He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

Besides, from start to finish, which part of this matter doesn't involve you, Shanks?

However, on Shanks' end, he hadn't realized it yet — he had been waiting here for a long time, but still, no ship had come.

Ever since deciding to set sail, each day had felt like a year to Shanks.

"What's with that Oda guy? As the author of One Piece, I've been squatting here for over a month and he still hasn't sent me a ship?"

"This island is just way too remote."

Shanks really wanted to complain. He wasn't even sure if cursing Oda here would do any good — would Oda even hear him?

And ever since he had the idea of setting out to sea, even his appetite had declined.

The food here was basically just survival rations, completely tasteless. When he was focused on training, he didn't notice it much. But now, Shanks could feel how unbearable it was.

All he wanted was to set sail and have a proper feast. Ideally, a five-day-and-five-night banquet — not just good food, but he wanted to try every good wine too.

"Looks like I'll need a good chef on my ship. Yeah, a pirate ship without a good cook just won't do."

At that thought, Shanks suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of which… could it be that Mihawk is actually a chef? The world's greatest swordsman… moonlighting as a cook?"

Shanks thought about Sanji. He was a chef, but his knife skills weren't weak either — that actually made sense now.

The reason Mihawk became the world's number one swordsman… was because he cooked for a bunch of baboons. Yep, that's it.

"By that logic, my swordsmanship isn't weak either. Could it be that… I have some hidden talent I'm not aware of?"

Shanks thought about his own skills — the fact that he could live alone for so long must mean his cooking wasn't bad. If he just had some spices, and let his innate creativity shine, he could probably become the world's best chef too.

Shanks wanted to continue daydreaming and satisfying his hunger with imagination — but right then, a ship entered his observation Haki range. Then a second. Then a third…

Shanks instantly pulled himself together and stood up.

His eyes, tightly shut just moments ago, opened — his gaze piercing through the wind and crashing waves, finally locking onto the edge of the horizon.

Three sails, each bearing a skull emblem, came into view.

"They're finally here."

Shanks grinned and leapt off the cliff by the sea.

Bang!

Two hairy legs were sticking out of the sand, one foot still wearing a flip-flop, the other barefoot, with the flip-flop tossed to the side.

Shanks' upper body was still buried beneath the sand.

On the other side, ahead of the three pirate ships, a plain-looking merchant vessel was desperately heading toward the distant island.

Boom!!

A deafening cannon blast rang out. A huge splash erupted to the right of the merchant ship, causing the entire vessel to shake.

On the pirate ship behind them, a group of pirates watched the merchant ship like a toy. If they could seize it, they wouldn't have to worry about food and drink for the next two months.

"Watch your aim — don't hit the ship directly. If the goods sink, we won't be able to recover them."

"Yes, Captain!"

The gunner at the bow nodded and licked his lips, eager for another shot.

Good thing they escaped from the Land of Waves — that place had been a nightmare. Not only did they not encounter a single merchant ship, they had to constantly fight with other pirate crews.

And the Land of Water wasn't much better. Even though there were more ships, the authorities had started organizing fleets to clean up pirates.

Given the situation, their captain had no choice but to retreat from both the Land of Water and the Land of Waves — otherwise, they might have lost their lives.

"Force them onto that island. Once they land, they won't be able to escape."

The pirate captain relaxed. If the target tried to flee, their only option would be the island. And once they landed, the ship would be theirs.

That island looked like a deserted one. Even if it wasn't far from the mainland, those people probably wouldn't make it back out.

"Bunch of idiots. Still, being a pirate isn't bad. If we were a bit stronger, maybe we could still gain something in the Land of Water."

The captain mused — the pirates who could survive in the Land of Water weren't ordinary ones. Some could even go head-to-head with ninjas. As for their own crew, they could only rely on weapons to barely scrape by on the seas.

But even that was better than being a lowly enforcer in the black market.

Meanwhile, on the merchant ship, the crew had already turned pale. One old man even grabbed the sleeve of another white-haired elder.

"This is what you called 'nothing will go wrong'? This is just a scouting trip, you said?!"

"San'tayū, the director didn't expect this either! Who knew there'd suddenly be so many pirates in the Land of Water? Everything was fine when we were at Crescent Moon Island!"

"Damn it. If anything happens to Yukie, I'll never forgive you."

