One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 306: The Tacit Understanding and Trust of the Strongest Vice Emperor

Shanks stood frozen in place.

The back of his white shirt was completely soaked with cold sweat.

Dozens of gazes pierced him like steel needles.

Ben Beckman's gaze is the most deadly.

There was no murderous intent.

It is even stronger than Conqueror's Haki.

That was scrutiny, questioning, and an interrogation of all the cornerstones of trust.

"Please explain, Shanks."

Beckman's voice rang out again.

Shanks opened his mouth.

My throat is full of sand.

He couldn't utter a single word.

What should I say? That I'm a descendant of the Celestial Dragons? An orphan of God Valley? That my brother sits on the throne of Mary Geoise, looking down on us lowly pirates?

Every word he uttered was a desecration of the freedom he cherished.

Just as he was about to be crushed by the pressure, a lazy voice cut in.

"Calm down, everyone."

The sound came from above.

Everyone looked up and saw a dark figure leap down from the horizontal trunk of a coconut tree.

Chenye, like a black cat, silently landed between Shanks and Beckman.

He straightened up.

A casual snapshot.

It patted Beckman's granite-like shoulder.

A light, effortless slap.

He forcefully suppressed the oppressive aura that Beckman had been building up.

"Don't look at him like that, Beckman."

Chen Ye took out gold coins from his pocket and his fingers flew across the screen.

"You've scared this redhead half to death. Who's going to pay for this banquet now?"

Beckman frowned slightly, his tense muscles not relaxing, his gaze passing over Chen Ye and locking onto Shanks.

"Chen Ye, this is an internal matter for our Red-Haired Pirates."

"That was originally the case."

Chen Ye chuckled and flicked his finger, causing the gold coin to hum.

"But since that name came from the mouth of the person I brought back, I have to say a few more words."

Chen Ye turned around, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

His gaze wasn't sharp, but it carried the air of someone in a high position looking down on someone, and the whispering pirates all fell silent.

"Listen up, everyone."

Chen Ye's voice wasn't loud, but it penetrated everyone's ears.

"The name Shamrock and Shanks' background involve the World Government's top secrets. They're even more sensitive than the Ancient Weapons you've ever heard of."

Top secret of the world government.

These words made the seasoned veterans of the new world present tense up.

Chen Ye glanced at Shanks, who was covered in sweat, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"I can tell you definitively that he does have an older brother. But we can't reveal it right now, understand?"

He paused, his tone becoming meaningful.

"When the time comes, you will naturally meet that so-called older brother. Believe me, it will be a very interesting meeting."

These words are half true and half false.

They acknowledged the facts, but then used the pretext of a World Government conspiracy to cover up the core of the Celestial Dragons' bloodline.

For pirates, as long as it's not betrayal, everything is negotiable.

Chen Ye looked at Beckman again, his eyes now holding a deeper meaning.

"Furthermore, everyone in the Red-Haired Pirates, especially you, Ben Beckman. Shanks has been with you for so long, from Windmill Village in the East Blue to the Throne of the New World. Is he the kind of person who would betray his comrades for wealth and glory?"

Beckman remained silent.

Chen Ye took a half-step closer, his voice lowered.

"He must have his reasons for not telling you. You could even say he's protecting you. Don't you trust the captain you chose?"

These words struck a chord with the Red-Haired Pirates.

Yes.

That's Shanks.

A man who didn't flinch even after losing an arm to save Luffy.

A man who dares to stand alone in front of the Navy Headquarters.

He's usually all smiles and laughter, but in crucial moments he always stands in front of his friends like a silly goose.

Chen Ye's words gave Shanks a perfect way out.

It also helped him out of the predicament, both logically and emotionally.

Shanks glanced gratefully at Chen Ye, his eyes reddening. He suppressed his panic and straightened his back abruptly.

"That's right!"

Shanks shouted, his voice still trembling slightly, but he had regained some of his heroic spirit.

"Brothers! It's not that I'm unwilling to speak, it's just that the time isn't right!"

Shanks took a step forward, faced those pairs of eyes, and made a surprising move.

He bent down.

He bowed deeply to all the crew members.

Ninety degrees.

Standard. Sincere. Unreserved.

It is unheard of on the high seas for a Yonko to bow to his subordinates.

But that's Shanks for you.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from everyone for so long!"

Shanks held his pose and roared.

"But I swear, I, Shanks, will always be Shanks of the Red-Haired Pirates! That will never change, not even in death! Please... believe me one more time!"

The sea breeze blew, stirring up sand and dust.

A few seconds of silence.

"puff!"

A burst of laughter broke the solemn atmosphere.

Everyone looked over and saw Raki Lu holding half a bone, covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking violently. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Boss, you look so lame!"

Raki Lu picked up the meat covered in sand from the ground, blew on it, took a big bite, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Tch, why are you making such a fuss! We wouldn't want to know if you didn't tell us! Everyone has secrets. I even secretly wore Jesus cloth underwear before, and I didn't tell anyone!"

