In the New World, aboard the Red Hair Pirates' Red Force.
A gentle sea breeze blew. Shanks stood alone by the railing at the bow, the cuffs of his white shirt casually rolled up, the hem of his black cloak stirring softly in the wind.
The famous sword Griffon hung at his hip. He gazed out at the sea, seemingly lost in thought.
Ever since he had officially taken his place among the Four Emperors, particularly on the strength of his earlier clash with Bullet of the Navy's G-10-
The prestige he had earned by using that confrontation with G-10 to intimidate everyone had indeed cleared away plenty of trouble, bringing his territories a rare stretch of stability.
Still, that sort of scheming would never stand up to scrutiny. Once that man had time to spare...
"Boss!"
As Shanks pondered, a booming voice broke the stillness on deck.
The portly Lucky Roux, wearing a small pair of sunglasses, waved a newly received intelligence report and shouted,
"Bad news! Looks like something's happened in our territory!!"
Hearing the shout, Shanks turned around.
Benn Beckman was sitting leisurely in the middle of the deck, a half-empty bottle of rum on the small table before him.
He exhaled a long plume of smoke, his fingers leafing through several intelligence reports. Picking up where Lucky Roux had left off, he added evenly, "A rookie did it.
"'Fire Fist' Ace. Portgas D. Ace." Benn Beckman paused briefly as he read out the name.
"He was already causing quite a stir before entering the New World. His bounty isn't low, either. You could call him the most prominent rookie among the Supernovas!
"But his movements have been a little odd since he entered the New World. He's mostly been lingering in the waters around G-10...
"By