Next Bonus, 100!!
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While the others were cleaning up, Jin arrived on the island.
The Red-Haired Pirates were in the middle of a party.
Shanks was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking completely undignified. He looked up, his face a picture of innocence. "Well, well... the king has come a long way. What can we do for you?"
"Men!" he shouted. "Bring some more meat and ale! Let's have a real party!"
Jin, without any pretense, sat down on the ground. He glanced over at the captured rookie pirates. "You're not going to... deal with them?"
"Deal with them?" Shanks said. "You mean kill them? Hahaha! A lot of people go out to sea because they have no other choice. And some of them aren't here to plunder; they're here for adventure. These guys... they haven't done anything worth dying for."
Jin smiled. "You're right. There are far more evil things in this world. Like the World Government and the Celestial Dragons."
"Huh??"
Shanks, Benn Beckman, and Yasopp all froze, staring at Jin.
The World Government and the Celestial Dragons... evil??
Hey, hey, hey! Can you even say that?
Is he sick? Delirious?
With a sharp blade in hand, the will to kill arises. Jin's power gave him confidence, and his words and actions had become more direct.
"The prejudices in people's hearts are like a great mountain," Jin said, raising his cup to Shanks. "Not all pirates are bad. Not all Marines are just... are they?"
He drained his cup.
Shanks, wary, not knowing Jin's intentions, raised his own cup and drank, then let out a forced laugh. "Good stuff! Hey! This is a party! Don't be so tense!"
His words dispelled the uneasy atmosphere.
"Drink up!"
"Where's the musician?? A round of 'Binks' Brew'!"
The party raged on.
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Late at night, by the bonfire, only Jin and Shanks remained. The others were either passed out drunk or had gone off in search of women.
The town had plenty of girls who made a living that way.
"You didn't just come here to drink with us, did you, Your Majesty?" Shanks said. "What's your real purpose?"
"Smart man," Jin said. "Two things. First, I came to tell Yasopp that his son in the East Blue has gotten into a little trouble."
After Jin had explained the situation, Shanks frowned, worried for his friend. "CIU has gone too far," he said. He had no love for his twin brother.
"Second, I've released Loki. He'll be setting out to sea soon. I wanted to clear the air, to avoid any misunderstandings."
"You released him?" Shanks rubbed his forehead. "That guy is a real handful. It took us a lot of effort to capture him. But if the giants have agreed, then I have nothing to say. As long as he doesn't cause us any trouble, everything will be fine."
"I feel the same way," Jin said with a smile.
Shanks' eyes narrowed.
It was a seemingly simple reply, but it was also a warning. As long as you don't interfere with me, everything will be fine.
Shanks could feel it. The Jin of today was like a drawn blade, sharp and dangerous.
"So, what is your goal?" Shanks asked. "From the East Blue to Paradise to the New World, you've established your power. Your forces are growing stronger by the day. What is your ambition?"
"And you?" Jin said with a smile.
"Me?" Shanks said. "To be the freest man on the sea, of course."
"Is that so?" Jin said. "That Gum-Gum Fruit... it's a special one, isn't it? On the surface, it's a Paramecia. But when it awakens, it becomes a Zoan. The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Nika. The 'Sun God' that Loki is always talking about. You bet your arm on that boy... are you hoping that he'll become the 'god' of the prophecy?"
Shanks stared at Jin.
Silence.
The bonfire crackled, the flames burning brighter.
After a long moment, Shanks' gaze hardened. "So you know about Nika and the prophecy," he said slowly. "You went to Elbaf. You must have read the scriptures, learned the story of the 'three worlds.' With your power, it wouldn't have been hard to piece together some of the truth."
He took a sip of his drink and looked up at the stars. "Nika... was a real 'god' who once existed in this world. The giants, the Fish-Men, the Lunarians, the Buccaneers... and many other races all worshiped the 'Sun God.' He fought against the darkness, again and again. His Drums of Liberation are the only thing that can stand against the darkness that dominates all things. The prophecy of the 'third world' foretells a future that will bring both an end and a new dawn."
He glanced at his empty left sleeve. "And I... between the moon and the sun... I chose the sun."
Jin scoffed. "You're pinning your hopes on someone else. That doesn't sound like a Yonko. That fruit... why didn't you eat it yourself?"
Shanks shook his head. "At the time, I was... under its influence. If I had eaten it, it would have been controlled by the darkness. Only when Nika awakens, when he beats the Drums of Liberation, can the darkness be defeated and laughter be brought back to the world. Luffy... that was an accident. I don't know... but I have hope."
"Who were you originally planning to give the fruit to?" Jin asked curiously.
Shanks decided to tell him everything, to keep him from going after Luffy. "I don't know," he said. "As long as it didn't fall into the hands of the World Government... It has always evaded them. It's a fruit that has never been captured. It chooses its own user. And only someone who aligns with Nika's will can awaken the fruit. Otherwise, it's just a Paramecia."
He was saying that even if Jin were to get his hands on the fruit, if he didn't align with Nika's will, he wouldn't be able to awaken it.
Jin shrugged. "The liberation that Nika brings... is it true liberation?"
Shanks froze.
"The first world, the second world... he failed. What makes you think he'll succeed in the third?" Jin continued.
"To beat the Drums of Liberation and bring laughter to the people. In a way, that can give people who are suffering the will to live, the hope to carry on. But to pin your hopes on a 'god'... is that any different from those who believe that a tyrant can be reformed, that a bad man will spare them, that a pie will fall from the sky? Faced with oppression and exploitation, with suffering and torment, in a world filled with pirates and villains... the Fish-Men, the giants, even a Yonko like you... all you can think to do is wait for the future? To bet on the chance that one day, a warrior named Nika will appear and defeat the darkness and save the world? Because you have that sliver of hope, you're willing to wait, to maintain the status quo, to pray for a 'god' to save you. It's pathetic. A future like that... how is it any different from the past? You're just replacing one 'god' with another. And the 'god' you pray for, the one you place on a pedestal... one day, you will be the one to tear him down. A world like that... even if Mary Geoise is destroyed, even if the Four Blues are united, even if all the Celestial Dragons are dead... nothing will change. You'll just be repeating the past."
"Then what do you propose we do?" Shanks asked calmly.
"We're working on it," Jin said. "Want to join us?"
In a fight, you need as many allies as you can get. Although his recent evolution had given him a great deal of confidence, from a strategic standpoint, he needed to gather all the friends he could.
By the fire, only Shanks remained. He had refused Jin's invitation.
They had different views on "Nika," "freedom," and the "future." He couldn't change Jin's mind, and Jin couldn't convince him.
In eight hundred years, Jin was not the first ambitious man to appear. Even a man as strong as Rocks had failed.
Compared to what Jin was saying, Shanks had more faith in the prophecy, in the "third world" that was to come.
The time his captain had spoken of... Nika, the Mermaid Princess... they had all appeared.
All the signs were there.
The prophecy would be fulfilled.
What Shanks had done in the past, what he was doing now, and what he would do in the future... was to clear the way for the prophecy to be fulfilled.
And Jin... he only believed in himself.
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