Among the navy personnel, a tall, purple-haired figure stood out – it was Zephyr. Beside him, dressed in civilian clothes, were Rebecca and Barnett, who had been separated from Vic for almost a month.
Both groups looked at each other; a historic meeting had taken place between the former Navy Grand Prix winner and the future Four Emperors.
"It's Black Arm Zephyr this time! This is getting tricky!" Shanks muttered to himself, surprised that this time it was actually a Admiral- level figure.
He glanced past Zephyr and looked at the others. He saw Rebecca and immediately recognized the girl with the same hair color as him; she was Vic's companion.
Seeing Rebecca, Shanks' expression became even more serious. Wherever Rebecca was, Vic would be there too. If a battle broke out this time, the outcome would be hard to predict.
Vic is a few years younger than him and incredibly talented. He has made great progress recently, and Vic's progress is equally impressive. If they were to fight now, the outcome would be hard to predict!
He continued looking at the others, scanning the room, but he didn't see Vic.
Beckman was still smoking, but his gaze remained fixed on Zephyr. Zephyr had now retreated behind the scenes and was now focused on teaching. Beckman couldn't understand why Zephyr was here.
If they really wanted to send someone to stop them, they could have sent Akainu and Aokiji. Those three Vice Admiral already have Admiral- level strength, which is more than enough. Why is Zephyr, who's been leading the new recruits from behind the scenes, here? Does the Navy have no manpower left?
Yasopp a little stunned. He had only just entered the Grand Line and was already blocked by the Navy. Was he going to be in jail on his very first day? Was this God's punishment for abandoning his wife and children? Yasopp fell into a reverie.
Rebecca stared blankly at Shanks. Their Elite Camp had been here for three days and was about to leave to pick up Vic and Wendy from Drum Island.
Unexpectedly, they encountered the Red Hair Pirates at this time. It's hard to say whether it was the Elite Camp's good fortune or the Red Hair Pirates ' bad luck.
Rebecca remembered Vic's words; she didn't want to run into the Red Hair Pirates. Fighting wasn't an option, and not fighting wasn't an option either; she was in a very awkward situation.
From the Navy's perspective, they should intervene when encountering pirates; from a personal perspective, she owes Shanks a favor, and intervening would be repaying kindness with enmity.
However, she felt relieved remembering that Professor Zephyr had promised Vic to let Red-Hair the hook.
When Zephyr saw the entire Red Hair Pirates, he frowned deeply. In particular, when he saw Red-Hair wearing Straw Hat, his Haki aura reminded him of the Pirate King Roger and Shanks!
Both are elite pirate crews, and both are as young and possess extraordinary talent as Vic. Vic can already fight him for a long time, and escaping from him would be even easier. So how strong Red-Hair now, and how strong will he become in the future? Another Pirate King?
" Rebecca! Looks like I have to break my promise. I can't keep what I promised Vic. This time, I'm keeping the Red-Hair kid!"
Zephyr stared intently at Shanks, but his words reached Rebecca's ears clearly.
Rebecca turned to look at Zephyr in disbelief. She had no idea what Zephyr had thought of the moment he saw Shanks; it was something that no agreement could suppress!
He would apologize to Vic afterward, but for now, he wanted to keep Shanks for the sake of the sea's future, and he wouldn't sacrifice the greater good for a small gain.
Shanks and Beckman knew from Zephyr's expression that a battle was inevitable. Zephyr was a former Marine Admiral, and the Red Voss couldn't dive or fly, while Zephyr could both. Escaping wouldn't be an easy task.
"Move the ship over there, and let's make that the battlefield!"
Shanks ordered the ship to dock on the other side of the Twin Cape. He didn't want to reveal his relationship with Crocus. He saw Crocus looking at him with a worried expression on his face. If the battle turned against him, Crocus would definitely come to his aid, which was not what he wanted.
"Professor Zephyr! They seem to be trying to escape. I'll go and assess their situation!"
