Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Seven days before the planned Battle, Red Force, New World, seas unknown.

It was a crisp and peaceful dawn. Well, calm as much as a large group of several dozen valiant, brave, and loud men allowed, roused from sleep to prepare the ship they inhabited together for another exciting day full of adventures, surprises, and dangers, which were abundant in the seas as those. Somewhere inside this huge ship, there was the sound of opening a heavy wooden door that belonged to the largest cabin in this place. After a while, the sound of sandals hitting the wood of the deck floor was heard in the distance, effectively cutting through the conversations and jokes flying through the air, making each of the men, especially the youngest and newly recruited, turn their heads respectfully, waiting for the Captain’s arrival.

It wasn't a moment before the tall and powerful figure of the Emperor appeared aboard the ship, lazy footsteps echoing around, his red hair and long black cloak moving behind him, colliding with the morning sea breeze. The men present on the deck took turns breaking away from work to greet the Captain, and at the same time the owner of this ship, and not only, because everyone had already understood that their further fate would depend on the will of this man.

The Red-Haired Shanks was far from an ordinary, average man. One of the four Emperors of the Seas, the most powerful and fearsome people in the New World, as merciless as they are greedy, ready to shed their blood for every piece of land and the smallest island they might possess. The Master of Haki, a student of Gol' D. Roger himself, a convincing commander and a capable swordsman, despite the loss of his dominant left arm. The mere sound of his name was enough to send a shudder down the spine of an average man, and women sighed and blushed, wishing in their souls to be entangled in a tragic romance that lasted one night and to become one of the lovers of the handsome Emperor with red hair. But what made Shanks stand out so blatantly from the rest of the dictators who enjoyed the same title as him? Well, anyone who has ever exchanged a word with this man in his life immediately noticed that his heart burned with fire as hot and intense as the red on his hair. His hand and skin were warm, his eyes were gentle, and the smile on his face never seemed to disappear and attract everyone, making it impossible for you to refuse him if this man asked you for a favor.

But this morning, as well as the morning before, the Red-Haired Emperor did not exude the intense warmth he was wont to do, and his face took on a more gloomy expression. In a few moments, the Red-Hair Pirates’ Captain would be joking and laughing out loud again, being the playful and light-hearted man he was, but at this time, when the sun lazily began to rise from below the horizon to herald the imminent arrival of a new day, melancholic humor seemed to hang over Shanks, adding to the man's expression of seriousness and making it clear to everyone around him, to not mess with him at this moment.

And Shanks himself, well, had good enough reasons to feel bad. At least in his opinion, it was so.

The sound of his sandals bounced off the wooden floor, the morning sea breeze blew the red strands of his hair, and the first rays of the sun hit his eyes as soon as he stepped on the deck, making him wince slightly. His crew, his beloved and good boys, greeted him cheerfully from all sides, but the Captain ignored most of them, walking smoothly towards the wooden table, where his trusted first mate was already sitting, reading the morning newspaper while smoking a cigarette. Yasopp sat right next to him, complaining about something with a clearly disgruntled face, his other, most devoted ally.

- "Good morning, boss" - Beckman greeted him, taking a drag on his cigarette as he watched the Captain approaching them.

- "Morning" - Shanks replied lightly, deliberately not intending to lie by adding a "good" (none of his mornings had been good for a long time and he (hadn't) come to terms with it), who pushed one of the wooden chairs aside and threw himself on it with all his weight. – "Do any of you know what time it is?" – he asked casually.

- "It's about five o'clock" - replied the sniper sitting next to him, taking a sip of his coffee and then chuckling. - "I don't think I'll ever get used to you being here so early in the morning, boss".

- "Welcome to the club" – instead of being offended, the Emperor agreed with the other and snorted with laughter, then raised his hand to wipe his face, trying to chase away the last remnants of drowsiness. The irritating sensation on his skin made him realize that he hadn't shaved for a long time. He sighed heavily, then turned his head towards the sea, scratching his beard, watching the calm waves, undisturbed by anything, so gentle, so dangerous in their depths, but at the same time so interesting and beautiful, while the morning sun like a painter dyes the color of the water a shining gold...

There were many reasons why Shanks hadn't missed the sunrise in a long time. The sight before him was one of those reasons, not because the Emperor missed the sea so much, though he loved it, but rather because he longed for someone whom the calm waves of the sea reminded him of at this time of day.

The cool, comforting calm of the morning was now one of the very few things that had been able to keep the Red-Haired Captain's spirits up since the snails used to communicate had proved to be completely useless. The tragic inability to reach Mihawk made Shanks subconsciously look for traces of his greatest love in the smallest things, craving the feeling of his beloved's presence like a thirsty for water in the middle of a sun-warmed desert. The man was aware that he had asked the swordsman to stay at home, as the warlord's peace and well-being were the Emperor's priority and he put it above everything else, but damn, cut off his other arm if he ever says he isn't struggling about it now.

Where Shanks was a hot summer day and a successful, romantic evening, Mihawk was a quiet, passionate night and a calm morning, allowing you to breathe after a day full of fun and give hope for another sunny day. Such was the law of nature that one could not exist without the other, such was the course of things that one had to follow the other. Getting Mihawk out of Shanks' life was like hard and tedious work on the deck when the sun was at its zenith and the day never ended, or like being a heavily overworked machine whose overheated engine was on the verge of catching fire.

The golden glow of the morning sun reflecting on the waves of the sea far away, so similar and yet so far removed from the most beautiful gold enclosed in the irises of the love of his life, reminded Shanks of one of the most splendid evenings when they sat both on the deck of the ship, hidden from prying eyes and the noise of conversation, and the Emperor enjoyed the feeling of the evening sea breeze on his skin, the feeling of warmth from the whiskey he was sipping and the feeling of a warlord cuddled up to his side. The alcohol and body heat chased away the evening chill, and the smell of sea salt and Mihawk's perfume soothed all his worries and concerns.

After a long conversation, interspersed with jokes, tender banter, and a few sweet kisses, they cuddled, enjoying the silence and each other's company, needing nothing more from life to be fully happy. Shanks fiddled with the now almost empty glass, turning the rest of the whiskey over while his eyes were focused on the wide sea in front of him, where the setting sun cast a glow on the surface of the water and the light reflected off the waves, closing at the bottom of the glass in his hand. Both the glass and the liquid in it shimmered in the sun, as did the golden irises, so enigmatic in their brilliance, hiding in their depths all the gold of all the seas. Only the beauty of Mihawk could make Shanks' eyes drift away from the direction towards the New World. Because the New World would be nothing in Shanks' eyes, only a sunny day if Mihawk wasn't there, and Shanks will long for the beauty of the night.

Enchanted by the emotions that were slowly leaking from his loving heart, he raised the glass to his lips to finish the rest of the bitter liquor in one gulp, then put it somewhere nearby, his now free fingers quickly finding their proper place as he took the warlord's dainty hand in his. The Emperor then leaned in to place a tender kiss on the beauty mark just below the swordsman's left eye, one of the many favorite places of his lips on the body of the other, which made the golden eyes focus and look at him questioningly. Shanks would have drowned a long time ago if his love never stopped looking at him at all.

- "What brilliant have you come up with this time?" - asked the warlord sarcastically, though his fingers squeezed the Redhead's hand lightly, responding to the tender touch from the other, while his other hand rose to remove one of the stray strands of red hair from the pirate's handsome face, waiting patiently to see what so wise would leave the lips of his not-so-wise lover again.

- "Just thank you for being the moon to my sun" - the Emperor confessed sincerely, grinning broadly and foolishly, enjoying the show as he watched the other's eyes widen slightly at hearing this bold confession, then his face took on the image of true contemplation, as if the swordsman was really thinking about it.

- "What's wrong? Have I done a disgrace to the honor of the love of my life, because apparently the moon is not big enough for a star like you?" - the pirate asked, clearly amused.

Mihawk was silent for a few more seconds, then sighed softly, and his eyes met Shanks again. - "You know, when you leave with your crew, every time it gets dark, I think about every time you've compared me to the moon, and while I believe you're right, the thought doesn't fill me with genuine optimism. Because if you are the sun, I don't want to be the moon. The moon is too far away from you. I would rather envelop you with the bluest sky."

The swordsman would have been unimaginably ashamed of what he had just said, if it weren't for the utter shock on the Red-Haired Emperor's face, which made him look almost comical as if the rest of his wits had just left him. Shanks opened and closed his mouth as if trying to speak, waving his head to get rid of the growing blush, which had the opposite effect, at least as his face turned red like his hair until he finally moaned pitifully in submission. – "You... fuck, I'm going to forbid you to read all these old-fashioned romances for your own safety and my own restraint".

The warlord wanted to continue playing and remind the other that he started it and was to blame himself, but he bit his tongue when he noticed that his lover was practically on the verge of falling apart.

Mihawk sighed heavily, then rolled his eyes. - „…Besides, yes, the moon is much smaller than the sun, which is humiliating, by the way".

After that, the only thing the pirate remembered from that evening was that he burst out laughing, being sure that the whole ship had heard him, pretending not to see the tender look that the other person was giving him, so unaware of the fact that he was the whole world to Shanks and the only one he needed in his life.

