Chapter 247: A Reunion of Old Friends
Aboard the new Red Force, a stunned silence had fallen.
"We were so close... and still, we were too late," Benn Beckman said, staring at the blank screen of the broadcast snail. He took a long drag from his cigarette. "...He's completely insane." He had killed four Celestial Dragons, and then declared war on the entire world...
"Captain..." Lucky Roux said, the uneaten chicken leg forgotten in his hand. "Are we... still going?"
Shanks stood at the prow, his hand on the hilt of his sword, a worried look in his eyes. He turned and shook his head. "There's no point. Turn the ship around." From the moment the first head had fallen, there was no going back. The storm of the new era had begun. He felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. The balance he had worked so long to maintain... was shattered. What is my place in this new, turbulent era?
The Marine fleet retreated. Kizaru and Z stood on the rear deck of the flagship, a silent, yawning chasm between them.
"So," Kizaru finally said, breaking the long silence. "That blind swordsman, Issho... you really couldn't get past him, Teacher?"
"He's no nameless grunt," Z snorted. "And what about you? Getting knocked out by a single kick?"
"..." Kizaru's eye twitched.
"So you're not happy with them either," Z said with a low chuckle. "You wanted to see them taken down a peg, too..."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Teacher~" Kizaru said, his lazy smile back in place. "As an Admiral of the Marines, I will of course take responsibility for this failure. As for you, Teacher... all this talk of resigning... don't tell me you're thinking of joining the Curtain Call crew."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Z scoffed. The World Government was corrupt, but the Marines... the Marines were his last remaining family.
"...Is that so?" Kizaru said, his expression suddenly complex.
At the Sabaody amusement park, Shane was gathering recruits. Anyone who wanted to leave Sabaody and join his cause, Marine or civilian, he would take them.
"Big Brother Shane! Hey! Big Brother Shane!!!" a familiar, high-pitched voice called out. A small, blue-nosed reindeer was running toward him, tears streaming down his face, a panting white bear trying to keep up.
"Whoa! Chopper!" Shane laughed, scooping him up in a hug. "It's been a long time!"
"Yeah! I finished my medical training! I'm a real doctor now! I can help you, Big Brother Shane! ...I think?" He looked around at the powerful figures surrounding them, and his confidence wavered.
"Of course you can," Shane smiled, ruffling his fur. "You're just in time. Kuina is badly injured. You can start with her. And then patch up those two big guys."
"Right! Leave it to me!" Chopper's eyes lit up, and he scurried over to Kuina.
"And you are?" Shane asked, turning to the panting polar bear.
"Sir! I'm Bepo! Navigator of the Heart Pirates! Captain's orders! I was... eh?" He saw Law walking toward them, supporting a bloody Sanji, with a bandaged Zoro and a soot-covered Ace trailing behind.
"Hey, Moss-head, you still haven't told me how you got here before me," Sanji was saying.
"Shut up, you damn curly-brow!" Zoro snapped. "I'm a Supernova now! What's your bounty, huh? Show me your wanted poster!"
"Five... five hundred million! What of it?!"
"Liar! That freckle-faced guy is the highest, and he's only 330 million!"
"I said it's five hundred million! You want me to prove it to you?!"
"Bring it on!"
The two of them, still wrapped in bandages, started throwing clumsy punches at each other.
"Idiots..." Law sighed. Maybe healing them had been a mistake.
"Hey, Torao!" Ace threw an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be so gloomy! We're practically brothers in arms now! Hey, I need a doctor! You should join my Spade Pirates!"
"Get your hands off me, Fire Fist-ya," Law said, pushing him away. "I have no interest in being your subordinate." In the next second, he was standing in front of Shane, bowing respectfully. "Lord Shane. I am Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates. I have long admired you. To witness what you have done today... it was truly inspiring. I... I would like to offer the services of myself and my crew to your cause."
"Hey!" Ace yelled. "You just said you didn't want to be anyone's subordinate!"
"This is different," Law said. "Lord Shane saved my life."
He did? Shane thought, then vaguely remembered a certain newspaper-reading Warlord he had cut in half. Oh, right. This saved him the trouble of having to recruit him.
"Welcome to the Curtain Call Adventurers," he said, clapping Law on the shoulder. He looked past him at the brawling idiots and the annoyed-looking Ace. "Kuina."
"On it."
BONK! BONK!
Five seconds later, Zoro and Sanji were on their knees in front of him, three large, smoking lumps on each of their heads.
"We're sorry, Big Brother Shane!" they wailed.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Ace yelled. "Why are you so afraid of a woman—"
BONK!
And then there were three. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll never underestimate a woman again!" Ace whimpered.
"Much better," Shane said. He looked at the three of them. Zoro and Sanji were like little brothers to him. If they hadn't been so young when he set sail, they would have been founding members of his crew. "The Two Swords Adventurers and the Chef Adventurers... what kind of stupid names are those? From now on, you're both with me."
"Okay," they said, nodding meekly.
"Hey!" Ace protested. "Are you just going to give up like that?! What about your crews?! I'm not giving up my Spade Pirates! And I'm not joining you!"
"Is that so?" Zoro and Sanji said, surprised. They had assumed he was a follower of Shane, too.
"That's right!" Ace said, turning to Shane with a grin. "It's been a long time, Big Brother Shane! I still remember all the beatings you gave me! I can't beat you yet, but I will! When I'm stronger, my first goal is to defeat you in a fair fight!"
"Idiot," Jack grumbled.
"Such spirit," Kuma smiled.
"Foolish," Kuina said.
"I'll be waiting," Shane said with a smile.
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