Chapter 212: The Grand Line is in trouble! Oh, so it's with me...
"*The current dungeon is [Freedom↑↑↑] Open World. If you meet the [Perception], [Reputation], and [Endurance] stats, you can enter the subsequent personal level—
Wano Country: Stamina ↑↑↑ [Perception ↑↑] [Reputation ↑]
[Marinford]: [Reputation↑↑][Stamina↑↑][Perception↑↑]
[Totland]: [Reputation↑↑↑][Perception↑↑][Stamina↑]
…”
…
In a tavern on a remote island, a large bird wearing a navy cap was standing arrogantly on the bar, confronting people.
The tavern owner, standing at the bar, took the newspaper, paid the strange bird for its delivery, and gave a bright smile to the customers, who seemed completely unfamiliar with the situation, and explained, "It's the Newsbird!"
The other people drinking and chatting in the pub also acted as if they were used to it and didn't think it was worth making a fuss about. The noisy noise could almost blow the roof off the house.
"The Newsbird delivers newspapers everywhere. You can find big news from the sea on it!"
The tavern owner feigned disdain as he dismissed the customer who tried to take the newspaper from him. He then announced loudly, laughing, "Get out of the way. Let this little girl read it first."
In the eyes of the players, the stack of newspapers was bathed in a layer of sacred golden light.
Big news…big news?
Players pointed at the headline on the front page: "Four Emperors Kaido is drunk late at night, why does his immortal body want to die?" and couldn't help but express their doubts.
The tavern owner laughed and waved his hand indifferently: "After all, big events don't happen all the time."
That’s true…
The player accepted this statement and pointed at the words "Four Emperors" above: "What does this Four Emperors... mean?"
Before the tavern owner could reply, the player saw a newspaper article about the navy. The Newsbird in front of him wore the same hat as the navy. "And the navy in the newspaper? I'm curious too!"
The introduction to the forces before entering the game is limited to a rough division into several camps. As for more detailed information... there is none.
"Well..." The tavern owner scratched his head, feeling a bit distressed. "You're asked this out of the blue. I don't know where to start answering."
"But now I really want to ask you something."
Holding the juice brought by the other party, the player tilted his head and said "Hmm?"
"...Where on earth did you come from?" the tavern owner muttered to himself as he wiped his glass, his eyes glancing to the side. "Even the Four Emperors and the Navy don't know about this."
"Tokyo."
Hearing the player mention an unfamiliar place name, the tavern owner simply shook his head: "Never heard of it."
Player: Now Tokyo has become a countryside.
Ha ha!
"Kaido, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Red Hair... these four pirates, with bounties worth billions of berries, are the renowned emperors of the sea, also known as the Four Emperors..." As the tavern owner spoke slowly, the various forces on the sea emerged before the players' eyes like a picture scroll. "Any large-scale wars sparked by the anger of the Four Emperors have resulted in countless casualties. Even the Navy's attitude towards the Four Emperors has been to ignore and appease them."
"Wow..." The player sighed without any meaning.
The tavern owner was obviously very pleased with the players' support, but he couldn't help but be surprised that there were people who knew nothing about the situation at sea.
"Wait, what was your name?"
The player looked at him in confusion, but still answered, "Fushimi, Fushimi Kyoki."
"Ah...that makes sense."
The tavern owner suddenly understood: "That sounds like a name that Wano Country would come up with."
"Huh..." The player didn't understand the connection between the two.
"Well, Wano Country has been isolated for years, forbidden from contact with the outside world. That's probably what the boss meant." The black figure sitting to the player's right moved and stretched, his pure black cloak spreading out with his movements. He turned his head and smiled brightly at the player, "I overheard you guys chatting. Would you mind adding me?"
Has the other party been here since just now?
The player actually ignored such a big person.
"Maybe I'm too inconspicuous?"
——The player couldn't help but wonder if her expression was too easy to understand. The other party seemed to be able to guess what she was thinking and answered while touching her chin.
The player directly judged the other person based on his ability to join in other people's conversations so naturally: "You are definitely not ordinary."
I feel like the type that can get along well anywhere.
