"A special thought? I don't have any special thought."
Ace's tone was flat, without the slightest fluctuation, as if he were looking at an insignificant ant.
"I heard that idiot in the straw hat is sworn brothers with that fake who took my place? You're asking what I think? In my eyes, the Pirate King is nothing more than leftover trash that was already swept into history's garbage heap."
At that point, Ace withdrew his gaze and looked at his younger sister in front of him.
"You made such a big deal out of today and had Sanji use the Door-Door Fruit to bring us here. It can't be just to see off that kid who's destined to sink, right?"
"Of course not."
Shirahoshi let out a light laugh, and the teasing look on her face faded slightly.
She suddenly raised her beautiful face and looked up at the endless blue sky.
Then she revealed a dazzling smile that even carried a trace of fanaticism.
At that moment, it was as if she had pierced through endless clouds and space and was exchanging glances across the distance with Rosse, who sat atop the heavenly palace above the clouds.
"I can sense it... Father's gaze, full of authority and expectation, is watching this sea right now. As the directors of this grand performance, we naturally have to give Father an appropriate response."
"Huh? Father's gaze? Why didn't I sense anything at all?"
Sanji raised an eyebrow when he heard that, but his fingers twitched instinctively as if shocked. He immediately pinched out the cigarette he had only just lit and quickly stuffed the butt into his pocket to destroy the evidence.
In truth, Rosse did not care whether he smoked or not. With their current bodies, tempered countless times over, not to mention tobacco, even deadly poison could not harm them in the slightest.
But just because Rosse did not care did not mean the women in the family would ignore it.
If his mother Sora, Aunt Otohime, Shirahoshi's mother, or his sister Reiju caught him, or smelled smoke on him, his days ahead would be miserable.
"Hmph! That's because your heart isn't sincere. Your head is full of worldly distractions. Of course you can't receive Father's divine message," Shirahoshi raised her chin as if it were only natural and mercilessly mocked her brother. [T/N: She's talking like a cultist]
At the same time, she somehow produced an extremely sophisticated camera and raised it before her eyes. The lens accurately focused on the fishing boat below that had almost become a tiny black dot, as well as the Child of Destiny carrying the false hopes of the old era.
Click!
The flash went off, freezing this historically ironic scene inside a photograph.
"Although the ending was decided long ago, the beginning of a great tragedy is always worth recording for future generations to admire again and again."
Satisfied, Shirahoshi carefully stored the photograph away and began humming a pleasant tune she had composed earlier in the palace.
She turned around, leaving the vast sea behind her. A certain hunting light flickered in her eyes.
"Alright, the warm-up is over. It's time to do some real work. In this seemingly peaceful village, there's still a little gift hidden away that I specially reserved for Father."
Under the helpless yet doting gazes of her two brothers, Shirahoshi walked forward with light steps, like a proud queen inspecting her territory, leading the way deeper into Foosha Village.
———
BANG!
The wooden door of the tavern, which had already been closed, was violently kicked open with a sudden loud crash.
The members of the Red Hair Pirates, who had been immersed in the joyful mood of seeing Luffy off and were even still holding up their cups while laughing, seemed to have had a pause button pressed on them by an invisible hand.
The noise throughout the tavern stopped instantly.
"My, my. This tavern may be remote, but it's certainly lively."
An extremely sweet voice drifted in through the dust at the doorway. It even carried a bit of the innocent charm unique to girls.
Yet this pleasant voice caused every battle-hardened pirate in the tavern to feel a chill run through them for no reason.
Even though the newcomers had not released any pressure at all, the instincts they had developed through years of risking their lives were frantically warning them.
The visitors had bad intentions.
And they were extremely dangerous.
"Who are you three brats? Judging by the way you're dressed, are you dogs raised by the World Government?", Yasopp was the first to break the silence. With a flip of his wrist, his rifle was already loaded.
His sharp eyes swept warily over the three figures standing in the backlight at the doorway.
Two men and one woman.
All three wore custom-made suits.
Even more alarming was the fact that each of them wore a shining pure gold Jaygarcia family crest on their chest.
Especially the girl standing at the front.
On the collar of her suit was embroidered a dark gold star emblem representing the highest first-class status within the World Government.
First-class status.
An absolute rank of power second only to the Five Elders, who held the highest authority in the world.
Within the completely rebuilt World Government system, the weight of that status far exceeded that of ordinary Celestial Dragons. Its position was equal to that of a Fleet Admiral.
How could someone of such power, capable of stirring storms across the seas with a single move, suddenly appear in a backwater like the East Blue without any warning?
And why now, right after Luffy had just set sail?
"You really look alike..."
Faced with the tense situation, Shanks seemed not to hear anything at all.
His eyes were fixed on the black-haired boy standing to Shirahoshi's left. His lips trembled slightly as he let out something close to a whisper.
"Princess Shirahoshi, Saint Sanji, and... Admiral Ace."
Vice Captain Beckman's expression darkened.
He slowly crushed the half-smoked cigar in his hand against the bar counter. The calm eyes that rarely showed emotion were now filled with seriousness.
"May I ask why three distinguished figures standing at the peak of world power have honored our tiny little place with your presence?"
Yasopp might just be a sniper who rarely paid attention to political affairs.
But Beckman, as the brain of the Red Hair Pirates, knew these three faces all too well.
Shirahoshi and Sanji were both Rosse's biological children.
Not only were they extraordinarily gifted, they were also publicly recognized as the first successors of the World Government.
Wherever they appeared, Rosse's will followed.
What truly unsettled Beckman and Shanks, however, was Ace.