Another gust of cool morning sea breeze on the face woke the Emperor from the cloud of sweet memories with his beloved, which, however, did not make his eyes stop staring at the calm water below. His wise little hawk, as usual, was never wrong. They are too far away from each other.

How much I would give to you to be here so that I could hold your hand again...

Now the Red-Hair Pirates’ Captain was sitting here above the great open sea, leaning against a wooden chair, his hand involuntarily clenched on the fabric of his pants as he despaired inwardly that he had dismissed and left Mihawk behind, and now he missed him.

He wouldn't want me to think that way...

There was no choice but to pull himself together. If not for himself, then for the warlord and their imminent return to each other. That was another reason why Shanks came here so early. Later, after his morning coffee and breakfast, he will have to be the captain of his crew, protect those who believe in him, think about the strategy of the coming war to save the suffering people waiting for his help, and take care of everything that is expected of him. But now, when the sun is just beginning to wake up the world, and the sea is calm, doesn't call everyone to fight? Now he could listen to himself, he could think about himself in peace, he could think about Mi and how he was doing when he was alone again, considering that Shanks was here and the children had long since left the gloomy castle. At this thought, the Emperor felt the bitterness he had been accumulating for a long time so that he could finally unload it on Teach when he got his hand(s) on him. But not wanting to dirty his mind with the second Emperor at this time of day that is reserved exclusively for him and his beloved hawk, he thought of their future together, for which Shanks had already made some plans, and had even taken a few steps towards it...

But his thoughts were interrupted by a hand belonging to Yasopp, who waved it in front of his face to get the captain's attention.

- "Wake up, boss!" – the sniper shouted, giggling with amusement. - "We called out to you, but you didn't hear us" - he explained after a moment, when he noticed a slight annoyance on the Emperor's face, who looked at him questioningly.

- "Lucky came with coffee" - Beckman explained, not taking his eyes off the newspaper in front of him.

- "Yes, and apparently I arrived in time" – chuckled the cook, who was standing next to the captain, and then placed a cup of black hot drink in front of him. - "Just a moment more and we would lose contact with him forever".

- "Ah, thank you. Sorry, Lucky" - the red-haired man apologized, raising the cup to his lips as he turned his head to look out to sea again. The absurd bitterness on his tongue made him barely manage to stop his gag reflex. This scenario repeated itself every morning.  - "What a bitter bitch, can't we start adding milk to it?".

- "It tastes even worse with milk" - Yasopp admitted, taking a sip from his cup. - "This shit robs your taste buds and twists your intestines inside out, but it's better to get any energy boost than none at all".

Really, they're on one of the most luxurious and largest pirate ships the Grand Line has ever seen, and they don't even have a good coffee? Is it really so difficult to buy coffee that doesn't taste like soil and silt mixed with concrete? And why the hell do they buy the same coffee every time anyway when they know that the taste barely gets down their throats? Now, Shanks isn't even surprised when he remembers why Mihawk once stole a sip of coffee from his mug and then didn't speak to him for half a day. Anyone would be traumatized by such an experience.

- "Speaking of intestines, what could I serve you today? Maybe there's something you fancy, boss?" asked Lucky amicably as he joined them at the table, sitting down in one of the empty chairs. There was still plenty of time before everyone gathered for breakfast, so the cook could enjoy the conversation with his buddies with peace of mind.

I fancy Hawkeyes but Shanks couldn't say that. Well, he didn't have to, because his reliable mates did it for him.

- "Oh, we all know what he fancies by now" - Yasopp snorted, hiding his treacherous smile behind his coffee mug. On hearing this, Beckman laughed, tearing his eyes away from the newspaper to look at the Emperor with undisguised amusement.

Shanks couldn't deny it. He was an adventurous man, his place was at sea, and most of his thoughts were occupied with the imminent fight with Teach and finally finding One Piece. But it was obvious to everyone around him who knew him better how much this man missed the warlord. It's like cutting one soul in half and hoping that both parts will exist without constant struggle to become whole again. Even if your mind tells you to push forward toward a great goal, your heart will always lead you on the right path to your other half. What Shanks and Mihawk had in common was not trivial, it was never accidental, and there was no way to ignore it. It was a love so obvious, so clear and deep, that all the cold and coolness of this world would not be able to extinguish this burning feeling, depriving the world of color would not harm the bloody red indestructible thread of fate that binds their hearts together and weaves their life paths into an inseparable braid. It was evident, then, that the Emperor longed for the presence of his love, and that it was not only because of their mutually painful spiritual bond that he was now suffering. It was obvious that he lacked physical contact. He also missed sex. This trip took a damn long time. The old bounty poster with a photo of the face of the love of his life and his not-so-delicate hand brought him temporary release from the growing physical need, but on his tongue, in his soul, and in his body, he still felt hunger and insufficiency. After all, nothing could replace the feeling of holding a warm body in your arm(s), the contact of tanned, rough skin with skin pale as milk and smooth as velvet, two hearts beating together in a common rhythm, quiet confessions and whispers, louder sighs and screams of pleasure, the feeling of being buried deep in a tight, warm and soft interior, and nails drawing a picture of love on your back... Every time they made love was something special, a pleasure that could not be replaced in any other way. The mere thought of Mihawk's skin made Shanks swallow loudly. The very thought of holding his hand again made the Emperor's hand itch and sweat.

So it was obvious that Shanks couldn't deny it. Because it was fucking obvious. He may have been one of the most powerful men in the world, but at the end of the day, he was also just a man in love. But the captain knew his mates very well, even better than himself, and he wasn't surprised by their nosy jokes, they wouldn't be themselves if they didn't take advantage of his current situation to make fun of him and tease him.

But even if he understood it, it didn't mean that he was going to forget it and let them go. He will let them laugh while they still can. As soon as Mihawk's beautiful shoe crosses the threshold of this ship in the near future, Shanks will make sure that his crew will not sleep a wink that night, and what is more, he will put on such a show that even ten years of therapy will not erase it. Seas, take care of the warlord's throat, though the vocal cords may not be the only thing that will break there.

Lucky Roux clumsily tried to pretend to be worried. – "Oh, I'm so sorry, boss, I meant breakfast, and for this dish you're thinking of, we're missing a pretty key ingredient, you know?".

- "You'll have to be less picky and leave Hawkeyes' ass for dessert until we end the war and get back to the castle" - Beckman stated, looking at the captain with amusement, who simply gave him a dry look.

- "First of all, you're all dicks, and second, you know very well that I'm going to eat whatever you serve, Lucky, so why are you asking me these stupid questions?" - sighed Shanks, leaning back and stretching completely in his chair, one hand thrown over the backrest. - "It would also be nice if you guys weren't so eager to talk about Hawkeyes' ass in my presence".

- "Right, because one more word and not only these damn chairs will be hard here" – admitted Yasopp, while Beckman almost spat a cigarette out of his mouth.

- "One more word and you'll be sipping this fucking coffee through a straw" – the Redhair retorted, although he couldn't stop chuckling. Fucking idiots, but they were his idiots, and the Emperor couldn't have dreamed of better mates, in the end, he would have given his life for them. But he also wouldn't allow Mihawk to be insulted, even though he knew that neither of the men meant anything bad. Plus, all the talk about food (and Mihawk) made him hungry and homesick even more. Seas, how much he would give to be able to taste again the homemade food prepared with love by those slender, pale hands that he wanted to hold and kiss until the end of his life? He still remembered as if it had been yesterday when Hawky had made his favorite dish for the first time, standing in his apron, frustrated with himself and unsure if Shanks would like what he had done for him. As if the Red-Haired Emperor could do anything other than completely adore everything that comes from the Warlord. In his entire life, he has never eaten anything better than this. That day remained and remains one of his most beautiful memories, as well as the promise he made then...

- "I'd like to eat kimchi fried rice..." – he said suddenly as he moved away from the backrest to put his elbow on the counter, resting his face on his hand with a frustrated sigh.

- "I'm very sorry, boss, but the supply of kimchi is already gone, and I've already used the cabbage for another dish, so I can't make fresh either..." – said the cook sadly, scratching his belly.

- "So what are you serving?" – the Redhair asked, changing the tone of his voice slightly because he did not want to disappoint his cook.

- "When I was going to your place with coffee, the boys stopped me and asked for a sweet breakfast, apparently they had enough of the constant eggs and bacon, so I thought about pancakes" - Lucky replied with a smile. Oh, everyone on the ship loved his pancakes. In this play, the cook of the Red-Hair Pirates was second to none.

- "Then add a few cherries to my portion, please" - the Emperor demanded, a sincere smile showed on his face as his gaze drifted back to the calm sea.

- "You got it, boss!" - the cook assured, happy that the captain looked a little more pleased now.

Shanks looked at the beautiful view before him for a moment, then moved to lean back against the backrest of his chair. - "Pass me the newspaper, Beck" - he asked with lightness in his voice.

Beckman muttered affirmatively, still with a cigarette in his mouth, then folded the newspaper and got up from his chair to hand it to the captain. When his hands were free, he pulled the fag out of his mouth with one of them so that he could speak and briefly describe what was in the newspaper, knowing that the Emperor did not like to worry about trivial matters. - "Aside from the constant confirmation that one of our islands has been attacked by Teach, most of the news focuses on increasing the number of Marine vessels on the other side of the Grand Line".

