The year was 1506 in the Sea Circle Calendar.
Three years have passed since Roy returned to Hachinosu with Heavenly Tribute and a group of new companions.
Three years is neither a long nor a short time.
But for this most chaotic, violent, and unreasonable sea area—
For the New World, three years...
Enough to turn an unknown person into a legend, and enough to turn a legend into a myth.
And the biggest variable in the New World over the past three years...
It wasn't a power struggle between the five Emperors, nor was it the Marine Headquarters's restless ambition, nor was it some conspiracy or trickery secretly plotted by the World Government.
The biggest variable comes from a Red Hair man wearing Straw Hat and his equally lawless group of companions.
Red-Haired Shanks.
Three years ago, he refused the invitation from the Shichibukai, parted ways with Roy at Sabaody, and led the Red Hair Pirates into the New World.
Nobody had high hopes for him.
In that New World, the five great rulers had already divided up the territory completely.
Whitebeard reigns supreme in the Central Plains, Golden Lion occupies the floating islands, Big Mom's Totto Land is impregnable, Kaido dominates Wano Country, and Hachinosu is the most unshakeable behemoth in the New World.
Five mountains loomed over everyone's heads; who dared to move? Whoever did would die.
But Shanks did just that.
His first stop in the New World was the territory of the Golden Lion.
Everyone was waiting to see the joke happen.
A newly formed pirate crew goes to challenge the legendary Flying Pirates?
Isn't that just courting death?
But the result shocked the entire New World.
Shanks and Golden Lion fought a fierce battle on the floating Sky Island for three days and three nights. Their swordplay ripped through the Sky Island's surface time and time again, and the clash of their Conqueror's Haki shattered countless pieces of the Sky Island's rocks.
Three days later, Shanks emerged from the floating Sky Island covered in blood, and Golden Lion didn't fare any better, suffering a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his right arm.
Although every member of the Red Hair Pirates was wounded, not a single one of them died. They fought their way through the Flying Pirates ' encirclement and escaped unscathed.
This battle made the name " Red-Haired Shanks " memorable throughout the New World.
For the next two years, Shanks was like a wild horse, rampaging across the New World.
He sought out Whitebeard —the monster known as " the World's Strongest Man."
The two swords clashed on the deck of the Moby Dick, Conqueror's Haki tore through the sky, causing the entire giant ship to groan in pain.
Whitebeard looked at the kid in the straw Straw Hat, a complex light flashing in his eyes—the same light he had once seen in Roger's eyes.
After that battle, Whitebeard said, "This kid has Roger's shadow in him."
Then comes Big Mom.
Shanks led his men into Totto Land Whole Cake Island and engaged in a fierce battle with the Big Mom Pirates on the outskirts of the island.
Charlotte Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit grants all things a spirit, but Shanks ' Conqueror's Haki can knock out Homies before they even have a chance to move.
After a chaotic battle, the Red Hair Pirates burned down several of Big Mom's factories and stole a large amount of information about Devil Fruit.
Then they slipped away before Big Mom could make a move herself.
Charlotte Linlin was so angry that she smashed half of Whole Cake Island, but Shanks ' men had already disappeared.
Kaido was not spared either.
Shanks intercepted a transport fleet of the Beasts Pirates off the coast of Wano Country, wiping them out in no time and stealing a large amount of Seastone and weapons.
Jin personally led a pursuit, chasing for seven whole days, but still couldn't catch up.
Shanks ' guerrilla tactics infuriated Kaido, but every time Kaido tried to personally retaliate, Shanks slipped away like an eel, never engaging in a direct confrontation.
" Red Hair guerrilla warfare"—these four words have now become the most troublesome term for the major powers in the New World.
Fight and run, run even if you can't win, then run away and find another place to fight.
Golden Lion, Whitebeard, and Big Mom all wanted to tear him to pieces, Kaido, when drunk, would yell that he wanted to smash his skull with a club.
But despite the criticism, no one could actually do anything to Shanks.
The Red Hair Pirates are like an unbreakable copper Pea, stuck in the throats of the four emperors, unable to swallow or spit it out.
Over the course of three years, Shanks managed to establish himself amidst the chaos of the five Emperors, amassing over a dozen islands and becoming the undisputed "sixth largest power" in the New World.
Although he has not officially become emperor yet, everyone knows that the crown will eventually fall on his head.
And on Hachinosu, this most unique land in the New World, those three years were not wasted either.
Bullet —this man's reputation in the New World is even more fearsome than it was three years ago.
He did something that everyone thought he was crazy:
Alone, he ventured into Whitebeard's territory six times, solely to challenge the World's Strongest Man.
Every time Bullet was beaten half to death, he would return to Hachinosu to recover.
Once the injury heals, continue.
It wasn't about seeking revenge, it wasn't about looking for trouble, it was simply about wanting to fight.
Then, on the fifth time, a miracle happened.
After being repeatedly disturbed, Whitebeard finally lost his temper. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's Air Quake collided head-on with Bullet's Conqueror's Haki, and the earth-shattering power pushed Bullet's White Tiger Model to its limit.
Under extreme pressure teetering on the brink of life and death, Bullet felt as if something inside him had exploded—
The Mythical Zoan White Tiger Fruit Awakening at that moment, with the aura of Awakening Zoan Devil Fruit fruit swirling above its head.
Its terrifying physique, combined with its Zoan determination, makes its regenerative abilities truly terrifying.
The metallic properties and wind blades on the entire battlefield all became part of his body.
In that battle, both sides fought fiercely for several days and nights, and their strength steadily rose to the ranks of top experts.
Tesoro's three years were equally remarkable.
He always remembered Roy's advice: if you want your Devil Fruit Awakening, go find Kizaru.
Wherever Kizaru is, Tesoro is there too.
Marine Headquarters, Sabaody Archipelago, Enies Lobby —as long as Kizaru leaves headquarters on a mission, Tesoro will appear before him like a shark smelling blood.
In their first encounter, Tesoro was sent spinning seven or eight times in the air by Kizaru's Light Speed Kick. Lightning had absolutely no speed advantage against Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit.
The second time, he was smarter and used a wide-range Lightning attack to block Kizaru's movement space, forcing Kizaru to confront him head-on. As a result, he was pierced through the left shoulder by the Yata Mirror.
The third, fourth, fifth... every time they clashed, Tesoro was infuriated by Kizaru's nonchalant tone, but each time he learned something new from his defeat.
The two sides met again near the Sabaody Archipelago.
Tesoro's Rumble-Rumble Fruit changed at that moment—the lightning was no longer simply released from his body, but could directly assimilate the surrounding space, turning the entire area into a lightning domain.
Kizaru's light speed was disrupted within the lightning field, Tesoro finally struck Kizaru head-on for the first time.
That punch, imbued with two hundred million volts of lightning and Armament Haki, slammed Kizaru back to the ground from mid-air.
A nearly 100-meter-long charred crater was left on the ground.
Although Tesoro ultimately failed to win the battle, Kizaru's usual frivolous smile disappeared as he left.
From that time on, Tesoro's name officially became synonymous with that of Marine Admiral.