Chapter 153: The Emperor's Ultimatum!
"Boss."
A deep, calm voice, roughened by years of tobacco and sea salt, sounded beside the red-haired captain.
First Mate Benn Beckman stood leaning against the railing of the Red Force. He struck a match, the small flare illuminating his sharp features for a split second before he brought it to the tip of his cigar. He took a deep, deliberate drag, the embers glowing an intense orange, before exhaling a thick plume of gray smoke that was instantly scattered and shredded by the strong winds of the New World.
His gaze was not relaxed. It was as sharp as an eagle's, narrowing slightly as he scrutinized the terrifying lineup on the ship opposite them.
"It looks like they have ill intentions," Beckman stated, his voice low but cutting through the sound of the waves. "They defeated the beast known as Kaido, completely dismantling a Yonko crew... yet they won't stop now. They are heading straight toward Wano Country, just as we expected."
He paused, his eyes tracing the silhouette of the Vermillion Wing.
"They are conducting a hunt. And from the looks of it, they are determined to win."
Beckman's tone carried a hint of seriousness that was rare for him. He flicked the ash from his cigar into the churning ocean below.
"Although we guessed this much, mere prediction is different from reality. Only by seeing it with our own eyes can we truly sense the weight of their presence. This group of people... they probably don't have a good temper."
He turned his head slightly toward Shanks.
"My intuition tells me that your simple rhetoric... might not work this time. This is no longer an issue that simple negotiation can stop. The momentum they have built is like a tidal wave; you cannot stop it with just words."
Shanks heard this analysis clearly. The sea breeze tugged at his empty sleeve and his crimson hair. He slowly nodded, his expression solemn for a moment, acknowledging the wisdom of his First Mate. But then, the solemnity vanished, replaced by an open-minded, fearless smile.
"That is indeed the case," he sighed softly, scratching his chin. Then, his chest expanded as his laughter grew hearty and infectious. "Hahahahaha! You worry too much, Benn!"
He turned back to face his crew, grinning widely.
"However, we, the Red Hair Pirates, are not the kind of people who give up just because things are troublesome or difficult, right? If we ran away from every problem, we wouldn't be standing here today! Hahahahaha!"
The tension that had begun to pool on the deck evaporated instantly.
"Oh oh oh oh!"
"Well said, Captain!"
"That's right!! Who are we afraid of?!"
The crew members behind him erupted in a chorus of agreement. Whether it was Yasopp, who was meticulously wiping the barrel of his sniper rifle with a loving touch, or Lucky Roux, who was gnawing wildly on a large piece of bone-in meat, they all burst into echoing laughter.
Their laughter was not one of ignorance; it was the confidence of veterans. It sounded as if what lay ahead was not a confrontation with the most dangerous rookie crew in history, but a grand banquet or a party about to begin. The atmosphere, at this moment, shifted entirely from tense and suffocating to enthusiastic and rowdy.
Shanks took a deep breath, the smile remaining on his lips but his eyes sharpening.
He stepped forward, his sandals tapping against the wood as he moved to stand at the very front of the ship's bow.
He mustered his imposing presence. It wasn't an attack, but a projection of sheer will—a wave of invisible pressure that rolled out across the hundreds of meters of sea surface separating the two legendary vessels.
His voice was incredibly loud, turning into a sonic torrent that clearly reached the ears of everyone aboard the Vermillion Wing.
"Suzaku!"
His voice was powerful, resonating in the chests of listeners. It was full of a strange persuasiveness, a charisma that made people want to listen, carrying the weight of an unquestionable rule of the sea.
"Can you grant me this favor!"
Shanks spread his remaining arm wide, his posture open yet commanding.
"For the balance of this sea, let the matter of Wano Country end here!"
He locked eyes with the young captain on the opposing deck.
"I must ask you... to turn back!"
As his words fell, the world seemed to pause.
The deck of the Vermillion Wing fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.
Everyone's eyes—the gathered monsters from different dimensions—subconsciously focused on Suzaku. Their expressions were varied; some were amused, some were bored, and some looked as if they had just heard a joke.
The first thing to break the silence was a sound that cut through the air like shattered glass.
"Pfft... Hahahaha!"
It was a crisp, ice-cracking sound of delicate laughter filled with extreme pleasure and mockery.
General Esdeath, clad in her pristine white uniform, sounded as if she had heard the world's most ridiculous joke. She covered her lower abdomen with one hand, her body bending slightly as she laughed so hard she was physically shaking.
Tears of mirth gathered in the corners of her eyes. She raised her other hand, a gloved finger pointing directly toward Shanks opposite them. Her ice-blue eyes flashed with unconcealed disdain, the kind of look a predator gives to prey that tries to negotiate. It was as if she were looking at an idiot.
"A favor? Who is this guy? What nerve!"
Frost began to creep across the deck beneath her boots, a physical manifestation of her excitement. She turned to Suzaku, licking her scarlet lips with a hunger for battle.
