forget it!"
Boss Shakky, with a cigarette in her mouth, casually wiped a glass and spoke in a flat tone. Her bar was just a front for their true business – intelligence.
However, drinks still required payment, and Rayleigh had already racked up a debt of over 100,000 Belly for the drinks he had consumed.
"Don't be like that, Shakky, we're old friends!" Rayleigh pouted and suddenly leaned in, placing his hand on Shanks' shoulder. "And look, this is Shanks! The current Yonkō (Four Emperors) Shanks! He's loaded!"
With that, Rayleigh turned to Shanks. "Hey Shanks, you wouldn't mind helping this old man settle his bill, would you?"
So in your eyes, "Yonkō (Four Emperors) = rich people"?!
"Um… okay!" Shanks smiled wryly and reached for his pocket.
The next moment…
"Uh… Vice Captain Rayleigh, would you believe me if I say I didn't bring any money with me?" Shanks looked embarrassed as he turned his pocket inside out, revealing it to be empty.
Due to Garp's sudden appearance, Shanks had directly fought with him without even considering bringing money. And besides, he was a Yonkō (Four Emperors)!
Why should a Yonkō (Four Emperors) have to carry money with them?!
Rayleigh: "…"
With a disdainful expression that said "I can't count on you", Garp silently took out his wallet and then asked, "Shanks, do you know what you've done?"
"I also want to ask you this question, Garp-San!" Shanks became serious when it came to business, fearlessly locking eyes with Garp. "There is no doubt that Ace cannot become a Shichibukai! If a member of the Pirate King's bloodline were to become a Shichibukai, regardless of how the World Government uses them, it would be a devastating blow to the pirates and the era of the Sea. If Roger's bloodline were to be damaged in this way, the era of the pirates that he sacrificed his life to create would become meaningless! This is something that I, Shanks, cannot allow!"
"He is our Marine's prisoner!"
"He is also the son of my captain!"
Garp stood up and glared coldly, while Shanks was fearless, with Haki rolling off him. The imposing presence of the two top-level warriors spread out, causing cracks to appear on the walls and the air to solidify.
Seeing the two of them in opposition, Rayleigh pulled out some money from his wallet and shrugged, "Why argue? Ace has already been rescued. How can you go after him by sea now? When the heat dies down, Garp, you can leave whenever you want."
It was true that Garp wanted to leave, but Rayleigh and Shanks teamed up, threatening the survival of the Sabaody Archipelago to force Garp to stay. In response, Garp's face turned black as he angrily cursed, "You wicked pirates!"
"What nonsense! Are there any pirates who aren't wicked?"
Rayleigh rolled his eyes and slapped some Belly onto the bar, "Shakky, give me three bottles of wine! Put the rest on my tab!"
"You are still short 3000 Belly even with this… well, let's just say I have a kind heart!!"
Shakky took the Belly and walked away, then Shanks sat back down and calmly looked at Garp as he spoke. "And what the hell is going on with your Rear Admiral Rowen…"
"Oh? You've met him?" Garp's face showed a cold smile. When talking about Rowen, his eyes were full of confidence. "He will be a qualified Marine! Even Ace and Dragon gave up this path, but he will inherit my will! And Roger, who started this Pirate Era, will end in his hands!"
Upon hearing this, both Rayleigh's and Shanks' expressions changed at the same time.
They knew very well how proud Garp was. This was the Marine who single-handedly challenged Roger's pirate crew without bringing a single soldier! Even Roger didn't dare to underestimate this old man!
To receive such a high evaluation from him was a treatment that not even the current Admiral Aokiji had ever received.
"He's indeed… very scary!" Shanks recalled the events that happened a few days ago, feeling a chill in his heart.
Rowen reminded him of someone, a person whose wickedness was hidden under the guise of kindness. Their pure wicked intentions were even rarer!
But…
"That's not going to be enough! He is not going to be enough" Shanks suddenly pressed his only hand on the table with his Haki, leaning forward with a threatening demeanor, and his mouth cracked open. "The direction of the times is not something we can predict, Garp! People's dreams will not stop moving forward! The New Era will eventually come!"
"Let's look forward and see who is right!"
…
Time flows like a river.
When he got hungry, he caught a wild beast and consumed its meat while setting the blood and fur aside; When he got thirsty, he went down the mountain to drink from a clear spring with great satisfaction.
Rowen tirelessly repeated his daily routine, living a life of monotony where time seemed to stand still in the mountains.
On this day, a Battleship silently docked in a sheltered bay at the edge of a desolate island. Zephyr and Ain stepped off the deck, and the first thing they noticed was the pitch-black clouds in the sky.
"What is that?!!" Ain's beautiful eyes were filled with ripples as her expression turned to one of shock. "Rowen's training… has changed the climate?"
At this moment, the entire desolate island was covered in a massive, black-as-ink, layered mountainous cloud, whose size was impossible to determine.
Looking up, it seemed as though the sky had exchanged places with the Earth. The land above their heads appeared to be the ground, while the ocean below their feet seemed to be the sky.
This island was covered in a dark cloud that looked like it was suspended in the sky!
Bang, bang, bang!
Electric sparks occasionally flickered on the "mountain peaks" and cliffs. Each lightning snake seemed small, but on the ground, they were thicker than the Battleship.
The dense Thunder Rain poured down, shaking the ground with each bang and filling the sky and earth with rolling smoke. The rain formed a staircase that descended into the abyss!
Now, the desolate island was a scene straight out of Doomsday!
Standing here, mortals could feel their own insignificance.
Has Rowen already awakened his Fruit and changed the climate of the area? Has it only been a short time since he began his practice? Even if he is a genius, it's still unbelievable!
"No, it's not the Eternal change…"
Zephyr shook his head as he spoke, his gaze piercing and sharp as he instantly saw through the true nature of the landscape before him.
He said to Ain, "Even without mastering the power of the Awakening level of a Devil Fruit, a Logia User can still alter the climate of an entire area. The difference lies in the level of difficulty and the duration…"
"At the moment, this island is experiencing a change in climate caused by Rowen's Thunder-Lighting Human physique, which has caused the gathering of dark clouds… It's like a storm brewing. Once the wind stops, the waves will dissipate and the area will return to its original view."
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