Chapter 151: Chapter 142
There is no one harder to portray than Shanks in One Piece. His character is quite complex and enigmatic... idk. Might consider fixing this chap, really.
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[Sea nearby Risky Red; August 6th, 1522]
At some distance away from the island, numerous Marine ships were found to be sitting by. Each and every single marine soldier was seen to be full of nervousness and anxiety, as they tightened their grips on their weapons.
"Wow, this is quite intense!" From the deck of the biggest warship, Tokikake exclaimed with squinted eyes.
It wasn't just them. Upon hearing the news that two Emperors were about to collide, the whole world was watching.
"Grimheart and Red Hair..." One Vice Admiral pulled his hair in stress, "And I didn't even get a single sleep since last month..."
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[Risky Red]
Dead silence.
As the Grimheart pirates and their allies swiftly parked their ships on the shore of the island, they were presented with a very intense atmosphere.
'Risky Red... I suppose that this makes sense.'
What was laid in Rowan's sight was quite spectacular to behold.
On the left, there lied a group of marines who were already within the island, with their guns aimed at Rowan himself.
On the right, the pirate crews seemed to have allied among themselves. Although many corpses, smokes, and signs of destruction were found nearby, they have clustered among themselves, with their weapons aimed at both the marines and Rowan.
And at the back, there were bounty hunters lurking here and there, looking for a perfect opportunity.
"Everyone, get ready. We don't know what to expect from here on." Rowan, in a reserved tone, stated as he stood on top of Prominence's figurehead.
All members of the Grimheart pirates immediately acted according to Rowan's command. Carina tightened her grips on her knives, Cavendish unsheathed his sword, and Alfred loaded new machinery that he has invented.
"You heard that." Law stated to his crew as he too unsheathed his sword.
The Twin Cats pirates and Bonney pirates too raised their guards.
Forget those marines, pirates, and bounty hunters. What lied in front of them was something far, far more dangerous.
Rowan's eyes, which were brilliantly glowing in golden-colour, widened at the next moment, as,
*VROOOOOOOOOM*
the space itself quaked and vibrated from an intense burst of Conqueror's Haki.
*ThudThudThud*
On left and right, countless numbers of people began to drop unconscious.
"Tch...!" Law gritted his teeth as he stabbed his sword, Kikoku, on the surface of the Polar Tang that he was standing onto, in order to stop himself from losing strength. Shockingly enough, all his crew dropped unconscious.
"Conqueror's Haki... what strength..." Bonney swayed before clenching onto the rail of her ship, as she gazed ahead with half-lidded eyes.
"S***!" Nami cursed as she and Nojiko saw the rest of her crew dropping to the deck of their ship, unconscious just like any other. She couldn't help but look at the Prominence, where all members of the Grimheart pirates were seen to be withstanding unlike the other.
Taking in a deep breath, the Conqueror's Haki blasted out of Rowan in a similar fashion, before,
*BOOOOOOOOM*
colliding against the opposing Conqueror's Haki.
And just as he fought the opposing will, Rowan could sense—the sheer pressure and will. The opposing Conqueror's Haki was without a doubt, Shanks's.
"Hah." Rowan couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh in a cold sweat.
Slowly, but surely, Rowan could see. He was being pushed back, and if this were to continue, he will be dominated.
'So this is Red Hair Shanks...'
For the past month, Rowan has been wondering. Big Mom and Kaidou were known to possess an immensely powerful fruit, and the natural strength that their bodies possessed far surpassed that of an ordinary human. However, Shanks, who did not eat a fruit according to the information and lost his left arm elsewhere, was able to match those two monsters. Just how was he able to do so?
And here was the answer. The moment Rowan's will clashed against Shanks's, he clearly felt it.
The unfathomable Conqueror's Haki.
It was stronger than any other that he's encountered so far. Garp and Bullet... they were nothing in comparison to Shanks's.
