Novel Full [592] : Just Passing Through
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“I thought Red-Hair would come here to mediate. I didn’t expect him to miss out on the fun.”
Shin had assumed that Shanks—the master of social politics—would arrive to flex his diplomatic muscles and get both sides to back down out of respect for his reputation…
What Shin didn’t know was that Red-Hair wasn’t anywhere near the New World at the moment. He was back in Foosha Village in the East Blue.
Luffy had set sail because of him, and Shanks had even bet his arm on the kid’s future. But if Garp ever found out about this connection, Red-Hair would be royally screwed. The Marine hero would hunt him to the ends of the earth, giving him the same relentless treatment he’d unleashed on Roger.
“Well, that wraps things up pretty much as I expected.”
Kaido had taken a massive hit this time, leaving him as the weakest of the Four Emperors in terms of manpower. He only had King the Conflagration and Queen the Plague left in his inner circle.
Jack the Drought had fallen into the hands of the Marines and was estimated to be imprisoned in the underwater prison, Impel Down.
As for Kaido attacking Impel Down to rescue Jack? This was impossible.
Impel Down had stood for centuries—who would be crazy enough to attack it? The warden of that underwater fortress, Magellan, wielded the Poison-Poison Fruit, and his power was easily Admiral-level.
“Let’s go, we’re leaving.” Shin said to Olvia and the others.
The show was over, and since he had no intention of getting involved, it was time to leave.
The other spectating pirates had already started dispersing, including the Whitebeard Pirates.
“What a shame,” Hancock sighed, a hint of disappointment flickering in her eyes. She’d been hoping for some action.
“Hancock, maybe tone down the violence a bit,” Shin said with a slight smile.
“Does Shin not like violent women?” Hancock asked, studying his face thoughtfully.
“It’s not that exactly. I just don’t care for people who solve everything with violence. But you, Hancock—I like you just fine,” Shin replied with genuine warmth.
“Shin said he likes me!! I’m so happy.” Hancock’s eyes lit up with pure joy.
She immediately launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and refusing to let go.
Despite being tackled by the Empress, Shin showed no signs of irritation. If anything, he seemed perfectly content with the arrangement.
“Let’s go, let’s go back to Amazon Lily.” Shin said, holding Hancock.
There wasn’t much left to do in the New World anyway. As for his own territory, that wasn’t something worth worrying about.
The last time Big Mom had tried to seize his holdings, he’d demolished her completely. He was confident no one else would be stupid enough to try the same stunt.
If someone really had the courage, he would let them know what cruelty was.
“By the way, we have to pass through Fish-Man Island. Shirahoshi can also go back and see her family.” Shin rubbed Shirahoshi’s little head and said.
“I get to go home? Thank you so much, Shin-sama!” Shirahoshi buried her face against his chest, tears of happiness welling up in her eyes.
Her sudden embrace pushed Hancock aside, much to the Empress’s obvious displeasure.
Hancock’s mood soured instantly, though since it was Shirahoshi, she managed to keep her jealousy in check. She was still relatively friendly to Shirahoshi and liked her very much.
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“Try not to cry so easily from now on, Shirahoshi,”
Shin said softly. It was honestly her biggest weakness—the girl would tear up at the slightest provocation.
“I’m just moved. I’m sorry, Shin-sama.” Shirahoshi wiped her tears and said to Shin.
Shin’s Pluton set course for Fish-Man Island, and as luck would have it, the Marines were heading in the same direction.
Garp watched Shin’s massive warship with obvious wariness.
“What is Shin Uzumaki doing?” Aokiji’s eyes were filled with questions. Fortunately, Akainu was not here, otherwise, there might be trouble.
With Akainu’s temperament, now that Kaido was out of the picture, who knew if the admiral might decide to pick a fight with Shin’s crew?
The reason Akainu was absent came down to simple necessity—he was still recovering from his battle wounds. Even he had paid a steep price fighting Kaido, suffering significant injuries and stamina depletion. Meanwhile, Kizaru had walked away from the same fight without a scratch.
It wasn’t that Kizaru was stronger than Akainu, just more slippery when it came to avoiding damage.
But even if Akainu had been present, he would have exercised caution rather than attack Shin’s ship. The future Fleet Admiral might be aggressive, but he wasn’t suicidal. He knew better than to pick fights he couldn’t win.
Being tough didn’t mean being reckless—otherwise he never would have risen to lead the entire Marine force.
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“Just passing through.” Shin’s Pluton passed by Garp’s Marine warship. As he left, he said to Garp with a faint smile.
It was mainly because he saw that Garp was quite nervous, so he said this.
Watching the massive ship disappear into the distance, Aokiji finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding. Even the veteran Garp visibly relaxed.
“Hah! Can’t believe I was actually nervous,” Garp burst out laughing. He hadn’t felt that kind of tension even when facing down Rocks himself.
“Shin Uzumaki’s very existence shifts the balance of the entire world,” Aokiji observed quietly.
“Yeah, but that’s not our problem to solve. Let’s focus on getting Jack to Impel Down.” Garp shook his head slightly and said.
Jack was currently secured aboard their vessel, frozen solid by Aokiji to prevent any escape attempts.
Better to move fast and avoid complications—no point giving the Beast Pirates any chance to mount a rescue.
Capturing Jack was equivalent to crippling one of Kaido’s arms.
Garp expected this would trigger a feeding frenzy. Every ambitious pirate in the New World would see Kaido’s weakened state as an opportunity to challenge him, maybe even claim his head. After all, countless pirates dreamed of joining the ranks of the Four Emperors.
Every major player in the New World harbored that kind of ambition. The number of pirates who’d love to replace Kaido as an Emperor was staggering.
Whether any of them could actually pull it off was another question entirely.
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“This time, the Seven Warlords didn’t come. What do you think, Vice Admiral Garp?” Aokiji asked Garp.
Garp picked his nose, then said to Aokiji, “Don’t ask me about that political crap. I’m not interested. You want to discuss policy, go bother Sengoku.”
A clear refusal.
Garp had zero interest in getting dragged into strategic discussions. He just wanted to relax when he could, maybe visit Foosha Village to check on his grandson.
Aokiji studied Garp’s expression, then decided to drop the subject. Knowing the man as he did, pushing the topic would be pointless.
But did Garp really not care at all? This time, the Seven Warlords had basically given the Marines’ orders the middle finger.
Originally, the Warlords had been commanded to provide support, but not a single one had bothered to show up.
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