"Wow!" The man's eyes, which were unusually bright despite his age, suddenly widened. He approached without a sense of distance, and the player could see the genuine surprise in his eyes. He also let out a similarly excited cry, "What a high evaluation!"
The tavern owner seemed to know the man and was used to his reaction. He smiled and said, "People like you must have heard a lot of similar compliments."
"That's true... but there's something different." He looked delighted, his eyes always smiling endearingly. "Praise from children is always more genuine!"
He was joking about the juice in front of the players.
"At least...it's good for your health."
The player raised the juice. The other party was stunned for a moment, then raised the wine and clinked glasses with her in a heroic manner.
The presence of one more person in the conversation did not affect anything. Rather, the other party's experience made the conversation quite interesting. He seemed to know something about all the forces on the sea and could explain the relationship between them in just a few words.
Even the sea that serves as the background is portrayed as full of danger and excitement.
Players take this as a background introduction into the game.
"So……"
Story time is over.
"Now that you have a basic understanding of the forces on the sea, what do you think of the navy... and pirates?" He propped his face up with one hand, anticipating the player's answer. "Which side do you want to join?"
In Fushimi Kyoji's opinion, this is an option to ask the player about their faction preference.
Listening to the other party's description of the sea, the player suddenly didn't want to decide which camp to join in the future so early.
At some point, the noise of people chatting around died down. The player was unaware of it and stared down at the cup in front of her. Her cheerful smile was reflected in the juice.
"Marine or pirates... I have to experience it myself before I can judge what kind of people they are."
The player raised his glass and took a sip of juice. After putting the glass down, the atmosphere in the tavern had returned to its original lively state.
The tavern owner nodded. "This concerns the future, so it's indeed something we should consider carefully... We can also not be bound by these two paths."
"Look at that wall over there," the enthusiastic boss pointed the player in the direction. "That's a bounty issued by the navy. If you can do it, Pirate Hunter is also a good choice."
"Defeat the bounty-laden pirates and send them to the Navy branch, and you can get the Navy's bounty." There is no need to risk being hunted by the Navy.
The player looked in the direction of his hand and saw that the entire wall was covered with bounty notices in descending order of bounty, with fewer and fewer people posted as they went higher up.
The topmost bounty order had broken corners, creating a symbolic difference from the other bounty orders that were constantly being taken down and replaced.
Emperor of the Sea...
The player's eyes swept over them one by one, pausing on the bounty order for the youngest of the Four Emperors.
Red-Haired Shanks - Bounty: 448.9 million berries.
Black cape, short red hair, and a scar on his left eye.
"Hmm? What's wrong with that expression?" The amiable pirate blinked, noticing the player's sudden serious expression, and approached without hesitation, asking curiously.
The player turned his head slowly, and a smiling face identical to the one on the bounty poster appeared before him.
"Red-haired Shanks?"
The other party's attitude was natural: "Haha, what's wrong?"
"nothing."
The player's face was serious, and he folded his fingers together. "I just suddenly thought of a shortcut to start from scratch."
“…”
The atmosphere around them was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. All that could be heard was the "chuckles" of Shanks trying to hold back his laughter. It was obvious that he had tried very hard, but he still couldn't suppress his laughter. He soon gave up trying to hold it back, and his whole body exuded a happy aura, laughing heartily and slapping his thighs.
——Luckily, he was sitting on the right side of the player, and the other party had one hand, which avoided the possibility of laughing too happily and hitting the player's thigh.
"Whatever you're thinking now, get rid of it as soon as possible." Shanks didn't seem offended at all, and neither did the others who were drinking, even some crew members who supported the player. "That idea sounds feasible. Four billion berries!"
"After the boss gets the bounty, he can figure out a way out on his own!"
"That's right, we don't have much money on the ship."
The red-haired man who was being teased was lying on the bar, holding a wine glass in his right hand, his eyes sparkling under the light: "These are my crew members, what do you think? They are all very interesting people!"
"Yeah." The player responded softly.
My first impression of Shanks was correct, as he is loved and followed by so many companions.
Such people are born to be the antonym of "inconspicuous".
Shanks completely breaks the image of the emperor of the sea that players expected.