- "Are they fleeing the coming war with us?" – Yasopp asked mockingly.

- "No, apparently there's a rash of new pirate crews, more and more brats are pushing their way to the Grand Line, so they're sending their troops there to scare them away, their old trick" - Beckman explained, continuing. - "Practically every Emperor has increased the number of his men, and they have written about us" - he paused, taking a breath of smoke. - "But we are preparing for war, so they did not look any further. The rest of the articles are bullshit as always, thefts and sunken ships, the bounties practically stay in place" - he sighed heavily. - "A rich pirate was also murdered".

- "A Devil Fruit User?" - asked Lucky, while Shanks sat quietly and listened.

- "Yes, he was said to be able to turn his entire body into black steel, which made him almost untouchable. Funnily enough, when he was found, he was lying cut in half" - he continued, shaking off tobacco with his finger. - "It happened to everyone. There are no witnesses, this whole small island was drenched in blood".

Yasopp whistled. - "Fuck, who did this guy upset?".

- "Apparently only the Marines, because they were there immediately after the whole incident" – Beckman took a drag on his cigarette. – "Although I would never have expected such precise work from them. Especially since it all lasted ridiculously short".

- "Or maybe this guy was just pathetic" - the sniper snorted.

- "His bounty was not small, he also had a lot of people with whom he cooperated, so he could not have been such a scumbag" – denied the first mate, thus emphasizing that in fact what happened there must not have belonged to a rather modest package of marines’ achievements in recent years.

A short silence fell between the four men, and then it was finally decided to abandon the topic. Whoever it was, he or she better did not threaten them.

- "There was also the warlords’ meeting some time ago. They were all called in..." – Beckman began slowly, but quickly stared at the floor, blowing smoke out of his mouth. – "But there is no mention of him. We don't know anything".

Shanks stopped in the middle of a newspaper whose pages he had been mindlessly turning for something worthy of his attention, and the resigned assurance from his first mate made the captain's eyes linger on some random article as his face took on a blank expression, almost as if the paper itself had insulted him, and he began to wonder what was the point of arguing with a worthless piece of used printing paper anyway.

It wasn't that the Emperor was surprised by the lack of any news about the most secretive (and the most attractive, in his humble opinion) of the warlords. However the latter, mainly because of his great boredom, tended to be interested in the world and was more than willing to listen to gossip, still avoiding photographers and reporters at all costs. Deeply wounded, which was a consequence of his difficult and painful past, the swordsman refused to do anything that blatantly violated his privacy and disturbed his peace and quiet (the only exception was Shanks and his crew, and the man still wondered how he managed to do it, but he did not complain – he could not be happier than he is now), hence, the warlord rarely allowed "those stupid leeches" to catch him. What must have been damn difficult to do, the Emperor had to admit it, while being such a rare and elusive specimen of sophistication and ideal as Mihawk. If Shanks had been a cameraman, he would probably have let himself be sliced for one chance to capture this beautiful bird in flight.

This does not change the fact that the captain tasted bitter disappointment when he nodded and made a small sound, thanking his first mate for the information. Though it was rare and extremely difficult to get any information about the warlord, just a tiny mention of his little hawk, even capturing him in the background in a photograph, in the reflection of a mirror, or even seeing the hem of his hat with a long white feather at his side, one such thing would make Shanks jump for joy and grin like an idiot for the next month, so he would know that the other was fine, that nothing had happened and nothing had changed since the Emperor had left him, and it would be a physical reminder that he was out there somewhere, waiting for the Redhair to return.

Seas, once their separation lasted much longer than it does now, but Shanks had clearly matured enough to know that he couldn't live now without the presence of the love of his life by his side. Missing the heart on the left side hurts more than missing the left arm.

Remembering this made Shanks close the newspaper and toss it on the table in one motion, and his hand went to his trousers pocket so that his fingers could come into contact with the velvet box with a ring inside that he had carried with him everywhere since he bought it, which was admonishing him that he was a man with a purpose far greater than anything else and that Teach is the last wall he needs to break through to get there. – "Well, it's not a big deal. Soon I and Mi will take over all the front pages of newspapers anyway".

Before anyone decides to call Shanks a hypocrite, that his priority is to take care of Mihawk's peace and therefore he did not want to drag the other into a public, loud war, only to plan an even louder and media-grabbing wedding behind the swordsman's back, which is, after all, a total contradiction of the former, let him finish what he meant all this time. Shanks was more than capable of stopping Teach on his own, so revealing his connection to the warlord would be unnecessarily premature, since as soon as he was done with this whole war and saved his allies, he and Mihawk would be able to get married, and the marines and the whole world would be so shocked by this event that no one would even have time to react and to stop them. They'll find out when it's all over anyway, and he and the warlord can enjoy the wedding they dream of and deserve. This is supposed to be the most beautiful day of their lives, after all, without the participation of the World Government and other problems. After marriage, the whole world can chase after them, who cares? They will be married, it will be official, and then no Emperor or Admiral will be able to undo it. And then, with the swordsman at his side, the consequences of their choice didn't really matter in Shanks' eyes anymore. They will be fine. Together.

The captain's bold comment in the blink of an eye has made that the momentary silence between the men was replaced by incredulous and amused snorts.

- "This is said by a guy who got sick a month ago and asked us every five minutes if Hawkeyes will adore this ring, as if we knew him better than you do" - Beckman snorted as he remembered the pathetic look of the nervous captain, to which Shanks smacked his lips in exasperation. - "Not that I don't enjoy the development of your character immensely, boss. Good job".

- "If you ever asked me, I would never tell you that our indomitable boss would want to do something mundane like a proposal" - Yasopp laughed, patting the Emperor on the back.

- "Thank you, guys, as always, you are so nice to support me in everything I do" - Shanks said with obvious sarcasm in his voice.

However, this did not change the fact that the captain really owed them a lot, especially recently. On one occasion, when they stopped at a magnificent and beautiful island to rest and replenish their supplies while wandering among the shops and observing what the people of this unique country had to offer, Shanks' eye was caught by a small but beautiful ruby, magnificently polished, and the light coming from the street flickered and dazzled in him, reminding him of the flash of his own Haki, for which he is widely known.

His gang, consisting of Beckman, Yasopp, Hongo, and Limejuice (since Lucky Roux and the rest of the crew, including the young recruits they had taken in, had set out with the cook to find supplies, despite many complaints to remain at the captain's side) stopped right behind him, slightly surprised by the sudden reaction (or rather lack thereof) on the part of the Emperor.

- "Oh, that's quite an art" - whistled Beckman as he stood next to the captain to see what was so interesting behind the thick layer of glass. - "I've never seen such a neatly worked stone".

- "Did you say stone? I was sure there were bottles of good vodka in there when the boss stopped so suddenly, as if he was about to go through this glass to get inside" - Yasopp muttered in confusion as he stood on the other side of the captain, his eyes widening as he also noticed the ruby. - "Holy shit, it's really pretty".

- "What? When and why the hell did they start selling rocks at a liquor store?" - asked Limejuice, surprised, as he stared at the three men, who were staring at the window.

- "Since it's not a liquor store, you dumbass, and never has been" - said Hongo, who was reading the store's advertisement, located at the very entrance. – "This is a store with custom jewelry services. The blacksmiths here will forge everything for you, you choose the stones, steel, and other accessories, and they take care of the rest. The services are recommended to lovers in particular, who expect jewelry personalized especially for their chosen one and future life companion..." – here the doctor slowed down and stopped reading, then looked at the rest of the men with frowns.

Beckman stepped away from the captain to see if there were any suspicious witnesses around. Yasopp started humming under his breath, then did the same as the first mate, assessing with the sniper's eyes whether anyone was looking at them. At Beckman's signal, Hongo and Limejuice nodded to each other.

- "You absolutely should do it, boss" - the doctor began in a firm voice, trying to be as confident as he could.

- "Perhaps this is the best idea you've come up with so far" - Limejuice confirmed, imitating Hongo on the other side of the captain.

- "Is that so?" - asked Shanks, his eyes still fixed on the beautiful stone behind the glass in front of him.

- "Do you still love Hawkeyes?" – Beckman asked directly, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket to light it.

- "Absolutely I do".

- "Good. So don't think long and do your job" - Yasopp assured him, looking around the area. – "We will make sure that no one will disturb you. No one will notice that you were here and what you were doing here".

Shanks' eyebrows furrowed as if he hesitated. - "The stone is beautiful, but would he like to wear red?".

- "Half of his outfit is red, you idiot, don't ask stupid questions" - Beckman said in exasperation, but he coughed quickly as he tried to compose himself. - "I may not know Hawkeyes as well as you do, but I know that this birdie likes to spill blood, likes to drink wine, and likes you, and every one of those things is red, Boss, so I'm more than sure he'll like it".

- "It's normal for lovers to carry a part of each other with them" - Yasopp added, with a slight smile on his lips. - "Wouldn't you like Hawkeyes to wear your color, boss? The color of the outfit is something else, it can be misleading, but a ring? That would be an indisputable expression of your deep feelings for him to everyone around you".