San'tayū growled. Originally, this was just meant to be a location scouting trip for a movie, doubling as a vacation. They even stopped at Crescent Moon Island to buy souvenirs.

But just as they entered the Land of Water, they realized everything had changed — pirates were swarming everywhere.

Yukie, meanwhile, frowned at San'tayū's words.

In truth, she didn't like how San'tayū always acted on his own. Rather than blaming the director, wouldn't it be better to just deal with the pirates directly?

"San'tayū, panicking won't help now. What's important is surviving. This sea area isn't even on the map — even if we reach the island, getting out won't be easy."

The director chimed in frantically. This was no time to be worried about Yukie's safety — if the pirates caught up, they'd all be dead.

Rumor had it the pirates in the Land of Water even robbed ninja. These guys were not to be messed with.

The white-haired director suddenly had a spark of inspiration — yes! His movie "The Great Adventure of Princess Stormcloud" could totally use some pirate elements.

Movies really needed inspiration from real life!

"Director! Think of something!" someone shouted.

"Wait, wait! I've got it!" the director suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone on board turned toward him. As the most experienced person here, he was likely the only one who could offer a solution.

"Our next movie will be pirate-themed — The Great Pirate Princess Adventure! This will be a smash hit!"

Everyone was stunned.

They had forgotten — this guy was a lunatic who insisted on filming no matter the situation.

Even Yukie was losing hope. Run? Where could they even run to on the open sea?

At that moment, San'tayū came rushing up, all his luggage packed. But when he looked toward Yukie's group, he froze.

Not just him — everyone on board suddenly noticed the white spray of waves approaching rapidly from the island. Something fast was heading toward them, leaving a massive wake behind it.

"What… what is that?!"

"No idea…"

"The three pirate ships have stopped moving!"

"..."

San'tayū quietly pulled out a telescope and looked toward the distance — he saw a huge spray, and then… a person. A single person swimming toward them.

"Oh, it's just someone swimming."

"Is that all?"

"I thought it was some sea monster!"

"Scared the hell out of me…"

"..."

Everyone exhaled in relief — but cold sweat was dripping from their foreheads.

"What? A person?!"

"You sure it's not a sea monster?"

"..."

Meanwhile, on the pirate ship, the captain silently handed the telescope to the first mate.

"I must be hallucinating… yeah, that's it."

The first mate was puzzled but took a look — and then froze, holding the telescope in place for a long time.

"First time being a pirate… seasickness is normal, right, Captain?"

"Yeah… must be that."

But the captain couldn't shake the feeling — that figure looked… oddly familiar.

He wasn't sure, but it really did seem familiar.

"I'll take another look."

The pirate captain picked up the telescope again — this time, he saw the man had already passed the merchant ship and was charging toward them.

Just as the captain's gaze locked onto Shanks, he saw Shanks step on the surface of the sea and burst out of the water.

The sword at Shanks' waist was already unsheathed.

There was no overwhelming aura, no fancy technique name — just a simple slash.

But in that moment, when the cold blade flashed, the pirate captain finally realized why the man seemed familiar.

It was as if… he saw his great-grandmother waving to him.

"So it was… great-grandma…"

The next moment, the flash of the blade passed him.

Crack!!

CRACK CRACK!!

The entire ship was cleaved in two — not just the ship, but even the sea itself. A rift appeared in the ocean, slicing through the water and extending to the ship's hull.

BOOM!!

A massive splash swallowed the broken vessel.

"D-damn it… what is that monster?!"

The pirate captain clawed his way out of the sea, grabbing onto a nearby ship's lifeline in shock.

"Captain Dark!!"

The first mate pulled him aboard. By now, the entire crew was battle-ready.

They weren't nobodies — before becoming pirates, they had been members of underground crime syndicates.

"Damn it, what is that guy?"

Before Captain Dark could finish, one pirate collapsed on deck without warning.

Then a second… then a third.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

One by one, pirates with weapons collapsed. Everyone's eyes turned to the red-haired man now standing at the front of the deck.

But their hands holding their weapons trembled — no one dared to raise a hand.

Just looking at him brought an overwhelming pressure they had never felt before.

"Are you… asking me something?"

Shanks walked up to Dark. And in that moment, the pirate captain saw his face clearly for the first time.

No — it was the first time he'd seen that face, yet in an instant, all of this man's information surfaced in his mind.