Shanks

"So you are the Black Winged Great Demon. I've finally met you in person. It's a pleasure to meet you. I brought some fine wine from my hometown; would you like to try some?"

Red-Haired hefted the large wine jug in his hand, a slight smile spreading across his face, as if he were meeting an old friend after a long separation.

"It's not impossible."

After receiving Cifer's permission, Kuzan thoughtfully used his power to conjure a giant ice bowl in front of Red-Haired.

"As expected of Kuzan, thank you so much!"

After filling the ice bowl, the wine jug in his hand was tossed to Cifer, Red-Haired sat down on the ground.

There was no conversation between them; they simply drank together.

"The wine is indeed good. Tell me, you came to see me, it couldn't have been just to have a drink."

He finished the drink in no time, but Cifer's stomach didn't bulge at all.

Shaking the empty wine jug, Cifer cast a glance at the people below.

The Navy is extremely sensitive to the whereabouts of the Western Emperor. It's one thing for others, but the people in the present are very concerned about this.

"That's certainly true."

The Red-Haired smiled calmly, then downed the remaining wine in his bowl in one gulp. He raised his head, revealing his domineering gaze, and the atmosphere had completely changed from the initial harmony.

"This is the meeting of the Sea Emperor..."

Although Cobra was the king of a country, he still felt somewhat frightened by the scene and inexplicably felt dizzy.

"Chopper -kun, I brought you candy~"

He took out the candy he had hidden in his pocket beforehand and decisively chose to hide behind Chopper to avoid their aggressive momentum.

"It's a specialty of Alabasta ~ Feel free to hide behind General Chopper!"

Chopper understood the other's little scheme and gladly accepted it, letting him hide behind him.

"What I'm about to say might be a sensitive topic. Is it alright with so many people here?"

After looking around at Xi Zhou, the Red-Haired man asked Cifer if he could speak with him alone.

"Even if you don't say it, I can guess something from your way of doing things."

Instead of responding to his request, Cifer returned the choice to him.

"He really is as domineering as the rumors say... I wonder if I could do you the honor of postponing the plan to defeat Kaido for the time being."

Without much thought, Red-Haired revealed the purpose of his trip in front of everyone.

"What's the reason?"

Cifer still did not give a yes or no answer.

"From the Western Emperor to the Five Emperors, and back to the current Western Emperor, you have brought tremendous impact to the times."

"But if you were to go and fight Kaido now, what would happen to the balance of the world? The era of rampage would become unstoppable!"

Red-Haired's words were clear and sincere. The other person was one of the few he could admire, but if things continued to develop like this, it would be a disaster for the whole world.

Its power expanded too quickly and its influence was too great.

If this continues, a complete separation between the New World and Paradise will inevitably occur sooner or later, and the World Government will not allow that to happen.

If Total War breaks out, it would be good if the people in front of us won, perhaps the world could usher in a new era.

But if he loses, it remains to be seen what will happen to the islands he is protecting.

But the beasts, now freed from their shackles, will surely seize this opportunity to escape their cages and plunder the relics left behind by the "King".

"An era of chaos? With me here, the era has no way to go crazy."

Cifer roughly understood what Red-Haired meant; he never thought he would lose to the World Government.

"There are quite a few people eyeing your position. Blackbeard, whom you've been hunting down with a bounty on his head for the past two years, is one of the most formidable opponents among them."

Red-Haired somewhat helpless.

These Sea Emperor are all incredibly arrogant, Whitebeard is no exception, and the man before us is even more arrogant than the last.

"Blackbeard? Too bad you're a little too late. His body is probably already cold."

Cifer placed the flask at his feet and looked at the Red-Haired as if he were a clown.

"What! Are you sure? That guy is incredibly cunning..."

This was something Shanks hadn't anticipated. He had always thought Blackbeard was a deeply hidden ambitious man who would surely cause big trouble in the future.

But I never expected to learn of his death here.

"As expected of Cifer! Old Man will definitely come and treat you to drinks again when he finds out!"

Ace was beaming with excitement.

Having experienced that crushing defeat, he is no longer the naive boy who shouted "I want to take responsibility" and only knew how to act recklessly.

Now that he knows the traitor has been dealt with by his friends, he is overjoyed.

"In a few days, you should see that the Marineford has removed the bounty on him."

Blackbeard's body was naturally taken back to Marineford by the "hero" to be exchanged for the Bounty before being sent back.

"Then... what about the World Government? Although you killed two of the Gorosei, they aren't known for their fighting prowess. Mary Geoise's true fighting strength is..."

"The Knights of God and Im, the true ruler of the World Government, right?"

Cifer interrupted him and spoke first.

"Hey, you bastard, you didn't already clash with them at the Affiliated Nation congress, did you?!"

Shanks's calm expression finally vanished. If the other party could even say these two things, he knew just as much as Shanks did.

"To be precise, I almost killed them all, including your family Garin and Stinks."

After Cifer uttered these words, Shanks's eyes turned to him.

"The Western Emperor's family are... Celestial Dragons?!"

The most surprised person present was Cobra, after all, he had just escaped the clutches of that group a few days ago, while the people from Las Noches only felt a little surprised upon hearing the news.

"Those scumbags are not my family."

Shanks stood up, not dwelling on the issue of Shalohmuk's name, because he simply didn't care.

"What, are you leaving?"

"Well, there's no point in staying here any longer. Let's wait and see what happens then."

Shanks knew his pride was useless here, and the opponent's strength far exceeded his expectations, so he decided not to linger any longer.

After all, if they stay too long, it will only increase the World Government's speculation and hasten the outbreak of conflict between the two.

"May you rest in peace."

Cifer lightly kicked the flask at his feet, and it flew back into Shanks' hand, officially declaring the conversation over.

"This must be Senior Cifer ~"

Bartholomew was already captivated by his idol's charisma. Even though the other was also a member of the Western Royal Army, he could only obediently bow his head in front of his own boss!

"Now, let's talk about the two of you."

Cifer had expected the Red-Haired to say something more interesting, but that was all he got, so he looked at the other two.

"You go first."

Ace gestured for Cobra to step forward, stepping back to indicate that Cobra should move forward.