- "Just imagine Hawkeyes with a ring on his finger with a red stone, and everyone knows" - Hongo said, hitting the nail on the head.

Shanks could feel the possessiveness inside him begin to rage, and the irrepressible desire to make everyone know who the hawk belonged to made him grit his teeth, his hand clenching tightly on Gryphon's hilt to control himself. He could have imagined it, maybe even better than he should have. It was so good. It was perfect. Imagine Mihawk's slender pale fingers tightening on Yoru's hilt, and with that movement, the stone on his finger glitters with a sparkling red toward his opponent, making it clear to him who is constantly watching over the welfare of the greatest swordsman in the world, and who should be feared if the eternal grimace on the swordsman's face were to increase even a little.

Nevertheless, there was one last point, which the Emperor was a little afraid of. – „… If I propose and give him a ring, my intentions and what I want will be more than obvious, right? Won't he think that I want to keep him and, in a sense, take away his freedom? I don't want to be the next one to deprive him of that, right after the Marines".

Beckman pinched the bridge of his nose at hearing this nonsense. Sorry, but for someone who had witnessed these two dancing around each other for many years, it was just plain nonsense. - "I would like to remind you that just a few moments ago, your hawk nearly boarded with us to help get rid of Teach, agreeing to expose you two and what you have in common to the Marines, to Teach, and to the world, knowing full well what consequences he will have to face. If that wasn't enough for you to ask you to keep him, then I really don't know which of us here is more wrong" - the first mate said, taking a drag on his cigarette. - "Besides, with or without the ring, you wouldn't take away his freedom, you fool. You have an ego overgrowth over your brain if you think Hawkeyes would allow himself to be imprisoned against his will. If he wanted to, he would have left a long time ago. But he didn't, and you should be sure why by now".

The other three men muttered and nodded, agreeing with what their first mate had said.

After a while, a huge and wicked smile spread across the face of the Red-Haired Emperor, who quickly threw the hood over his head to hide the red of his hair and the three scars on his face, then said a quick "I'm counting on you, boys!" and entered the store.

Hongo sighed heavily as if he had just finished operating on a patient after a ten-hour surgery. - "You've got a big head, though, Beck".

- "The captain has a bigger one because it was just a moment before I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him there by force" - Beckman denied, blowing the smoke out of his mouth, to which the rest of the men responded with laughter.

All the formalities and the conversation with the seller in the store did not last long. The man did not question the anonymity of the buyer or the origin of the money that Shanks generously put on the counter. He watched with disgusting satisfaction as the trader's eyes widened at the sight of the amount of gold that someone was able to throw away, all the more so as the Emperor decided to pay in advance, along with a small (disgustingly large) allowance for the trouble and speed of the service. Even the rulers of these lands did not pay so much.

- "Just to make it clear between us" - Shanks said with sudden seriousness, staring into the eyes of the other man, who held his gaze on himself, apparently he was one of those who were not afraid of a challenge. Good. – "I pay you and count on quality, do you understand me? It's supposed to be the most perfect, unique, and beautiful thing that ever left your store".

A tall and wide man, with a physique similar to the Emperor himself, straightened up proudly, then reached out to shake Shanks's hand. – "You got it. I’ll be damned if you leave this place dissatisfied. I'll do your order myself, if you're in a hurry, you can stay here, I'm already getting down to it" - he assured him, then rolled up his sleeves, while he shouted to someone in the back room to bring him the keys to open the exhibition to get the ruby out of there.

He didn't know how it was possible, but up close, this stone was even more captivating. It shone brightly, the burning red shimmered in the light of the place, and the sparkle was so great that it could outshine the stars, and only Mihawk's golden eyes could shine brighter, but love as much and warmly as all of Shanks's love enclosed inside this tiny ring.

The ruby was encased in gold, and the jewelry itself seemed unimaginably delicate, but the blacksmith assured him that the gold would not break, even if his chosen one had to nail the coffin with his fists, which amused him tremendously when he imagined it.

Completely satisfied with the work, he chose a small velvet box, and after shaking hands with the merchant, thanking him for a well-done job, Shanks left the shop in front of which his mates were waiting, and after the disgustingly visible satisfaction on the Emperor's face, they quickly rose from their seats and quickly surrounded him to show them what he had achieved.

After taking the lovely box out of his trousers pocket and showing the boys the contents inside, the sight of their surprised faces was almost comical, especially Beckman's face, whose cigarette fell out of his mouth straight to the ground as he opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

- "Damn, boss, if you ever proposed to me with that, I'd marry you right away" - Limejuice muttered, to which the rest of the men around started to laugh.

Later, they agreed that only Shanks's most trusted people would know about the whole thing for the time being so that the rest of the crew would not get too nosy and think only about the upcoming war. When Lucky Roux saw for the first time the ring Shanks had bought for Mihawk, the poor cook nearly fainted.

- "Are you serious, boss?!".

- "I'm serious, indeed" -  the Emperor assured, smiling broadly.

During the journey across the seas, the Redhead and his crew managed to get to Sabaody for a while to see Rayleigh, say hello to the old man and perhaps learn something about Teach and take advice from a more experienced pirate. After exchanging information, completely unfazed by his lack of any restraints, Shanks shared his plans for his future with the warlord with the older swordsman, to which he almost had a heart attack, and his eyes lit up with emotion as he looked at the small box that the Emperor took out of his pocket and placed in front of him.

- "You... you've always been surprising and unbearable, you know?" - said Rayleigh, irritated, wiping a tear with his finger that threatened to run down his face. Hearing the old man's confession, Shanks burst out laughing, to which the old man only nodded. – "Damn, when did you mature so quickly, huh? Just a moment ago, you were nothing more than an annoying, snotty brat".

Seeing that the old man became speechless so suddenly, Shanks decided to ask. – „… and?”.

- "And you still are" - Rayleigh assured him, to which the other man visibly grimaced. - "But you are also a captain, an Emperor even, and soon you will be a husband, and with that will come another new chapter in your life. You have become a man, and I feel like I missed it...".

- "Oh, Ray, you old bastard, stop worrying so much in your old age, damn it, or you'll kick the bucket before I get down on my knee and propose to him" - said the younger one, placing a warm hand on the other's shoulder.

- "Don't call me an old bastard, you brat!" - Rayleigh scolded him, pushing his hand away, but there was no bitterness in the old man's voice, only pure joy. - "When all this Teach shit is over, I want you both to come here so I can congratulate you properly. I have many acquaintances, as you know very well, I will arrange your wedding without any problem, just say a word that you two are ready and you got it".

- "That's what I wanted to hear" - Shanks said, then rose from his seat to lean down and embrace the old man in a warm hug. - "Thank you for everything, Dad".

Ever since he bought the ring, Shanks had carried this little velvet box with him almost everywhere, keeping it safely in his trousers pocket. It was his secret, he didn't pull it out unnecessarily and brag about it, not wanting his boys to have another opportunity to joke about him. The small weight in his pocket became as familiar to him as the weight of Gryphon attached to his hip. With the knowledge of what was inside, every time Shanks put his hand in his pocket and his fingers brushed the velvet of the ring box, the Emperor imagined and thought about how much he wished he could feel the touch of Mihawk's skin under his fingers again, how much he longed to hold his hand in his. The knowledge of the gift he was carrying with him gave him a kind of comfort in moments when meetings devoted to war planning were prolonged, and anxiety among his comrades grew as he felt the enormous weight of responsibility on his shoulders and felt guilty for the suffering of all those people who were now struggling with the harsh dictatorship of Blackbeard and his lousy crew. Then the captain remembered that if the only person who was his equal in everything trusted him to be able to handle it, then it was so. If Mihawk himself decided that after all these years the pirate was still worthy of him, then who was Shanks to question it? Not trusting himself was tantamount to not believing in Mihawk, and this was blasphemous in Shanks' vocabulary. And so, even though his beloved little hawk was miles away, he still managed to make the Emperor feel better again.

- "At your service!" – Lucky chuckled loudly, knocking Shanks out of his thoughts. Seas, what they have been talking about so far... ah, his imminent proposal, that's true. The captain couldn't stop smiling at the thought of this event. - "By the way, we need to make sure we're well prepared for your plans, boss..." - the cook muttered loudly, probably already planning the menu in his head, when suddenly a young, well-built, twenty-year-old boy appeared right behind him, whom Shanks had recruited to his crew not so long ago. A loud brat who was everywhere, but the captain liked him for his diligence and sense of humor. For now, the brat remains in Lucky's care, helping him in the kitchen, although Shanks was accosted more than once by the kid, who often even craved his attention and asked him about various things as if he was extremely fascinated by him. Well, exactly like right now.

- "What plans?" – asked Cito, sticking his head out from behind the cook's broad body, not caring that he approached them so rudely, not even caring that he had just interrupted their conversation.

- "Oh, Cito! How many times have I told you to say hello first and show respect to the elders, especially in the presence of the captain!" – Lucky scolded him, grabbing the boy's ear to tousle him, causing him to hiss. – "Besides, why aren't you in the kitchen? That's where your workplace is, and you'll be able to talk to the captain later when you're done".

- "Come on, Lucky! The boy didn't do anything wrong" - Shanks reassured his friend, laughing as he watched them. It was funny to see this interaction, even Beckman laughed quietly under his breath. - "And to answer your question" - the captain continued, while the boy was already looking at him. – "We are planning to have breakfast, am I right?".

