Chapter 214: Bounty Breakthrough, a Recognized Emperor of the Sea
In the end, Shane had to drag Kaido's unconscious body out of the sea. The battle in the sky had also concluded. It was far too short a time for two titans like Shiki and Big Mom to settle a score. Seeing that the tide had turned against him, and knowing that the now-recovering Shane could join the fight at any moment, Shiki had wisely chosen to disengage.
He hovered high above Whole Cake Island, a cold sneer on his face. "Linlin! Kaido! And that little brat, Shane!" he spat, taking a drag from his cigar. "You got lucky this time! But don't think for a second that this is over!"
If this had been him in his prime, he never would have retreated. He would have taken on all three of them. But... he was older now, his strength had declined. Since his surprise attack had failed, he had to make a strategic withdrawal. With a wave of his hand, the remaining fragments of the floating islands sharpened into a hail of stone spears and rained down on the chateau.
"Shiki! You bastard, what are you doing now?!" Big Mom roared, deflecting the barrage with Napoleon.
By the time the last rock had been shattered, Shiki was gone, his maniacal laughter echoing from the clouds. "Zehahahaha! I'll be back! This was just the prelude! When my grand plan is complete, you'll all see! Without Roger, this era should have been named after the Golden Lion!!!"
Grand plan? That army of genetically-engineered beasts?
Shane stood on the shore, patting Gin's wet fur, his eyes narrowed in the direction Shiki had disappeared. That old man... he had been a rival to Roger and Whitebeard. His strength was undeniable. But ever since he'd gotten that ship's wheel stuck in his head after the Battle of Edd War, he hadn't been thinking straight. With the Float-Float Fruit, he should have been impossible to catch. Yet he had allowed himself to be captured and thrown into Impel Down. And now, after twenty years of planning... his grand scheme was to unleash a bunch of mutant animals on the East Blue? It made no sense.
"East Blue..." Shane's eyes glinted. In the original timeline, Shiki's attack had started there. But now, with the timeline so drastically altered, who knew what he would do? Cocoyasi Village, the Goa Kingdom, Shimotsuki Village... He would not allow Shiki to harm his home.
"We need to go back to the East Blue soon," he said, patting Gin again. "We have to find his base and wipe out the entire Flying Pirate Armada. It's been a whole year since we left... Don't you want to go home, Gin?"
Achoo! Gin sneezed, giving him a resentful look. Who cares about the East Blue? I just want a hot bath and a giant bowl of strawberry milk! Dragging that giant slab of muscle out of the sea was hard work!
"I can see the homesickness and longing in your eyes," Shane said, deeply moved. "You always understand me best, Gin. It's decided, then." After they finished their business on Whole Cake Island, they were going home. And he would bring Belle-mère back with him. She had spent her whole life in the East Blue. It was time she saw the world.
That night, Big Mom hosted another banquet to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Tea Party and to see off the Curtain Call crew.
Shane and Kaido, however, were not in attendance. They sat on a quiet beach, a few kilometers away.
"Hey, Shane!" Kaido said, taking a long swig from his gourd of sake. "What's next for you?"
"What? Still trying to recruit me?" Shane sneered.
"Worororo!" Kaido laughed. "If you'd said yes, I would have done anything for you! But I'm not an idiot! After that fight, I can see that a man like you would never serve under anyone!"
"Glad you understand," Shane said, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "We're not on the same path. As for what's next... I'll keep sailing, keep getting stronger, expand my territory, and then..."
"I'll do what you wanted to do when you were young, but no longer have the guts to."
Kaido's pupils contracted. "Oh? You even know about that? You know more about me than I thought." He snorted. "Such arrogance. Who do you think you are? The second coming of Joy Boy?!"
"Joy Boy was your dream, not mine. I'm still younger than your daughter. Don't compare me to yourself," Shane said, tapping his chest. "When a man has an ambition, he has to see it through."
"..." Kaido was silent for a long time. "I really want to shut you up, but you're right. When I think about your age... I was still sneaking into Marine prisons for a free meal when I was a teenager." He stood up and laughed. "This time, I helped you, and you saved me. We're even. The next time we meet, it will be an all-out war between the Beast Pirates and the Curtain Call Pirates. And on the battlefield, I will show you no mercy!"
"Likewise," Shane said.
Fighting Kaido was exhilarating. But as the man propping up the shogun Orochi and the true ruler of Wano... he was an enemy that had to be defeated. Sooner or later, they would have to fight for real.
"Well, I'm off!" Kaido's body began to contort and expand, and in an instant, he was a massive, azure dragon. "Get stronger, Shane!" he roared from the sky. "I'll be waiting for you on Onigashima! You can't beat me yet, but when the time comes... don't you dare disappoint me!" With a final, deafening roar, he shot off toward the horizon, his maniacal laughter echoing in the wind. "Wororororo..."
"He's gone, huh, Kaido..." Big Mom said, watching the distant speck disappear. "He'd rather have a private drink with that kid than say goodbye to me?" She looked around the now-empty plaza. The guests were gone, and her own children had returned to their duties. Life... is just a series of meetings and partings. It reminded her of Mother Carmel, and her other friends from her childhood... why had they all abandoned her? And now... Du Feld was gone, Stussy was gone, Umit was gone... wait... she was forgetting someone... who was it?
In late January of the year 1517, two major events shook the New World.
First, at Big Mom's Tea Party, the captain of the Curtain Call Pirates, Shane, fought the Beast King, Kaido, for five days and five nights to a standstill.
Second, the legendary pirate of the old era, "Golden Lion" Shiki, made his dramatic return after seventeen years and immediately launched an attack on Whole Cake Island.
Because the two events were so closely intertwined, the newspapers naturally combined them into one sensational story. The world was in an uproar.
There was, however, a small hiccup. The World Economic Journal, the titan of the news industry, was strangely silent for several days. But when they finally did release their story, it was a masterpiece. They had somehow obtained exclusive, high-quality photos of the entire event, from the prelude at the Tea Party to the epic clash between the three Emperors of the Sea. Their sales skyrocketed, setting a new record for the year.
Yes, three Emperors.
For the first time, in addition to the established Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, Shane was officially recognized as a new Emperor of the Sea. The title was even tacitly approved by the World Government. He was no longer "close to" or "on par with" them. He was one of them. A true, recognized Emperor of the Sea.
And with that recognition, his bounty, which had been hovering just below the threshold, finally broke through to a new level.
"World's Greatest Swordsman" Shane, new bounty: 3,276,000,000 Belly!
DEAD OR ALIVE!
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