"Suzaku! What nonsense is he spouting? He actually wants us to grant him a favor and then turn around and leave?"
She gripped the hilt of her rapier, her voice trembling with the anticipation of violence.
"Are there still people this naive... in this world? He thinks words can stop conquest? Let me go tear off that 'favor' of his and see what it's made of! I want to freeze that confidence permanently!"
"Lord Suzaku."
Before Suzaku could answer the Ice General, another voice, full of seduction but underpinned by a terrifying loyalty, rang out.
Albedo stepped forward. She moved with the grace of a succubus and the weight of a tank. She respectfully knelt on one knee before Suzaku, her head bowed, but her eyes were fixed on the Red Force.
Her beautiful face was twisted, filled with contempt and killing intent toward the offender.
"Please allow me to eliminate these insignificant pests who dare to obstruct your supreme dominion!"
She raised her head, her golden eyes brimming with fanaticism. The black wings on her waist fluttered with agitation.
"A mere bug who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth dares to speak arrogantly to the Supreme Being that is you—this is the greatest blasphemy against a divine existence! Such insolence requires a death sentence!"
Watching his subordinates, one by one, brimming with fighting spirit and murderous intent, Suzaku's smile became even more playful.
He waved his hand gently, a silent command that instantly stopped his restless subordinates.
The 'Face-Face Fruit'.
It really appeared!
Suzaku thought to himself, fighting the urge to chuckle. Hearing this legendary line—"Give me this face"—with his own ears... the feeling was even more shocking than he had imagined when reading the manga in his past life. It was the kind of shock that made one want to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it.
Meeting Shanks' confident and sincere gaze, Suzaku took two steps forward.
He walked to the bow of the Vermillion Wing, standing tall against the wind, facing the Four Emperors wielder of the "Face-Face Fruit" power from afar!
He did not shout. His voice was not loud, but through the subtle application of power, it clearly spread across the entire sea area, suppressing the sound of the waves and the distant clamor of the Red Hair Pirates.
"Red Hair Shanks."
Suzaku's voice carried a hint of laziness, a hint of mockery, and a hint of... absolute, unquestionable authority.
"Your favor..."
He paused for a heartbeat, letting the words hang in the salt air.
"...to me, is utterly worthless!"
The moment these words were spoken, the enthusiastic atmosphere aboard the Red Force instantly ceased.
It was as if a vacuum had sucked away all the joy. Everyone's smiles froze on their faces, turning into rigid masks.
The corner of Benn Beckman's mouth, holding the cigar, twitched slightly. The smoke from his mouth seemed to stall.
Sure enough... it didn't work.
However, Suzaku was not finished speaking.
He looked at Shanks' eyes, which had suddenly sharpened into piercing daggers, and the curve of his mouth widened into a grin that matched the Emperor's in intensity.
"However..."
He changed his tone. A hint of arrogance that made heaven and earth pale flashed in his dark eyes. It was the arrogance of a ruler looking down at a subject.
"I'm in a good mood today!"
"I will give you a chance, and I will grant you a 'favor'!"
Suzaku extended a finger and gently shook it back and forth.
"You leave immediately, and I will pretend you were never here!"
His voice dropped an octave, becoming colder, harder.
"If you don't leave, then trying to leave later will depend on whether my companions agree!"
He spread his arms, gesturing to the monsters behind him.
"How about it? The choice is yours!"
Suzaku's words were unbelievably arrogant, causing the faces of the Red Hair Pirates crew to change drastically!
It was a contempt more biting than a direct insult!
It wasn't merely refusing to grant a favor; it was turning the table completely. It was giving them a chance to "scram."
This was no longer a provocation; this was looking down upon them. It was treating the Four Emperors like common bandits who needed to be shooed away.
Aboard the Red Force, the atmosphere that had just been enthusiastic instantly froze!
The cheers of "Oh oh oh oh!" stopped abruptly, as if their throats had been choked by invisible hands.
Lucky Roux stopped gnawing on the large meat leg. The grease covering his mouth couldn't hide the stunned, incredulous expression on his face. It was as if the meat had suddenly become tasteless ash in his mouth.
On the railing, the veins slightly bulged on Yasopp's hand gripping his sniper rifle. His knuckles turned white. His hawk-like gaze was no longer relaxed or teasing. It was fixed firmly on Suzaku, the man who had spoken such blasphemy, filled with unprecedented vigilance!
The crew members' smiles stiffened, cracked, and eventually turned into expressions of deep gloom and rising anger.
They all gripped the weapons in their hands—sabers, pistols, rifles. The fierce, bandit-like aura belonging to the Four Emperors' elite spread out like a tangible force, distorting the air around the ship!
To be looked down upon like this—this was the first time in the New World!
"Hey, hey... is this a joke?" one pirate muttered, his voice trembling with suppressed violence.
"Does this guy... have a screw loose?" another growled, stepping forward.
"How dare he speak to the Captain like that..."
Suppressed rage spread among the crowd like wildfire, threatening to erupt and consume the ocean in the next second!
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