Cito looked at Shanks for a moment longer, as if he was waiting for the other to say something more until he finally realized that the captain obviously did not intend to return to the previous conversation, then he quietly cursed under his breath, then smiled and nodded politely. - "I've heard from the other guys that Mr. Lucky is going to show off today, I can't wait to learn something again!".

- "If you can't wait for it so much, then run to the kitchen, we have less than an hour before a whole squad of starving men come here" – the cook admonished, but before he could pull the boy with him, the boy quickly passed him and stood right in front of the captain. The kid had good reflexes, Shanks had to admit it.

- "Before I leave, Captain, could I ask you later to spend some time with me and train me to be a stronger swordsman?" - asked Cito, bowing slightly. – "I would like to be as useful as possible when we get there. This is the perfect opportunity for me, since you, captain, are one of the strongest people in this world".

- "Ah, you're a swordsman too, aren't you?" - asked Shanks, amused by the young man's attitude. He leaned back against his chair, resting his arm on Gryphon. - "And what exactly would you like to learn from me, huh?".

- "I've already improved my footwork, I can move back and forth faster, but I still have trouble getting my wrist attack to go as smoothly as you do Captain" - the boy confessed, as quickly as if he'd been suppressing this phrase for a long time.

Shanks frowned involuntarily. - "You fight with a sword, don't you?" - asked the Emperor, and the question was so obvious that everyone looked at him confused, including the boy. - "You must have been watching my movements so intensely that you didn't notice that I was using a saber. With a sword, a double-edged blade like yours, your footwork covers the entire area, and you attack with your whole body, that's the basics. As a swordsman, you probably understand where the essential differences between a saber and a sword lie, don't you?".

Everyone now looked at Cito, who was standing as if stunned into the ground, his face slowly turning green. – "I'm sorry, I know that, of course, I just... I'm self-taught, I've never had a teacher and...".

Seeing the utter despair on the boy's face, Shanks felt bad at his sudden comment, so he got up from his chair and walked over to the other, then reached out to pat him on the back tenderly to calm him down. - "I’m truly sorry Cito, I did not mean to make fun of you in any way. It's great that you learned to fight on your own, for that you deserve great respect, you know?" – said the Emperor, giving the other a wide and sincere smile. - "You have to forgive me for being overly clever on this subject, I have several personal reasons that have made me now involuntarily very sensitive to issues related to swordsmanship" - he chuckled, remembering each time he had learned a painful lesson, first from Roger and Rayleigh, and later from Mihawk, with the latter being remembered with exceptional tenderness and sentiment.

- "Will you tell me about it? I'd love to know the personal reasons you're talking about" - the boy asked, but before Shanks could stop dreaming of his old duels with the warlord and return to earth to answer the request, his cook's hand grabbed Cito, and he threw the younger one over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and began to walk towards the kitchen.

- "Enough of the captain's torment first thing in the morning! Work awaits, Cito! Don't you want pancakes?" - said Lucky Roux, while the poor boy struggled, explaining that he could walk on his own. Before they disappeared, however, Cito stared, not at Shanks, whom he was so fascinated with, but at Beckman, judging him from top to bottom, which none of the men had noticed.

The Emperor raised his hand, brushing the strands of red hair back carelessly, then turned his head so that he could look at the sea again. Unfortunately, the silent dawn began to give way to the loud and restless bustle of the morning, and thus the calm waves, along with the approaching tide, began to sway, and there was no trace of the beautiful, idyllic scenery except memories in the captain's mind.

So it was time to take care of his duties and postpone dreams of his love until the next sunrise.

- "I wish you a beautiful day and take care of yourself, my dearest Mi, wherever you are now. I love you" - he whispered the goodbye to the sea, so softly that only he could hear it, and then slowly turned back to his companions.

- "Gather the rest of the crew, guys. There is still a lot of time until breakfast, we will have time to discuss a few issues about the battle".

The morning passed quickly. Breakfast was a pleasant break from a meeting full of unpleasant conversations, albeit a short one, because with a wink of an eye, the captain of the Red-Hair Pirates was back in the control room, surrounded by his men with all sorts of ideas about how they should make their first move when they came face to face with Teach in just a week. The final decision is up to the Red-Haired Emperor anyway, but contrary to appearances, Shanks could be a wise and sensible commander, which is why he was always willing to listen to what other men had to say before making his final judgment.

Recently, the days in Shanks' life were similar, so the Redhair, like the rest of the men on his ship, managed to develop a kind of routine, usually interrupted by the need to stop on some island to replenish supplies, or the presence of another pirate ship, which had to be effectively scared away. After breakfast, he and Beckman enlisted everyone into the control room to discuss tactics, to work out the details that had to be dealt with reluctantly, to listen to everyone's needs, and to plan everything in such a way that their only problem would be Teach, waiting for them on an island that had never belonged to him. There were days when the anxiety was so high that everyone sat at the table until late at night, accompanied by a bottle of rum or a glass of bitter vodka, buried among maps, old notes, and other papers. The days at the Red Force were therefore busy, much more than anyone could have expected.

But when there were days when it was decided to go to bed early, Shanks used the silence of the night (if it could ever be quiet on the ship) to think about private matters. It was rare for the Emperor to be able to sleep more than just a few hours, and it was usually when his exhausted body finally demanded a nap from him, or he overdid it with alcohol out of bitterness. Most often it was the case that simply... he just couldn't fall asleep in his own bed of his own free will. His body was like an oven, he didn't need clothes and it was always too hot for him, and yet his bed seemed so damn cold now, with no other body lying next to him, that it began to annoy him the very first night after leaving the Kuraigana Island. He, who had hitherto been able to sleep on the hardwood that covered the deck, or on the rough and rocking hammock without the slightest problem, could now lie in the middle of the large bed, the largest and most comfortable piece of furniture on the ship, and yet he could not sleep a wink because his hawk was not with him. Since their relationship had become official, they had started sharing a bed for obvious reasons, and Shanks had gotten used to putting his arm around the other, all he had to do was reach out and he knew he would be met with the touch of cool skin or a silk shirt, and he listened to the discontented, sleepy complaining as he grabbed the thin waist and pulled the other towards him, pressing their bodies together as it should be.

The whole difficult situation was another reason why the Captain looked so damn dissatisfied every morning. Waking up in an empty bed, without the sound of walking in his cabin, without the sight of the still sleepy warlord trying to get ready while his lazy red-haired lover pretended to be asleep, with no clean clothes prepared for him in the bedside chair, without the sight of Gryphon and Yoru leaning against each other, and without the feeling of cold fingers and painful kicks to get him out of bed, the lack of all this made Shanks mad at the very beginning of the day.

Oh, if only the Emperor could, even for just a day, see his love again, pull Mihawk into his lap and hold him close, kiss the beauty mark under his left eye, leave a kiss on his soft lips, and then on the scar just above his collarbone, which he had personally left centuries ago, and which, every time his lips traced its outline, reminded him,  how important the swordsman is to him. Not to let the other escape his embrace, to deliberately prolong their moments together in the morning, without prying eyes or audience, just the two of them, so perpetually dependent on one another, entwining their bodies in soft sheets, feeding on the sounds of pleasure as they lazily rub against each other, and if the Redhead was lucky, maybe he would have had a chance to have breakfast and treat his hunger much sooner than anyone else on this ship.

Now all he could do was enjoy the peaceful dawn when the sea glittered beautifully in gold, and he could only watch and dream helplessly until the sun rose for good and the world needed him again.

After that, he had to be the best captain, the man his crew could count on, and the commander everyone deserved.

When they were not busy planning the battle, Shanks got through the day along with Beckman, and their time was mostly spent smoking cigarettes, sipping some whiskey, and reminiscing about old times. Cito did not leave them a step away, the young boy often accompanied them, listening to the stories, asking new questions now and then, and often begging for permission to do some things for them, as trivial as bringing another bottle of amber, bitter, but delicious poison, as well as those that were basically more serious, such as accompanying them in sorting the mail.

Both the two older men and the resolute younger one quickly established a good rapport, and the rest of the crew began to treat the new recruit as a member of the family. It was hard not to like him, and his ever-good humor and laughter, almost as loud as Shanks' himself, made the Red-haired Emperor with a nostalgic smile on his face start thinking about another loud boy, more precisely the rubber boy from the Foosha Island, who would soon become a real legend, and he could bet his other arm on it (he had to be careful with that since he was more than convinced that Mihawk would certainly not be pleased to hear this).

Despite the atmosphere of the coming war lingering in the air above them, which had been suffocating and thickening them all since they set foot on the Red Force, today went well and smoothly for them. Relaxing, even.

However, as it happens in life, there’s a reason why sailors are afraid of the calm before the storm, and in their case, unfortunately, it was no different.

