"!?"
"Poof!!"
On a deserted island in the New World, a red-haired man had been sitting on a seaside rock, drinking and gazing out at the ocean. A message from one of his subordinates stunned him so badly that he spat out the mouthful of rum he had just taken, spraying the messenger from head to toe.
"Oh!"
"I'm terribly sorry, Beckman. I really didn't do it on purpose..."
"Haha..."
Seeing the man stare at him expressionlessly without wiping the liquor from his face or clothes, the red-haired man could only give an awkward laugh. He sheepishly hopped down from the rock and stood before the man he had called "Beckman," apologizing.
That's right!
The well-built man with red hair and short stubble around his mouth was missing his left arm. He wore a white shirt, half unbuttoned to reveal a muscular chest, a long black cape, patterned brown cropped pants, and flip-flops, with a long sword at his waist. He was none other than the captain of the Red Hair Pirates and one of the New World's Four Emperors: the youngest of them, known as "Red-Haired" Shanks.
The messenger who had just arrived and been sprayed with liquor was none other than the Red Hair Pirates' vice-captain. He was also the only vice-captain among the Four Emperors' pirate crews, renowned for his sharp mind and formidable combat prowess—so great that he was said to rival Red-Haired Shanks himself. His name was Benn Beckman!
"By the way!"
"What was it you just said?"
After offering an apology without a shred of sincerity, Red-Haired Shanks quickly furrowed his brow and asked about the news that had just made him lose his composure—and that still left his mind in a state of confusion and disbelief.
"..."
Benn Beckman said nothing.
He first