Mihawk: If It's Only Cooperation, That Could Work

"This is the first I've heard of it too!"

Shanks looked utterly bewildered. This was the first time he had heard that he apparently had a Celestial Dragon brother...

In fact, it was not as though the World Government had never considered contacting Shanks, who was born into the Figarland family. It was just that he had always been aboard Pirate King Roger's ship. Whether it was CP0 under the World Government or the Marines, neither had ever found an opportunity to speak with Shanks alone! After all, that bastard Roger was truly far too powerful...

"Brother, seeing as you did not willingly leave us Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders and the heads of the great families have decided to give you a chance to return to our ranks!"

"As long as you immediately throw away that eyesore of a straw hat on your head, you can return to the Figarland family and become one of us lofty Celestial Dragons, enjoying every privilege..."

Ignoring Mihawk, Shaya simply looked at Shanks and spoke softly.

"Is that so? As long as I throw away this straw hat on my head right now, I can become a Celestial Dragon again and enjoy the lofty privileges of the World Nobles?"

After hearing Shaya's words, Shanks frowned deeply and asked in confusion.

"Precisely so..."

Shaya nodded lightly, indicating that everything was exactly as Shanks had said.

"But I refuse!" Before Shaya could say more, Shanks had already rejected him, saying coldly, "The thing I like doing most in this life is saying NO to self-righteous bastards..."

"Alright, alright, I get it..."

Shaya waved a hand, signaling that Shanks did not need to say any more.

"Then you've passed, Shanks."

After looking Shanks up and down, Shaya smiled.

"Passed? What does that mean?"

Shanks froze for a moment and asked suspiciously.

"Exactly what it says."

As Shaya spoke, he gave Stussy beside him a look that said it was time.

Then he took a stack of documents from Stussy and handed them to Shanks.

"What is this..."

Looking at the documents before him, Shanks felt his scalp go numb.

Damn, there were too many words...

Yeah! It was hard to expect a child raised aboard a pirate ship to enjoy reading~

If it had not been for the highly knowledgeable Rayleigh aboard Roger's ship, it would have been questionable whether Shanks could even read!

"That's not the important part. Just look at the title..."

Shaya pointed at the heading of the document for Shanks.

"A will? A Roger Pirates letter of entrustment?"

Shanks stared blankly at the letter in his hand.

"This is your captain Roger's signature."

Not giving Shanks time to think, Shaya continued, pointing to the large signature Roger had left on the will as he spoke softly.

"This really is Captain Roger's signature..."

Seeing Roger's signature, Shanks's pupils contracted slightly.

"And here, this is Roger's fingerprint." Shaya pointed at Roger's handprint and said softly, "Brother, you can have someone verify whether this document is genuine. If it's 'Pluton' Rayleigh, the second-in-command of the Roger Pirates, he can certainly determine whether it's real!"

Snap~

After hearing that, Shanks gave Shaya a long look before forcefully closing the document.

"So what exactly do you mean by giving me this document?"

Shanks questioned Shaya.

"Roger's child is in my hands."

Shaya answered Shanks bluntly.

"What? You're saying Captain Roger has..."

Shanks apparently had not expected Shaya to bring him such shocking information...

For a moment, Shanks was so startled that he sprang up from his seat. But the instant he stood, he realized his voice had been too loud...

So Shanks lowered his voice, leaned down close to Shaya, and asked softly, "Is this absolutely true?"

"Several months ago, when I sailed to Baterilla Island in the South Blue, I met Roger! At the time, Roger already had a wife on Baterilla Island, and she was pregnant. Roger himself only had a few months left to live..."

Shaya paused here.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."

Shaya casually picked up Shanks's beer and began drinking deeply from it...

"Phew..." Only after draining the bottle did Shaya let out a breath and continue, "In order to preserve the bloodline of the legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, from the World Government! I lived on Baterilla Island for several months and brought Roger's wife to Mary Geoise as my second wife. Counting the days, Roger's child should be due to be born in a few months..."

"This..."

Shanks froze, his fingers trembling.

Shanks had never imagined that Captain Roger, whom he so deeply admired, had made so many arrangements before his death—arrangements that even involved his brother...

"Thanks for your hard work."

With that, Shanks raised his glass and spoke earnestly to Shaya.

Shanks knew that his brother must have gone to great lengths to successfully protect Captain Roger's child. The hardships involved were simply beyond what could be explained to outsiders...

"It really was hard work!"

Shaya nodded lightly. It had to be said that Rouge truly deserved to be the woman who had conquered Roger. Her endurance and suction were both Pirate King-level... ahem...

"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."

Shanks and Shaya clinked their glasses, then drained the liquor within. Shanks gently set down his cup, and a glint of killing intent flashed through his eyes. "Brother, how many people know about this? Can these CP0 agents really be trusted?"

Naturally, Shanks's killing intent was directed at Stussy behind Shaya. After all, Shaya had blasted all the other CP0 agents out of the tavern and sent them to block off the streets as guards...

As Shanks's words fell, the temperature throughout the tavern seemed to suddenly drop several degrees! Stussy, who had been standing behind Shaya with a smile on her face, instantly changed expression and cried out inwardly, Red-Haired Shanks truly is Shaya's brother. He's a monster too!

"Hey! Stussy is one of us..."

"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced her to you yet. This is my first wife~"

Hearing that, Shaya waved a hand at Shanks.

"So she's my sister-in-law..."

"Your elder brother was rude just now. I'll punish myself with three drinks!"

After hearing Shaya's words, Shanks immediately withdrew his killing intent. Chuckling, he opened three bottles of beer and downed them in one go.

"..."

Stussy did not dare voice any complaint.

However, Stussy was not the most embarrassed person there...

The most embarrassed was Mihawk, who had been sitting silently in his seat the entire time.

Wait, am I really supposed to be hearing all this information about Pirate King Roger?

Mihawk felt as though he had somehow been dragged into an extraordinary whirlpool.

"Oh, right, I nearly forgot. Brother Shanks, you still haven't introduced me to the relationship between you and Mihawk~"

Then, as though recalling something, Shaya turned to Shanks and asked.

"Oh? You mean Mihawk? Mihawk is the vice-captain of my pirate crew..."

"He's one of us. It doesn't matter if he heard that information!"

After hearing Shaya's question, Shanks casually patted Mihawk on the shoulder.

"Who said I was your vice-captain—"

Mihawk's brows furrowed tightly at Shanks's words.

"So he's one of us. You gave me quite a scare! After all, Mihawk is the legendary Marine Hunter—he's terrifyingly vicious~"

Before Mihawk could speak, Shaya had already taken over. He patted his chest with lingering fear, putting on an act as though he were truly intimidated by Mihawk...

Then, without giving Mihawk another chance to speak, Shaya directly told Stussy beside him, "Tell Fleet Admiral Steel-Bone Kong, Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Zephyr, Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Rear Admiral Sakazuki, Rear Admiral Kuzan, Rear Admiral Borsalino, the one hundred World Government warships, and the fifty CP0 agents personally selected by the World Government who are sealing off the island outside to lift the blockade! I'm very safe now..."

"Oh, right. What was it you were saying just now?"

After saying all that, Shaya looked at Mihawk and asked.

"I said..."

After hearing Shaya's words, the corner of Mihawk's eye visibly twitched.

"I said... if it's a partnership, then it's not impossible..."

At that, Mihawk turned his head toward Shanks with an utterly lifeless expression.

Second update! Please keep reading, brothers~