Player: "Hmm... I thought being called the Emperor of the Sea would sound more majestic, but I didn't expect him to be so... easygoing?"
"Relax, girl." The silver-haired man who had been silent before, standing against the wall in the corner, forced a smile and comforted her, "Don't be nervous, we are not good people."
Hmm, so it’s not…eh?
"In your opinion, what should the Four Emperors be like?" The Four Emperors who were evaluated in this way did not show any of the domineering attitude that a 'king' should have, and asked with great interest.
"For example... looking down on everyone, calling people derogatory names like ants and scum, and asking others to kneel down and so on..." The player said, and couldn't help but hesitate.
The "king" that the previous player met was like this in the description.
The Red Hair Pirates looked at each other in silence, and then all burst into laughter. Even the seemingly indifferent silver-haired man not far away chuckled.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"I can't imagine Shanks putting on airs at all!"
"From your description, that's something a Celestial Dragon would do."
The lively atmosphere in the pub was further heightened with this topic, and one couldn't help but want to rub his ears that were numbed by the laughter.
"What an interesting answer! Is this what you consider the Four Emperors?"
"Really? Instead of..." The player nodded and looked at Shanks, who was unkempt and looked like a middle-aged drunk, "crammed into a tavern with his friends?"
"Well...it can't be helped," Shanks scratched his hair and deliberately made a distressed expression, "Who made me meet such a willful queen?"
"She's also queen-level in her willfulness. She didn't want to be caught attending a tea party, so she took refuge in a tavern on a remote island."
As he said this, his expression was relaxed, with no sign of nervousness.
At this time, one could vaguely feel the aura of the Four Emperors from the calmness revealed unconsciously.
“…”
The curve on Shanks' face narrowed slightly, and he suddenly moved aside and looked towards the door of the tavern.
The other members of the Red Hair Pirates also responded in unison, waiting for the upcoming 'guest'.
Maybe he has bad intentions.
Players speculated based on the attitude of the Red Hair Pirates.
“…” The door curtain of the tavern was lifted, and the first thing that came into view was a yellow stripe on the corner of the cuff.
The visitor was wearing brown sunglasses, and his exaggerated height caused him to bend down slightly when entering the room.
The coat on his shoulders and the unique striped suit make his excellent figure look even taller.
Half a step behind him was a man with a Mohawk hairstyle, dressed similarly and wearing a coat, and marines with guns were vaguely visible behind him.
"It's Admiral Kizaru!" Someone recognized the man's identity.
profound……
The tension that the players felt under the atmosphere completely disappeared.
——Perhaps the "ill-intentioned" rule only applies to the Red Hair Pirates.
Shanks tilted his head and raised his glass to Borsalino from a distance: "I suppose the navy isn't here just to drink?"
The Red Hair Pirates, who previously had a pleasant conversation with the player, a stranger, are now very cold towards the navy that landed on the island, and the atmosphere is tense and ready to explode.
"Yeah... It seems that the navy is not on the welcome list of the Red Hair Pirates. They just found an island to replenish supplies, but they didn't expect to see the Four Emperors' ship." The other party's frivolous habit not only failed to ease the atmosphere, but instead tended to freeze it.
"It's a good thing it was me who came, not my hawkish colleagues." Borsalino thought to himself.
Probably the only person present who was not affected was the player.
Borsalino seemed to be aware of something and made a curious "Huh?" sound. He noticed the player next to Shanks.
"Hmm..." He bent down with his hands in his pockets, wearing sunglasses and approaching the player with an unfathomable smile on his face. "A new face. Is this a new recruit of the Red Hair Pirates?"
He was asking the player, but his attention was on Shanks: "Looks like she's just a civilian lady who strayed in."
"Don't be so nervous." The three-meter-tall admiral pretended to be harmless and used words to soothe the pirates present. He spoke to Shanks in a relaxed tone, "For the safety of civilians, I will not turn this place into a battlefield and start a war with you."
Borsalino placed his hand on the player's shoulder, not applying any force, but with a reassuring touch.
At an angle that the player couldn't see, a flash of light flashed across the brown lenses.
"...Pirates."
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