Chapter 68

"Drink up!

This wine is delicious!

It's from Beckman's hometown, but it's not as good as the wine from my own hometown!" Shanks' face was flushed as he put his arms around the reluctant Mihawk and the slightly awkward Arthur.

Pointing to the wine barrel in front of him, he spoke loudly, his voice slurred with alcohol.

"I don't want to drink it. It's too strong," Arthur refused decisively. He preferred beer and lighter wines.

"Huh?" Shanks turned to Arthur with a look of incredulity. "Hey, you're a man, and you're already the most Haki man in the world! How can you not drink strong alcohol?"

Arthur blinked, feeling a bit helpless. Shanks was truly a charismatic person who made everyone around him want to be his friend.

Even Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman known for his cold demeanor, had become good friends with him.

But this insistence on drinking was problematic. Shanks' persistence, combined with his charm, made it hard for Arthur to refuse.

Kindness is hard to reject!

Despite his initial refusals, Arthur found himself continuously picking up the glass and downing more and more spirits.

Fortunately, his strong physique helped him withstand the potent alcohol, but even so, he soon found himself feeling the effects.

Cup after cup, glass after glass.

Gradually, Arthur's face flushed from the excessive drinking, and he began to feel disoriented.

He couldn't remember what he was doing, only that he was drinking and laughing. 

Why am I doing this? I can't remember. Forget it, don't think about it, just drink! Huh?

I seem to have some strange thoughts...

Arthur felt himself slipping into a bizarre world, dazed and euphoric. He sensed something was wrong but couldn't quite place it.

At this moment, Shanks, who was also drunk, looked at Arthur with a sly smile on his red face.

Mihawk, observing from the side, wore a rare smile as well.

At some point, Arthur completely passed out on the ground. As he slept soundly, lightning flashed behind him, and the blue-violet light twisted, forming a pair of enormous wings.

"Eh...?" Shanks, blinking drunkenly, rubbed his eyes and looked again. "Hiss~What's happening? Did I drink too much?" He put down his glass and stared.

"Eh?...!!!!...Eh!?!?!?" Shanks' exaggerated exclamation drew everyone's attention.

In fact, except for Arthur, who had drunk too much, everyone else was still somewhat sober. Shanks' outburst made everyone look over.

"Huh? Wings."

"Huh? What big wings."

Everyone glanced at Arthur and then turned their heads. But after a moment of silence, they turned back. "Well, it is indeed a pair of wings," they confirmed, their heads snapping back to Arthur.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned their heads several times, their gazes finally focusing on Arthur's back.

"It's so beautiful, is this an angel descending to the world?" a drunk pirate muttered, looking at Arthur, who was sleeping with a serene smile, and drooling like an idiot.

'Smack!'

"Asshole, that's a man!" Another pirate, who was not drunk, slapped the pirate who looked enamored.

To be honest, after Arthur was reborn, his appearance was quite striking! Combined with his demeanor as the king of a sky island and a formidable warrior, he became exceptionally handsome.

With a pair of wings, he truly looked like a rare and beautiful angel.

"By the way, how does he have such big wings? Isn't he human?"

"I heard he's from Sky Island!"

"Aren't the people of Sky Island supposed to have small wings? How come his are so big?"

Finally, under Shanks' questioning, Mihawk explained what he had learned about Arthur's wings over the past two days.

"So that's how it is. I'm really envious; angels can fly," Shanks sighed in admiration. He roared for more drinks, and the banquet resumed.

That night, all the pirates drank and eventually fainted. In the temporary camp of the Red Hair Pirates, everyone fell asleep except for the guards on duty.

The forest was quiet and peaceful, with only the sounds of insects, the rustling leaves, and the crackling fire.

...

The next day, as the sun rose over the sea, Arthur was still asleep. Shanks, who had drunk even more, opened his eyes with difficulty.

Despite being one of the Four Emperors and known as the most Haki man, he sneakily woke up his crew, making a "shh, be quiet" gesture.

They quietly cleaned up the camp and transported everything back to the ship without disturbing Arthur.

Half an hour later, everything was ready. Shanks glanced at Arthur's direction in the forest with a mischievous grin, then waved his hand and whispered, "Set sail, everyone!"

"Oh!" came the suppressed reply.

Shanks' ship started slowly, moving away from the island under the wind.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, but I really don't want to fight. You're a nice guy, and drinking and having a banquet with friends is enough, right?" Shanks looked at the receding island, a small smile on his lips.

After some time, Arthur, lying on the ground, stirred. "Ugh, my head hurts. Drinking too much is really uncomfortable!"

Arthur frowned, held his head with one hand, and sat up, shaking his head. "Huh?"

He looked around and noticed the absence of the Red Hair Pirates. "They ran away?"

With a slight smirk, Arthur activated his Observation Haki. "Unfortunately for them, they're a bit slow."

At this point, the Red Hair Pirates' ship was already over 230 kilometers away from Arthur's island. However, Arthur's Observation Haki had a range of more than 280 kilometers, allowing him to sense them easily.

Mihawk, sitting silently and wiping his black sword, glanced at Arthur in surprise. He hadn't expected Arthur's Observation Haki to be so incredibly strong.

"I'll catch up with them, Hawkeye. If I don't, the redhead will escape."

With that, Arthur disappeared from the island, and his white yacht, activated by his electromagnetic powers, sped toward the Red Hair Pirates.

Mihawk, intrigued, put away his sword and walked to the shore. He wanted to see what would happen next—it promised to be interesting.

On the other side, Shanks was carrying a pot of wine, thinking about their next destination. However, Arthur, transformed into lightning and moving at lightning speed, was already closing in on them.

When Shanks noticed something amiss and turned around, he saw Arthur sitting on the mast, smiling.

"Redhead, do you want to leave so soon?" Arthur asked with a grin.

------------

Support me on Patreon.com and leave a comment on this chapter if you like it or not. It will be more motivation for me.

And let me know if there are errors or mistakes.

You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04