Late in the afternoon, they were back in the control room, but this time just the four of them, and the atmosphere between the men was as heavy as never before. The door to the room was locked, and the use of Observation Haki made sure that no one was hanging around and hearing their unpleasant conversation. Lucky Roux sat awkwardly in one of the chairs, Yasopp was standing with his back against the door, his arms crossed and his face visibly dismayed. Shanks sat hunched over in his chair, his torso bent forward so he could rest his elbow on his knee as he wondered intensely what the hell had happened. Beckman, on the other hand, walked around the room, clutching a cigarette in one hand so tightly that he practically broke it, and in the other hand he held the letter Marco had just sent, which led to the fact that they were now here, not understanding any of it.

Marco and his crew agreed to be one of Shanks' allies in the war against Teach, and since the conversation through the snails could easily be intercepted, the two commanders decided to correspond privately using seagulls specially hired for this mission, thus deciding to exchange messages over the heads of their mutual enemies in order to maintain the highest possible incognito status.

However, in the latest letter, which Beckman was now clutching angrily in his hand, Marco accused Shanks of being unprofessional and disorganized, because he had not received any specific message from the other for over a month regarding the plan, except for just one piece of paper, on which the text had been half-crossed out and smudged in such a way that it was impossible to read it. A former Whitebeard’s crew pirate threatened Redhead that if he didn't take the matter seriously, he and his men would back down from their plan. Other allies of the Emperor faced a similar situation since they also remained without any response from the Red-Hair Pirates.

Yasopp, who was the first to notice the approaching seagull and was the first to receive the message, called the three of them to the control room, taking care that no one from the rest of the crew was alerted by their strange behavior. These were too serious accusations, and it was more than certain that these words would cause one great outrage on the ship, so the best solution was to think the whole matter over in the most trusted company.

- "I can't fucking understand any of this" - growled Beckman, the most annoyed of the four. - "I personally made sure that each letter was properly addressed, there had never been a problem with it before. I don't know if it's them trying to make us into finite idiots, or if they just started chickening out before meeting Teach, which is why they're now fretting bullshit to put the responsibility on you ".

- "Well, I wouldn't be surprised they chickened out, but damn, I would never have expected that from Marco of all people" - Yasopp stated, scratching his head absentmindedly. - "I checked our seagull, it had no injuries, so our messages were not intercepted".

- "Everything was explained in a simple way, it is impossible that they misunderstood us. We didn't build complicated sentences, not that any of us could do it" - Lucky Roux sighed, staring at the floor. – "What will happen now, will they leave us without support? They're just going to leave, while so many people are still suffering and waiting for help?".

- "Well, damn them all" - Beckman said, crumpling the paper into a ball and putting it in his pocket. - "When it is all over and fate makes us meet, which will come sooner or later, I will personally beat their stupid faces".

- " We will need to think about support for Hongo, reckoning that there will be a significant number of people in need of medical assistance" - Shanks began slowly and carefully, who had been sitting quietly so far, with a heavy sigh. - "And I'll have to think about the answer, but for that, I need to refresh my mind. Come on, Beck, I know you need to smoke" - the captain said, patting his first mate on the back, who only cursed under his breath and then obediently followed the other man.

It was late afternoon, and the sun was tinting the world red and gold when the two pirates were on deck, leaning against the railing, watching the wide sky and the people near them at work. The sea breeze ruffled their hair, and the smell of salt and the sea in the air, always the best soothing of a sailor, this time was not able to make the anxiety consuming from the inside leave their bodies.

- "If it was just a joke on Marco's part and the others, it was a very bad joke, even for my taste" - Shanks said, resting his roughened-by stubble face on his hand as he listened to his first mate struggling with a lighter, trying to burn the cigarette he was holding in his mouth out of nervousness.

- "Cut that crap, Shanks" - Beckman sighed when he managed to light up and take in a lungful of smoke. – "It was supposed to be a quick thing, now we're going to have to fuck with it, who knows how long it will take us. In the end, we were left alone".

The Emperor fixed his eyes on the sky, listening to the righteous complaints of his first mate. Maybe if Shanks had been more serious and firm as he was expected to be, maybe they wouldn't have gotten to the point where they are now.

Give the man a finger and he will take your whole hand,  thought the Emperor, for he knew that if he said it out loud, Beckman would probably throw him overboard.

It seemed like their only tactic at the moment was to use Conqueror Haki, which was such an obvious move on their part that they didn't really have anything to surprise Teach with. All the battle planning that has taken so long will go to waste if Marco and the others keep their threat and do not stand up against the second Emperor.

Shanks' lingering composure was now just a step away from breaking. If he allows his anger to get the better of him, then not only will his enemy be in danger, but all who have been here under his protection as well. Using Haki has always been associated with danger, and it took Shanks himself years to learn how to control his power without hurting those he cared about. Too much Haki could tear the ship apart, or worse, take the lives of everyone around. After all, he was one of the most powerful men in the world for a reason.

- "Keep your heads up, guys! We'll be fine!" – Yasopp's voice resounded from behind them as the man found them, finally approaching and resting his arms around their necks to bind them together in a brotherly embrace. - "This isn't the first time we've been deep in the ass, but we've always managed to get back to the top, am I right?".

- "Though it may not be so easy this time, you know?" - sighed Lucky Roux, who leaned against the railing next to Shanks. - "We wasted time, and now we have to plan everything anew, where the war will come in the next few nights".

Immersed in their own minds and uncertainties, the four men found themselves once again in an uncomfortable silence. Well, three, because Yasopp stared up as if the sails were more interesting to a sniper at this point than that they were going to have a bloody war and they had no plan. – "A seagull".

- "What?" – Beckman growled.

- "Not what, you idiot, but a seagull" - Yasopp snorted, then motioned for the others to look up. – "A white seagull. It has been circling over our ship for a minute".

Indeed, a white-plumage bird hovered overheads, circling through the air, apparently looking for a suitable spot where it could land safely and rest. This sight, however, did not bring any joy to the men below.

- "More damn good news has arrived" - Beckman muttered sarcastically, waving his hand as if trying to ignore the winged postman. - "One more letter like the last one, and I'll start shooting those annoying ducks".

- "Come on, Beck, it's not worth your nerves" - Shanks sighed heavily with resignation, then moved away from the railing and brushed the strands of his red hair back with his hand, only to wave it a few times in the air in the next second, as if beckoning the animal to approach them.

In any case, the Emperor's gesture worked, because after a while the seagull lowered its flight, and finally landed on the metal railing right in front of them. The bird itself was medium-sized, and its white feathers shimmered in the colors of the late day.

- "I could be wrong, guys, but there's no way this bird belongs to us" - Lucky Roux began hesitantly as he looked at the feathered delivery guy. - "And I would dare to say that he does not come from this part of the world".

- "On one of his legs is marked his origin" - Yasopp confirmed when he approached the animal to get a good look at it. - "And you're right, Lucky, this guy is from the other end of the Grand Line".

- "So what brought you to us, beautiful, beaky friend?" - said Shanks, laughing as his hand tenderly stroked the seagull's head.

As if on cue, the bird let out a sound, then turned around in such a way that the Emperor could see a small package next to its short leg, in which there was probably a message for him.

- "Oh, what do you have there? Could it be a gift from my secret admirer?" - the captain joked because at that moment it was honestly the only thing he could do. Jokes about everything and not taking things seriously helped him swallow a wave of bitterness as he prepared for the next bad news that would ruin his already ruined day.

Who the hell was stupid enough to write to him from across the sea when everyone knew he was about to face war?

After pulling out what turned out to be a small letter, the Emperor couldn't help but snort.

This someone did not even have enough courage and respect for him to sign their name.

And so Shanks thought until he turned the envelope in his hand.

Until he noticed his own name written in elegant handwriting.

A handwriting that he would recognize anywhere, even by one single letter. Because it was engraved in his mind as strongly as the ink on every piece of paper hidden inside the box on the dresser in his bedroom.

Quickly retracting his earlier thoughtless words and feeling faint, as if he had been shot, he leaned heavily against the railing behind him, while his trembling hand nervously began to open the envelope to get to the letter.

- "Boss, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?" - asked Yasopp worriedly, even Beckman stopped smoking and complaining to look at the captain with obvious trepidation, while the captain ignored them all, focusing only on the paper in his hand.

The Red-Haired Emperor, even while facing his own death, would not feel the panic he feels now.

What was in the letter must have been hellishly important, because Mihawk would not have tried to contact him at this point without a valid reason.

Seas, if something terrible happened in his absence, Shanks will never forgive himself.

Almost tearing open the envelope, he finally managed to pull out a small piece of paper, which he took out with much more delicacy and reverence and then spread the paper out with his fingers to reveal a concise message written in black ink, the slightly irregular shape of the letters suggesting that the author of the message was in a hurry as he wrote it. After discovering another fact that was crushing Shanks' heart, the Emperor finally began to read.

Red

At the outset, forgive my lack of politeness and greeting, but believe me, you lack time, and I lack both this and more paper, so I have to write what I want to say as succinctly as I can. I don't know when this letter will reach you, or if it will at all, I can only hope that it is not too late.

A traitor is rampant among your crew on Red Force. I recommend that you give special attention to the young man among those whom you have taken under your roof. Apparently, they call him Cito. I don't know what he was up to tell you, but he is a professional sniper, his skills are supposedly higher than average. I don't know anything about his skills related to Haki and Devil Fruit, so I leave these details to you.

