"Throw the match? Uncle, that's not my style."
Aus's eyes flashed with contempt. He was determined to crush Red Hair so he could stay on top in the new era.
He wanted to become a man who never lost!
Seeing the resistance in Aus's eyes, Bitam helplessly pursed his lips.
After a moment, he squeezed out another line:
"After it's done, I'll split half my winnings with you."
"Master, you really get people!" Aus couldn't stop his smile from spreading.
It wasn't about selling out—intern pay just sucked ass. No choice but to reluctantly cave.
"Shanks, let's end this with one move!"
"Huh?" Hearing Aus's words, the panting Shanks who'd been getting played immediately gritted his teeth: "Fine! Just what I wanted!"
The watching crew also cheered: "Finally gonna settle it? Go Shanks, don't embarrass yourself!"
"Nice work, Aus! Stay sharp, don't let him comeback!"
The atmosphere exploded with hype!
Seeing the mood built up this far, Aus got serious. Five fingers clenched tight, staring at the equally focused Shanks. In his slightly narrowed, world-weary eyes, faint red light actually started flickering.
"That is...?!"
Watching Gaban spoke first, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, jaw dropping like he'd seen something impossible.
Nearby Rayleigh's pupils contracted, staring at Aus with dead serious expression: "No, he just has the potential. That level of advanced Observation Haki isn't something a kid his age can handle yet."
Roger also looked shocked, his smile going stiff: "The next generation's king seems to have met his match! Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, fully concentrated Aus obviously didn't know about these three legendary pirates' high praise. He just tried desperately to see Shanks's sword trajectory clearer.
He was trying to predict the future.
Just as Shanks unleashed his best slash with everything he had, Aus only watched that sharp blade flash past his cheek.
He saw a momentarily blurred "path"—
Where the blade would cut.
"Nice slash, Shanks, but too bad..."
"Huff..."
Aus held his breath, seizing Shanks's recovery window. His clenched fist slammed full-force into his gut—a dull impact that left him dazed.
"Urgh—"
Bile came up. Aus, using pure monster strength, was bullying this rookie Shanks.
"Thud—"
Young Red Hair swayed unsteadily, eyes rolled back white, about to drop.
"Ah—"
Seeing Shanks couldn't possibly stay conscious, Aus sighed.
Then suddenly threw his fist up high, face showing the most over-the-top fake expression:
"Ahhh, my fist hurts so bad! Did the recoil get me? So painful, fainting from pain, ugh (sticks out tongue)."
Aus glanced back at everyone, then dramatically closed his eyes and collapsed. Perfect timing—he and Shanks hit the deck simultaneously, both spread-eagle.
Then—
Dead silence.
"Holy shit..." Bitam lost it, nearly spraying snot everywhere.
He told you to act, but put some damn effort into it, bastard!
Could you be any more ridiculous?!
No choice—Bitam had to bite the bullet: "Looks like a draw! Sorry everyone!"
"What the hell???!!!" ×N
Right then, Buggy—who'd just finished hiding his secret stash—emerged from the cabin. Seeing Uncle Bitam getting jumped by crew members, motionless Shanks, and Aus lying there picking his nose—
He was completely lost.
........
"Don't be like that, Shanks. Work-life balance matters too."
Aus watched Shanks doing barbell squats, trying to sound reasonable.
"Shut up, bastard! Before lecturing me, drop that steel off your back!!" Shanks went full fang-face rage mode. Even his good temper couldn't handle this Aus asshole.
"Ah... hahahaha!!!"
Aus had no comeback, just laughed awkwardly while continuing one-handed push-ups with tons of steel on his back.
"You two freaks! Can't you chill for five minutes?!" Nearby Buggy, hearing these overachievers talk, also got pissed.
He could barely handle small dumbbell curls. Forget Aus's monster body—even Shanks crushed him easily.
Since getting triggered, Shanks started training like a maniac. Aus also snagged plenty of gains while working out.
Even Buggy, the ultimate slacker, got dragged into higher intensity training. Cue the bitching.
The next days got pretty boring.
Aus's few daily joys were reading papers, fighting, training, and fishing.
But wanting to learn so much made fishing time hard to squeeze in.
But this couldn't stump clever Aus.
"Hey! Aus, still no bites?" Buggy sprawled beside him, watching Aus sit motionless on the ship's edge with closed eyes. "Training time's coming up, right?"
Hearing this, Aus—who'd been practicing expanding his Observation Haki range—slowly opened his eyes. The faint red glow faded from his pupils.
"Chill. When have I ever not caught fish before training?"
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"But Shanks already started..."
"Fine, fine... I get it."
Aus sighed and just drew a pistol from his waist.
Ever heard of American-style fishing?
"Bang bang bang—"
Several crisp gunshots rang out. Soon fish bellies floated on the sea surface, still smoking.
Aus flicked his hook, immediately snagged these poor bastards, tossed them in the basket, and headed for the cabin.
"Let's go, Buggy!"
"Wait up!"
...
"Aus got stronger again, right?"
"Yeah, he's a straight monster. Reminds me of someone."
"Guessing you mean Redfield?"
"Uh... close, but I was thinking Whitebeard."
On deck, watching the little guy spar with vice-captain "Dark King" Rayleigh, crew members chatted, including two kids in front.
"That Aus bastard's impossible to beat, right?"
"Don't be so negative, Buggy. We'll definitely get stronger." Maybe from getting wrecked by Aus so much, Shanks cooled down from his initial rage, back to his chill nature.
"What bullshit are you spouting, Shanks? We get stronger, but won't Aus too?" Buggy wasn't comforted—felt more like giving up.
Having Shanks on ship was depressing enough. Everyone loved him, leaving Buggy as background.
Now Aus showed up too—really hard not to despair.
"Don't look so down. Check it out—Aus and the vice-captain's sparring is starting!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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