"Where's the Captain?"
The Red Hair Pirates, feasting and drinking loudly, looked toward Benn Beckman with hazy curiosity.
"He went to chat with Luffy's vice-captain," Beckman said, cigarette resting between his lips as he gestured lazily toward the forest.
"Hehe, maybe the Captain's taken a liking to the newcomer and wants him to join our crew?" a bald, red-faced crewmate joked with a drunken grin.
As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks occasionally invited pirates he respected to sail under his flag—but only the rare few who truly impressed him.
"No, he wouldn't," Beckman replied with a faint smile, smoke curling through the air. "The Captain would never recruit one of Luffy's crewmates."
"Huh? Why not?" asked the bald man, scratching his head in confusion. He was still new to the crew and didn't yet understand the deep bond between the Red Hair Pirates and Luffy.
Beckman chuckled quietly.
---
In the forest, the night air was cool and filled with the faint sound of insects.
Shirogai Yamikuro sat across from Shanks, both holding cups of wine beneath the soft light of the moon.
"Shirogai, I'm sure Luffy knows exactly what you're capable of," Shanks said, raising his cup with a grin. "Honestly, when I first heard about you, I wanted to see you myself."
Shirogai clinked his cup against Shanks's and took a slow sip, smiling faintly. "Were you worried I'd harm Luffy?"
"I watched that kid grow up," Shanks said with a nostalgic chuckle. "I've never once doubted his judgment. But…" His tone grew serious. "I was worried your presence might bring certain eyes to him too early. He hasn't grown enough yet. He's not ready to face a world filled with enemies."
Shirogai let out a quiet laugh and set his cup down. "A world full of enemies? Don't make me laugh. Do those people really represent the world? Or has this world already been hijacked by them?"
Shanks's one hand tightened slightly around his cup. "Both, perhaps," he said softly, "but not exactly."
"I see," Shirogai said, his sharp gaze flickering in the moonlight. "Let me tell you how I see it."
He pointed toward a large spider web glistening between two trees.
"This world is just like that web. Everyone caught in it is an insect. Some struggle, trying to break free—those are the rebels. Others stop struggling, waiting for death—they're the ones who've given up. And to survive, those trapped insects devour each other, while the spider watches from the shadows, feeding on whoever grows strong enough to be worth eating."
Shirogai's tone grew colder.
"Some insects adapt to the web instead. They mimic spiders, pretending to uphold 'justice.' These are the Marines—'Justice Insects' who've convinced themselves they serve order, when in truth, they serve the web. When they see others struggle to escape, they panic. They've lived so long in bondage that they can't survive without it. So they attack the ones fighting for freedom."
Shanks stayed silent, watching the young man before him speak with quiet conviction.
"They offer their own kind to the spider to keep it fed," Shirogai continued, "patching the web again and again while the spider hides comfortably behind it, pulling the strings."
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "And the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger—he was just a bigger insect. He climbed higher than anyone, saw the truth, and realized he couldn't break free alone. So he used his death to start a chain reaction. One powerful insect can't destroy the web alone, but a swarm of strong ones might tear it apart together."
Shanks's expression grew somber. The analogy was bold… yet strangely true.
"The Justice Insects," Shirogai said quietly, "took over the spider's role. They think they control the web, but they've forgotten something important. They only mimic spiders. They don't control anything."
He crouched slightly, drawing a line in the dirt with his finger.
"When the web breaks, the real spider can weave another. But the new web will be empty. The spider will be hungry. And tell me, Shanks—who do you think it will devour first?"
Shanks frowned. "So what then? If the web breaks, what becomes of us?"
Shirogai laughed softly, eyes gleaming. "Then we finally see the world beyond the web—the real one, the world we were meant to live in."
Shanks looked down, a brief sense of loss crossing his face. "And how do we break free?"
"Simple," Shirogai said with a smirk. He snapped his fingers.
A thick arm of wood burst from a nearby tree, slamming through the spider web and shredding it apart.
"It's only a web. As long as I don't mind getting my hands dirty, this world can be shattered."
A chill ran down Shanks's spine. He could feel the resolve in Shirogai's words—the kind that could set an entire era ablaze.
"If you do that, innocent people will suffer," Shanks warned, brows furrowing.
"As one of the Four Emperors, you're still worrying about casualties?" Shirogai said calmly. "There's no peaceful way to break this web. You either fight… or you keep living as food."
He patted Shanks's shoulder, his voice low and sure. "If the insects want freedom, they must be ready to pay with their lives. Otherwise, what—should we sit around and wait for some 'Son of Liberation' to save us?"
Shirogai turned and began walking away, his figure fading into the moonlit trees.
Shanks sat quietly beneath the silver glow, staring at another spider web stretched above him. A spider sat at its center, feeding silently.
"Abandon illusions, prepare for battle, huh?" he murmured, exhaling deeply. "Sigh…"
______
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