It shouldn't surprise you if I say that this man works for Blackbeard, he should have an inaccurately made tattoo of the flag on his arm, at least that's what his brothers had. You don't have to worry about them, I have taken care of them with due diligence. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to let them enjoy it any longer.

Moving on to the merits of this letter, I am writing this to warn you. Whatever plan you have chosen that this man knows about, abandon it. His target is Beckman, he was sent here to blow his head off as soon as your ship crosses the 'dead canyon', whatever it is, I hope you know what I'm talking about. This is supposed to confuse you enough so that the first three Titanic Captains who set a trap for you there can surprise you again and give you an extra headache. I deliberately don't want to write that something will happen to you, forgive me, but at this point, it won't go through my pen.

Oh, and by the way, Blackbeard is not there, as far as I know, he didn't plan to face you from the very beginning. Knowing this, I got a headache myself, so I hope you can come up with something to humiliate this pathetic man even more. I would be grateful.

Don't question the origin of all the information I've gotten for now, all I'm asking is that you trust me now. I'll explain everything to you once I get you.

And please, take more care of yourself this time. All of you.

I will not forgive you for another lost limb. You will sleep on the couch until you die. And I'm not kidding.

Yours forever,

Mi

As Shanks read the letter, his eyes and mind registering every sentence, word by word, the Emperor's face remained completely illegible, in the best sense of the word. So much emotion swirled and danced in his body that the greatest expert in the field would not have guessed whether the captain was more surprised, frightened, amused, in love, or neither, or all of them at once.

- "You were wrong, Beck. We were not left alone" - the Redhead said after a moment, his fingers stroking the thin paper between them. – "We never were".

- "Boss?" - asked Beckman hesitantly, trying as always to be the useful first mate, but also the friend his captain deserves.

Shanks just nodded, trying to be clumsily serious as a nasty smile tried to creep onto his face, so all he decided to do was to remain silent and simply hand the letter over to Beckman, who accepted the piece of paper with slight confusion and began to read what was written on it.

His seriousness was not helped by the ever-changing expression on his first mate's face, which went from nervousness to heavy swallowing and fear, until he finally finished reading with a low, amused snort, and then looked up to look at Shanks in utter disbelief. The same reaction befell Yasopp and Lucky Roux, who literally climbed on Beckman's back to read the letter with him.

- " You weren't kidding when you called him your angel, were you?" - said Beckman, wiping his face with his hand and returning the letter to the captain with his other hand.  - "Damn, now I'm going to owe Hawkeyes a lifelong supply of wine, I can start saying goodbye to my pension".

- "How is it that he always shows up at the right time?" - muttered Yasopp, grabbing his head. - "Not that I'm complaining, on the contrary, let him keep doing it, but it's just insane!".

- "After the boss's close encounter with the Sea King, I think our hawk must have developed some kind of premonition about when the boss is going to do something ultra-stupid or is in crisis" - Lucky Roux chuckled, looking at a satisfied Shanks, who was grinning from one ear to the other.

- "Put the jokes aside for now, boys, remember that Mihawk took a big risk to warn us" - Shanks reminded them as he put the letter in his pocket with obvious delicacy and affection. His words, however, had the opposite effect.

- "He mentioned all of us to take care of ourselves" - Yasopp sighed with emotion, wiping a non-existent tear under his eye.

- "He really loves us" - sighed Lucky, pawing at his heart.

- "That's great, so I'm not the only one paying for the wine we owe him" - Beckman commented, while the other two pirates fell silent as they began to realize how much debt they now had.

Yes, the love for Mihawk was tart and sweet. Just like cherries. His cold attitude and hostile look are simply the first barriers you have to face. You feel the astringency on your tongue, but whoever gives up halfway does not deserve a sweet dessert waiting at the end of it. If you stay despite the first obstacle, break the ice, and end up in the care of a swordsman, then you might as well say that you have been blessed by God Himself and realize that you have just met the most caring person you have ever seen.

And the letter in Shanks' pocket is the truest proof of this thesis.

The Emperor was not a doctor, much less a psychologist, but perhaps the fact that the Warlord had wandered alone all his life, unable to count on anyone's help, made him so damn worried about the people who accepted him, despite his attempts not to show it at all. Perhaps this was his way of thanking them. Perhaps that's why Shanks' loss of his left arm and thus almost his own life years ago has hurt the other so deeply.

Okay, hide your tissues, there's no time for that right now.

- "So what's the plan, boss?" – Beckman asked, pulling another cigarette out of his pocket. - "Our birdie is never wrong, is he?".

- "That's true" - the Emperor confirmed, nodding his head. - "But that doesn't mean I'm going to show the brat this letter, we'll have to look for other irrefutable proof" - he said, then nodded to Yasopp. - "You'll search his bed when he's not around" - the Redhead ordered, then looked at the cook. - "And you're going to keep him busy and make sure he stays in the kitchen until Beck lets you know to bring him to me". There was still a chance that Cito had no idea about Mihawk, and the Emperor wasn't lying when he said that the welfare of another was the most precious thing to him.

Both the sniper and the cook nodded in unison while Beckman clenched his fist with his hand, making the air fill with the sound of his cracking knuckles. – "Where is this little shit now?".

- "He's helping Hongo with the documentation" - sighed Lucky Roux, revealing that now the slippery traitor must have had knowledge of their physical condition. - "I'm going to get him and I'm going to get him out of there as soon as possible. Then I will keep an eye on him and wait for the order” - the cook saluted, and then moved towards the hospital wing.

- "I'll wait until they go to the kitchen, and then I'll go to the sleeping quarters, I will come straight away if I find something interesting " - Yasopp clapped his hands, smiling derisively as he walked away. - "Finally, something is happening on this ship, I was already starting to die from this monotony of constant meetings".

- "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" - asked Beckman, ready for orders.

- "Go get the blank sheets of paper and envelopes, it's the perfect time to explain our new plan to Marco and the others, now that we know who had their dirty fingers in our correspondence. Then call all the boys on the deck" - the Emperor ordered.

- "A new plan?".

Shanks grinned, almost devilishly. - "Yes, let me introduce it to you, my friend".

The Red-Haired Emperor stood leaning against the ship's railing, gazing thoughtfully at the rough waves in the sea below. A strong sea breeze ruffled the red strands of his hair, which were almost blending into the blood-red sky above the horizon. They have just finished sending letters to Marco and the rest of the Red-Hair Pirates' allies, confident that they will understand their current situation and that it will motivate them all even more to humiliate the cowardly pig that is Teach and teach him a lesson that will reverberate through all the seas of this world.

- "All ready, boss" - Hongo saluted as he came closer.

- "Good" - the captain nodded, still not taking his eyes off the stormy sea. It took another moment before the Emperor spoke again, turning to Building Snake, who was standing next to him with his arms crossed. - "How many days will it take us to get to the Dead Canyon, Snake?".

The navigator looked at his captain, then straightened up. - "Except for today, and assuming that the weather doesn't surprise us, the wind will still be on our side, and the water flow will be constant, it will take us up to six days, boss".

Shanks muttered, nodding as if he was thinking about it.

- "Okay, then get us there in three" - the Emperor ordered, causing the navigator to look at him in shock as if the Redhair had grown a second head. Ignoring his subordinate's condition, Shanks rested his hand on the other's shoulder, squeezing it lightly and smiling brightly. – "You can do it. I'm counting on you".

Building Snake looked at him for a moment more, then coughed, his expression becoming serious. – "I got it. You'll be there in three days, boss".

Hongo looked at them, shocked by this sudden, absurd exchange. – "Three days, are you serious? Why do you have this sudden need to hurry, boss?" - he asked, laughing as he slipped his hands into his pants pockets.

- "Teach wanted to surprise us, so we will be the first to surprise him, being there earlier than he planned" - the Emperor replied, scratching his unshaven facial hair. - "And since he has just lost the last snitch who will tell him about it, it will be a double kick in his ass. We'll be able to laugh as we see how quickly his great and excellent captains can wake up and take up arms".

- "Is this your only reason, or is there a chance that Hawkeyes is on his way to us?" - asked Beckman, feigning complete selflessness, hiding an obvious smile behind his hands as he tried to light a cigarette. - "Do you care so much about ending this war before he comes here?".

- "Oh, I just know he's coming here" - Shanks nodded, laughing loudly while his hand reached into his trouser pocket to touch the velvet box, the presence of which began to burn his thigh, wanting to finally be handed over to the right person. - "He's worried, after all, he doesn't know if his letter has reached us, besides he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to tell me directly how irresponsible and annoying I am, let's be honest. I, on the other hand, really want to give him this wedding, in a big, decorated church, lots of flowers around, a closed party, with no entry and a permanent ban for the Marines and the rest of the idiots sitting in the government, and nothing will stop me from these plans, not even my own lovely, angry, future spouse".

- "Well, that's brave words, considering how feral Hawkeyes can be when it comes to you" - the first mate said, looking at the captain appreciatively. - "Do you love him to death?".

The smile on Shanks's face did not fade once as he turned and stared intently at the sea. - "Speak of him over my grave and watch how he brings me back to life".

The sound of heavy boots hitting the wooden floor of the deck echoed around them, and the eyes of all the men gathered, except Shanks, turned to Yasopp, who walked towards the captain with great satisfaction painted on his face, carrying a mysterious suitcase with a metal cover on his back.

