Bro, Take Your Time Flying

At his crewmates' urging, Vista took a deep breath to steady himself, then read aloud.

"Morning Star Pirates Captain Barzeb Seven, Bounty: three billion; Vice Captain Dracule Mihawk, Bounty: two billion; combatant Fujitora Issho, Bounty: two billion... Dead or alive."

"Defeated a Buster Call fleet of over ten thousand Marines led by five Headquarters Vice Admirals, including Sakazuki and Kuzan, and rescued the Child of the Devil, Nico Robin."

"Known as the second Sea Emperor."

The Whitebeard Pirates stared in stunned silence.

"Nani?!"

"A Sea Emperor just like Old Man?!"

"You've got to be kidding!"

Seven's only been at sea for two years!"

The reactions from his sons made Whitebeard laugh even harder. "All right, all right. Marco, go get the banquet ready. We'll talk over drinks."

After several rounds of drinks and plenty of food,

Marco shook his head with a sigh.

"Old Man, I never expected Seven to be the first among the young guys under Captain Roger to become a Great Pirate. I thought he was just good at cooking."

"Gurararara!"

Whitebeard downed a huge bowl of wine and set it on the deck.

"Roger told me Seven awakened Conqueror's Haki when he was eight. Now he can go toe-to-toe with the magma brat. He's certainly something special."

"He's only seventeen," Marco said with a sigh.

"Next time I see Seven, I'll have to spar with him."

Vista laughed. "Seven's a Great Swordsman. If anyone's sparring with him, I'm first in line."

Perhaps because they'd known each other for years, or maybe because Seven was an incredible cook and made good wine, most of the Whitebeard Pirates had a good impression of him. Whitebeard especially couldn't stop thinking about his Dream Son.

There was just one exception: a fat, dark-skinned man, who stared blankly at the Bounties in the newspaper.

He'd gotten this strong after only two years at sea?

Should I set sail too, instead of hiding out with the Whitebeard Pirates, waiting for the Dark-Dark Fruit to show up someday?

Teach felt inexplicably irritated. One of the former rivals aboard Roger's ship, that seventeen-year-old white-haired brat, had become the second Sea Emperor.

Damn it!!!

Where's the justice in that? Why should a bastard who stole my teeth become a Sea Emperor?

Then Teach remembered that the Red-Nose Brat and the Red-Haired Brat still hadn't made a name for themselves. That made him feel a little better. I'm not the only one who's fallen behind.

Barzeb had become a Sea Emperor, while the Red-Nose Brat and the Red-Haired Brat were still God knew where.

At least I'm a member of a Sea Emperor's crew!

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

On an unknown island, a red-haired boy wearing a straw hat sneezed several times in a row. Rubbing his nose, he muttered,

"Could... someone be thinking about me?"

"Extra! Extra! Ohara Buster Call... The second Sea Emperor has risen!"

The street vendor's cries caught the red-haired boy's attention. He pulled a hundred Berry coin from his pocket and called out,

"Hey, kid! One newspaper, please."

Seeing the coin in the boy's hand, the newsboy smiled and rattled off, "Big brother, the newspaper costs five hundred Berry!"

"Five hundred? Isn't it a hundred?"

The newsboy explained, "This issue's sold out everywhere, so the price went up."

"Nani? The paper's sold out?" The red-haired boy hurriedly pulled out five hundred Berry. Something big must have happened. Otherwise, how could the newspaper have sold out?

"Thank you!" The newsboy handed him a paper.

When the red-haired boy saw the news, he nearly burrowed into the paper, as if that were the only way to confirm whether it was real.

"Nani?!"

"Seven? A Sea Emperor?"

Shanks rubbed his eyes, seriously doubting that he was dreaming. A Great Swordsman, Captain of the Morning Star Pirates? Defeated the Marine Buster Call fleet?

He knew every word, but somehow couldn't make sense of them together.

"Is this the Seven I know?"

White hair... right. His features... right. That confident look in his eyes... right too. But how could this be?

Hadn't it only been three years since they parted?

Three years ago, the Roger Pirates disbanded, and Seven vanished with Captain Roger. Two years ago, the captain turned himself in and was executed in Loguetown.

After just three years apart, his good brother Seven had become the second Sea Emperor?

Shanks was as dumbfounded as Doflamingo would be in the future when he was locked up in Impel Down and saw in the paper that Luffy had become a Yonko.

His mind was filled with one thought: How is this possible?

A moment later, Shanks returned to the hotel where he was staying and pulled out the Den Den Mushi he hadn't used in ages. He called Vice Captain Rayleigh to get some answers...

Den Den Mushi: "Hello? Who's this?"

"Vice Captain Rayleigh, it's me, Shanks."

The Den Den Mushi drawled lazily, "Oh, Shanks. How have you been?"

"Pretty good, Uncle Rayleigh."

After a little small talk and an update on his travels over the past two years, Shanks finally got to the point. "Uncle Rayleigh, how have Buggy and the others been?"

The Den Den Mushi chuckled but didn't call him out.

"Buggy? I haven't seen him in ages. I'm in regular contact with Seven, though. He even lent me three hundred million Berry a while back."

"Seven's a big shot now. The paper calls him a Sea Emperor, with a Bounty of three billion. His two crewmates each have a Bounty of two billion."

Shanks suddenly felt parched. He hurriedly poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down.

So it really was Seven!

A seventeen-year-old Sea Emperor! Bro, we agreed we'd take it easy together. You've taken off way too fast. How am I supposed to catch up now?

The Den Den Mushi laughed. "Shanks?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Rayleigh." Shanks changed the subject, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Um... I'll come visit you and Auntie Xia in a while."

The Den Den Mushi continued, "Your aunt and I aren't in the Sabaody Archipelago right now. We're planning to spend some time in Elbaf."

"That kid Seven took on a Marine Buster Call fleet, and he's worried the World Government might come after us. He told us old folks to lie low somewhere else."

"Shanks, you're on your own out there, so be careful too."

"Got it."

After hanging up, Shanks smiled bitterly. Bro, take your time flying. Give me a chance to catch up!

Becoming the Sea Emperor in two years? That was just ridiculous. How could anything so absurd happen out on the ocean?

Was that even possible?

Where was the justice? Where was the law?

Shanks could already imagine Buggy mocking him for being an idiot when he found out Seven had become a Sea Emperor.

Buggy might even say,

[That idiot Shanks! If he hadn't changed his mind back then and invited Seven aboard, maybe we'd have become Sea Emperors too!]