The Hawk-Eyed Swordsman

Gulishati had just returned to the hotel. As soon as she opened the door, her eyes were immediately attracted by the familiar figure.

"It's really you!"

She excitedly dropped the shopping bags in her hand, scattering them all over the floor, and quickly walked forward to give Rayleigh a big hug.

"Shati, you're still so energetic." Rayleigh returned the hug warmly. "I haven't seen you for so many years, and you're still the same."

Gulishati looks to be in her early thirties, with neat and energetic short hair. She wears a blue denim shirt, white straight pants, and a pair of cool Martin boots. She exudes a fashionable and handsome temperament.

In fact, she is a few years older than 58-year-old Reilly, but she always has a confident smile on her face and there is no sign of aging at all.

"Of course. A young mindset will keep you young forever." Gulishati released his hand, took a step back, looked Rayleigh up and down, and asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

Rayleigh: "After the pirate group disbanded, I stayed in the Sabaody Archipelago and worked as a coating craftsman in the shipyard."

Gulixiati patted Lei Li on the shoulder and said, "That sounds quite pleasant. You're living a much more comfortable life than I am."

"It's indeed much more leisurely than the days of being a pirate."

"It's rare to meet today, let's go have a drink together! It's my treat."

Rayleigh laughed heartily and nodded, "Alright, now that the matter is settled, we won't go home until we're drunk tonight!"

Gulishati was so happy to see Rayleigh that she completely forgot about Shanks and Uta in the room, and didn't notice the little octopus that appeared on the table.

An excited smile spread across her face and she turned and walked towards the door.

Shanks couldn't help but call out to her and teased her, "Sister Shati, you just came back and you didn't even look at Uta, and you're going out to drink again!"

Gulishati turned around and glared at Shanks, pretending to be fierce: "You little bastard, Uta is your daughter. It doesn't matter whether I see her or not."

-

A year ago, Shanks and his friends found two-year-old Uta in a treasure chest.

The appearance of this little kid made all the big men on the boat panic for a moment.

They can face the wind and waves at sea without fear, but they have no idea how to take care of such a young child.

Fortunately, there was another girl named Gulishati on the boat. Girls really knew how to take care of people better than them.

However, adventures at sea are full of dangers and uncertainties, and Gulishati does not agree to leave such a young child on the boat.

Shanks found some reliable and kind residents on the surrounding islands, but when he was about to leave, he saw Uta staring at him with grievance, and he changed his mind.

Gulishati solemnly reminded Shanks again, "Shanks, raising a child is more than just feeding her. You must consider this carefully."

Shanks looked at Uta, but remembered the memory of when he met Captain Roger and was adopted and grew up on the ship. His eyes became firm.

"Sister Xiati, I'm not acting on impulse. In fact, I've been thinking about it these days. This situation is similar to when I first met Captain Roger. Seeing Uta is like seeing myself back then, so I decided to keep Uta."

"I've said everything I need to say. You're the captain, and since you've decided to keep her, I have nothing more to say."

"Don't worry, I will definitely be responsible for her!"

-

"Auntie Xiati," Wuta called out from the side, her voice soft and sticky, "Don't worry about me, just have fun."

"Good boy, the new dress I bought you was well worth it," Gulishati said, still coming over and rubbing Uta's little face. Her voice was completely different from the one she gave Shanks, very gentle. "I'm going out to play tonight, and I'll give it to you to try on another day."

"Thank you, Aunt Shati."

"Okay. Let's go."

Rayleigh followed Gulishati to the door. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned around and waved goodbye to Meli: "Little guy, I'm leaving first. You stay here."

Merry waved his tentacles over the edge of the bucket. "Okay, Mr. Rayleigh. Goodbye."

"Huh? A talking little octopus?" Gulishati looked at the pink octopus in the bucket in surprise.

"Sister Shati, this is our new member on board."

"Hello, Aunt Shatti, I'm Meli."

"Wow, welcome, Melissan."

......

When Beckman and others returned to the hotel one after another, Gulishati and Reilly had already left the hotel.

When everyone heard that Rayleigh had left, they were disappointed and started to denounce Shanks. The room became lively again.

