Although he couldn't see their faces, the sight of their fluttering cloaks of justice alone was enough to frighten him so much that he dropped his wine glass and scrambled backward, as if these marines were about to chop him up at any moment. He had come to warn them from a distance, and now the marines were standing right behind him—how could he not be afraid?
"Oh! You really have the leisure for such a refined pursuit, holding a banquet in broad daylight. Are we allowed to participate?"
A slightly amused, magnetic voice broke the seemingly paused scene. Many pirates who had joined the crew later hurriedly drew their Fire Pistol and pointed them at the uninvited guests, while those without Fire Pistol drew their swords.
"Don't fire, everyone! They're not here to fight!"
Ben Beckman sat on a wooden crate next to the Red-Hair, holding a long gun in his arms, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and calmly looked at the newcomer.
He would never forget Vic and Rebecca's faces. Rebecca had chosen to get injured herself to avoid fighting them last time, while Vic had dared to entrust his life to these pirates on their very first meeting. They were both people with great personal charisma.
"Did they come specifically to see us?"
Shanks stood up and spoke in a low, menacing tone, then slowly walked towards Vic. The atmosphere, which had relaxed after Beckman's words, tensed up again around Shanks. "I said we're not here to fight, boss. What's with you gripping the hilt of your sword the whole time? Ready to start a fight at any moment?"
Shanks ignored everyone's reactions and approached Vic step by step. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he released Gryphon, put his arm around Vic's shoulder, and laughed loudly, as if he had met a long-lost friend.
"Hahahaha! Vic! Long time no see! Come on, let's have a drink and have a feast! We won't leave until we're drunk! Hahahaha!"
Shanks, his face flushed from the alcohol, kept patting Vic's shoulder with his arm around Vic's shoulder, while his other hand held out a glass of wine to Vic, urging him to drink. The tense atmosphere from just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Vic took the glass, somewhat amused and exasperated, and took a sip. He didn't mind that Shanks had used it; he hadn't expected Shanks to be so mischievous, deliberately creating tension before breaking it.
This tactic was later used on Hawk-Eye as well; it's become quite a habit. I suspect only a few officers knew about it, because Beckman and Lucky Roux didn't react at all, only the new faces drew their weapons and became wary.
" Red-Hair! Can you not be so serious next time? Look, they almost opened fire. I was terrified."
As Vic was speaking, Shanks pulled him back to his original spot. Beckman and several other officers also made room for Rebecca and the others, and a feast was laid out for them.
Uta was happy to see Ain, who was the same age as her, again, but she was still a little angry when she thought about how Ain had shrunk her last time.
However, they couldn't resist the temptation of their playmates and came to Ain's side. The two of them immediately started chattering, mainly comparing themselves to Vic and Shanks. Fortunately, the two little ones didn't say anything outrageous like Shanks eating shit or Vic drinking urine!
"Hahaha! You're Dark Dragon! Even if they break their Fire Pistol, they can't hurt you! Come on, let's eat! It's all game we caught on the island, and the meat is pretty good!"
Shanks pressed Vic down onto the wooden crate, then picked up a piece of meat and tried to put it in Vic's hand. Vic didn't take it immediately, but first took off the Justice Cloak from his back, folded the word "Justice" inside, and put it aside before taking the meat from Shanks. Now Vic could be considered to have food and drink.
Seeing Vic do this, Rebecca and the others also took off their justice cloaks and followed suit before starting to get their food and drinks!
Should we start fighting or talk business first?
After taking a bite of meat, Vic turned to Shanks with a stern face and said, "Isn't this someone I know? Didn't we agree not to fight? What's going on now?"
Although Shanks's underlings were curious about the unusual relationship between their Yamato and the Navy star Dark Dragon, they couldn't ask with their Yamato and guest right in front of them!
But the atmosphere, which had just relaxed, became tense again. Was the navy still the enemy? They didn't know whether they should take out their weapons, and their hearts were pounding with anxiety.
"Hahahaha! Don't scare them. If you want to spar, I'll accompany you after the banquet. Do you have something important to discuss with me? Tell me!"
Shanks naturally understood what Vic meant. At most, they would just spar; there was no way they would fight to the death. They would simply verify each other's moves and see if they could learn anything useful from each other. However, he didn't expect that Vic had something important to discuss with him this time.
Hearing Shanks ' words, the underlings breathed a sigh of relief. Today's banquet was nothing like the usual relaxed one; they were on tenterhooks while eating and drinking.
They all wanted to take their food and walk a little further away, but they were afraid that if a fight really broke out, they wouldn't be able to watch it in time. This was a top-level battle, a very rare one.
"Let's get down to business first. This is the first mission I received after being promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral. It was issued by the World Government!"
They're basically looking for some strong pirates to join the World Government, and they've even given them the title of " Shichibukai." I'm just here to test your strength.
You've caught the eye of the World Government. If it were any other pirate, I'd beat them up first. I acknowledge your strength.
"But the fight still has to be fought. Although I know you won't agree to become Shichibukai, the necessary procedures still need to be followed. Here are the conditions, take a look."
After finishing speaking, Vic took out the paper with the Shichibukai written on it from his pocket and handed it to Shanks. He knew that Shanks' yearning for freedom meant he would never put shackles on himself.
Furthermore, the right to legally plunder is utterly useless to him. He's unwilling to rob ordinary people, and if a powerful World Government forbids him from robbing, wouldn't he starve to death?
Vic's main purpose in coming here was to spar with Shanks and see how well the two of them fared. After all, Shanks would be the most prestigious Emperor of the Sea after Whitebeard's death, both in terms of strength and personal charisma.
If Vic can defeat Shanks now, then his future combat power will be at least at the level of a top-tier Four Emperors. After all, Shanks hadn't revealed his full strength before Vic's time travel, and his mere display of power was already impressive. Wouldn't Vic, who defeated Shanks, have even more prestige? Even future Devil Fruit User would have to give him face; that's true prestige.