Robin's heart leapt the moment she heard they had a Poneglyph. But after hearing the second half of Shanks' proposal, her expression immediately darkened.
What a ridiculous demand. Trade one for three? Did he really think they were idiots?
Instinctively, she turned to look at Leno, leaving the final decision to her man.
With Leno anchoring the situation, they clearly had the upper hand. If things really fell apart, then they would just have to fight it out. That had already been discussed beforehand.
Beside her, Kuina, Nojiko, and the others all glared furiously at the other side. Nami, who never tolerated taking a loss, even stepped forward, ready to start cursing him out on the spot, if not for Vivi quickly pulling her back.
Across from them, Shanks clearly hadn't expected Leno and his companions to react so strongly. He had only thrown out an absurd price as a test.
But the other side didn't even look interested in bargaining. Judging from the atmosphere, they were ready to start fighting immediately.
As crackling arcs of electricity began hissing around Leno's body, Beckman and the other officers behind Red-Hair instantly tensed up, preparing to move at any moment.
Just as the situation was about to spiral completely out of control, Shanks hurriedly spoke up to ease the tension. He gave a dry cough and said awkwardly,
"H-Haha, no need to get worked up. If you don't agree to that trade, we can still talk it out."
As he spoke, he even poured Leno a cup of wine himself, signaling that the matter was still open for discussion.
He wasn't afraid of fighting Leno, but he had no interest in provoking that huge troublemaker again either. If this could be resolved peacefully, that would obviously be for the best.
Of course, there was no way he was just going to obediently hand over the Poneglyph either. As one of the Emperors, he had to maintain some dignity.
If bad rumors spread, how was the Red Hair Pirates supposed to keep their reputation on the seas?
Across from him, Leno's aura finally eased. After sitting back down, he said impatiently,
"Cut the crap. The most I'll agree to is one for one."
At those words, the smile on Shanks' face froze, and a flicker of anger flashed through his eyes.
Just because the guy had beaten him once, he was going to treat him this casually?
For a moment, he really wanted to draw his blade and settle it with force. But in the end, he forcefully suppressed his emotions and gritted out,
"Fine. But I have one more condition."
After a pause, he looked straight at Leno and said seriously,
"When you find the final island, I hope you won't publicize it to the world."
"Hah."
Leno let out a cold laugh, his face full of contempt.
"You think everyone's like you idiots, trying to become some kind of king?"
"Enough talk. Hurry up and exchange."
He was becoming more and more disgusted with the hypocrite sitting across from him.
The man was clearly a pirate, yet he constantly went on and on about "balance" and "peace," as if he were some righteous guardian of the world. It was revolting.
If he really wanted to do something for the world, then why not just restore his status as a Celestial Dragon and do it openly?
Instead, he committed crimes as a pirate while preaching morality and justice out of the other side of his mouth. It was utterly disgraceful.
A short while later, the exchange was completed. After Robin confirmed that everything was correct, Leno put away the rubbings and turned to leave immediately.
He had originally considered letting Uta stay behind for a while to catch up with them, but now he had no interest in that at all. He had no desire to let his woman keep any ties to these people.
Perhaps sensing that Leno was in a particularly bad mood, the whole group quietly followed him back toward the ship.
Though none of them really understood why. They had already gathered all four Poneglyphs. Shouldn't this have been a happy moment?
But before they had gotten very far, Shanks' voice came calling from behind them once again.
"Everyone, the New World has only just settled down. I hope you won't stir up another war. The ones who'll truly suffer are the ordinary civilians."
Robin, Kuina, and the others all found the words rather baffling as they walked. They exchanged glances, clearly having no intention of responding.
But Leno, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped.
His body rose and fell violently a few times, and then his aura exploded outward with a thunderous boom. A terrifying current of force shot straight into the sky.
Black-purple arcs of lightning instantly covered his entire body, and Huangquan had somehow already appeared in his hand.
He spun around sharply. Veins bulged across his face, his eyes turned into golden vertical pupils, and with a furious roar, he bellowed—
"FUCK!!!"
Whoosh—
A massive black-purple slash tore past the women before him and shot straight toward the Red Hair Pirates behind them.
The girls had barely recovered from the overwhelming pressure just now when a deafening rumble exploded behind them.
Instinctively, they turned to look.
The original encampment had already been swallowed by thick clouds of smoke and dust. Nothing could be seen anymore.
When they turned back, they stared blankly at their captain, unable to understand how things had suddenly escalated like this.
And besides, they had already gotten what they wanted. There was no need to start another fight, was there?
Under everyone's confused gazes, Leno let out a long breath, and his body visibly relaxed.
"Whew... that feels better."
As he spoke, he glanced toward the cloud of smoke and sneered disdainfully,
"What kind of trash thinks they can lecture us?"
He had already been disgusted enough by Red-Hair as it was. Not getting a chance to vent earlier had left him feeling suffocated.
And then the bastard had actually tried to preach to him.
He really didn't know his place.
The women all looked speechless.
You chopped at them just because of one sentence?
Are you sure this wasn't premeditated?
Earlier, he had been the one telling them to value peace. And yet he was the first one to throw hands.
So what now?
Were they supposed to rush back in and jump them together?
At the front, Leno flashed his crew a row of gleaming white teeth and broke into a bright grin. Waving his hand, he called out loudly,
"Let's go, ladies. Mission complete."
Seeing Leno suddenly return to normal, everyone was left briefly speechless.
Their man had another one of his periodic episodes again.
But very quickly, their own moods brightened as well.
Now that all the necessary pieces were finally in place, the next step would be witnessing history itself.
Chatting and laughing, the group returned to the ship and quickly left the area.
On the deserted island behind them, coughs could occasionally be heard coming from within the smoke.
Before long, the Red Hair Pirates staggered out one after another, all looking rather miserable.
After confirming that no one had been injured, they all turned their gazes toward the distance.
After slinging his sniper rifle onto his back, Yasopp shook the dust out of his hair and muttered darkly,
"That bastard really does whatever the hell he wants."
Beckman glanced at his captain, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, his expression somewhat ugly as he remained silent.
Behind them, Lucky Roux looked down at the giant bone-in meat in his hand, now covered in dust. With a pained look, he tossed it aside and then turned to Shanks with grievance written all over his face.
"Boss, what do we do now? We can't just let this slide, can we?"
He had only just gotten that big chunk of meat.
He hadn't even taken more than a few bites.
And that arrogant bastard had the nerve to ruin food.
This grudge was irreconcilable.
Shanks slowly sheathed his saber, his face dark as he stared into the distance...