Wanna read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
──────────────────────────
Chapter 294: Base Stolen Before Even Entering the Door? Red Hair: It Hurts! It Hurts So Much!
At this very moment, outside the heavy oak door of the tavern, a slender, powerful hand rested on the brass doorknob. The owner of that hand... Was the most respected, most domineering man on this sea. The Pirate Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks.
Just three seconds ago, he had just straightened his collar. And with extreme vanity, he had checked his reflection in the glass of the door, confirming that his hairstyle was still devastatingly handsome. He had even rehearsed a hundred opening lines in his head.
Like: "Yo! Makino, long time no see, did you miss me?"
Or perhaps: "I'm back. How about pouring me a glass of rum too?"
He carried a heart full of joy. Carrying the excitement of a wanderer returning home to see his beloved. Gently, he pushed open the door a crack.
However.
It was precisely through this crack... That he heard the conversation inside, enough to shatter his heart into dregs.
BOOM!!!
Shanks felt as if ten thousand lightning bolts had exploded in his brain simultaneously! The hand resting on the doorknob... Instantly stiffened.
That face, originally brimming with a brilliant smile... Went from rosy to pale at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then to a ghastly white. And finally, to a dead gray.
That feeling. It was like eagerly holding a bouquet of flowers to go see your girlfriend. Only to find your girlfriend wearing an apron, stewing chicken soup for another man. And happily talking about that man's daily habits with a face full of bliss.
Pain! Too much pain!
In this moment, Shanks felt his powerful little heart of an Emperor... Shatter. Shattering into smithereens, impossible to piece back together.
Whoosh—
A gust of non-existent cold wind suddenly swirled at the tavern entrance. Clearly, it was a sunny afternoon. But above Shanks' head... It seemed as if a dark cloud was rapidly gathering. Immediately following. Goose-feather snow drifted down, fluttering and dancing.
If there were background music right now... It would definitely be that desolate and mournful song, "Yi Jian Mei."
"Xue hua piao piao... bei feng xiao xiao..." (Snowflakes drift... the north wind whistles...) ♪
"Tian di... yi pian... cang mang..." (The world... is a vast... expanse...) ♪
The Red-Haired Shanks who commanded the winds and clouds, whom even the Five Elders had to give face to... At this moment, looked like an orphan abandoned by the world. His back instantly hunched over. His originally upright figure now looked so bleak, so desolate.
He remained frozen in the posture of pushing the door. Stiff on the spot. Like a statue named "Heartbreak."
"Boss?"
Behind him, Yasopp hadn't figured out the situation yet. He was fighting Lucky Roux for a chicken leg and nearly bumped into Shanks' back.
"Why aren't you going in?"
"You've pushed the door open, hurry up!"
"I can already smell the booze!"
Yasopp shouted while reaching out to push Shanks.
However.
The moment his hand touched Shanks' shoulder. He discovered with horror. His captain seemed to have truly turned into a stone. And the kind of... weathered stone that would crumble into powder with a slight touch.
"Boss?!"
Benn Beckman also sensed something was wrong. He spat out the cigarette butt in his mouth and walked up quickly.
"What happened?"
"Is there an ambush?"
"Or is there killing intent?"
Beckman looked around vigilantly, his hand even reaching for the flintlock at his waist.
However.
There were no enemies. Nor was there any killing intent.
There was only their captain, whose back was turned to everyone. Slowly. Slowly. Turning his head around.
When the officers of the Red Hair Pirates saw Shanks' expression clearly... Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air!
Hiss—!
What kind of face was that!
Eyes lifeless, pupils dilated. Although the corners of his mouth still maintained the smile he had prepared... That smile now looked ten thousand times uglier than crying.
Two lines of clear tears. Just like that, without any warning. Slid down that weathered face. Silent. Yet deafening.
"Beck... Beckman..."
Shanks' voice was so hoarse it sounded like he had swallowed two pounds of sand. He raised a trembling hand, pointing inside the tavern. Then pointed at his own empty heart.
"Who am I?"
"Where am I?"
"Did... did I come to the wrong place?"
"Actually... this isn't Foosha Village, right?"
"This... is actually an illusion, right?"
"Haha... hahahaha..."
Shanks let out a burst of hair-raising dry laughter.
"I knew it..."
"It must be that Golden Lion's ocular jutsu!"
"Or some ability of Kaido's!"
"Makino... how could Makino possibly..."
That last sentence. Shanks practically roared it out in his heart with all his strength. That was the desperate cry of an old single man! That was the sound of a spare tire's (who thought he was the main character) dream shattering!
"Uh..."
Beckman was stunned. Although he didn't hear the conversation inside. He was a smart man. Looking at his captain's unlucky appearance, possessed by the spirit of "Yuan Hua" (the tragic romantic loser). Combined with the slightly open crack in the door just now. He had probably guessed what happened.
This wasn't an ambush.
This was clearly having his "base stolen"!
And it was the tragic kind where the crystal was pushed and destroyed before he even entered the house!
"Um..."
Lucky Roux took a bite of his chicken leg, looking at Shanks with some sympathy.
"Boss."
"Although it's sad."
"But..."
"Are we still going in?"
"Or should we... just go back to the New World?"
"I feel like this place is a bit of a sad land."
Tragic. Too tragic. So tragic that the Red Hair officers behind him couldn't bear to watch.
"Boss..."
Yasopp scratched his head and cautiously leaned in.
"How about... we withdraw?"
"There are plenty of fish in the sea."
"There are so many bars in the New World, which proprietress isn't more passionate than the one here?"
Lucky Roux mumbled in agreement while gnawing on his chicken leg.
"That's right, that's right!"
"Boss, look on the bright side."
"Although Miss Makino has moved on."
"There's really no comparison between you and that dungeon boss anyway!"
Stab!
This comfort was practically stabbing a knife into Shanks' heart.
Shanks' body trembled violently. The knuckles of the hand resting on the doorknob turned white from gripping so hard.
He slowly turned his head. His eye sockets were red, his gaze as resentful as a neglected wife in a deep boudoir.
"Lucky Roux..."
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Benn Beckman sighed, dropping his cigarette butt on the ground and stomping it out. He stepped forward and tugged at Shanks' cape.
"Alright, stop embarrassing yourself here."
"You are one of the Four Emperors, not a doorman."
"If those News Coos snap a picture of you like this, tomorrow's headline will be 'Emperor Red Hair Frustrated in Love, Cries on the Street in Foosha Village.'"
"Do we, the Red Hair Pirates, still want any face?"
Shanks sniffled. Trying hard to maintain the last shred of dignity belonging to a powerhouse.
"I... I'm not crying."
"It's just that the wind in East Blue..."
"Is a bit too clamorous."
──────────────────────────
Support this fanfic by leaving reviews, comments, and Power Stones!
For advance chapters, visit:
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations