Several days later, the Red Hair Pirates' Red Force slowly sailed into the harbor of Palta Island, a territory under their control.
Shanks was the first to jump off the ship, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the glaring Spade Pirates Flag flying above the town square.
His brow furrowed slightly as he watched the flag unfurl in the wind.
"Strange..." Benn Beckman walked beside him, a slender cigarette between his lips. His gaze swept over the somewhat deserted streets, his voice low.
"This 'Fire Fist' Ace stopped expanding after planting his flag on Palta Island.
"According to our intelligence, this was the last place he appeared and replaced the flag. He hasn't moved since.
"It feels... almost like he's deliberately waiting for us."
"Yeah, boss!" Lucky Roux added indistinctly, gnawing on a leg of meat.
"And we haven't seen so much as a glimpse of their pirate ship since we landed!
"They couldn't have come to steal our territory on a little raft, could they? Did they hide their ship beforehand?"
Just as Shanks and the others were puzzling over this-
"Hey there~" A young voice, tinged with laziness and amusement, abruptly came from above and to the side.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a black-haired young man in an orange cowboy hat crouching on the eaves of a nearby house.
One hand held down his hat brim, hiding most of his face and revealing only his freckles and an upturned corner of his mouth.
Ace lifted the brim slightly, revealing his eyes. Looking straight at Shanks, who stood at the head of the group, he chuckled.
"So this is the legendary Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, huh?!
"My little brother is always talking about you!"
Of course, as someone who doted on his