"Damn it, I didn't dare come back too early because I was worried you guys hadn't finished talking about things. So I ended up coming back late and missed it again!"

"Shanks, how could you let Mr. Rayleigh leave!"

"Yes, this is such a rare opportunity, we should hold a banquet to celebrate!"

"Mr. Rayleigh went out for a drink with Sister Shati. No one can stop them."

"It's with Sister Shati, then it's okay."

After Shanks dealt with his companions' complaints, he took the opportunity to announce to everyone, "Don't worry, my friends. Please look here. I have something important to announce."

Everyone's puzzled eyes fell on the octopus in the bucket.

Merry poked her pink head out of the water and nervously raised her tentacles, ready to greet everyone.

"What is this?" Beckman raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "Octopus? Is this a snack for tonight's drinks?"

"Don't joke, Beckman." Shanks continued with a smile, "We're going to have a new member on board. It's Melissan, and she'll be adventuring with us in the days ahead."

Jesus scratched his head, looking confused: "Can an octopus be a partner?"

Laqi Lu smiled brightly: "Are you sure it's not spare food?"

Beckman stood coolly at the outermost edge: "The reserve rations are a little too small, not enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."

"Of course! I definitely won't hold you back." Seeing everyone's talk getting more and more outrageous, Merry quickly made a promise and repeated his own strengths, "When there's no food, I can go catch fish for you..."

"It's also a talking octopus!" Although Gob has a ferocious face, he is actually a very soft-hearted person.

He was completely defenseless against the soft pink octopus. His tall figure squatted down and gently greeted Meli: "Hello, Meli."

Merry was startled when he saw Gob's huge body suddenly approaching, but he quickly calmed down and raised his tentacles to greet him: "Hello."

"Welcome aboard, Merry."

"Melisan, welcome."

Friends gathered around and welcomed Meli one after another. Many people even couldn't help but reach out to touch the octopus's head.

At first, Merry was a little shy, but she was soon infected by the enthusiasm of the crowd and greeted everyone by waving her tentacles in a friendly manner.

While Shanks wasn't paying attention, Uta broke free from his arms and rushed over to the bucket.

She stretched out her little hand and gently touched Meili's tentacles, her eyes full of love: "Octopus, you are so cute! Sleep with me tonight?"

Meili rejected her regretfully: "Thank you, Uta. But I may not be able to sleep with you. I need to sleep in the water."

Uta tilted her head and said softly, "Then I can sleep in the water with you."

When the friends saw this scene, their hearts were almost melted by the cute Uta and Meli.

"Uta, Meli is an octopus and needs to sleep in water, but you are not a fish and you can't stay in water."

"Huh? Why? Why am I not a fish? I want to soak in the water too!"

"Hahahaha~~~" Everyone burst into laughter instantly.

"With these two little guys, the boat will definitely be more lively in the future."

"These two are such a funny couple."

——

Merry and Rayleigh cause a commotion at the naval base, but quickly slip away.

The navy did not find the intruder, and in order to ensure the smooth convening of the World Government Conference, they immediately strengthened their vigilance in the Sabaody Archipelago.

Whether on the island or in the surrounding waters, the number of patrolling naval ships and soldiers continues to increase, and the atmosphere on the island becomes increasingly tense.

Beckman stood by the window, scanning the navy on the street outside, his expression becoming serious: "Shanks, something's not right out there. There are a lot more navy than before."

Shanks studied it carefully for a long time, but couldn't see any difference at all. "Really? There were a lot of navy people on the island before."

Beckman: "The situation is different now. Let's get out of here."

Bildinger Snake raised the record pointer in his hand: "Let's go, the route to the next island has been recorded, we can leave at any time."

Beckman nodded. "The sooner we leave, the better, before the navy discovers us."

"Okay, let's go. We're not afraid of dealing with the navy, but if it's not necessary, we should not waste time."

"Then let's go and continue our adventure."

The members of the Red Hair Pirates quickly reached a consensus and immediately began to pack their luggage.

Shanks originally wanted to carry Merry away with a bucket, but Merry refused.

It climbed into Uta's arms and activated the mimicry mode. The whole octopus instantly became transparent and disappeared in front of everyone.