"Pfft, cough cough cough!"

Yasopp spat out a mouthful of wine, his face flushed red, and he pointed at Raki Lu and cursed him.

"You fatso! So it was you who did it all?! I thought the sea monkeys stole it!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The crowd erupted in deafening laughter.

The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

"That's right, boss! No matter who you are, or what brothers you have, you'll always be the boss who leads us out to sea!"

"Even if you're the Celestial Dragons' illegitimate son, we wouldn't care... well, that sounds a bit disgusting, but if it's the boss, it's barely acceptable!"

"Hahaha! Let's have a feast! Keep the feast going! Don't let the meat get cold!"

The pirates started making a ruckus, and some even threw their drinks at Shanks as a form of "baptism."

To hell with your background, we only care about you as a person.

Shanks straightened up, looking at this group of heartless bastards, and almost burst into tears. He let out a long sigh of relief; the heavy weight on his heart had finally been lifted.

"You bunch of guys..."

Shanks wiped his face and put on that silly grin again.

"Alright! Tonight, we're drinking until we drop! Whoever collapses first is a dog!"

"oh!!!"

Cheers resounded through the sky.

The atmosphere at the banquet was even more lively than before.

The white-bearded man sat on the rock, tilted his head back, took a swig of wine, and smiled approvingly.

"Gurararara... Roger, you've chosen a fine successor. This kind of cohesion can't be achieved with just brute force."

however.

Amidst the jubilation, one person did not laugh.

Ben Beckman.

He remained standing in the same spot, his deep eyes giving Shanks a long look.

The piercing gaze was gone, replaced by a profound depth that only intelligent people could understand.

His eyes clearly said: Don't think you can get away with this. My IQ wasn't fooled by Chen Ye's few words.

Shanks understood.

Trust is one thing for a lieutenant like Beckman, but the right to know is another. As the mastermind of the pirate crew, Beckman must be aware of all the risks.

Taking advantage of a break in their drinking contest, Shanks staggered over to Beckman's side.

The two stood side by side, looking at the campfire in the distance.

"Sorry, Beckman."

Shanks stopped smiling and lowered his voice.

Beckman didn't look at him, took out another cigarette and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.

"I don't like surprises, Shanks. Especially surprises that could blow up the whole ship."

Beckman said calmly.

"I know."

Shanks looked at the glass, the red liquid reflecting the complex emotions in his eyes.

"This matter... is indeed too big. So big that I've been avoiding it myself."

Beckman turned his head and looked at his captain's profile. He saw the weariness and a fleeting fear in Shanks' eyes.

That was a fear of blood ties.

Beckman took out a lighter and lit the cigarette with a "ding".

"When it's just the two of us after the banquet."

Shanks said in a low voice, his tone more serious than ever before.

"I will tell you everything. Including God Valley, including that name, including... who I really am."

Beckman took a deep drag of his cigarette, the pungent smoke swirling in his lungs before he exhaled a smoke ring.

That would be best.

He watched the smoke rings dissipate in the sea breeze, his voice low and deep.

"I need to know exactly what we're facing. Even if it's a god, we need to know where to fire."

This is a promise.

That is also the resolve of the strongest vice-emperor.

With Beckman secured, Shanks finally felt relieved.

He quickly composed himself and walked toward his mother, who had been neglected all along.

Shanks' mother stood there, completely bewildered. The atmosphere had terrified her, and she instinctively knew that one sentence she had uttered had caused her son a great deal of trouble.

Upon seeing Shanks approaching, Shanks' mother instinctively wanted to apologize.

"Shanks, I..."

"Mother!"

Shanks strode forward, grabbed his mother's cold hand, and interrupted her self-reproach. His face was filled with a warm smile.

"You weren't scared just now, were you? Those guys were just loud, they didn't mean any harm."

Shanks crouched down, his tone concerned.

"Is your injury any better? You seemed a little unsteady on your feet earlier, is anything still hurting?"

Shanks' mother looked at that face. She reached out and touched Shanks' empty left sleeve, a flash of heartache in her eyes, which was quickly covered by tenderness.

"I'm much better now. Thanks to the lovely nurses of the Tatsumi Whitebeard Pirates who kept feeding me hot water, I'm completely recovered."

When Chen Ye was mentioned, Shanks' eyes narrowed slightly before returning to normal.

"Then I'm relieved."

"Mother."

Shanks maintained this posture, his voice suddenly becoming low and even trembling slightly.

"Now that you're better..."

Shanks gripped his mother's hand tightly, as if giving her strength and giving himself courage.

"Then can you tell me... what exactly happened at God Valley back then?"

Shanks' voice was exceptionally clear in the night, carrying suppressed anger.

"Who exactly hurt you? Who drove you to the brink of death? The culprit who separated us, mother and son, for thirty-eight years..."

"Who is it?"