"!!!"

Shanks suddenly sat up from the ground and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"What just happened?! Why can’t I remember anything?"

Feeling as though he had just experienced something terrifying, Shanks looked at Beckman beside him and asked curiously.

Beckman slowly exhaled a smoke ring, placed an image Transponder Snail in front of Shanks, and pressed the switch on its shell.

The originally sluggish image Snail immediately perked up, its eyes widening as it projected light and shadow onto the distant wall.

The footage shook violently at first, accompanied by the faint, blurred murmurs of Uta and several small Felynes, but the image soon stabilized, focusing on Shanks as he took a wine from Suika Meow hands.

As this scene appeared, Shanks gradually recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness.

Sure enough, the subsequent images were exactly like the future Shanks had foreseen with his Observation Haki.

After drinking that bowl of "medicinal wine," he immediately clutched his throat with his hands, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground.

The fallen Shanks first rolled back and forth on the ground a few times, then his entire body spasmed as if he had been electrocuted.

At the same time, white foam began to pour from his mouth like a crab. Finally, after a scream that had completely shifted in pitch, his head slumped to the side, and he went completely still.

"Captain! Captain, what wrong with you?!"

"This is bad! The boss has collapsed again!"

"Where the doctor?! Where is the doctor?!"

Amidst the panicked movements of the Red-Haired Pirates as they swarmed around and the rising tide of their shouting, Shanks could still hear Sherwin mischievous, gloating voice.

"Quick, save it, save it! Hand it over to Morgans later and have him help spread the word."

Before Sherwin voice could even fade, the image on the wall suddenly went black, and the projection ended right there.

Shanks: "..."

"Where is that brat Sherwin?!!"

After a long silence, Shanks suddenly leaped up from the ground, roaring at the top of his lungs with a somewhat performative flair.

It was impossible to blame Uta or the Felynes, so after thinking it over, the only option was to find trouble with Sherwin.

"He said he had urgent business to attend to, so he already left..." Beckman flicked the ash from his cigarette, then pointed toward the darkening sky.

"Besides, they’ve been gone for quite a while. Given the speed of their ship, we probably won’t be able to catch them with the Red Force."

Shanks was fuming the brat had run off immediately after pranking him, and who knew when they would meet again.

"Where Uta?"

After stewing in his anger for a while, Shanks asked about his daughter.

"After saying goodbye to Sherwin and the others, she went back to rest."

Beckman patted the dejected Shanks on the shoulder, offering some comfort.

"Don’t worry, Uta is just caught up in the heat of the moment. We can take our time. Besides, Sherwin wasn’t just purely pranking you he intentionally left a portion of Elegia reconstruction work unfinished, which gives us the perfect opportunity to spend time with Uta."

A look of joy first flashed across Shank face, but it was quickly replaced by a scowl as he gritted his teeth and said,

"That kid Sherwin definitely did that on purpose, just so I’d be too embarrassed to go looking for trouble with him later!"

Despite saying that, Shanks still felt indebted to Sherwin. He even suspected that Sherwin might not have had any urgent business at all and had only left to create an opportunity for him...

After all, the Felyne Investigation Team had always seemed quite "unprofessional." To this day, no one had been able to figure out the logic behind their movements.

For instance, their visit to Elegia was based on the joke-like reason that the Felynes in the group wanted to meet Uta. Yet, when Sherwin first mentioned it, everyone felt it was perfectly natural.

If it hadn’t been for the later complications, no one would have doubted it at all.

As one of those complications, Shanks touched the scar on the corner of his eye and thought somewhat sheepishly.

However, at that moment, a violent roar suddenly echoed from the sky, as a massive figure riding a dark cloud appeared above Elegia.

"Hunter! Get the hell out here!!!"

"Damn! It Kaido! How did he get here so fast?!"

Shank expression changed as he inwardly groaned.

The "after-effects" of the liquor Suika Meow had given him earlier were too strong he still hadn’t fully recovered.

But outwardly, Shanks naturally could not back down. He unleashed his Conqueror Haki and leaped onto the roof of a building, shouting,

"Sherwin has already left this place. Elegia is now under the protection of the Red Hair Pirates. Kaido, give me face and leave."

In truth, he also knew that Kaidou likely wouldn’t give him that face. After all, that fellow personality and "hobbies" were no secret.

At any other time, a fight would be a fight, and the Red Hair Pirates didn’t fear the Beasts. The problem was that Shanks was currently not in top condition, and Uta was a weakness on the island. Thus, he still tried to seek a peaceful resolution.

Unsurprisingly, the answer he received was a Blast Breath spat out by Kaidou.

"Wororororo! If you want me to leave, then speak with your strength!"

Having unleashed the breath, Kaidou laughed and shifted into his hybrid form, raising the spiked club in his hands to strike downward.

"Conqueror of Three Worlds: Ragnarok!"

That madman!

Shanks cursed under his breath, drawing Griffin to meet the attack.

Just as the rest of the Red Hair Pirates intended to step forward and help, a flaming sword qi flew in from the distance.

"Imperial Flame Wings!"

One of the Disasters—or more accurately, one of the current two Disasters—King the Conflagration had also appeared on Elegia.

Alongside him were Jack the Drought and a swarm of pirates from the Beasts Pirates. Some were familiar to the Red Hair Pirates, but others were quite strange, likely cadres Kaidou had promoted after being driven out of Wano.

In terms of top-tier combat power alone, even if the Beasts weren’t missing one of their Disasters, the Red Hair Pirates were still superior.

However, the Beasts had the advantage in numbers. This was especially true now that they had integrated Wang Zhi forces their overall strength had risen rather than fallen.

Some members had newly joined, as they had never been seen with the Beasts before nor had they appeared on Pirate Island, yet every one of them possessed significant strength.

Additionally...

Did King, Jack, and those familiar members of the Tobi Roppo experience a surge of courage after being beaten by Sherwin? How did their strength increase so much?

Beckman, who was being pinned down by King alone, felt an mounting sense of anxiety.

Although it seemed like both sides were at a stalemate for now, he hadn’t forgotten what Sherwin said earlier—that both Kaido and BIG MOM were heading this way. Once BIG MOM joined the fray, their situation would become critical.

He could only hope that Sherwin would receive the news and rush back as soon as possible.

But before that...

"Lucky! Go protect Uta and Gordon first!"

Beckman shouted toward Lucky Roux.

Even though doing so would further decrease their side combat power, Uta safety was undoubtedly more important to them.

Hearing his name called, Lucky Roux did not hesitate. After fiercely forcing back "Jack the Drought" in front of him, he immediately turned and ran toward Uta direction.

"Great Eruption m... Hmph!"

A massive, burning dog head suddenly flew in from a distance, instantly swallowing Lucky Roux.

"Lucky!"

The moment Beckman was distracted, a blast of cold air surged toward him, freezing him into an ice sculpture.

King, who was fighting him, did not stop. With a heavy kick, the ice sculpture smashed violently into the ground, shattering into a pile of fragments.

"!!!"

"Oh~ You’re finally awake, Meow~"

(ω)

Lucky Roux and Beckman sat up from the ground with faces full of shock and rage, only to see Haibara Meow, who should have left long ago, waving at them with a beaming smile.

And all around them, the members of the Red Hair Pirates and the Felyne Hunter Group were lying scattered across the ground, breathing evenly as if they were fast asleep.