Uta stroked the transparent octopus in her arms in amazement, her face full of amazement: "Wow! Meli is amazing!"

Seeing this, everyone started to praise him.

"That's impressive, Melissan."

"Mellisan, you're quite good at this!"

"Merry's move is really good!"

Meli was a little shy after being praised. He shook his head repeatedly, but then he remembered that no one could see him. He said shyly, "Compared to you all, I'm still far behind."

"Hahaha, no need to be so modest."

"After all, what Merry can do, none of us can do."

"If you're awesome, then you're awesome. There's no need to be modest."

Everyone chatted and laughed as they carried their luggage and left the hotel street. The atmosphere was as relaxed as if they were going shopping.

Not long after they left, they had the misfortune of running head-on into a patrolling group of naval soldiers.

"It's Redhead!"

The navy recognized Shanks at once, and the soldiers immediately raised their weapons and pointed them at Shanks and his men.

"Don't let them run away, call for reinforcements!" a soldier shouted.

Another soldier quickly pulled out a Den Den Mushi. "Calling! The Red Hair Pirates have been spotted on Island Inn Street No. 22. Please send reinforcements immediately."

Shanks smiled helplessly: "Hey~ Looks like we can't go out to sea peacefully. Guys, let's stretch our bodies before going out to sea."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shanks hugged Uta tightly with his right hand, held the Griffin sword in his left hand, and rushed towards the navy soldiers first.

Beckman, Gulishati and others also drew their weapons and rushed forward.

The naval soldiers treated the situation as a formidable enemy, raised their guns and fired, bullets flew back and forth like raindrops, and a fierce battle ensued between the two sides.

Uta had no idea what they were doing, but instead burst into laughter as Shanks charged forward: "Fly high, that's fun! Shanks, faster!"

Shanks grinned, "As you command! My lady!"

He then sped up, holding Uta and moving flexibly among the crowd, easily repelling the navy in front of him.

Relying on their powerful strength, the members of the Red Hair Pirates quickly broke out of the encirclement of the navy soldiers and retreated to the coast where the pirate ship was.

Although the navy soldiers tried very hard to stop them, they could only watch them go away.

"Red Hair Pirates, you can't escape!"

Shanks turned around and grinned, "We're not running away. We're just tired of playing here, so we'd like to continue our adventure somewhere else."

“Hahaha~~”

Everyone burst into confident laughter.

The heroic laughter faded away, and everyone quickly boarded the Red Force, leaving the port and heading towards the distant sea amid the pursuit and encirclement of the navy.

Shanks stood on the deck, waved to the navy in the port, and shouted, "I'll come over to play next time. Goodbye everyone!"

The sound was like saying goodbye to an old friend, full of provocation.

“Red hair!!!”

A furious shout came from the port.

Shells flew in one after another, but the Redfors dodged them all.

The warships sent to reinforce the pursuit could only watch the shadow of the Redvers getting smaller and smaller, but they could do nothing.

——

The Redvers sailed slowly on the calm sea.

There is not a single cloud in the blue sky, and the bright sunshine makes people feel a little lazy.

Shanks and the others returned to the cabin to rest, leaving only two people on guard on the lookout tower.

Jesus stood on the observation deck, couldn't help yawning, and stretched lazily.

"Oh, this sunshine is so comfortable!"

He muttered and opened his eyes again. A small black dot appeared on the sea in front of him.

Jesus looked at it carefully for a moment, but still wasn't sure. He asked Snake beside him in confusion: "Snake, what do you see in front? Is it a boat?"

Snake turned his head, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance, a trace of confusion on his face: "What a small boat! Why would someone use such a small boat to go out to sea?"

"Is it really a boat? How dare this guy?" Jesus looked at the dark figure in the distance again and said uncertainly, "There seems to be a cross on it."

"Cross?" Snake's face turned excited, and he clapped his hands excitedly, "That's a coffin boat!"

Jesus' eyes widened in shock. "Huh? A coffin boat? You mean that swordsman? I heard he's been riding a small boat on the Grand Line, challenging swordsmen everywhere."

"That should be right. The guy in front is probably Mihawk! I'll go inform everyone right away!"