Master Bait!

Somewhere in the sea.

A makeshift raft made of several thick wooden logs floats on the surface of the water.

Hanging from the central wooden pole of the raft, a sail flutters in the wind, bearing the image of a skull with red markings across its right eye and two crossed swords behind.

"Hey, Shanks, you scoundrel, hurry up and put me down!!!"

A voice filled with excitement and agitation suddenly breaks the tranquility of the raft.

If Nicholas were present, he would immediately recognize it as Buggy the Clown's voice.

"What? The wind is too strong, I can't hear what you're saying!"

Shanks, wearing a straw hat, a sailor's uniform, and flip-flops, sits cross-legged on the raft. He grips a fishing rod in one hand and holds the other to his ear as if straining to listen. Beside him, there's a pair of feet.

A real pair of feet, jumping around without legs or upper body attached.

"Shanks, you big bleep!"

Following the source of the voice, you can see a young man of similar age to Shanks, bound and hanging from the fishing rod in Shanks' hand. He struggles and curses incessantly, especially with his red nose standing out.

"Hey hey, Buggy, if you hadn't clumsily dropped all the bait into the sea, would I be doing this? Alright, stop talking, there's a fish coming."

Sensing movement beneath the sea's surface, Shanks immediately addresses Buggy.

"Is it a big fish?"

Suddenly hearing Shanks mention the fish, Buggy's eyes sparkle with anticipation as he eagerly looks at Shanks standing up on the raft.

Shanks, nowadays, is no longer the trainee sailor he once was.

After continuous diligent training and sparring with other crew members, Shanks' strength is now comparable to those infamous pirates with bounties over a billion.

"Not a big fish, it's a Sea King!"

As Shanks excitedly announces the approaching shadow beneath the sea's surface, Sea Kings, containing protein equivalent to 70 times that of beef and tasting quite good, are enough to sustain them for a while.

"Eh..."

Upon hearing Shanks' words, Buggy is momentarily stunned before realizing the situation. He's the bait, and if the Sea King swallows him and dives to the bottom of the sea, Shanks won't be able to save him. Then he'll end up as fish dung?

"Shanks, put me down, you bleep~"

As Buggy curses Shanks for being unfair, the sea beneath them suddenly bursts open, and a massive creature with the head of a bull and a length of a hundred meters comes charging towards the raft.

With eyes the size of Buggy's and sharp teeth, emitting a smell of blood from its mouth, Buggy is scared out of his wits, even performing a comical act.

Given the size of this creature, if it were to collide with the raft, Shanks' poorly constructed raft would surely shatter, and as a Devil Fruit user, Buggy would have no escape whether he fell into the sea or was swallowed by the Sea King.

Thinking that his grand ideals haven't been realized yet and he's about to die because of Shanks' foolishness, Buggy turns pale.

"Divine Departure!"

Just as the Sea King is about to swallow Buggy, a voice suddenly rings out from beside him, followed by a ferocious and violent aura brushing past Buggy.

The powerful force even causes Buggy's clothes to flutter loudly.

And before the Sea King can react, its body is sent flying in a V shape from the middle.

"Shanks, do you know I almost became fish food because of you!"

As Shanks sets him down, Buggy angrily grabs Shanks' collar and shouts loudly.

He really thought he was going to meet the Sun God, Nika, just now.

"This is nothing, besides, you know my strength, don't you? Let alone this kind of medium-sized Sea King, I can handle even a large one with ease."

Shanks laughed as Buggy shook him wildly by the collar.

"Alright, let's head back, everyone's waiting for dinner."

After Buggy had vented enough, Shanks finally spoke up.

Then, Shanks stripped off his clothes and dove into the sea in one swift motion, pulling a thick rope and dragging the raft and the Sea King, which was fixed to the raft, towards a distant island.

As they approached the island, they saw a tall figure standing on the shore, gazing in their direction.

"Nossan!"

[AN-Seagull Guns Nozdon]

Buggy waved excitedly, indicating that the person on the shore was a familiar acquaintance.

"Hey, not a bad catch, huh? Another Sea King? Looks like we're in for a treat today."

Seeing the Sea King Shanks had dragged onto the shore, Nossan smiled. Though his physique made him look unapproachable, those who knew him knew he was a reliable guy.

"Nossan, what's happened?"

Seeing Nossan, Shanks couldn't help but ask. Someone like Nossan wouldn't be able to hide what had happened, and his behavior, different from usual, made Shanks realize something must have happened.

"Let's talk about it later."

With that, Nossan hoisted the Sea King, several hundred tons in weight and a hundred meters long, onto his shoulders, and headed towards their base.

But before they could reach the base, they heard a fierce argument erupting from inside, something that was never supposed to happen.

Shanks glanced at Nossan, who could only show a helpless expression.

Once Shanks boarded the Red force, he saw Erio and Spencer fiercely arguing, with the other crew members looking solemn.

"So are we just going to do nothing!?"

Spencer spoke loudly, one hand pressing on the headline photo on top of a barrel of wine.

"What's going on?"

Seeing the situation, Shanks quickly approached and asked.

He was no longer a trainee sailor; he had the right and duty to participate in such meetings now.

"Shanks, come and take a look at this."

Erio, somewhat helpless, said to Shanks.

Walking up to Erio and Spencer, Shanks followed Erio's finger to the newspaper.

"Bullet attacked Raleigh and Gaban? And their fight destroyed most of the Sabaody Archipelago?"

Shanks' gaze paused for a moment, then he looked up at Erio, his eyes full of confusion.

Clearly, he couldn't understand why Bullet would suddenly attack Raleigh, but then he remembered Bullet was a lunatic, and lunatics do unexpected things.

"Not that side, look at the headline of the newspaper."

Jackson Banner said to Shanks.

And as he flipped the newspaper, when he saw the headline, Shanks' eyes couldn't help but widen, and at the same time, an extremely powerful aura swept uncontrollably around him.

Facing Shanks' abnormality, the people on the ship weren't too surprised.

"Uncle Nozdon, what's wrong with Shanks? Is he trying to slack off?"

Buggy, who was dismantling the Sea King with Nossan's help, couldn't help but ask.

"Buggy, get to work quickly. Your Devil Fruit ability makes it very convenient to handle ingredients. Shanks and them…."