Just as Blake was about to lecture the two impudent Little girls again, the Den Den Mushi on the table rang once more.
The situation with the sing-sing fruit was somewhat important, so Blake temporarily let them off the hook and answered the call.
As soon as the Den Den Mushi connected, the intelligence officer's somewhat urgent voice came through:
"Boss! On the island... a fight broke out!"
The face simulated by the Den Den Mushi was visibly distorted, its pupils extremely constricted.
The intelligence officer's voice was not only urgent but also clearly trembling, obviously quite frightened:
"That red-haired man... he just casually swung his sword..."
"I didn't even see what happened, the entire dock area... along with the cliffs behind it... all split open!"
The story begins when Shanks arrived at Thersfield.
Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps because Shanks had spent a long time with the man who possessed Haoshoku luck, and unconsciously picked up some of his luck.
After the Red Hair Pirates arrived at Thersfield Island, the group aimlessly wandered along the coastline.
"Boss."
Lucky Roux said indistinctly, chewing on a chicken leg:
"It's such a big island, we can't possibly go door-to-door asking, 'Excuse me, do you have a Devil Fruit?'"
"How are we going to find that Devil Fruit?"
Yasopp also chimed in with a laugh:
"Yeah, Captain, how long will that take to find?"
Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke and calmly analyzed:
"The key is to find the right source of information. Dockworkers, bartenders, antique dealers—these people often know the strangest rumors on the island."
Shanks laughed heartily, seemingly unconcerned about wasting time:
"What does it matter? Just ask around casually."
"Isn't finding treasure part of the adventure itself?"
He wasn't bothered by Garling's mission at all; instead, he treated it as a treasure hunt:
"Anyway, the sing-sing fruit must be on this island; finding it is only a matter of time."
With that, Shanks reached out and took Uta's hand out of her mouth, his gaze sweeping over the bustling market, as if the sing-sing fruit would jump out on its own.
Just then, a boy covered in fish scales ran past them, curiously sizing up this group of extraordinary outsiders.
Shanks casually stopped him and handed him a Berry.
"Little friend, I want to ask you something."
He squatted down, looking at the boy eye to eye:
"Have any strange fruits appeared nearby recently?"
"Like... pink, with patterns on it?"
The boy clutched the Berry in his hand, his eyes lighting up, and unhesitatingly pointed to the west side of town:
"Are you talking about that glowing pink fruit?"
"It's stuck in the wreckage of the Great White Shark ship in the Old Ship Graveyard to the west! We thought it was some kind of treasure from the sea two days ago!"
Shanks stood up, giving his companions an 'I told you so' smile:
"See! Didn't we find it?"
Lucky Roux was dumbfounded, dropping the chicken leg from his mouth without realizing it, and the others exchanged glances.
Beckman couldn't help but pat his forehead.
He had been analyzing this and that, but Shanks just casually stopped a child and asked, and found it?
This made him feel useless!
He's truly a Noob Expert!
And so, the group headed straight for the Old Ship Graveyard on the west side of the island.
Sure enough, they easily found the sing-sing fruit washed up on a broken ship there.
Shanks bent down to pick up the faintly glowing sing-sing fruit, but before he could examine it closely—
Clang!
The crisp sound of metal clashing suddenly rang out!
Shanks didn't even turn around, yet griffin had already slid out of its scabbard like a living thing, precisely slicing a bullet that had shot from the shadows behind him.
Bang!
Almost immediately after the bullet was split, a low gunshot echoed from the shadows of the abandoned ship pile.
The Red Hair Pirates instantly entered a state of alert.
Beckman's gun immediately pointed in the direction of the sound, Lucky Roux quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, and Yasopp maintained his aiming stance, but they all frowned slightly—
Where did that big, dark fat guy come from?
Teach walked over with a gloomy expression and heavy footsteps.
He was in a very bad mood.
He had been searching this remote island for several days, only just reaching this vicinity today, and happened to see someone else get to the sing-sing fruit first.
Adhering to the principle of never engaging in direct combat if a sneak attack is possible, Teach fired a shot from a distance.
Not only was his physical combat strength formidable now, but his marksmanship was also impressive; hadn't he already tucked several pistols into his waistband?
However, Shanks was not Charlotte Linlin, who would start contemplating who to give the Devil Fruit to upon acquiring it, and then be directly ambushed and have it stolen.
This Devil Fruit was originally a task given to him by Garling, and with Shanks's personality, he naturally wouldn't get carried away and easily detected the incoming bullet.
Shanks slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as he looked at Teach, who was walking over.
He frowned slightly, feeling as if he had seen this guy somewhere before.
Teach's gaze lingered on the pale pink fruit for a moment, then he forced a smile that was anything but friendly:
"Zehahaha... I thought it was someone else, but isn't this the Red Hair kid from Roger's ship?"
Shanks's eyes fell on the still smoking barrel of the gun in Teach's hand, and he finally remembered the other party's identity.
With Red Hair's easygoing personality, there weren't many people he remembered.
However, Teach's features were too distinctive back then, and Buggy had specifically mentioned to him that this kid seemed to never need sleep.
Thinking of this, Shanks smiled, but his voice carried a hint of coldness:
"Teach, after all these years on Whitebeard's ship, have you only learned to shoot people in the back?"
"Zehahaha..."
Teach seemed to completely miss the mockery in Shanks's words, instead shifting the topic to the Devil Fruit:
"Red Hair! I've been searching this island for over ten days, and you just arrived and want to take it away? That's not right, is it?"
Shanks held the sing-sing fruit in one hand, weighing it up and down, then looked up and chuckled:
"Doesn't that just prove you have no destiny with this Devil Fruit?"
"Zehahaha..."
Teach let out a wild laugh, then, without any warning, lunged directly towards Shanks.
When words fail, even a tiny advantage is worth creating for Teach.
Since talking wouldn't work and it was time to fight, he would choose the moment when the opponent's reaction speed was slowest!
Years ago, Teach had fought Shanks and Buggy.
Coupled with his diligent, secret training over the years, Teach didn't necessarily look down on Shanks, but he at least felt his strength was superior to the other party's.
So, he would just take it by force!
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