The Four Emperors Gather on Hachinosu (continued)

After much deliberation, Ochoku decided to prepare for both possibilities.

On the one hand, he welcomed Rocks' return; on the other hand, he also planned to contact the Holy Knights, so that if anything went wrong, he could betray Rocks in exchange for power and status.

However, before he could take any action, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a subordinate rushed in in a hurry.

"No, this is terrible, Master!"

"What's up?"

Ochoku's heart skipped a beat; he had a bad feeling.

"It's the Red Hair Pirates! The Four Emperors Red-Haired's ship has appeared near Hachinosu and is about to land here!"

"What did you say?!"

Ochoku was terrified.

Why did a Four Emperors suddenly appear instead of Rocks?

He quickly recalled his experiences over the years, remembering how he had honestly and dutifully stayed on Hachinosu, living the life of an island owner, and had never had a direct conflict with the Red Hair Pirates.

Of course, there are many indirect conflicts, most of which are due to territorial disputes.

What's this guy doing at the Hachinosu?

Ochoku walked to the windowsill again, took out his binoculars, and observed the sea towards the harbor through the skull's right eye.

A pirate ship could be vaguely seen on the sea heading towards the port, flying a pirate flag with a black background, a white skull, three red scars diagonally across its left eye, and two crossed scimitars below the skull.

It was none other than the pirate flag of Red-Haired, one of the Four Emperors!

"It really is that Red-Haired brat...! Damn it, what is this guy trying to do? Is he eyeing my Hachinosu?"

Ochoku's lips curled into a sneer, his eyes filled with malice.

At the same time.

The Red Hair Pirates, the Red Fox pirate ship.

This is a large sailing warship with a crimson dragon head. The hull was built by the Treasure Tree Adam and the sides of the ship are covered with cannons. As it sails on the sea, it gives people an extremely strong sense of oppression.

"Boss, why did we come to this island? This is Ochoku's territory; a fight might break out soon."

Chef Raki Lou held a piece of meat with bones in his hand; his chubby body was almost spherical.

Sniper Yasopp sat on the gunwale, his left eye slightly closed, his right eye locked onto Hachinosu ten kilometers away through the scope of his sniper rifle.

To be precise, it locked onto the man standing in the right eye of the skull, the pirate leader Ochoku.

"Shanks, may I fire? If I fire from here, that guy's Observation Haki won't even have time to react."

"Stop, Yasopp!"

First Mate Ben Beckman lit a cigarette, shook his head helplessly, and said, "We're not here to fight."

"Huh? What are we doing here?" The ship's doctor, named Hongo, was taken aback.

Everyone turned to look at Red-Haired Shanks.

Shanks stood at the bow of the ship, his back to the others, the sea wind causing his cloak to flutter continuously.

Waiting for someone.

Who is it?

Shanks turned around and laughed heartily, "Haha, no need to be so tense. They're not enemies, so relax, relax."

Ben Beckman continued, explaining:

"This island used to be the territory of the Rocks Pirates. After the Rocks Pirates were destroyed, Ochoku quickly occupied it, and it remains so to this day."

Yasopp put away his sniper rifle, stroked his chin, and said:

"That guy in the news, apparently he created a New Rocks Pirates. The World Economy News Paper has been reporting on it a lot lately."

"So, boss, are we going to wait for Rocks on this island? Will he come? And if he does, what are we going to do?"

Shanks scratched his head, unsure how to explain it to his companions.

"What we need to do is actually very simple: prevent a major war from breaking out. Hmm?!"

As they were talking, Shanks' expression changed slightly.

His Observation Haki has become so powerful that it's almost a passive skill; even without intentionally using it, he can foresee future scenes.

In the brief future he saw, towering waves rose from the sea, lifting the ship beneath his feet high into the air. With a violent tremor, the ship capsized, and his companions fell into the sea.

"What's wrong, Shanks?" Ben Beckman noticed his expression and his tone also became serious.

"This ability... Whitebeard!"

Before he could explain, Shanks charged headlong toward the stern.

Rewinding the clock slightly, to about thirty seconds ago.

Five kilometers away from the Red Fosse, the Moby Dick, also heading towards Hachinosu.

Marco stood at the top of the mast, half-crouched, observing the situation ahead through binoculars.

"Pops, we've spotted a big fish! It's the Red-Haired Red Fox, about 5 kilometers away at 2 o'clock."

On the deck, the Whitebeard lay casually on a wicker chair, holding a huge wine glass in his hand, with two young women in leopard-print stockings standing beside him, pouring him wine.