Most people in the world believed that Juste, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, was the posthumous son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
However, as Ace stepped over the corpses of his enemies and climbed onto the throne of a Marine Admiral, fully revealing his unreasonable talent and Conqueror's Haki, Dragon, Garp, Shanks, and the other people who knew the truth from the old era gradually discovered a cruel reality amid endless shock.
Juste, whom they had protected like a treasure and regarded as one of their hopes, was nothing more than a substitute.
The rebellious Ace before them was Roger's true bloodline.
Rosse had toyed with and deceived them like ants for more than ten years.
When Garp swallowed that bitter truth with tears in his eyes, nobody could find a way to break the situation apart besides secretly cursing that devil in helpless rage.
To prevent Juste, who had carried a false destiny for over ten years, from collapsing, Garp and the others could only grit their teeth and keep the secret hidden.
Even Whitebeard had been kept in the dark. He only believed that Rouge had given birth to twins back then and that they had only managed to save one of them.
And today, as Shanks personally studied Ace's face, which resembled Roger's by seventy percent but carried an additional cold and iron-blooded quality, the last trace of hope in his heart shattered completely.
Whether it was that overbearing presence engraved into his bones or that monstrous talent, neither could be faked.
That weak-willed Juste could never have been Roger's son.
"Don't be so serious, Uncle Beckman. Of course we came to have some fun with you. The world is too peaceful these days. It's so boring it makes people sleepy. After looking around, only relics of the old era like you, who are still daydreaming, can provide even a little entertainment."
Shirahoshi spoke with a smile and casually walked through the pirate-filled hall before stopping directly at the bar.
Tilting her head slightly, she suddenly reached out a gloved hand toward Makino without any warning.
"What are you doing?"
The moment Shirahoshi moved, every member of the Red Hair Pirates flew into a rage. Guns were drawn, swords left their sheaths, and killing intent locked onto Shirahoshi.
Buzz!
BOOM!
But one hundredth of a second before they could act, two overwhelming waves of Conqueror's Haki swept through the entire tavern like collapsing mountains.
The air seemed to be sucked dry in an instant.
The crushing pressure froze every pirate except Shanks and Beckman. Even breathing became difficult.
At the same time, two faint sounds cut through the air.
Sanji and Ace each appeared beside Beckman and Shanks, pressing down the hands resting on their weapons.
"Don't move around, uncles."
A cigarette had somehow appeared in Sanji's mouth.
His dress shoe rested on Beckman's gun barrel. His tone was lazy, yet filled with danger.
Suppressed by two combatants at admiral level, Shanks and the others could only watch with bloodshot eyes as Shirahoshi's delicate hand lifted Makino's smooth chin while smiling.
As if examining an interesting piece of merchandise, Shirahoshi looked Makino up and down with a highly aggressive gaze before nodding in satisfaction.
"Hmm... Your appearance isn't the kind that can topple nations, but this gentle married-woman temperament is quite rare. Your figure is also maintained very well. Combined with your special status as both the Child of Destiny's guide and Red-Haired Shanks' confidante, you barely qualify as a collectible for Father's amusement," As she spoke, Shirahoshi somehow produced her camera again.
Pointing it at Makino's face, she smiled brightly, "Come on, pretty big sister. Give me a smile so I can take your profile photo."
Faced with this devilish girl who possessed the face of an angel and held absolute power over life and death, Makino's hand holding the cleaning cloth trembled slightly.
She turned and looked at Shanks, who was being firmly restrained, his eyes red.
Suppressing her fear and humiliation, she forced out a stiff and ugly smile.
"Hello... Princess Shirahoshi."
Princess Shirahoshi.
As an ordinary person from a remote village, she had never heard that name before.
But years of exposure had taught her exactly what it meant when a name carried the title "Princess" in that distant Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
Only at this moment, when that suffocating power and authority truly descended upon her, did she fully understand the despair hidden behind Shanks' words that "the world has already been completely controlled."
Just a few young members of the next generation were enough to make Shanks, whom she viewed as godlike, unable even to draw his sword.
The gap in strength was enough to leave people hopeless.
Click!
The camera flashed.
Makino's fragile expression, mixing a forced smile with fear, was perfectly captured on the photograph.
"Very good," Shirahoshi praised casually as she looked at the picture, "For an ordinary human with G-rank combat power, not collapsing to the floor when facing us shows courage, big sister."
"Princess Shirahoshi!"
Veins bulged on Shanks' forehead as he gripped Gryphon's handle tightly.
He stared at Shirahoshi and spoke coldly.
"If you came all this way just to humiliate us losers from the old era with these cheap tricks, then you've already succeeded. Let her go!"
If Shirahoshi were not a woman, if the person standing there touching Makino's chin were Rosse himself, he would have drawn his sword long ago even if it cost him his life.
Ace was indeed powerful, but Shanks was also one of the strongest men standing at the top of the sea.
If he truly fought to the death, he would not be so helpless against a younger generation member.
"My, my, don't misunderstand. I came with complete sincerity to bring benefits to the East Blue."
Shirahoshi still wore the same innocent smile.
Yet the words coming from her mouth chilled everyone to the bone.
"Every year, the World Government carefully selects 365 Divine Chosen Princesses. This year, I've personally approved one spot for Big Sister Makino. This is a tremendous blessing that will bring honor to your family."
"Heh... hahaha! As expected! The offspring of a bastard carries the same filthy bastard blood!"
The moment he heard those words, the final thread of reason in Shanks' mind snapped.
With a furious roar mixed with laughter, a violent crimson Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body like a volcano.
He forcefully shook off Ace's restraint and drew Gryphon from his waist.
Black-red lightning wrapped around the blade instantly.
Without hesitation, he slashed viciously toward Shirahoshi's slender neck.