"Oye, Shanks! Teach me!"
The bar was alive with laughter and music. Pirates from the Red-Haired crew were drinking and celebrating as if tomorrow didn't matter. Shanks, their captain, was downing a large mug of beer when I yelled my request. He groaned loudly, rolling his head back in frustration.
"AAAAA! Shut up! I'm not drunk enough to have this conversation!" he shouted before taking another big gulp of his drink.
I grinned, leaning closer. "Come on, pretty please?"
He glared at me like I was a buzzing fly he couldn't swat away. "Get off me, you vagrant! Go ask Rayleigh to teach you. He's the expert in advanced armament haki."
"Don't worry about him," I said, smirking. "He owes me one. And you know what? I think you owe me one too."
Shanks raised an eyebrow, now clearly annoyed. "What are you talking about? I don't remember owing you anything."
"Well," I began, leaning back with a smug look, "I did save your protégé from certain death."
He gave me a long, unimpressed look. "Seriously? You're pulling that card? Something that didn't even happen? You think anyone would actually believe that logic?"
I grinned wider. "It worked on Rayleigh."
That got his attention. He leaned forward, his eyes sharp with curiosity. "Wait. Rayleigh actually agreed to teach you?"
"Yep! He even gave me his vivre card," I said, pulling the small piece of paper from my pocket like a trophy. "To be honest, it wasn't even that hard. I think Shakky might've convinced him to help me out."
Shanks sighed heavily and rubbed his temples as if I were giving him a headache. "Of course, she did," he muttered.
It had been a couple of weeks since Marineford. Whitebeard had been buried with his weapon on the same day he died. Thousands came to mourn him, crying for a man whose life touched more people than anyone could count.
Pirates, however, have a unique way of handling grief. They don't talk about their feelings. Instead, they drink until they pass out. It seems 'drinking your pain away' formula works in every world. I wasn't a fan of waking up with a pounding headache, so after a few drinks, I left the party and walked to Whitebeard's grave.
I found Ace sitting there, silent and sober. He looked different—more mature. The weight of his new responsibilities had clearly changed him. I sat beside him, and we didn't exchange a word. We didn't need to. We just sat there, paying our respects to a great man.
The next day, Rayleigh came to pay his respects. He didn't stay long, leaving quickly to return to Sabaody. Luffy was still recovering on Amazon Lily, his injuries severe. Law was working nonstop, treating both Luffy and other injured pirates. The Whitebeard Pirates had their own doctors, but none of them matched Law's skill. Law also used this chance to make a secret deal with Ace. I didn't know the details and it seemed none of them were too eager to share it with me.
The Red-Haired Pirates were set to leave the next day. Their territory had been unguarded for too long, and the rise in bounties for Ace and me only made things more complicated. Naturally, the crew decided to throw a huge party before leaving. That's when I decided to corner Shanks and make my request.
After a few minutes of dodging the question, he finally sighed. "Alright, what do you even want to learn from me?" he asked. "You know I'm not a proper swordsman, right? And from what I've seen, you've already got advanced conqueror's haki down. So, what is it?"
I set my drink down and met his gaze, my expression serious. "Divine Departure," I said.
The noise around us seemed to fade for a moment. I watched Shanks carefully, expecting some reaction—shock, anger, maybe even suspicion. But his face didn't change. He kept his usual calm smile, though his eyes sharpened.
"It amazes me how you know so many things you're not supposed to," he said, his voice quieter but far more dangerous. "Especially since you've been stuck on Little Garden for the last three years."
I wasn't surprised that he knew that. Shanks had informants everywhere.
"Well, it's kind of my thing to know things I shouldn't," I replied casually, trying to sound ambiguous.
Apparently, my answer wasn't good enough. A crushing wave of pressure hit me—it was his conqueror's haki. It was the strongest I'd ever felt, far beyond anything I'd encountered before. He wasn't going all out, but the weight of his will was enough to make the bar tremble.
I didn't back down. My own haki flared up, colliding with his. The air felt heavy, like the room itself might crack under the strain. The weaker pirates in the bar started dropping to the ground like flies, unable to handle the pressure.
This wasn't advanced conqueror's haki—just the raw, basic form. It was a test, plain and simple. He wanted to see how strong I really was. It seems that he wasn't against the idea of teaching me.
After a few seconds, we both pulled back our haki. Shanks smiled again, raising his glass as though nothing had happened.
"Your conqueror's haki is strong enough to learn Divine Departure," he said. "But you'll need to master advanced armament haki first. Meet me in Elbaf when you're done training with Rayleigh."
"What's the catch?" I asked. I knew this wasn't going to be free.
"A favor," he said simply, his tone light but his expression unreadable.
"A favor?" I repeated, frowning.
"Yes," he said, leaning forward. "When I call for you, you'll drop everything and come. No questions, no hesitation. I'll tell you what to do, and you'll follow my instructions."
I hesitated. If it had been anyone else, I might have agreed immediately. Learning such a legendary technique for just a simple favor should be an easy decision. But this was Shanks—a man surrounded by mysteries. He had ties to the Gorosei, something no pirate should have, and that alone made him dangerous. That along with the fact that I didn't really know what his goals were made him even more enigmatic,
Still, the chance to learn Divine Departure was too tempting to pass up. Roger used this technique to one-shot Oden, a man who was almost as strong as Kaido. The move fit my sword style perfectly. A technique based on Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
After a long pause, I nodded. "Okay, deal. But if you tell me to kill someone I don't want to kill, the deal's void."
Shanks chuckled, raising his mug in a toast. "Fair enough. Now, enough serious talk! Drink up!"
The party continued, the bar alive with laughter and music once more. Shanks's smile seemed carefree, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this deal was far more dangerous than I realized. Still, the opportunity to grow stronger outweighed the risk.
For now, I decided to let go of my worries. The night was young, and the path ahead was full of challenges. Now that I was an official contender for Yonko. I'll have to fight even more powerful people. There was the other really important thing that I don't have any ship nor a crew.
I wasn't exactly a fan of building a new crew. I'd much prefer having just five people who can hold their own against an admiral. The Supernovas were a no-go. They were too unreliable and too chaotic for me. They all came with their own baggage and their own crews. I don't have time to babysit a bunch of newbies. This is troubling.
Whatever. I'll take care of it when the time comes. My main concern right now is to convince someone to take me to Water 7. It's quite funny really. I'm a yonko contender and I need to ask for a lift from others to even get to another place.
I really really really need to buy a ship.