Banquets, pirates, treasure, freedom, ambition—this world had completely spiraled out of control.
This was the era of pirates.
Shanks, who had kept his heart at peace for so long, could feel the fire inside him slowly reigniting.
He was getting used to this world.
At least now, talking with these people didn't feel strange anymore.
And to them, nothing seemed out of place either.
Everything just happened naturally.
"Alright then, before I set sail, let's warm up a little."
"Newcomers, if you survive, go see the world in the New World!"
Even if he held back, Shanks couldn't guarantee that the ones he cut down would survive.
But if they weren't prepared to gamble with their lives, then they had no business being pirates in the first place.
*Bang!!*
*Bang! Bang! Bang!!*
Gunshots rang out, but none of them hit Shanks.
By then, he had already rushed into the crowd.
There was no overwhelming power, no flashy sword techniques.
He simply closed in on the first man.
The moment the pirate raised his gun, Shanks had already moved.
Their bodies clashed—
*Boom!*
The samurai sword slashed through the air, a splash of blood followed, and the man was sent flying backward.
At the same time, the others around them rushed in.
But without exception, before they could even touch Shanks' clothes, they were already sent flying.
Shanks' sword kept flashing, and one figure after another fell to the ground.
Rain mixed with blood, turning the deck red.
Yet the ones who had fallen still struggled to stand again, pushing themselves to their limits. It was as if they had gone mad.
Kidomaru and the others thought these people had completely lost it.
"Captain, we need to get out of here!"
"We're no match for Shanks—let's run while we still can!"
Kidomaru and Jirobo dragged the heavily injured Dark to a corner.
Tayuya kept watching the battlefield, while Sakon and Ukon stayed ready to fight. Dark's Devil Fruit was a gift from Orochimaru-sama—he couldn't die here. He couldn't die in a place like this.
"I… I'm fine. I've only used it five times. I can still shed my skin and regenerate three more times… I still have three chances left."
Dark's huge body lay on the deck. The wound on his chest was slowly healing, but it was taking too long. Every time he spoke, he coughed up blood.
That slash had far exceeded what his Devil Fruit ability could handle.
Just one strike, and he had lost one of his precious regenerations.
The damage went beyond his limit, nearly breaking his body apart, but he endured it.
"Just give me a little more time… just a little more…"
"Shanks! Is this all you've got?"
Dark's vision was blurry. Rain filled his eyes, and his body felt lifeless.
"Captain Dark! We've lost! Please, just leave with us!"
"Those people are insane. Shanks isn't even fighting seriously. Even if we all attack together, we won't win."
"Captain Dark, let's go!"
Even the usually cold and indifferent Sakon and Ukon spoke up this time.
Kidomaru and the others looked at their fallen captain, their expressions complicated.
Dark was supposed to be nothing more than their test subject. But after everything they had been through together, they couldn't help but admire his spirit.
Even if he was just an experiment… he was still their comrade.
"Our comrade."
"Crazy?"
"No… they're not crazy."
Dark's voice trembled as he spoke, hot tears mixing with the rain in his eyes.
The tears blended into the rain, disappearing on the deck.
There was grief in his voice. He slowly raised his shaking hand.
Then, he smiled—a smile that was proud yet filled with sorrow.
"You people… you don't understand. You don't understand what power means to us."
"Because we were weak, we watched the ones we wanted to protect die before our eyes."
"Because we were weak, we watched our homes, built with blood and sweat, burn to the ground."
"Because we were weak, we became nothing more than corpses tossed into the gutter like trash."
"You people… you'll never understand…"
"You guys have no idea how much the weak long for strength."
"You don't understand how much we, the weak ones, hope to witness the arrival of a new era."
"We're not crazy. We just… finally see hope."
Dark fought back his tears. If he had been as strong back then as he was now, his little sister wouldn't have ended up as a cold, lifeless body. He would have protected her with his own body, shielding her from the horrors of war.
His friend wouldn't have been sold off for stealing food to feed him. If only he had the strength back then, he could have protected them all.
He had been so weak. If only the new era had come sooner, if only there had been a world where everyone had the chance to become strong, maybe he could have saved them.
The friends who used to chase him around the village wouldn't have been taken away.
What do these ninjas know? They could never understand the sorrow of this era. They could never understand the suffering of the weak in this world.
"Captain… you knew all along that we…"
"Hahahaha!!"
Hearing Kidomaru's guilty voice, Dark suddenly burst into laughter.
He laughed while tears streamed down his face, coughing up blood with every breath.
"You brats, I'm your captain! Ninja or not, as long as you're still on my ship, you're my crew!"
"Besides, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gained this strength."
"Go now. Your mission ends here."
"I've seen Shanks' power with my own eyes."
Dark's wounds hadn't healed yet, but he pushed himself up, slowly standing.
He wasn't crazy. None of them were. Everyone here had simply caught a glimpse of hope.
Raindrops fell on his towering three-meter figure as he stepped out from the shadows, walking toward the battlefield.
"You brats… it's time to leave. Take what you've seen of the new era and go back."
Dark forced a grin, but it looked awful.
"Cap… Captain!!"
Jirobo choked up, and the other three stood in silence under the rain.
Finally, Kidomaru reached out and grabbed Jirobo's arm. He lifted his head.
"Captain Dark, we're leaving!"
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