Chapter 213: A surprise general on the occasion of the Grand Line!

"Going out to sea?"

The tavern owner paused as he wiped his glass. He didn't show any surprise at the player's decision, but nodded after some thought. "Merchant ships pass by every month, it just takes a while."

"If you want to leave the island, merchant ships are not the only way." The boss nodded at the pirate ships and warships parked on the beach outside the window.

"Once they have stocked up on enough food and drinks to make it to the next island, they will leave this island in a few days."

Following his gesture, the player discovered Beckman who was alone.

The other person was biting a lit cigarette, frowning habitually, with his eyes rolled back, giving people the impression that he was not someone to be trifled with. He was counting supplies with a booklet in his hand, and from time to time he would confirm a few words with other Red Hair Pirates members who passed by.

Most crew members call him "Deputy Captain", while those who are more familiar with him call him by his name.

The player observes him quietly.

...It seems that people here are overly sensitive to other people's gazes.

After Beckman noticed the gaze secretly observing him, he paused for a moment, exhaled subtly, and as if making some kind of decision, put down the work he was doing and took the initiative to walk towards the player.

"Looking for Shanks?" He lowered his eyes and asked without any emotion.

"Hmm..." the player let out a long, uncertain sound, then nodded hesitantly under Beckman's indifferent gaze. "I haven't seen Shanks yet."

"Yeah." Beckman nodded lightly.

"He drank quite a bit of wine yesterday, and he's probably fast asleep somewhere right now." He spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"Eh..." The player couldn't help but confirm whether she had heard correctly, "Is it okay? Just leaving Shanks alone..."

"Don't worry about him." Beckman's cigarette swayed as he spoke, his voice slurring. "A Four Emperor who drinks himself into trouble should just find a basin and drown himself in front of the Marine Headquarters."

He seems to be the complete opposite of Shanks...but it's not hard to hear that there's mostly teasing in his tone.

Seeing the player staring at him inexplicably, Beckman frowned silently. "If we were to look for the others on the ship, they should be moving things by the sea right now."

Seeing that the player was still staring at him blankly without saying anything, Beckman had to speak more directly. He tilted his head to exhale a puff of smoke and bent slightly towards the player. The difference in body size allowed him to completely block the other person.

"Girl, maybe you could go find someone else to talk to. I think there are a lot of people who would be happy to spend a pleasant morning with a lovely lady instead of wasting their time with me."

"In fact, I don't have much time to spare as I'm responsible for purchasing supplies for the entire ship." Beckman shrugged nonchalantly, but there was not much distress on his face. On the contrary, he was very calm.

All the brain-intensive and time-consuming tasks on the Red Hair Pirates' ship were placed on him, and he really didn't want to spend time dealing with the little girl.

Even if the player doesn't look like most of the kids he knows, who have a curious and energetic nature that can be a headache.

Beckman, his eyes drooping, biting his cigarette, took a few steps and turned back: "By the way, you want to see Shanks, what's going on?"

"Hmm?" Unexpectedly, Beckman would suddenly turn back. The player belatedly stated his intention. "I wanted to ask Shanks if you could take me with you when you leave."

After listening to the player, he suddenly chuckled with an indistinguishable emotion: "Maybe I heard it right. Someone wants to give her a ride with the pirates, not the navy?"

Well, actually, if Shanks refuses, the player is about to go to the navy and make the same request.

"I really don't know what kind of innocent beings you think pirates are..." Beckman said with a headache.

"Hey, Beckman! Fushimi! You're all here!" Shanks, with his conspicuous red hair, looked energetic. He waved to him and the players with incomparable innocence and walked towards them.

"I'm sorry, hahaha. I met some kids nearby who were looking forward to life on the sea, so I chatted with them for a while. I didn't mean to hide away from work." Shanks touched his hair at the back of his head and smiled heartily at his first mate.

Beckman remained silent. Shanks shifted his gaze to the players. "I just saw you two standing together from a distance. What interesting things were you discussing?"

The player immediately changed his target and made a clear request: "I want to go out to sea. Can I take your ship?"

Shanks' eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sudden enthusiasm. He smiled and touched his chin: "Well, going out to sea..."

