Bardock deadpanned, staring at the red-haired captain. "Take a wild guess whether I'm going to guess."
"Alright, jokes aside," Shanks said, his tone dropping its usual playful edge and turning surprisingly serious. "You babbled something about the 'Will of D' and the 'Will of F.' I couldn't make out the rest of it. Where exactly did you hear about that? Are you a member of the D Clan?"
"Hah? What 'D' Clan?" Bardock scoffed. "Aren't D and F just cup sizes for women with, you know... broad chests?"
"You little degenerate! Stay the hell away from Uta!" Shanks instantly channeled his inner Nami, grabbing Bardock by the collar and shaking him furiously.
"Oh, please!" Bardock choked out, waving his hands. "I'm not into little girls! I strictly prefer mature women!"
"Uta's going to grow up into a—" Shanks suddenly caught himself, swallowing the rest of his sentence. He shoved Bardock away, waving his hand dismissively. "Just get out of here."
Bardock didn't leave just yet. He rubbed his neck and looked up. "Hey, Shanks. Have you ever heard the legend of the Demon King of Songs?"
"The Demon King of Songs? Is that some kind of strong fighter?"
"According to legend, an immortal demon is sealed away in the Kingdom of Music, Elegia. Even though the demon is sealed, it left behind a key to unlock its cage—a mysterious piece of sheet music. If the user of the Sing-Sing Fruit sings from that score, the demon will awaken from its seal and destroy everything in its path." Bardock locked eyes with the captain. "Uta ate the Sing-Sing Fruit, didn't she? Rumor has it that the sheet music will actively seek out the fruit user."
He paused for a second before adding, "But you probably don't need to worry too much. The key can't travel too far from the demon. As long as you never take her to Elegia, the music shouldn't be able to reach Uta."
"Oh? An immortal demon, huh?" Shanks mused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, whatever it is, I'll make sure to protect Uta. Thanks for the heads-up, Bardock."
Bardock scratched his head, unsure if Shanks had truly grasped the gravity of the warning. He couldn't exactly give him any more specific details. Things like Shanks sacrificing his left arm or the very existence of Ace—those were massive secrets he absolutely couldn't reveal.
"Anyway, Shanks, do you happen to have a map of the Sabaody Archipelago?"
"A map? Beckman probably has one. But are you really sure you want to disembark here? Sabaody is crawling with pirates, you know. With your current strength, handling them would be pretty troublesome."
Shanks was putting it mildly. It wouldn't just be 'troublesome'; Bardock likely wouldn't survive a direct clash with the real monsters there.
The Sabaody Archipelago sat right in the middle of the Grand Line, acting as the final checkpoint before the Red Line and the New World. The islands weren't made of dirt; they were actually composed of the massive, interconnected roots of the world's largest trees—the Yarukiman Mangroves. Because it was an unavoidable bottleneck, the place was a massive hub for pirates, merchants, and bounty hunters. The worst of the bunch were the Supernovas—rookie pirates who had rapidly racked up bounties over a hundred million Berries. Just looking at Luffy's future generation of Supernovas, even if Admiral Kizaru ultimately curbstomped them, they were still terrifyingly strong in their own right. Hell, the very man standing in front of him, "Red-Haired" Shanks, had been one of the Supernovas of his own era. He just hadn't been in a rush to enter the New World.
"Haha, don't worry about it!" Bardock smiled reassuringly. "I just want to wait here for a ship heading back to the West Blue. I won't stick around for long."
He had briefly considered staying in Sabaody to train, but he simply wasn't strong enough yet. He needed a much safer place to grow his power. Unlike the Straw Hats, he didn't have a protagonist's plot armor to magically save him from every disaster. The West Blue was his best bet. Plus, he wanted to visit the original Bardock's homeland, even if his family was completely gone.