Briefly looking back, Rowan could see that even Carmen, Robin, and Farul began to wobble, having difficulty in trying to maintain their consciousness—even though Shanks wasn't harbouring any malicious intent within his will.
Rowan momentarily closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself down, before opening them once again.
*BOOOM*
The potent burst of Conqueror's Haki was encased by a transparent, yet adamant manifestation of a will to 'protect.' The collision seemed similar yet different. If the previous struggle between the two wills of Conqueror was an active battle, this collision was one-sided, with Shanks's Conqueror's Haki unable to push its way through.
"""*Phew*..."""
Upon Rowan having managed to counter Shanks's burst of Haki, all remaining members of the alliance sighed in relief.
"...Oh?"
The man who was now standing at some distance away from Rowan, his crew, and his allies, along with the crew of his own, 'Red Hair' Shanks, exclaimed in a surprise before he retracted his Conqueror's Haki back and ended the struggle.
Rowan gazed at Shanks with sharpened eyes, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Red Hair?"
"Well... you will have to excuse me." Shanks simply smiled, "I can't really find myself relaxed when surrounded by so many."
The scenery was quite devastating to look at. All marines, pirates, and bounty hunters on the shore have gone unconscious. All members of Twin Cats pirates, Heart pirates, and Bonney pirates, with the exceptions being their captains, have gone unconscious as well.
"Bulls***." Carina snarled as she flipped her knife dangerously.
"'Grimheart' Rowan, first and foremost," Shanks, disregarding Carina's words, opened his sole arm wide, "welcome to the New World!"
Rowan, placing his hand up to prevent Carina from acting rashly, bickered, "What a heartfelt welcome."
"Dahaha! I know, right?" Having lost all seriousness, Shanks, with a carefree expression, grinned all of a sudden.
All members of the alliance, except for Rowan, seemed to be confused by the sudden change in Shanks's demeanour.
"I heard that you saved Ace on the Marineford! Seriously, that kid's got to learn how to think before acting. When he was defeated and caught by Blackbeard after my warning to the Whitebeard pirates, I really felt like beating up that old fool Whitebeard, you know?! Do you know how hard it was for me to keep Kaidou on leash?"
Rowan's crew and the captains of his allied crews all expressed their surprise upon hearing the word 'Kaidou.'
Rowan, on the other hand, came to think that perhaps, this meeting was an opportunity. If Shanks was someone who opposed Kaidou, it was indeed worthy for Rowan to attempt to form a good relationship with the Red Hair pirates.
Shanks turned to his crew and yelled out joyfully, "Well, boys! What are y'all waiting for?! We finally met the saviour of my old captain's son! This is a joyful occasion!! Get the rums ready!!"
"""Yeahhh!!!!"""
However, regardless of such an idea, Rowan still found himself annoyed by the fact that Shanks knocked out most of his allied crews. If he let this go as nothing happened, won't he simply be accepting that his standing lies below Shanks's?
Dan, who seemed to have the same thought as Rowan, raised his hands up to his sides questioningly and exclaimed in a mix of confusion and disbelief,
"What the f***, man?!"
Dan pointed at the Twin Cats pirates, Heart pirates, and Bonney pirates, "You freaking knock them out like that, and call for a party?!!"
Shanks simply placed his hand on his waist and tilted his head with an oblivious demeanour, "Why are you so upset?"
Upon hearing such words, Rowan froze.
'...Good relationship? F*** it.'
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[Approximately two hours later]
Within the daylight, a party suddenly began. Shanks used their meeting as an excuse to hold a party and enjoy alcohol, however, this one was different.
"Next, you will say, 'My patience is limited! This is one final chance... stop it!'" Rowan, with a mocking expression on his face, stated.
"My patience is limited... f***!!!" Shanks, having realized that Rowan, whose mastery over the Observation Haki turned out to surpass his, read the future once again, shouted in annoyance.
Placing his hand on his forehead, Shanks groaned, "Oh come on!"
