He had originally come this time to persuade Whitebeard not to let Ace go after Blackbeard, but that trip was basically wasted—because before this, Creed had already talked to Whitebeard about it over the Den Den Mushi.
"Good wine! Shanks, this wine of yours is really something!"
Whitebeard finally put down the huge sake gourd and praised it. "Creed, brat, want a bowl too?"
"Then I won't be polite." Creed laughed loudly and strode forward.
Suddenly—
Boom!
Two overwhelming waves of Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) crashed together in the air, making a large number of crewmates in the distance collapse on the spot. Only those at division-commander level could remain standing.
But aside from a few of the stronger commanders like Marco and Vista, everyone else broke into a cold sweat and swayed on their feet.
Those who fell over even cursed before they blacked out.
"Again! Do you have to be like this every time, damn it?!"
When Shanks had boarded the ship earlier, he had already shown his terrifying Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), cracking the railings and knocking most of the crew to the deck, some straight into unconsciousness.
They'd only just managed to climb back up, and now, the moment Creed arrived, the two of them were clashing with Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) again and dragging everyone down with them. It was really frustrating.
"Hahaha! Creed, you really are a monster!"
Shanks laughed.
He had just used his Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) to probe Creed's depths.
And with just that one probe, he knew—Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) was actually not beneath his own!
He himself was a peerless prodigy. In his twenties he had already climbed onto the throne of an Emperor of the Sea. In terms of talent, he was not just top-tier in the New World; among all the tens of billions of people in the world, those who surpassed him could be counted on one hand.
Of course, in front of Creed—the Fifth Emperor who wasn't even twenty yet—he had no choice but to feel ashamed of himself.
However, while he withdrew his Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), Creed had no intention of "letting him off" so easily.
Boom!
Creed's cloak fluttered as his aura surged like a tiger descending the mountain. A dull boom shook the entire Moby Dick, making the great ship tremble.
Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) locked onto Shanks and crashed down on him in an instant.
A gift should be repaid in kind!
"What? So strong!"
Facing this wave of pressure, Shanks's expression changed.
But when his own Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) came into contact with Creed's, his face changed completely.
Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) was anything but simple—completely different from his own.
Within Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), there was a terrifying killing intent!
A bone-deep, soul-piercing killing intent!
In that instant, Shanks felt as if he were standing before a blood-soaked sea and mountains of corpses—a boundless aura of slaughter.
The shadow of death settled over his heart.
With just that brief contact, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat and his mind went blank for a moment.
If this had been a battle between equals, that single instant of distraction would have been enough to leave him grievously wounded—or even dead.
So Shanks was utterly shocked.
One could say that Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) had already reached a realm he himself could not currently attain.
"Hm?!"
Even Whitebeard's expression shifted slightly when he sensed that killing intent.
Inwardly, he couldn't help but sigh. The newer generation truly overtakes the old. It hadn't been that long, yet Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) had climbed to a whole new level.
Not long ago, Creed's Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) had still been below his own.
What kind of monster was this kid?
For a moment, Whitebeard even felt a little envious.
If Creed had agreed to become his son earlier, then he could have boldly entrusted the entire pirate crew to him. In Creed's hands, the future would have been bright.
"Sigh…"
Thinking of Ace, who had ignored his warnings and gone to hunt down Teach anyway, Whitebeard secretly sighed.
There was no doubt that Ace had the ability and potential to succeed him. But he was hot-blooded, impatient, didn't like to use his head, and was far too impulsive. At best, he could become an outstanding general—he was still far from being an Emperor of the Sea.
"Good wine!"
Creed drained the bowl that Whitebeard had handed him and praised it, breaking the brief, eerie silence that had fallen over the Moby Dick.
"This is fine wine from my homeland," Shanks said. "It's brewed with water so good that just splashing it on your skin feels invigorating. Even the Marine hero Garp said it was great when he drank it…"
Shanks wasn't the petty type. Although Creed had just quietly stolen some of his thunder, he quickly smiled again, clearly happy that Creed appreciated the wine from his hometown.
"Garp, Rocks, Sengoku, Roger, Shiki… those great men who once rampaged across the seas… there aren't many of them left."
Hearing Garp's name, Whitebeard grew a little sentimental.
"Yeah. After all, twenty-two years have passed. You've gotten old too, Whitebeard," Shanks said, tipping back his bowl and taking a deep swig.
"But you've carved out a sky of your own, haven't you? The little apprentice brat who used to sail under Roger's flag. Right, that funny red-nosed brat—he's kicked the bucket by now, hasn't he?"
Whitebeard kept drinking, as if remembering something amusing.
"I heard he's still a pirate…" Shanks replied.
Their conversation unfolded almost exactly like the version Creed had seen in the original story—from Shanks's duels with Mihawk to the reason he lost his arm.
Before long, Whitebeard asked about Shanks's missing arm.
"I bet it on the new era. But it seems… I might've bet on the wrong person."
Shanks touched the stump of his left arm, his expression complicated. As he spoke the last sentence, his gaze fell on Creed.
There was no doubt that compared to Luffy, who was still shouting about becoming Pirate King, Creed right now was much more likely to rule these seas.
At this moment, Creed was only one decisive battle away from ascending the throne.
Creed, however, had no time to bother with Shanks's gaze. He was currently using a Devil Fruit Ability Extraction Card to extract Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability.
Although Shanks also had abilities worth extracting, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit came first in the order of priority. Creed could only wait until this extraction succeeded before thinking about anything else.
Just then—
"Gurararara! If you truly have no regrets, then it doesn't matter. But from the look of you, it seems you do regret it a little."
Whitebeard seemed to have guessed something and burst into hearty laughter again.
"Back to business, Whitebeard. I came today to ask you to recall Ace. Letting him keep chasing Teach isn't a wise move. You probably still don't understand how terrifying Teach really is."
Shanks's face, which had been relaxed, suddenly turned solemn.
"In my life, I've been through countless battles and taken countless wounds. But the only one that still aches from time to time… is this scar on my face."
He pointed at the three claw-marks over his left eye.
"This wasn't from some reckless adventure. It wasn't from Mihawk. And it wasn't because I was careless. It was given to me by that Teach on your crew. His strength is far beyond what you imagine."
"He hid that power all this time, staying on your ship just to borrow Whitebeard's flag to accomplish his secret scheme—climb to the top… and in the future, even seize your throne for himself."
"Hahaha! I, Whitebeard, don't need you, Shanks, to teach me how to run my crew!"
Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Teach murdered a comrade. He committed an unforgivable crime and broke our iron rule. If he doesn't die, the soul of my son will never rest in peace!"
As Whitebeard's voice rose, the medicine inside the IV bottles behind him began to boil.
The atmosphere around them tightened in an instant, heavy as a mountain.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]