Rebecca exchanged a single sentence with Zephyr and then flew towards the Red Voss with Ain in her arms, completely unwilling to listen to what Zephyr had to say.
Rebecca! Remember who you are!
Zephyr said in a deep voice. Zephyr could tell that Red-Hair was preparing for battle, and he believed that Rebecca had also figured it out. Whether she was saying she wanted to escape or remembering Vic's words and wanting to help Red-Hair, he didn't rush out to stop her immediately. He wanted to see what Rebecca would do.
Rebecca stepped on the air and arrived at the Red Fox in a few steps. The people on the pirate ship noticed Rebecca's arrival when they heard the sonic boom.
Rebecca, carrying Ain, used a quick step to land on the edge of the ship, right next to where Shanks and the others were.
The instant Rebecca landed, a bullet flew rapidly toward her forehead. Rebecca slightly turned her head to dodge Yasopp's sniper shot, glanced at Yasopp Rebecca, and then turned to look at Shanks.
" Yasopp! Don't be so nervous, it's someone we know!"
Shanks stopped Yasopp from continuing to fire. No one else acted without Shanks's instructions, except for the rookie Yasopp, who didn't quite understand and instinctively tried to shoot down a Marine when he saw it flying by.
"Give her to me!"
Rebecca looked at the little girl with half white hair and half Red-Hair next to Shanks and said...
And Ain had been keeping an eye on this little girl who was about her age from the beginning.
The little girl, seeing this strange older sister staring at her, was so frightened that she quickly hid behind Shanks. This little girl was none other than Uta, the daughter Shanks had found in the treasure chest.
Seeing Uta trying to hide, Rebecca grabbed Uta and pulled her into her arms. Then she turned and used Geppo to head towards Crocus. Children are the most vulnerable during battle, so Rebecca wanted to take the two children away from the battlefield.
"Boss?" Lucky Roux called out to Shanks.
"It's alright! I believe in her!" Shanks didn't want Uta take any risks, so he didn't stop Rebecca from doing what she was doing.
"Uncle Crocus! I'm leaving these two little ones in your care!"
After Rebecca finished speaking, she flew away again, this time directly to another continent that was to be used as a battlefield, a place that also extended from the Reverse Mountain.
Rebecca wasn't just joking when she said she wanted to try Shanks; she genuinely wanted to fight Shanks. Last time, Shanks had completely overpowered her, and she wanted to see how much of a gap remained between them now, and who was stronger between Shanks and Vic.
"Bring the warships closer and prepare for battle!" Zephyr gave the order when he saw that Rebecca had arrived at the battlefield and the Red Hair Pirates ' ship had docked.
"My name is Ain! What's your name?" Ain was interested in Uta's hair color. Uta was a little shorter than Ain and a year younger than her.
"My name is Uta! I'm the musician of the Red Hair Pirates!" Uta spoke of her profession with a touch of pride. She grew up on Shanks ' pirate ship and has always been proud of the Red Hair Pirates. She wasn't afraid when she saw Shanks preparing to fight the Navy; Shanks had never let her down.
"Oh! You're a pirate at such a young age? Are you a Devil Fruit user?" Ain knew Uta's identity when she heard Uta say she was on a pirate ship. She was surprised that such a young child could be a pirate; what legitimate pirate crew would want her?
"Ability users? What are ability users?"
The Red Hair Pirates always protected Uta very well in every battle. She had never seen a battle between Devil Fruit users before, and there were no Devil Fruit users in the entire Red Hair Pirates. This was the first time she had ever heard of Devil Fruit users, and she was very curious about it.
"I am an ability user! This is my ability."
Crocus was completely focused on the battlefield and didn't notice the two little ones' conversation at all.
By the time she realized something was wrong, Uta had already been transformed into an even smaller baby by Ain. Her clothes were a size too big and dragged on the ground, and her shoulder-length hair had been turned into short hair that covered her ears.