Rowan completely ignored Shanks. Instead,
"Next, you will say, 'Can't we enjoy this party for once, you petty-hearted lad?!'"
"Can't we enjoy... STOP!!!!!"
They've been continuing this for two hours. Shanks was initially lenient with Rowan's attitude, however, imagine the annoyance that he must have felt when all his words are stolen by someone else. Even the simplest conversation wasn't possible for Shanks.
For two hours, Shanks was a parrot, repeating every single phrase that Rowan spoke.
From the side, Carina and Nami were seen to be snickering uncontrollably as they stared at Shanks with looks of exhilaration.
"Next, you will say, 'That's it!!'"
"That's it—" Shanks, with his whole body trembling and his face red from anger, paused as his words were stolen by Rowan once again, "Gahhh!!!!!!"
Out of frustration, he raised his mug up and was about to chug in the rum, before abruptly lowering it as his eyes flashed in red, indicating the use of the Observation Haki.
"Next, you will say, 'No! You aren't taking it again!" However, Rowan, who was putting his eyes into full use, saw into the future farther than what Shanks was capable of seeing. Having predicted Shanks's movement, Rowan managed to blast away Shanks's mug.
"No! You aren't taking it again!" Shanks cried in anguish, but it was too late.
"H-hey..." From the side, one member of the Bonney pirates whispered to Carmen. "Is this alright to do? If, by chance, we end up angering Red Hair..."
"Oh please," Carmen rolled her eyes, "we don't give a f***."
Rowan, morphing his expression into a fake obliviousness, tilted his head as he said,
"Why are you so upset?"
Shanks simply stared at Rowan with stupefaction.
"Grimheart... what a killjoy." From the back, Lucky Roux commented as he chewed on a piece of meat that he was holding.
"Talk about it." Yasopp, with a frown, nodded as he glared at Rowan.
From Yasopp's right,
"Guahahaha!!" Cavendish laughed boisterously, finding the situation funny, "You go, captain!"
Dan snickered, "Killjoy? Nah, this is the funniest s*** I've seen for a while."
Lucky Roux and Yasopp glared Cavendish and Dan, who returned with disdain of their own.
The circumstance was a little too intense to be called a party.
"Haa..." From the side, Beckman, who was leaning onto the nearby wall with his arms crossed, spoke up in a serious tone, "Don't you think that's enough?"
Urouge, with a grin, towered over Beckman as he replied, "No, it isn't enough."
Shanks, having fell silent as he gazed at the broken mug that was embedded in the wall behind him, stood up with a tickmark indicating his anger.
"What is it that you want, Grimheart?!"
Rowan, having lost the goofy demeanour, took steps forward and stood right in front of Shanks.
"Why, are you shocked by the fact that a mere rookie refused to bow under you?" From the moment Shanks greeted them with an abrupt burst of Conqueror's Haki, their collision was inevitable.
Although it may have been a normal occasion for the Red Hair pirates, having a party after such a shocking first impression, seemed forced in the eyes of Rowan, his crew, and his allies.
The situation was heating up even further.
Were they friends or enemies? Who was in the right, and who was in the wrong?
"If you thought that I'd let go of the fact that you dared to knock my people out, you failed to understand me." Rowan said as he peered right into Shank's eyes.
Law, who was sitting by the corner, stood up as if he expected such a situation. He seemed to be itching for a fight as well.
"...Then what is it that you wish?" Shanks's eyes narrowed as he placed his right hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword, Gryphon.
Rowan growled as his eyes blazed up in bright golden once more,
"An apology."
It seemed that the party ground was about to become a war zone—
"I'm sorry!!! I shouldn't have attacked you guys out of blue!!!"
Shanks bowed down on the ground all of a sudden, rendering Rowan, his crew, and his allies dumbfounded.
Beckman facepalmed.
'Red Hair' Shanks was one interesting individual, for sure.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone