After Qiu Xia moved the fruits and herbs from the Space Ring into his own world, he tossed the ring back toward Shanks.
Shanks caught the Space Ring, looking at Qiu Xia with a hint of confusion. "Brother Qiu Xia, what is the meaning of this?"
"It's simple. This Space Ring is just something I made on a whim," Qiu Xia replied nonchalantly. "As long as I have enough materials, I can make more. Using a casual creation to test a person's character is a bargain in my eyes.
Consider it a gift for you all. With this, your future voyages will be much more convenient. By the way, if you drip your blood onto the Space Ring, it will recognize you as its master. Once that happens, no one else will be able to see what is inside."
"You're just giving us a gift like this? That's far too generous! We can't possibly accept it."
"If you feel bad about it, you can just give me some Devil Fruits. I happen to enjoy collecting them, and I'll take any kind you find."
Shanks wanted to say more, but Qiu Xia cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Shanks, I see that your arm was bitten off by Sharp Teeth. With your strength, the owner of those teeth shouldn't have been a match for you. How could you let it take your arm?"
Shanks: "..."
You can't just do that, Shanks thought. If you're going to change the subject, change it, but don't go throwing questions that slap me right in the face! Dammit, if you had just asked how it broke, I could have told you I bet it on the New Era.
But you had to say it was bitten off by Sharp Teeth and that the creature wasn't even my match. You might as well just come out and say a big fish bit it off! Do I not care about my reputation?
Everyone knew that Shanks valued his "face" more than anything. He was the owner of the Face-Face Fruit, after all and what is "face" if not his reputation?
Shanks remained silent for a moment before looking at Qiu Xia. "I had to protect a child at the time, so it was a bit inconvenient. I was careless, and the sneak attack succeeded."
"You're a swordsman, right?" Qiu Xia noted. "Losing an arm must be quite a hindrance. If you don't mind, I can help you restore it."
Upon hearing those words, the crew on the ship immediately grew excited, their eyes fixed on Qiu Xia. Benn Beckman stepped forward. "Brother, can you really restore Shanks's arm? Will there be any side effects?"
"As for side effects, it's not like there are none at all," Qiu Xia explained. "If the original arm were still here, I could just reattach it easily. But since it's gone, I have to use energy to help him regrow it.
The restoration process will consume a massive amount of nutrition from his body. You'll need to prepare plenty of food in advance; otherwise, it will drain the life force directly from Shanks's internal systems."
"While my energy will prevent any major danger, if you aren't prepared with enough food, he'll likely end up thin as a rail for a while."
Hearing this, Benn Beckman immediately shouted to Lucky Roux, "Go prepare some food!"
"No need, those fruits will do," Qiu Xia interrupted. "Those are spiritual fruits unique to my hometown, filled with Spiritual Qi. Eating them during the restoration will only bring benefits. Shanks, are you ready? If you're ready, we'll begin."
Shanks was still contemplating Qiu Xia's words when he heard his name and instinctively responded. Qiu Xia took it as consent and immediately pressed his hand onto Shanks's stump. Shanks instantly felt a wave of sharp, stabbing pain radiating from his severed shoulder.
"Hiss! Brother, what are you doing? It hurts!"
"I'm restoring your arm. Stop talking and focus. When you feel hungry, start eating the fruit. Don't stop until your arm is fully restored."
Shanks wanted to complain, but he suddenly felt a void in his stomach. The roasted meat he had eaten earlier seemed to have vanished instantly. Sensing the urgency, he grabbed a fruit with his healthy hand and began to eat.
Since these were spiritual fruits, the taste was exquisite truly the peak of all fruits. Normally, such a delicacy should be savored, but Shanks only tasted the first one. For the rest, he simply began devouring them in huge gulps, not daring to pause for a second. The hunger was agonizing, as if he hadn't eaten in days.
As Shanks ate, the refreshing fragrance of the spiritual fruit reached the noses of the Red Hair Pirates. Their eyes lit up and their mouths watered. They hadn't expected the fruit to smell so divine. If their captain wasn't currently using them for his recovery, they surely would have swarmed forward to have a taste.
Qiu Xia continued to channel his spiritual power into Shanks, who ate like a Taotie, devouring the fruits in massive mouthfuls. At first, he had chewed carefully and spat out the pits, but as the treatment intensified, his hunger grew so fierce that he started swallowing the pits as well.
By the time Shanks had wiped out three-quarters of the fruit pile, his arm had finally fully regrown. However, compared to his original arm, the new one was strikingly fair and smooth, looking almost like the arm of an infant.
Once the restoration was complete, Qiu Xia ceased his power. "Your arm is restored. This new arm should be even stronger than your original one. You can give it a test."
Hearing this, Shanks walked to the side of the ship and drew his saber. Swinging the restored arm, he unleashed a strike. A slash that seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth flew from his blade. Under the force of this attack, the sea itself was split in two, creating a magnificent spectacle along the path of the strike.
Seeing Shanks's terrifying power, the members of the Red Hair Pirates stared with wide eyes. Holy crap, since when was the Boss this scary? Even if he teamed up with Hawkeye before, they probably couldn't have pulled off a slash like that. This is just too strong!
Just as the crew was reeling from the shock of the attack, Shanks suddenly felt something wrong with the weapon in his hand. He looked down at his blade and saw that his beloved Gryphon was covered in cracks.
Shanks's face turned pale. "Gryphon! My Gryphon! How did you end up like this?"
Hearing his wail, everyone turned their gaze toward the saber. Seeing the state of the sword, they were stunned. "Gryphon is a Supreme Grade Sword! How could it suddenly break like that?"
Even a Supreme Grade Sword couldn't withstand a "sneak attack" from its own user. If Shanks had used Armament Haki in advance or activated the Black Blade state, Gryphon might have been fine. But Shanks, acting like a sly dog,
had swung the blade without giving the sword time to react. His newborn arm carried immense strength and an unknown energy that surged into the blade all at once, leading to the sword's current miserable state.
"Stop wailing, it's not like there isn't a way to fix it!" Seeing Shanks hugging his precious sword and weeping, Qiu Xia's forehead was lined with exasperation.
"Brother Qiu Xia, you can fix it?" Shanks asked, immediately scrambling over.
"I can, but it will require some materials. Repairing Gryphon needs rubies. If you can get some rubies, I can restore it. Also, Yasopp, looking at your face, it seems your wife is about to pass away. We need to head to your hometown first."
Yasopp's expression changed instantly. "What happened to Banchina?"
"How should I know? I'm just reading your face," Qiu Xia replied. "I see that your Wife and Concubine Palace is quite dim. This represents that your wife has likely encountered something either illness or an accident and is likely close to death. I'm just giving you a heads-up."
Hearing this, Yasopp looked toward Shanks. "Captain, I need to go home. I need to see Banchina."
Shanks nodded. "Your family is our family. Restoring Gryphon is important, but family is more important. We'll head to Yasopp's hometown first. It's not too far anyway."
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