Upon hearing Marco's report, Whitebeard paused in his drinking.

"The Red Voss... that Red-Haired- haired brat's flagship."

Whitebeard immediately sensed a powerful aura with his Observation Haki, handed his wine glass to the woman beside him, and stood up to walk towards the bow of the ship.

"How did that brat end up near Hachinosu? Oh well, I guess I'll just say hello."

The Whitebeard grinned, clenched his right fist, and his biceps suddenly swelled several times their normal size.

The next instant, a punch was thrown straight forward.

"Seaquake!"

Thump--!

The atmosphere cracked, spreading like a spider web.

The already turbulent sea surface suddenly twisted a few seconds later, and huge waves hundreds of meters high rose up, stretching across the sea as far as the eye could see.

The Moby Dick was nearly capsized by the surging waves because of Whitebeard's punch.

Its bow is raised high, reaching an angle of almost seventy or eighty degrees.

"Waaah, Pops! The boat! Our own boat is capsizing!"

Using Seaquake as a greeting is a bit too much...

"Who knows, Red-Haired's ship might really capsize in a minute!"

"When it comes to fighting, the Whitebeard Pirates have never been afraid of anyone!"

A group of pirates became excited.

Let alone now that their Pops has lived a second life, even in the past, they were never afraid.

"Gurgle, gurgle, little ones, ride the waves, full speed ahead!"

"Oh!!"

Let's go back to the present.

A massive wave stretching for dozens of miles was about to crash in.

Shanks dashed off the deck, placed one foot on the stern, and soared into the distance against the giant waves.

The giant wave was advancing at an exceptionally high speed, approaching at a rate of hundreds of meters per second.

If a hundred-meter-high wave were to approach the Red Fox, even if the force could be blocked, the accompanying tremors would still capsize the ship.

"Whitebeard... he came for Rocks!"

Shanks glided across the sea like a crimson arrow, heading straight towards the giant waves.

He quickly guessed why Whitebeard was there.

As the distance closed, Shanks drew his sword from his waist and swept it forward with a sword imbued with Conqueror's Haki.

"Divine Departure!"

Crimson lightning flashed as Shanks cleaved the giant wave in two with a single sword strike.

The massive wave, stretching for tens of kilometers, was cleaved in two by a single stroke, creating a gap over a thousand meters long.

The next instant, Shanks moved without pausing, flying through the gap.

"Gurararara, they attacked right away?"

At the bow of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard sensed Shanks's presence rapidly approaching, and could already see figures coming into view.

He roared:

"You brat from Roger's ship, what are you doing here?"

The sound vibrated through the atmosphere and reached Shanks' ears.

He grinned. "That's my line, Whitebeard. What do you want?"

As he spoke, another sword was casually drawn.

A crimson crescent-shaped sword beam swept across the sea, heading straight for Whitebeard.

"Hey, are you targeting our 'Admiral' right from the start?"

On the mast, Marco transformed into a blue Phoenix.

The Phoenix flapped its wings, blocking the sword energy. Its wings folded forward, withstanding the Red-Haired's attack head-on.

Boom!!

The crimson sword energy was blocked by the wings, and Haki collision erupted with intense lightning.

"Ugh!!"

Marco roared, his wings suddenly rising upwards, propelling the Red-Haired's slash into the sky.

"Marco from the First Team? As expected."

Shanks closed in on Marco, then spun around and kicked him back into the Moby Dick.

He himself, however, used this power to leap to an even higher position.

At the same time, he raised his sword again, ready to slash at Whitebeard.

However, a burst of laughter suddenly came from the sky.

A massive black shadow loomed in and out of sight from within the clouds.

"Oh, hehehe... What a lucky day it is today that I have to witness the two of you fighting?"

A massive dragon head emerged from the clouds, looking somewhat intoxicated.

"Kaido!"

Red-Haired's expression changed slightly. He immediately put away his weapon and landed on the deck of the Moby Dick.

Whitebeard narrowed his eyes. "Kaido, what are you doing here, you brat?"

Kaido, hiccuping and bleary-eyed from drinking, heard the term "brat" and his dragon eyes flashed with a sharp killing intent.

"Whitebeard... what do you look like?"

He was stunned when he saw the Whitebeard's appearance.

It was as if he had been transported back to the Rocks Pirates era, when he was just a rookie, and this guy looked exactly like this.

"Hmph, Newgate, today is your doom!"

The drunken Kaido didn't understand why Whitebeard had become younger, but that didn't matter. All he wanted now was to kill Whitebeard, or be killed by Whitebeard.

"Bolo Breath!!"