More importantly, Sabaody was heavily frequented by Celestial Dragons. Anyone who crossed their path was forced to kneel in the dirt. Knowing his own pride, there was zero chance he'd ever bow to those "World Nobles." It would be a miracle if he didn't punch one on sight, which meant he would instantly earn a one-way ticket to Impel Down.
"Heading back to the West Blue, huh? That's a shame," Shanks said. "Our next stop is the East Blue."
"The East Blue?!" Bardock blurted out. "That's the hometown of Garp the Marine Hero! You're a massive pirate, aren't you worried about catching his attention? Even I know Garp constantly sweeps the East Blue for pirates!"
"Ah, old man Garp, right?" Shanks rubbed his chin nonchalantly. "His punches do hurt pretty bad. We'll just have to make sure we avoid him when the time comes... wait, what's with that look?"
What look? The look of someone staring at an absolute con artist!
'You're going to "avoid him" by sailing directly into his hometown and brainwashing his beloved grandson into becoming a pirate?!' Bardock screamed internally. 'If I were Garp, I'd dedicate the rest of my Marine career to doing nothing but hunting your ass down!'
"It's nothing," Bardock said, smoothing out his expression. "I just think you're incredibly brave. Anyway, I'm gonna go find Beckman."
"Tch. Why do I feel like you're insulting me?" Shanks muttered.
Benn Beckman had one defining trait: the man always had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Today was no exception. As they neared the island, he was barking out rapid-fire orders, directing the crew's logistics. Since Shanks was the ultimate hands-off captain, Beckman had to micro-manage absolutely everything. He assigned who was buying the food, who was restocking the booze, who was acquiring weapons and ammo, who was handling the medical supplies, and who was fencing the loot they'd plundered from other pirate crews.
Despite the chaos, Beckman ran the ship like a well-oiled machine. As expected of the man officially confirmed by Oda to be the smartest pirate in the world.
"Bardock. Need something?" Beckman asked, glancing up from his clipboard.
"Hey Beckman, I was hoping to borrow a map of the Sabaody Archipelago. Are you too busy right now?"
"Sabaody? I only have a rough map, but it outlines all the major landmarks. It's on that bookshelf over there, categorized by labels. Find it yourself."
"Awesome, thanks!"
Bardock found it easily. The shelves were packed with rolled-up maps, all neatly ordered chronologically. It seemed to catalog every single island they had ever docked at. Factoring in all the uninhabited islands, the Red Hair Pirates really had traveled extensively. They definitely took their time enjoying the journey, unlike the Straw Hats who were constantly rushing straight toward Laugh Tale.
Bardock unrolled the parchment and studied it intently.
Sabaody Archipelago consisted of 79 massive mangrove trees, each marked with a specific grove number housing various towns and facilities. Groves 1 through 29 contained the Human Auctioning House and the lawless zones. It was a haven for pirates and incredibly dangerous for ordinary civilians, not to mention the frequent Celestial Dragon sightings. Groves 30 through 39 were the entertainment districts, featuring Sabaody Park and the bubble Ferris wheel. Groves 40 through 49 were the sightseeing and souvenir areas. Groves 50 through 59 were the shipyards and coating mechanics, which also saw a heavy pirate presence. Groves 60 through 69 housed the local Marine Base and the entrance to the World Government. Finally, Groves 70 through 79 made up the hotel and hospitality district.
'Alright, I'll limit my movements strictly to Groves 30 through 49,' Bardock decided, rolling the map back up and placing it on the shelf. 'That area is relatively safe. I just need to keep my head down and avoid the Celestial Dragons.'
Beckman had already left to handle other business on deck. Bardock headed back to his quarters to pack his things. He was disembarking soon. Shanks hadn't charged him a single Berry for the ride, meaning he got to keep all of his animal pelts, tiger fangs, and deer antlers untouched. On top of that, he had even scored a free outfit out of the deal.
Thud.
A heavy jolt rattled the ship's hull. Bardock smiled, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
They had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.