People are sailing and synthesize the devil fruit of phantom beast sp

It was precisely because of how dazzling Kairos Flint was that the red-haired man chose not to pursue things further. Instead, he offered Kairos some rare praise.

Wait... what's going on with Shanks today? Kairos was a little taken aback.

Something felt off.

Being complimented by Shanks stirred a strange feeling in Kairos's chest, but he kept a smile on his face nonetheless. After all, this was his father-in-law. It was fine to mess around with him on ordinary days, but on an occasion like this, giving him some face was only appropriate.

"Kairos, are you headed to Marine Headquarters?"

Their casual exchange ended with this question. Shanks now turned serious, studying Kairos as he tried to understand his intentions. Was he planning to show up at the same battlefield as them?

Shanks had seen firsthand just how terrifying Kairos's presence could be.

Now that Kairos was officially a bounty hunter, the Marines—especially Sengoku—could easily offer him a massive reward and enlist his help. If the price was right, even top-level bounty hunters would step in.

When Shanks asked this, Kairos could instantly see what he was thinking and grinned.

"I'm going to settle a personal grudge."

Shanks's heart sank when he heard that.

So that's it... No wonder the Navy was so confident even though they were outmatched by so many powerful forces. Normally, they wouldn't stand a chance, but the final result had been a decisive victory.

It was baffling.

Sengoku had officially canceled Ace's execution, only to still go through with a death sentence in the end. That contradiction alone told Shanks something was off.

Clearly, Sengoku had a trump card—and now, it made sense. He'd likely hired Kairos behind the scenes.

Shanks looked deeply at him. "How much did Sengoku offer you? 677 million?"

Kairos chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you. I didn't make any deals with Sengoku. I'm going to Marine Headquarters for my own reasons—personal ones."

He lowered his head with a sigh. Seriously? Does this guy suspect everything?

But suddenly, Kairos had an idea.

Shanks was incredibly powerful. He didn't have a Devil Fruit, yet his swordsmanship and Conqueror's Haki were legendary—almost a carbon copy of Gol D. Roger himself.

He even used Roger's signature techniques, like "Divine Departure," and many other sword skills passed down from the Pirate King.

Wasn't this man practically Roger reincarnated?

The more Kairos thought about it, the more his eyes sparkled with inspiration.

He stepped forward and slung an arm around Shanks's shoulder, giving him an unusually warm smile.

"Red-Hair, you're heading to Marine Headquarters to save Ace, right? And to find your old captain?"

Shanks was taken aback by this sudden friendly gesture. It gave him a strange, uneasy feeling.

"…So what if I am?"

"Well," Kairos replied, smirking, "you don't need to go looking for your captain. Because the truth is… I created him."

Shanks blinked, stunned. "Wait… what did you just say? You created Captain Roger?"

Kairos's words left Shanks reeling.

The rest of the Red-Haired Pirates, who had overheard the conversation, were equally shocked.

Their jaws dropped as they stared at Kairos in disbelief.

No way!

So Roger hadn't been resurrected after all?! The whole thing had been an illusion—created by Kairos Flint?

"This has to be a joke…"

Jesus Burgess couldn't help but mutter as he scowled. His mood sank like a stone.

The rest of the crew looked speechless, their expressions caught somewhere between awe and annoyance.

Kairos, on the other hand, looked completely casual. He shrugged. "Yeah, I pretended to be Roger. Mainly because I wanted to lure out Golden Lion Shiki. I've got a personal vendetta against that guy—he's screwed me over more than once."

He went on to explain, "The guy was hiding in the sky, impossible to track down. I figured he and Roger had unfinished business, so I disguised myself as Roger to flush him out. It actually worked really well. But… things got out of hand."

He didn't even blink as he told this lie.

And the crazy thing was—everyone believed it.

The Red-Haired Pirates nodded in understanding. It made sense. Kairos had a grudge against Golden Lion Shiki and had used the Roger illusion as bait. And with the chaos already erupting at Marineford, he had added even more fuel to the fire.

"You know, Red-Hair," Kairos said, giving Shanks a sly grin, "are you familiar with all of Roger's signature moves?"

Shanks raised a brow at him, unsettled by the way Kairos was clinging to him. "Why are you asking? What's going on?"

"Well? Do you know them or not?"

"I know most of them. I trained for years—my swordsmanship is nearly identical to the captain's," Shanks answered honestly.

"Perfect!" Kairos said, practically glowing. "You're the ideal person to play Roger."

Shanks froze. "Wait—what?"

"You want me to impersonate Roger? Are you crazy? Isn't the situation already chaotic enough?!"

He stared at Kairos like he was insane.

Every time he crossed paths with this guy, something wild happened.

And sure enough, here it was again.

Kairos saw how hesitant Shanks was and just gave him a mysterious smirk. He slung his arm over Shanks's shoulder again and led him toward the back of the ship.

Shanks didn't want to go, but for Uta's sake, he followed reluctantly.

Kairos stopped and faced him, smiling with a hint of seriousness. "Red-Hair, listen. If I'm asking you to play Roger, it's because it'll benefit you, too."

He paused, his voice lowering.

"Don't think you can keep hiding your identity just because you've stayed low-key. You're not just some pirate… You're the son of Saint Garlin, one of the Celestial Dragons."

Shanks's eyes widened in shock, pupils dilating.

"…How… how do you know that?"

He was in complete turmoil.

He had hidden that truth for decades. No one—not even Roger himself—knew about it.

He hated that identity. He hated the Celestial Dragons. He even hated his own father, the leader of the God Knights—Saint Garlin.

He had buried his past long ago, wanting nothing to do with that bloodline.

But now, out of nowhere, his future son-in-law had dug up his deepest secret.

And that terrified him.