"Let's get one thing straight. I came with you this time to help rescue your companions. That doesn't mean I approve of that Straw Hat Kid!"
On the deck of the swaying boat, Gaban spoke calmly to Shanks.
He had returned from Elbaf not long ago and found Shanks through some special contacts. He had meant to persuade Shanks to pull himself together and move past his despair, but instead Shanks had dragged him along on a rescue mission.
Among the people they were going to rescue were Shanks's surviving companions and Rayleigh's widow, Shakuyaku. Gaban had no objections to any of that. He would have saved them even if Shanks hadn't asked.
But the Straw Hat Kid and his crew were also among the captives. Unlike Shanks and Rayleigh, Gaban didn't think particularly highly of them.
He had never met the Straw Hat Kid. He had only heard Shanks talk about him. Shanks held the boy in high regard, believing he was the person Captain Roger had always been waiting for. He had even lost an arm in that little corner of the East Blue for the boy's sake.
Gaban wasn't convinced. Until he saw the boy for himself, even Shanks's opinion wasn't enough to make him feel any special attachment to the Straw Hat Kid.
Shanks said nothing. His face was still pale. The injuries he had suffered last time had nearly killed him, and they would not heal easily.
He also looked lonely and defeated. Clearly, he had yet to recover from the Sabaody Archipelago Incident.
"Don't worry, Mr. Gaban. Once you meet him, you'll understand. He's the person Captain Roger was waiting for. Everything we've done won't be in vain. This world will change because of him!"
It was a long while before Shanks spoke, his