Meeting

Sig and Shanks walked seamlessly through mountains of garbage.

More and more unfriendly stares appeared around, and... inside part of the garbage mountain, there were traces of houses being artificially constructed.

We are currently in the Terminal of Uncertainties Area of Kingdom of Goa. There seems to be a small town here... no, not something as "high-class" as a small town, but more like a settlement.

People living in Terminal of Uncertainties are still "people," and where there are people, there is "society."

As people formed gangs, many settlements emerged at the Terminal of Uncertainties, but they were less like villages and towns and more like packs of wild animals living under the law of the jungle.

Compared to the Grand Line weather at sea and the single season on the islands, the four seas generally have four distinct seasons. It was winter in the East China Sea at this time, and many refugees with Terminal of Uncertainties were shivering from the cold.

It must be said that Shanks' worn-out white shirt, somewhat unkempt stubble, and submissive demeanor, along with his seemingly unhealthy physique, made him perfectly at home among the scavengers at the Terminal of Uncertainties.

Tall and strong, with a deliberately fierce aura, Sig would immediately be mistaken for a bully who rules the place at the Terminal of Uncertainties...

Ignoring the stares they received along the way, Sig and Shanks went straight to a large garbage mountain at the deepest part of the mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a metal door more than two meters wide—completely different from the small doorways in ordinary garbage shacks that required bending over to enter.

Standing on either side were two burly men, a head taller than Shanks and a head shorter than Sig. Seeing Sig and Shanks approach, the man on the left stepped forward, stared at Sig, and asked, "Brother, where are you from? If you want to exchange anything, just go find our finance officer!"

In short, the goal is to stop Sig from getting any closer...

"No, we're looking for the person in charge here," Shanks said, stepping forward.

The guard glanced down at him and said, "I'm talking to your boss!"

Shanks...

"Pfft." Sig chuckled to himself.

Then Sig coughed and said, "Ahem, this is our Captain!"

"Huh?" The guard looked at Shanks with surprise.

Shanks maintained his submissive smile, showing no sign of embarrassment or anger.

Putting other factors aside, Sig does admire Shanks in this respect—if it were Shanks, he could easily play the role of a "Shadow Ascetic," right?

However, the guard still said impatiently, "Captain? Are you a passing pirate? Our boss isn't here, let's go!"

"No, it doesn't matter whether your leader is here or not, I need to see... Grand Duke Auguste." Shanks said, his expression becoming more serious.

"You..." The guard's expression hardened upon hearing this.

Just as the guard nervously reached for the dagger at his waist, Shanks also became serious and said, "I need to see Grand Duke Auguste, please!"

In an instant, Shanks's demeanor, which was no different from that of a down-and-out vagrant, was elevated to the level of a "big boss".

The guards, who had just instinctively wanted to attack, froze in their tracks under this imposing aura.

Because Shanks was unleashing his power in a controlled manner, even though Sig wasn't using Observation Haki on him, he could clearly sense that Shanks's "showing off" was based on a slight amount of Conqueror's Haki emanating from him in order to "avoid battle."

If it were Sig, stunning the opponent with "Intimidation" would be easy, but controlling it to the perfect degree would be beyond his capabilities.

"How... how did you know..." the guard's voice was hoarse.

But just then, a voice came from the intercom at the door. "Please let the Captain outside in."

Although unwilling, the guard obeyed the middle-aged man's order, Door Opening, and led Shanks and Sig inside.

Upon entering the innermost room, one sees a middle-aged man with regular features, thick eyebrows, large eyes, black-brown hair, and a slightly graying beard sitting in the head seat—his most striking characteristic is the sharp, angular features of his face and his thick beard...

An'er August, the Duke of the Auguste family, is also the person Beckman discovered to be responsible for the current flow of underground weapons into the Kingdom of Goa.

Behind them was a muscular man with an M-shaped hairline— the Prison Demon already sensed that this guy was Devil Fruit ability and was probably An'er's bodyguard.

"I'm so sorry to have to entertain you in these conditions, dear guests from afar."

Although An'er spoke modestly, Sig could sense that he was a very confident person.

"No, compared to when we were sailing at sea and couldn't reach the shore, this is quite comfortable." Shanks pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.

Sig stood behind Shanks, both to enhance his prestige and to monitor An'er August's emotional changes using Observation Haki.

"A long voyage... that's really nice," An'er remarked absentmindedly, then poured Shanks some black tea from the teapot on the table.

But...

The teapot was clearly not just filled to the brim; only a quarter cup was poured before it embarrassingly ran out of water.

However, in Sig's view, An'er's "confidence" remained unshaken. After realizing that there was no water, he immediately changed his plan and gave half of his teacup to Shanks!

Even outside of the "Kingdom of Goa," where nobility values pomp and circumstance, this was no ordinary breach of etiquette.

If it weren't for his Observation Haki, which allowed him to monitor the other person's emotional changes, Sig would probably have thought this guy was deliberately provoking... or even flirting?

Because he had been paying close attention to the other person's emotions, Sig clearly understood that An'er had not meant any impoliteness; she was just... simple-minded.

He clearly has a very serious face!

Seeing this, Shanks didn't seem to feel teased at all. He simply picked up his teacup, warmed his hands with it, sipped his hot tea, and said, "Thank you."

"Did Peter send you?" An'er looked at Shanks seriously.

The bodyguard beside him had already locked onto Shanks with his Observation Haki, but Shanks didn't seem to care.

"No, he's someone who doesn't want the Kingdom of Goa to make unnecessary sacrifices. I can't say his name..." Shanks paused, then explained, "After all, it wouldn't look good if people knew that a naval hero, after learning about the internal strife in Goa, only sent pirates to mediate!"

Sig, An'er:...

Shanks was taken aback. "Eh? You guys didn't guess who it was, did you? Please don't take it to heart!"