...
Shanks' current arrogant, disdainful attitude—emphasizing the nobility of bloodline, desperately trying to prove himself and draw a clear line of separation—perfectly matches the image Saint Figarland Garling has in mind of what "Saint Figarland Shanks" ought to be!
This is the pride that the pure-blooded "divine son" of the Figarland family, who wandered outside but ultimately returned, should have!
As for Harald?
Merely a useful, powerful tool. On the surface, a bit of polite respect is sufficient.
But deep down, Saint Figarland Garling has never truly regarded the giant race as equals.
Shanks seemed completely uninterested in Harald's apology—or rather, he disdained to accept it at all.
He merely let out a cold snort, no longer glancing at Harald, then directly turned away, leaving behind a resolute and aloof back figure.
From this moment on, his identity was no longer that of the apprentice crewman who once sailed on Roger's ship, feeling the sea breeze and laughing and roughhousing with his comrades.
He was "God's Devoted Blade · Saint Figarland Shanks."
A Celestial Dragon who must bury his entire past deeply and don a mask of cold arrogance.
Outside the light curtain, in reality, Dragon watched the Shamrock Saint on the screen—who had now become a God's Knight, his demeanor icy cold—and his expression was incredibly complex, his heart filled with a mix of emotions.
If... if he had possessed sufficient strength back then, enough to snatch this child away from Saint Maffey's hands, would Shamrock's fate have been completely different?
Would he have grown into a warrior with free will, pursuing the justice in his heart...
Instead of this current version, thoroughly steeped in Celestial Dragon values and turned into a tool for upholding privilege?
Although Shamrock's childhood wasn't shown, what kind of person Saint Figarland Garling was had already been laid bare through the light curtain's revelations.
That educational philosophy of his—"descendants of the Creator" supreme above all, viewing other races as mere ants—must have been like the most stubborn poison...
Implanted deeply in Shamrock's heart from a young age, shaping his current coldness and indifference.
Even more ironic was that in the future, Dragon himself would establish the Revolutionary Army to overthrow Celestial Dragon rule—an organization naturally and fundamentally opposed to the God's Knights who protect the Celestial Dragons.
Fate seemed to play a cruel joke: the two red-haired infants Dragon saved in God Valley.
One would become a God's Knight in the future, while the other became the Yonko Red-Haired Shanks...
However, although Roger's earlier deduction that "the mysterious knight is Shanks" was earth-shattering and logically quite convincing...
After all, the light curtain hadn't provided direct evidence—no full face of the mysterious knight revealed, no detailed account of Shanks' inner journey before and after his return.
Therefore, not everyone inside and outside God Valley immediately accepted this deduction wholesale.
Many people remained watchful and skeptical.
"Although what Roger said makes a lot of sense... what if it's just a coincidence?"
"Shanks Saint looks so proud—he doesn't seem like someone who'd help slaves at all..."
"Maybe they just look alike, or Roger deliberately wanted to provoke Saint Figarland Garling?"
"No solid proof—better not jump to conclusions so easily."
...
Such voices were far from few.
And this wave of skeptical voices, falling on the ears of Saint Figarland Garling—who had just barely recovered from the massive blow—were nothing less than heavenly music!
His originally deathly pale face regained some color, his chest heaving dramatically several times, a trace of stubborn, unwilling-to-admit-defeat light reigniting in his eyes.
He abruptly straightened his body, but his voice forcibly rose an octave, carrying a bluffing hardness:
"Roger! And all you rabble-rousing pirate scum! Stop spouting nonsense and confusing people there!"
Saint Figarland Garling waved his arms, trying to dispel that terrifying association from his mind: "Just based on a bit of vague speculation, you want to slander the noble bloodline of my Figarland family?! Utterly absurd!"
He turned toward the proud, departing red-haired back on the light curtain, his gaze filled with self-hypnotic firmness and pride: "See that?! This is the demeanor my son ought to have!
Noble, powerful, disdainful of associating with inferiors!
Helping slaves? Sneaking into Mary Geoise? Nonsense! Shanks... he returned to the family because of the arrangement of fate!
He is a born 'god'—the future God's Knight! An existence destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world!"
The more Saint Figarland Garling spoke, the more agitated he became!
It was as if he wanted to drown out all his earlier panic and humiliation with roars: "As long as the light curtain doesn't explicitly confirm one day that that damned 'mysterious knight' is Shanks...
Then Shanks will forever be my Figarland family's most outstanding son! The future of my family! No one will be allowed to tarnish him with filthy speculation!"
His words were less a rebuttal to Roger and more encouragement to himself.
Saint Figarland Garling was desperately clinging to the last straw called "possibility," refusing to accept that "truth" which could plunge him from heaven into hell and cast a massive stain on his family's glory.
Inside God Valley, the various pirate and Marine factions, due to the doubts surrounding Shanks' identity and actions, split into different groups.
Some believed Roger's deduction, thinking Shanks harbored astonishing secrets and reversals.
Others leaned toward believing Saint Figarland Garling's "return of bloodline" narrative, thinking Shanks had merely found his "correct" place.
More people stayed neutral, waiting for the light curtain to provide more information.
Meanwhile, on islands and in countries around the world—ordinary people who learned partial details through the light curtain or word of mouth—reacted more simply, and with more confusion.
Their understanding of Celestial Dragons was already extremely limited, confined to vague concepts like "World Nobles," "descendants of the Creator," "cannot be provoked," etc.
They had never even heard of internal ranks like "God's Devoted Blade" or "Depths Covenant."
Thus, they lacked a clear cognitive framework to understand the possible purpose behind Shanks' "infiltration of the Holy Land."
"A Celestial Dragon retrieving their lost child? Isn't that a good thing?"
"That red-haired young man looks quite arrogant, but since he's a noble, a bit of arrogance is normal, right?"
"What does Roger mean by 'helping slaves'? Why would a Celestial Dragon help slaves?"
...
The masses mostly treated the matter as a curious anecdote or a family ethics drama at the pinnacle of power.
The complex power struggles, identity rifts, and possible earth-shattering reversals displayed on the light curtain...
For them, the information was too vast and distant to form a clear judgment immediately.
But a seed called "doubt" had already been quietly planted in countless hearts along with the light curtain's broadcast and Roger's bold deduction.
People began to realize that Holy Land Mary Geoise was not a monolithic block, and the Celestial Dragons internally might not be as united as imagined!
And that newly appeared red-haired "God's Devoted Blade" seemed shrouded in an even more elusive mist than his red hair.
On the light curtain, the arrogant departing back of Shanks gradually faded away.
...