A pure smile, the kind rarely seen at his age, spread across that mature face. His eyes lit up, as if he'd heard something interesting. "You've made this decision... Believe me, it's one you won't regret for the rest of your life!"

Beckman bit his cigarette and coughed lightly.

Shanks, oblivious, continued to chatter away, describing to the player his amusing experiences at sea: "The sea... When the weather is fine, the calm surface is like a sea of ​​sapphire. But when a storm hits, the water surges higher than the ship in a blink of an eye, ready to capsize and swallow us up at any moment."

Beckman kicked his captain's trouser leg with the tip of his shoe, signaling him to stop.

Shanks' eyes flickered with tiny glints, and a gentle and peaceful aura filled his body. "When you have experienced her calmness and her ruthlessness, and gaze at the sea again, you will involuntarily sigh for her, for her tolerance, for her generosity."

"If I lived my entire life on an island..." He dragged out his words in a thoughtful tone, finally unable to resist a bright smile, "I wouldn't be able to witness such beauty."

"So, wow!" Shanks was halfway through his sentence when Beckman's arm bumped him, causing him to stumble. Being interrupted, the Yonko, who was considered to be very approachable, looked at him strangely, "What's wrong? Why did you bump into me?"

Beckman's face was expressionless: "It was an accident."

"oh!"

Nodding heavily without the slightest doubt, Shanks turned sideways towards the player again, ready to continue the previous topic, when he caught a glimpse of bright yellow from the corner of his eye.

A tall figure that was hard to ignore was walking towards them slowly and leisurely. Borsalino put one hand in his pocket, strolling leisurely with a relaxed posture, and was about to bump into them.

"...Don't be afraid." Shanks silently moved closer to the player and whispered soothingly.

"Perhaps I need to remind you that we are the ones who are more likely to meet the criteria of 'harmful intentions'?" Beckman crossed his arms and used a flat voice to sober up his captain.

"..." The player clearly saw the entire process of Shanks's expression changing from confusion to sudden realization.

"Let's go." Beckman put one hand on Shanks' shoulder and gestured to him, "If we stay here, there will be a conflict."

Before leaving, Shanks smiled brightly at the player and raised his right arm. "We'll stay on this island for a few days to replenish the ship's supplies. You're always welcome to come and play with us."

Beckman: ...You're making things worse. Didn't you notice that the way those marines over there look at us is a little strange?

The sight hidden behind the brown sunglasses followed the backs of the two people until they disappeared from the field of vision. Borsalino put one hand in his pocket, with an elusive smile on the corner of his mouth.

The smile on his lips was not only fake, but also superficial. The arc of the smile that appeared when his muscles were stretched perfectly matched the traces of wrinkles on his face.

After staring for a long time, the figure in the striped suit suddenly moved. He stood up and looked down at the player condescendingly - the only inequality was caused by the height difference, and other than that, the other party did not make any other moves.

Isn't there an irreconcilable opposition between the navy and the pirates like water and fire?

Players couldn't help but speculate like this.

As an admiral of the navy, Borsalino seemed unmoved by the fact that someone was so close to the Four Emperors.

And... can it be considered friendly?

"Yeah...fire and water can't coexist? That's right."

In response to the player's proactive conversation, Kizaru pondered for a moment, then put on an uncomfortable smile like a mask on his face, confirming the player's views on the navy and pirates.

"That doesn't mean the navy will arrest and interrogate all civilians who have any connection with pirates, especially the Four Emperors."

Borsalino stood against the light, his tall and straight figure given a soft outline, and the words he spoke were completely different from the strange and sarcastic tone.

"Facing the Emperor of the Sea, even if you don't want to, can you refuse the Four Emperors' questions?"

The hem of Borsalino's coat, which was firmly fixed on his shoulders, was lifted by the wind, swaying with a whistling sound behind him. Kizaru himself stood there like an unshakable sculpture, with the angle of the light against him, making it difficult to see the specific expression on his face.

From the other party's ambiguous attitude, the player vaguely perceived the vague signal that Borsalino was giving her:

——He will turn a blind eye to the players’ close interactions with the Red Hair Pirates.