Red-Haired's Warning

Sirius is actually very skilled in Observation Haki; even among the Three Colors of Haki he currently possesses, Observation Haki is still quite powerful.

His Observation Haki has likely surpassed Rayleigh's; if he were to unleash it at full power, the entire Golden City would be completely covered.

Then, very easily, Sirius sensed a very powerful yet very familiar aura.

Sirius was somewhat pleased; reuniting with an old friend was certainly something to be happy about.

But he was also curious as to why this guy was here looking for him.

"What's wrong, Sirius?"

Yamato turned his head curiously.

"Let's go, Yamato, let's go see an old friend," Sirius said with a smile.

The two used Seimei Kikan to alter their appearance briefly, and then, led by Baccarat, headed to a reception hall near the city entrance.

Baccarat stopped at the door, being very understanding. "He's waiting for you inside. I'll head back now."

After saying that, she turned and left quickly without looking back, as if some primordial beast lurked inside the door.

"So, who's inside?"

Yamato eagerly pushed open the door and went inside, with Sirius following leisurely behind.

Inside the brightly lit room, a man was drinking heavily from a bottle.

A pile of empty wine bottles lay on the ground, and several cases of wine were on the table.

"Yes!! That's right, Shanks!!"

Upon seeing the man clearly, Yamato exclaimed in surprise, then laughed happily, "Long time no see! It's been four years, hasn't it?"

Red hair, a black cape, and only one arm—who else could it be but Shanks?

"Oh! You've arrived? It's been a long time indeed!"

Upon hearing Yamato's voice, Red-Haired turned around with a grin, waving and greeting him while holding a bottle of liquor. "The liquor here is really good. I'm only getting this thanks to you, Sirius. He became incredibly enthusiastic towards me after I told him I was here to see you."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, walked to the sofa opposite him, sat down, and leaned back lazily. "The name 'Shanks the Red-Haired' is enough to make anyone take him seriously, isn't it?"

"Not to mention," he smirked, "This Red-Haired is a member of the Pirate King's crew, a man who rivals Hawk Eyes, ranked fifth in the world in bounty, a monster known as the Fifth Emperor!"

Hahahaha!

Red-Haired laughed heartily.

The last time we met, that was the same opening line.

He laughed and said with some difficulty, "But he's still no match for the renowned Pirate Emperor, the second-highest bounty in the world, who defeated Charlotte Big Mom and is known as the strongest man, Black Wolf!"

Then Sirius burst into laughter.

It's been almost four years since we last met.

Everyone has changed a lot, yet nothing has really changed.

Yamato sat down next to Sirius and asked curiously, "How did Shanks know we were here?"

"That Morgans fellow's in the paper, everyone in the New World knows that. Have a drink, Sirius."

Red-Haired tossed a bottle of liquor at him, then looked at Yamato, "Where's Yamato?"

"I want one too!"

Yamato was also very happy.

Reuniting with friends is certainly a joyful occasion and something to celebrate.

"Oh, that's really an exaggeration, Sirius,"

The red-haired man leaned on the back of the sofa with a smile, and said with a sigh, "When we last met, I was just a fledgling. Now I am a real strong man standing on the top of the sea."

"It's nothing special."

Sirius casually remarked, "What I'm most proud of over these four years is actually my travels across the world. I doubt anyone has set foot in more places on this ocean than I have."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Red-Haired laughed heartily, "What an arrogant statement, Sirius!"

Completely disregarding titles like "Pirate Emperor" and claiming a preference for a simple journey—isn't that arrogance?

"But that's a great point!" Red-Haired was pleased.

"Shanks, we met Buggy later, and he's now on the Grand Line too!" Yamato couldn't wait to share their journey with Shanks.

"Yeah?"

Red-Haired exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful! Maybe we'll be reunited soon!"

"And Rayleigh and Chronos, they've helped us a lot, especially Rayleigh!"

"I've heard about it." The Red-Haired nodded slightly.

Sirius officially became known as the Pirate Emperor during the Sabaody Archipelago battle, and he received Rayleigh's help.

"Oh, right," Yamato's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with a smile, "And Luffy! Shanks, you gave your Straw Hat to him, right!"

"Oh! You even saw Luffy?"

Red-Haired took a big gulp of his drink, beaming, and said, "How about it? That kid's pretty good, right? I think he'll be the one to usher in a new era!"

"He's a really interesting guy!" Yamato said with a grin. "He even said he wants to become the Pirate King, but the one who's going to become the Pirate King is Sirius."

That's good.

The Red-Haired nodded slightly.

I have no idea what he's talking about.

"So, Shanks,"

Sirius suddenly spoke up, "What brings you here specifically to see me?"

Surely they didn't come all this way just to have a drink with me?

While Sirius felt that Shanks was absolutely capable of doing such a thing, he believed that at least this time it wasn't entirely true.

The Red-Haired's smile faded slightly, and his expression became serious.

It has to be said that this guy, who's always smiling, has an extraordinary amount of charisma when he gets serious.

He said, "Sirius, are we going to defeat Kaido and take the stone from him next?"

"That's right." Sirius nodded slightly. "So, Shanks, do you want to join forces with me?"

"To team up with Shanks?"

Yamato thought for a moment, "It doesn't seem so bad. Father has teamed up with Charlotte Big Mom too."

No, that's not why I came here.

Red-Haired shook his head, staring intently at Sirius, and said solemnly, "Sirius, can we stop here for now? Let's temporarily halt the collection of stones."

"What?"

Yamato was taken aback. "Shanks, what are you talking about?"

Sirius frowned as well, this was a statement he had never expected before, "What's the reason? It can't be that you, Shanks, teamed up with Teacher Kaido, can it?"

"Of course not because of that, but because of something more important."

Red-Haired hesitated for a moment, then, as if finally making up his mind, solemnly said, "It's too early, Sirius. It's not the right time yet."

"Ah?"

Sirius's lips twitched.

Here we go again.

After the Sea King comes Zunesha, and after Zunesha, are you?

What do you mean by "it's not the right time yet"?

Sirius asked.

"It's not time to awaken the monster lurking in Mary Geoise!"