Red-Haired Shanks (Please follow!)

Those who had suffered genocide then inflicted genocide upon those who had helped them.

"Perhaps that is why they were rejected and ultimately destroyed on the Grand Line?"

Yelena turned sideways and looked down over the town below, which had descended into chaos. A trace of mockery appeared on her formerly calm face. "After all, they are just such a vile, self-righteous, detestable people."

Then Yelena turned back again. Her Scarlet Eyes met Louis's gaze as she asked, "Is there any race on the sea more vile than the Kingdom of Jacob?"

Yelena had never left this land in her entire life. Given her condition, she might no longer have a chance to leave it.

Therefore, before she died, she wished to learn more about this world.

"Yes."

Louis nodded. Though the people of this country had left him utterly speechless with how low they could sink, there was still some distance between them and the Celestial Dragons.

Although both sides were naturally gifted in that regard, when it came to being detestable, the Celestial Dragons who lorded over the world were even more hated.

"What are they?" Yelena was somewhat curious.

She had only asked casually. With her limited experience, she could not imagine anything more vile than the Jacobites.

Louis turned his head and gazed out at the sea. His eyes seemed to pierce through the endless waters and fall upon the city atop the Red Line. He said meaningfully, "The Celestial Dragons."

"The Celestial Dragons..." Yelena looked at the expression in Louis's deep eyes and nodded thoughtfully.

She had never heard of the Celestial Dragons.

But she was very familiar with that look.

It was exactly the same look she and her people wore whenever they looked at the Jacobites.

After a moment of silence, Yelena gave Louis a gentle smile and spoke the words she had once used to comfort her people. "As long as our people and family are still here, as long as we support one another, everything will get better."

"The fall of one's homeland does not mean one becomes rootless. Wherever those who miss you are, that is your home."

Louis froze upon hearing that, then gave her a rather surprised look.

"You..." Louis opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But the next moment, he frowned and looked toward the area several thousand meters away where Yelena's people lived.

"That person followed us here?"

Within the vast range of Louis's Observation Haki, the powerful man who had brushed past him in the storm some time ago was now mingling with Yelena's people.

What Louis could not understand was that not only had no conflict broken out between them, they even seemed to be... hugging?

"That guy who might be Garp... is he a guest?" Louis looked again at Yelena, whose face was full of confusion, and told her what he had discovered.

She was equally bewildered. Having lived here for more than ten years, she had never seen any guests.

Yet this sudden development still made her wary. She abandoned the sea beast she had been dragging and sprinted toward home.

After thinking for a moment, Louis flapped his wings and followed her.

Even for Yelena, who was terminally ill, a distance of several thousand meters was not very far.

She stood at the entrance to the village, staring blankly at how familiar her elders seemed with the red-haired man before them.

A hundred meters above the ground, Louis hovered in the air with his wings beating, ready to flee at any moment.

When he looked at the red-haired man wearing a straw hat and a white shirt, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

"So it wasn't Garp?"

"Right. He was also someone who could have appeared in the East Sea around this time."

The man before him had short red hair, a kindly face, and a bit of stubble on his chin. He looked utterly devoid of authority. Yet he was none other than the future one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks.

Then Louis thought of the strongest member of the Sky Island people and realized there had been something unreasonable about his earlier deduction.

If he were only a little weaker than Garp, then with his personality, he would have long since gone to Mary Geoise to serve as a bomber.

As Louis and Yelena watched Red-Haired Shanks, he and his companions were also observing the two of them.

He first stared at Yelena's black Demon horns, confusion flashing through his eyes. Then, when he saw the style of Louis's clothing, a hint of reminiscence surfaced in his gaze.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the air became somewhat strange.

After a long while, the middle-aged man beside Red-Haired Shanks gradually sensed that something was off and hurriedly explained to both sides.

"Your Majesty Yelena, Shanks is one of the people who helped us back then and destroyed the Jacobites' army. He isn't an enemy!"

Yelena was stunned. Her grandfather had mentioned that, many years ago, a group of pirates had once helped the Canaan Tribe.

They had allowed them to return to the plains and multiply once more.

But all of that had come to nothing when the king who had died not long ago returned. Many people had even died as a result.

The middle-aged man then looked at Red-Haired Shanks and continued explaining, "Brother Shanks, Her Majesty Yelena is the child the princess gave birth to after returning from the Grand Line."

Understanding flashed through Shanks's eyes, and he smiled. "So that's how it was?"

"Destroyed the Jacobites' army..." Louis pondered in the sky.

He did not know much about the original plot of Pirate King. Most of what he knew came from various fanfictions and derivative works.

But one piece of information about Roger's pirate crew was often mentioned: because one of his companions had been provoked, Roger had destroyed an entire kingdom's army.

Louis came back to his senses and gazed toward the city on the plains. "If this country was really like that, then it was only reasonable for the Roger Pirates to destroy it."

After pondering for a moment, Louis folded his wings and slowly descended, his eyes sweeping over the figures behind Red-Haired Shanks.

There was a plump man in green, gnawing wildly on meat with a massive bone club in hand. There was also a young man with a ponytail, a pistol tucked into his waistband, and a toothpick between his lips.

There were burly men with mouths full of sharp, saw-like teeth, and one carrying a gorilla on his back. They were laden with bags of all sizes, standing in an extremely casual manner.

They didn't look anything like great pirates with bounties exceeding a billion Beli.

These people all shared one trait: they looked like insignificant Minions of the sea. They had none of the imposing aura they would possess more than a decade later.

The group seemed to notice Louis's appraising gaze and smiled at him one after another.

"..."

Louis silently took a few steps back. They were too friendly. He couldn't quite handle it.

Yet as the culprits behind it all, they had no awareness whatsoever. After exchanging glances, they burst into loud laughter instead.

"Lunatics..." Louis found it hard to put into words. This bunch really looked like they needed a beating...

Their laughter also drew the attention of Red-Haired Shanks and Yelena, who had been talking nearby.

Red-Haired Shanks turned around and grinned at his companions. "Put everything down. We're throwing a feast!"

"Yeah!!" At the word "feast," everyone's eyes lit up, and they howled like a pack of huskies gathered together.

This only made Louis more certain that something was wrong with their thought processes.

Just then, Red-Haired Shanks spoke again. "This young man from Bar should join us too! Come to think of it, I've really missed the friends in Bar."

"..."

"??"

Louis's eyes flew wide open, his face full of shock.