The bar had grown a little livelier since the Red-Haired Pirates walked in.
Not because of new customers. Shakky's bar rarely got crowded during the daytime, but because Shanks had a habit of filling any room with noise.
He leaned back in his chair, rocking slightly on two legs, while staring at the ceiling thoughtfully.
"I see…" Shanks said after a moment.
Across the counter, Shakuyaku, better known as Shakky rested her elbow on the wood and watched him calmly through a thin veil of cigarette smoke.
"So you were hoping to see Rayleigh."
Shanks nodded.
"Yeah. I wanted him to meet my new crewmates."
He gestured loosely behind him toward Giovanni and Building Snake.
Shakky followed his motion with her eyes.
"So you didn't actually need anything from him."
"Nope."
Shanks shrugged.
"Actually, Giovanni here just wanted to meet the right hand of the Pirate King."
Giovanni leaned back on his stool, arms crossed behind his head.
"Well, yeah."
Shakky looked amused.
"That's a pretty normal reason."
She had known pirates for decades. Many had crossed oceans just to glimpse the legendary first mate of the Pirate King.
"Rayleigh tends to attract that kind of curiosity."
Shanks chuckled.
"Yeah, he does."
Then his expression shifted slightly.
"Actually… there was another reason we came here."
Shakky raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Shanks rested his chin on his hand.
"We wanted information."
That made Shakky smile faintly.
"Well, you came to the right place."
She tapped ash into a tray.
"People say I'm pretty good at gathering information."
Beckman nodded slightly from his seat.
"That's exactly why we came."
At that moment Giovanni leaned forward and spoke.
"Have you ever heard of a pirate named Norwell D. Renji?"
The name hung in the air.
Shakky's eyes narrowed slightly as she thought.
She had an incredible memory for names. Especially pirates.
She had spent years around legends.
But the name didn't immediately ring a bell.
She leaned back and crossed her arms.
"Norwell… D. Renji."
She repeated the name slowly.
Then shook her head.
"No. I can't say that I have."
Giovanni didn't look disappointed but there was a faint tightening in his jaw.
Shakky noticed.
"Why are you looking for him?"
Giovanni looked down briefly before answering.
"He's my father."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Shakky's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Your father."
Giovanni nodded.
"He went missing."
Shanks leaned forward with his elbows on the counter.
"We're trying to track him down."
Shakky tapped her cigarette against the tray thoughtfully.
"I see."
She stood up and walked toward a small shelf behind the bar where stacks of papers and notebooks were piled.
"If he's been active in the Grand Line… there's a good chance I can find something."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Give me a day or two."
Giovanni nodded immediately.
"That would be great."
Shanks smiled.
"We appreciate it."
Shakky waved a hand dismissively.
"Don't mention it."
She walked back to the counter.
"So what are you planning to do in the meantime?"
Shanks stood up from his stool and stretched.
"Well… first we're going to meet someone."
"Lucky Roo," Beckman added.
Shakky nodded.
"I saw him about three days ago."
Shanks grinned.
"Perfect."
As they turned to leave, Shakky suddenly spoke again.
"Oh, Shanks."
He paused at the door.
"Yeah?"
"If you happen to run into Rayleigh…"
She smiled faintly.
"Tell him to come home already."
Shanks laughed.
"I'll try."
---
Outside the bar, the warm air of Grove 13 greeted them again.
Shanks stretched his arms.
"Alright."
Beckman stepped forward.
"We should split up."
Shanks nodded.
"Yeah."
He pointed between them.
"Giovanni and I will go find Roo."
Then he looked at Beckman and Snake.
"You two try to track down Rayleigh."
Building Snake looked slightly nervous.
"Finding someone like the Dark King sounds difficult."
Beckman shrugged.
"He's usually gambling somewhere."
Giovanni grinned.
"Sounds like a fun guy."
Shanks clapped his hands.
"Alright then let's go."
They split directions.
Shanks and Giovanni moved through several groves, following the chaotic rhythm of Sabaody.
The environment slowly changed.
The shops grew rougher.
The people looked more dangerous.
Eventually they entered a darker, more lawless section of the archipelago.
Shanks glanced at the carved number on the mangrove root.
Grove 32
Giovanni whistled softly.
"This place looks… shady."
Shanks shrugged.
"Unlawful grove."
Pirates, slave traders, and bounty hunters roamed the streets freely.
Nobody here cared about the Marines.
Giovanni scanned the area.
"I don't see Roo."
"Me neither."
They walked deeper into the grove.
Then footsteps approached.
Thirty men stepped out from alleys and between buildings.
Weapons glinted.
Guns.
Swords.
Axes.
One of them held up a poster.
"Hold it right there."
Shanks stopped walking.
Giovanni sighed slightly.
"Ah."
The bounty hunter compared the poster to Shanks' face.
Then he grinned.
"Well well…"
Another hunter pulled out Giovanni's poster.
"They match."
Whispers spread through the group.
"Three hundred million…"
"Seventy-eight million…"
"Those bounties are insane."
Some of them looked nervous.
"They must be monsters…"
But the leader stepped forward confidently.
A tall man with a scar across his cheek.
"There are thirty of us."
He pointed his blade.
"And only two of you."
Giovanni cracked his neck.
Shanks glanced sideways.
"Want help?"
Giovanni smiled.
"Nah."
He stepped forward.
"I'll handle this."
The bounty hunter leader laughed.
"Overconfident brat."
Giovanni shrugged.
"Maybe."
Then he moved.
The first hunter never saw it coming.
Giovanni vanished.
A blur of motion.
CRACK.
The man flew across the street and smashed into a wall.
The second hunter raised a gun—
Too late.
Giovanni appeared beside him.
A short punch.
The man collapsed instantly.
The crowd panicked.
"He's too fast!"
Three hunters rushed him.
Giovanni ducked under the first sword, elbowed the second in the ribs, and kicked the third into the ground.
Bones cracked.
Bodies dropped.
Shanks leaned casually against a wall and watched.
"Not bad."
Ten hunters charged together.
Giovanni stepped forward.
His movements were precise.
Clean.
Brutal.
One punch.
Two kicks.
A spinning slash from the hilt of his saber.
Five men collapsed instantly.
The rest froze.
The leader shouted.
"Don't stop! Attack!"
Giovanni sighed.
"You guys really picked the wrong targets."
He moved again.
Within seconds—
The street was silent.
Thirty bounty hunters lay scattered across the ground groaning in pain.
Giovanni stood in the middle of them.
Completely relaxed.
He brushed dust from his coat.
Then looked down at the leader.
"If you want to hunt bounties as high as ours…"
He smiled slightly.
"You need to be a little stronger."
Shanks laughed loudly from the wall.
"Well said."
---
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