New World, Slankrif Island.
A single gunshot suddenly rang out in the harbor market, which had been calm just moments ago.
The people crowding the docks froze at the sound. In the very next second, crackling gunfire erupted in rapid succession, followed by frantic shouts and hoarse screams echoing through the market.
Inside the shipyard, Yasopp snapped alert the instant he heard the commotion. His face tightened as he shouted urgently,
"Move it, move it! Weigh anchor, raise the sails! Damn it, we've been spotted again!"
As he barked orders, the market's main entrance was smashed apart by a bulky figure bursting through the doors. The man looked utterly disheveled, clutching two sacks of rice. Without hesitation, he bolted straight for the docks.
A heartbeat later, several men wielding muskets, clearly not law-abiding citizens, charged out after him and opened fire in a wild barrage.
Yet the bulky figure was astonishingly nimble. He swayed left and right, twisting his body with slippery footwork. Without even turning his head, he dodged every single bullet.
"Stop him! He's from the Red-Haired Pirates! Vice Admiral G-12, the Flying Momonga, is in these waters! Just stall them and it'll be a huge merit!!!" a bounty hunter shouted.
That single yell sent the previously confused crowd at the harbor into a frenzy.
The vegetable vendor tossed aside the bundle of greens in his hands, grabbed the cleaver from his cutting board, madness blazing in his eyes. He leapt over his stall and hacked toward the bulky figure.
The fishmonger charged out as well, swinging a frozen fish with a vicious snarl.
Even an old woman who had been buying vegetables locked her eyes on the target and screamed,
"Here he is! He's right here! I'm watching him! Kill him!"
That bulky figure was none other than Raki Ruu, an officer of the Red-Haired Pirates.
He slammed his shoulder into the charging vegetable vendor, sending him flying, then casually snatched the frozen fish from the fishmonger and clamped it between his teeth. With a ferocious expression, he barreled through more than a dozen people blocking his path and sprinted straight toward the harbor.
The port's local gang boss, already guarding the shipyard entrance, drew the machete at his waist the moment he saw Raki Ruu and charged forward in excitement.
"Kill you lot and I'll be filthy rich!!!"
Setting aside the fact that Admiral Ortoren had spread word that delivering Red-Hair's head would earn his personal favor, Shichibukai Gecko Moria alone had placed a bounty of a full ten billion Belly on Shanks' head in the underworld.
But the gang boss had barely taken two steps when a gunshot rang out. His head exploded on the spot.
Raki Ruu leapt over the corpse and sprang onto the Redfuss, which had already pulled more than ten meters away. The ship was heavily disguised, its pirate flag not even raised.
Rolling once across the deck, Raki Ruu popped to his feet and cursed at Yasopp, who had just lowered his gun.
"Damn it! The entire New World has gone insane hunting us down. Even the damn rice shop owners have our wanted posters hanging in their stores!"
As he spoke, a large crowd gathered at the edge of the harbor, guns raised, unleashing another chaotic volley of gunfire.
"Hurry up! Report to Boss Mingde! The Red-Haired Pirates have shown up in our territory! They're on Slankrif Island!!!" a pirate underling shouted.
Several bounty hunters moved quickly, boarding their ships, raising sails, and setting off in pursuit.
But the Redford's performance was exceptional. By the time those ramshackle boats got moving, the Redford was already far in the distance.
"Damn it!" the bounty hunter leader slammed his hand against the railing and cursed. "We can't catch them!"
"Boss, the underworld's flooded with Red-Haired Vive Card right now. They're only a hundred thousand Belly each. Why don't we buy one? Take a gamble. A skiff could turn into a luxury ship!" a bounty hunter underling said excitedly.
"Idiot!" The leader smacked him hard on the back of the head. "You think I didn't buy any?"
"Then why aren't we using them!?" the underling asked in shock.
"Damn it, they're all fake!" the leader ranted. "Sure, the Marines released a ton of Red-Haired Vive Card, but they were snatched up long ago by people with real pull. Everything on the black market now is garbage. All scams, just bleeding people dry!"
"I bought three of them. One pointed to a fish vendor named Qiang. Another pointed to that gang boss who just got his head blown off. The last one was even worse, it pointed straight toward G-5!"
Since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, One Piece had been a legend circulating endlessly across the seas. It was said to be the boundless treasure gathered by the Pirate King, Roger, known as the "Great Treasure of the Sea."
And everyone tacitly agreed that this treasure lay within the New World, at the very end of the world.
But even now, after all these years, countless people have set sail in search of that thing, yet not a single one has truly found it.
As a result, it has always felt hollow and intangible, unable to give people a real sense of wealth and treasure rushing toward them.
But now, the New World's universally acknowledged "Great Treasure" has changed. That Great Treasure is now Red-Haired Shanks' head.
Compared to the vague and illusory "One·Piece," Admiral Benn Ortoren is a very real presence. Red-Haired Shanks, with his bounty, is also very real. He even had an arm taken by Admiral Benn, lost his First Mate, and was left gravely wounded.
In the past, people might still have hesitated out of fear of Red-Haired's strength and threat. But now, anyone with even a shred of ambition wants to take a gamble.
After all, being a pirate already means risking your life chasing something like "One·Piece," and there's no guarantee you'll ever find it. But if you risk it all now and manage to kill Red-Haired, that's truly striking it rich. You'd be set for the rest of your life.
Because of this, the entire New World is buzzing. In nearly every tavern, the most eye-catching spot is covered with wanted posters of the Red-Haired Pirates. At every port, information brokers lie in wait, watching for any sign of them.
Every bounty hunter, even pirates themselves, carries their portraits and photographs.
In the underworld, the hottest commodity right now is any reliable information on the Red-Haired Pirates' whereabouts. The moment someone has confirmed news, it sells for a high price.
Some even dubbed this New World–wide manhunt the "Frenzy Operation: Hunt the Red-Hair."
As a result, the Red-Haired Pirates' recent flight has been miserable, with people chasing them wherever they go.
Because they had thrown a party on Hachinosu, most of the food and supplies on their ship had been used up. The plan had been to resupply after taking the island, but then everything went wrong. Now they were being chased like stray dogs, forced to run nonstop.
With no proper resupply, all the food on board was gone. They could only sneak onto islands like today, grabbing whatever they could. The rest depended entirely on luck. If they managed to catch fish along the way, they could eat. If not, they went hungry.
The entire Red-Haired Pirates crew was now in poor condition, their morale extremely low.
Yasopp weighed the two sacks of rice in his hands and said with a worried expression,
"I just contacted Mr. Sunbell, the fishman who used to sail on Roger's ship. He said the ports and coating facilities on Fish-Man Island are all under surveillance by local gangs. Our photos and sketches are plastered everywhere. Leaving the New World through Fish-Man Island… probably won't work."
"If Fish-Man Island's no good, then we'll cross the Calm Belt," Lucky Roux replied, then asked, "How's the captain?"
Yasopp grimaced and shook his head.
"He still hasn't woken up. The ship's doctor says his condition is stable and there's no danger to his life. Logically, he should have woken up two days ago, but he's still unconscious. I think… maybe deep down, he doesn't want to wake up."
Hearing this, Lucky Roux fell silent.
Because of his decisions, their captain had lost an arm, lost the beloved sword he'd carried for years, and even lost a close brother on Hachinosu.
It wasn't hard to understand why he might not want to wake up.
...
Meanwhile, on Vendaras Island, Slekemind also received news from his subordinates.
"What? On our territory!?" Slekemind looked startled at first, then his expression turned vicious. "Those bastards dare come onto my turf at a time like this? Do they think I can't deal with them? Got it!"
With that, he hung up the Den Den Mushi and pulled a Vivre Card from his pocket.
It was Shanks' Vivre Card. At this point, nearly every big name in the New World had one.
Originally, after getting it, Slekemind hadn't planned to actively go looking for him. He had plenty of other things to deal with. But now that the Red-Haired Pirates had walked straight into his territory, it was a different story.
They'd delivered themselves to his doorstep. How could he not take a bite?
"Prepare the ship. Get the fastest one ready. I'm going to take those trash's heads right now!" Slekemind barked, his voice filled with menace.