But Area 55 now lay in ruins after the massacre a few days earlier.
The lingering smell of blood still hung in the air, along with an oppressive sense of menace.
"You came."
At that moment, a low, hoarse voice caught Roy's attention.
Beside a wrecked ship sat two figures wrapped in bandages.
They were none other than the renowned Red-Haired Shanks, one of the New World's Five Emperors, and his first mate, Benn Beckman.
Yet neither showed any killing intent at the moment.
A huge wine jar sat before them, as though they were welcoming an old friend.
"I came."
Roy remained calm and unmoved.
"You shouldn't have come."
Benn Beckman took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled smoke.
Roy: ???
Wait, why did those lines feel so out of place?
Still, he instinctively replied, "But I came anyway."
"Want a drink?" Shanks sighed.
Silence fell after those words.
Neither side's words connected with the other's; each was saying his own piece.
"No need for a drink."
"If you want to fight, then fight. Do you really think a little sentiment before battle will stop this king from attacking you?"
After a brief silence, Roy snorted coldly, his fighting spirit steadily rising.
"Come to think of it, if you, Red-Haired Shanks, hadn't stirred up trouble, we might never have become mortal enemies in this so-called Sabaody Archipelago incident."
"But this works too. Once offended, we're enemies to the death. It saves us from playing house after entering the New World."
He paused, sweeping his gaze over the figures lurking in the shadows, and declared with overwhelming momentum:
"Anyone who wants to attack me, Roy, today, come out."
"Let's settle everything once and for all today."
A trace of mixed emotion crossed both Shanks's and Benn Beckman's faces.