After the battle, in an unknown sea area of the New World, on the slightly worn Oro Jackson.
The sky after the rain was especially fresh. Once the weather turned good, Roger immediately began rallying for a new round of partying.
As for the reason… just make one up. Then let's celebrate escaping Garp's pursuit once again.
"PARTY TIME!"
"OHHHHHHH!"
With the captain's loud toast, the rest of the crew laughed and responded. The deck was filled with a lively and bold atmosphere.
Bang!
Amidst this lively mood, a loud door slam didn't seem out of place. So much so that no one even noticed a red-haired kid with a large bump on the back of his head, gritting his teeth and scanning the surroundings.
The straw hat on the kid's head was tilted to one side because of the big bump, making him look a little ridiculous, causing nearby crewmates who noticed him to laugh.
"Did your head get hurt in the previous marine battle, Shanks?", Hugging a bottle of wine and drinking with high spirits, Roger spotted him, this promising young seedling of the new era. He walked over, patted his head, and asked with a smile.
"No... Where's Riven?"
Shanks seemed unwilling to mention the bump on his head, awkwardly changing the subject.
After he woke up, he grabbed Buggy and asked what happened with the bump on his head. And Buggy, the disloyal one, to shift the blame, sold Riven out at the speed of light.
Admittedly, Shanks considered himself a very easygoing person. But to be sneak-attacked by a companion with a gun, and to be knocked out cold, even growing a huge bump, was a bit hard for his pride to handle.
Everyone knew that, besides his crewmates, the thing Shanks valued most was his pride.
After nine years of smooth sailing since setting out, this was the first time he had encountered someone so disrespectful.
So this smooth-sailing young Shanks went red with anger.
He wanted to prove himself, or rather, to get revenge for this bump.
Weaving his way through the lively party, Shanks kept scanning around, searching for Riven's trace.
Eventually, he found him in a group of strong men.
This guy was eating grilled meat.
And it was the kind where he gnawed a whole big meat bone per bite and gulped down drinks, looking both relaxed and stress-relieving. If it were in the original world, he'd definitely be a top-tier eating streamer.
"Oh? Shanks, why are you glaring at me? Do you want some grilled meat too?"
"What are you holding that for? This is already sliced up, this whole bone is full of meat."
"What? A man's fight? I'm too hungry right now. Wait till I'm full. You don't want to win dishonorably, right?"
"I ate too much. You understand, right? Wait till I digest for a bit."
"Hold on, I am digesting, but I just ate too much, so now I need to take a shit. Want to come along?"
"Enough already! You even have to be guarded when you shit? You really want a duel, huh?"
"Fine then, behold my poop-covered mop."
Shanks knew about Riven's freakish strength and perverse Observation Haki. So when faced with this weapon carrying 'magic damage,' he very sensibly chose to retreat for now.
He wasn't afraid of a real, proper fight. Even if he lost, whatever, just bandage up and rest for a few days.
But a mop covered in poop? That he really couldn't handle.
Still, because of this, in the next few days, Shanks kept eyeing Riven the entire time, making him extremely uncomfortable.
'Whatever. A brat is a brat. If you want a fight, then let's fight.'
Riven shook his head and went to the storage room, pulling out an ordinary longsword and tossing it to the still sulking Shanks.
He caught it in a fluster, only to see Riven hook a finger toward him, wearing a wicked, mischievous smirk.
"You bastard," Shanks was a little excited, because he realized. Riven was finally willing to fight him. He immediately gripped the sword one-handed, ready to strike. Seeing Riven just standing there not moving, he decided not to hold back either.
"Getting ready to draw that gun on your back? I won't give you the chance to shoot."
He admitted Riven's gun skills were certainly impressive, but in close combat, he wasn't afraid at all.
Seeing Riven like this, Shanks felt a little defiant and pushed off the ground with both feet, slashing at Riven.
Having learned swordsmanship from both Rayleigh and Roger, it was certainly advanced and strong.
But clearly, being taught by the same master didn't help break through Riven's defense.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Riven closed his eyes, not even attacking. He just kept dodging with head tilts, spins, and tucking in his stomach…
"You bastard Riven. Are you just going to keep dodging like this?", Shanks was turning red. He felt like he was being toyed with.
"Since you want me to use a weapon, fine then," Riven opened his eyes. Originally, he'd wanted to practice Observation Haki a bit more. But helplessly, he pulled out a small knife he swiped from Buggy.
"Sorry, I don't have anything smaller than this."
"Are you kidding me?"
Facts proved that with Haki and without Haki, kids the same age were on totally different power levels, even if the kid was Red-Haired Shanks.
Nine-year-old Shanks could only keep using his sword skills to tangle with Riven, but every strike was easily parried by Riven with that tiny knife, like a joke.
Clang! × 100
Even full-force slashes couldn't shake Riven's monstrous strength, only forcing Shanks to retreat repeatedly.
"Shanks is completely being suppressed by Riven."
Many crew members were spectating, including Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban. Seeing the situation, Rayleigh shook his head and sighed.
Although, in their eyes, it was totally a chicken-fight, right now Riven was indeed suppressing Shanks steadily with Observation Haki and monstrous strength.
Monsters like this, in their experience, without exception, all possessed the qualities of a king.
"With kids like these, the coming era is bound to be exciting!", Roger laughed heartily.
Besides the three of them, the rest were all rowdy, excitement-loving folks. After all, they were pirates, the thing they loved most was a good show.
Riven's mentor, Bittam, even took the chance to open a betting pool:
Riven: 1:1 odds
Shanks: 1:10 odds
Draw: 1:5 odds
This move even made Roger excited enough to take out a treasure and place a bet.
"Riven, nice! Go all out and win it!"
"Hey! Shanks, don't give up so easily!"
"Ha? What are you saying? No matter how you look at it, Shanks can't win."
"But what if? That's a 1-to-10 payout."
"Gamblers die miserable deaths."
The surrounding crew shouted heatedly. Roger also placed a bet and kept cheering for the underdog Shanks.
Though he could tell Shanks almost had no chance of winning, after all, it was the kid he'd raised, he had to show some support.
Anyway, the treasure he was betting with had been stolen not long ago. He couldn't use it himself either.
Just when everyone was excitedly cheering for the fight, Riven's Observation Haki suddenly seemed to sense something. There was a strange feeling, and then a voice rang in his ear.
["Make it a draw, Riven."]
"Uncle Bittam?"
[Note: In the Film Red movie, there's a similar use of Observation Haki—Yasopp and Usopp, though in different dimensions, were able to communicate and listen via Observation Haki.]
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