- "Captain" - said the sniper solemnly, as he stood in front of the Emperor, who finally looked away from the sea and turned slowly to look at the other man standing in front of him. Yasopp's smile grew bigger in an instant. - "I think I found what you were looking for".

The sniper took the suitcase from his back and placed it on the floor in front of Shanks' boots, while the rest of the men came closer and stood around, wanting to see and find out what was inside.

The latches let go with a little difficulty, and finally, Yasopp opened the metal trunk, revealing its contents to everyone. - "I found it under his mattress, boss. That bastard didn't even try to hide it better".

In the suitcase, on a soft pillow, there was a disassembled small arm, with a bullet-loaded carbine lying next to it, the set was almost ready, it was enough to screw on the gold-plated barrel and the weapon was suitable for immediate use.

- "It's an excellent weapon, great for firing a quick shot" - Yasopp said, in an almost expert voice, after all, he was a master of this craft like no other on this ship. - "It's perfectly small to be hidden, for example, under a shirt, and this special part here" - he pointed to a small element inside the whole mechanism, which was hardly visible to everyone anyway. - "It helps to knock out a projectile, such a small piece of shit, but enough great to make the drag force equal to zero at the right inclination and good winds".

- "So you're saying that a bullet fired from this weapon will go through the skull?" - asked Shanks, frowning.

- " Will it go through? It will split it like a nut " - the sniper said, closing the suitcase back up.

To his right, the captain noticed his first mate drop his hand with the cigarette, a cloud of smoke escaping from his mouth along with a heavy sigh as his other hand landed on the top of his head and touched his hair slicked back as if he had just realized what would have happened if they hadn't been warned sooner. The whole movement was almost natural, but for everyone at that moment, his behavior was incredibly clear.

- "Oh, Beck, what would we do without you?" – Hongo howled in despair, resting his head on the shoulder of an older man with fake crying. - "With whom would I share the burden of having any brain cells on this ship devoid of reason and common sense?".

- "Yes, Beck, don't you dare leave us alone with Shanks, we'll die of our own filth and stupidity!" – Limejuice joined, falling to the ground to cuddle the first mate's leg, although his crying was no fake.

- "You two are unbearable..." - muttered Shanks with a heavy sigh, though he had to admit that even he felt a lump in his throat when he imagined his crew without the infamous Benn Beckman to his right. Seas, when all this is over, they will probably put up an altar for Mihawk for literally saving their lives. Actually, when Shanks honestly thought about it, it wasn’t such a stupid idea...

- "Whatever stupid thing you're thinking about now, stop it" - Beckman scolded him, and then the man turned to the two idiots, pushing them away from him with some force, because they stuck to him like a bubblegum to the sole of a shoe. - "And you two pull yourselves together, we now have bigger things to worry about, like the little shit who kept a firearm like that in the room where we all slept sweetly, while he could get up at any time and feed us lead".

This caused everyone to really get a grip in the blink of an eye. The first mate sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. - "Is that enough to accuse him?" - he asked, turning again to the captain next to him.

- "That is more than enough" - the Emperor confirmed slightly, shrugging his shoulders. - "Even if we hadn't found that suitcase, Beck, our main talent is to get random people into trouble, remember?".

The suitcase was stowed away, and Shanks nodded to Beckman, who had left on his way to the kitchen.

It wasn't a moment before Beckman returned to the deck, followed by Cito, who was on his heels, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the sight that awaited him.

The young man in front of him had a bunch of crazy men, criminals, one with a more psychopathic smile on his face than the other, the extremely scary-looking Shanks, and in the middle of them all was standing a single chair. One small, wooden chair with a backrest. Specially prepared for him.

At the sight of this, the devil would shit himself out of fear.

Cito jumped, taking a step back, but was stopped by Lucky Roux, who stood right behind him, depriving him of the only possible way out.

- "Cito, my boy!" - called out the Emperor with joy, and then stretched out his hand to point to a wooden chair in the middle. – "We have all been looking for you. Go ahead, join us, don't keep us waiting~!”.

The young man turned almost green in the face, ready to flee if it weren't for Lucky's strong hands, which grabbed him, lifting his whole body into the air and forcibly planting him in a chair in front of the Emperor and his crew, gathered around. – "Here we go, it wasn't that hard, see? But now you have to fend for yourself because you're already a big boy, right? Good advice? Listen to the captain!" - the cook chuckled with a smile that only widened on his face as he slowly walked away to join the rest of the men standing to the side.

- "Chill your beans, Cito, you have no reason to be afraid" - Shanks said, his laid-back and friendly voice echoing as he slowly approached the jittery boy in the chair. - "Really, you have nothing to be afraid of. The Emperor's word!" - he shouted, placing his hand on his chest, before bursting into loud laughter, followed by a chorus of similar laughter from his crew. It took him a moment to calm down again.

- "No, but really, I'm serious, you have nothing to be afraid of, you know, unless you did something naughty, then by all means, you should be afraid, even very, actually" - the Redhead continued, his melodious and light tone of voice didn't match the aura he was creating after all. A very intimidating, bloody aura like his hair. - "Have you done anything naughty then, Cito?".

The young man swallowed loudly as the Emperor's eyes pierced his skull. The boy was unable to utter a word, and all he could focus on were the three scars on the captain’s eye that disfigured the face of the powerful pirate. Everyone knows who inflicted these scars on him.

- "You don't say anything, and you are constantly shaking. Should I take that as your answer?" - the captain asked, his voice sounding as if he was getting bored.

- „… I didn't do anything" - the younger man began and paused when Shanks' face suddenly appeared a centimeter from his own.

- "Are you sure about that?" – asked the Emperor, and his voice no longer sounded as light and funny as it had a moment ago. – "Be careful what you say. I tolerate lying, but I hate nothing more in the world than a damn bad joke. Even when I'm drunk, right, boys?".

- "Aye, Captain!" – a chorus of male voices rang out behind him.

- "I didn't fucking do anything!" - yelled Cito, banging his fists on the armrests of the chair.

Shanks smiled gently. - "I believe you, Cito" - the pirate said, while the boy looked at him in surprise. - "After all, only a complete idiot would try to cheat me on my own ship, where nothing has the right to hide from me, am I right?" - added the Redhead and the back of his hand was on the right arm of the younger one, on which, according to the letter, there should be a tattoo that, if done badly, should not heal well and cause pain. And as if by magic, a painful hiss escaped Cito's lips. Even if it wasn't it, you could always use the Observation Haki to check it out.

 But what for? You could always tease each other a little, as this little shit had done to him for the past months.

- "Tell me, Cito, are you still learning swordsmanship?" - asked Shanks as he let go of the other and straightened up, his arm lazily resting on the hilt of the Gryphon attached to his hip.

- "Yes, I do" - the younger man growled reluctantly.

- "And are you absolutely sure you've never had a weapon in your hands that shoots and makes a phew-phew sound when you press the right button?" - the Emperor continued in a tone as if he were addressing a small child, while the rest of his crew burst into laughter again.

- "I... I don't understand...".

- "What? What does a pistol look like?".

- "Stop making an idiot out of me, I know what a pistol looks like!" – growled Cito, clearly offended.

- "Jackpot! So you'll know what it is when I show you this" - the pirate snapped his fingers playfully, then headed to the back to get and take with him the suitcase with metal cover.

- "You motherfucker, did you rummage through my things?!" - the man yelled, anger erupting in his eyes. – "Give it back!".

- "Motherfucker? Damn, and just a moment ago I was a mentor to you, one of the strongest people in this world..." – said Shanks, pretending as if the younger one's words broke his heart. Immediately afterward, the Emperor straightened up, and such an expression appeared on his face that would have been censored in the public press. - "Besides, don't forget that everything 'yours' on my ship is mine, whether you like it or not".

Cito squealed in fear, and Shanks sighed heavily. He needed to calm down, this conversation wasn't worth it for him to lose his temper anyway.

At least for now.

- "Why did you hide that weapon from me, Cito?" – the captain asked gently.

- "None of your fucking business".

- "Well, since it's none of my business, and everything here belongs to me, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't get rid of this weapon. It looks expensive, maybe I'll be reimbursed for at least some of what I spent on keeping you here..." - Shanks said, while he watched the young man's face twist in terror out of the corner of his eye.

- "Blackbeard gave you this weapon?" - asked the Emperor, hitting the nail on the head.

- "Ugh- what does he have to do with it?".

- "That's what I'm trying to find out, so why don't you tell me?".

- "It's not my weapon and I've never put my fingers on it" - Cito defended himself, using an extremely pathetic lie.

- "Just like on my correspondence?" – Shanks asked, and the young man's body stiffened under his gaze. - "Besides, that argument doesn't make sense, you know, since you called me a motherfucker so charmingly as soon as I took out that suitcase".

Cito winced, and his cheeks flushed.

- "But don't panic. As I said, I can tolerate a lie" - the Emperor continued, putting the suitcase aside, then turning his back on the young man to look at the sea shrouded in sun and red. - "I'm not as cruel as the other Emperors or captains, you know? Contrary to appearances, I am not amused by senseless bloodshed. That's why, Cito, I'm now able to forgive you for many things. I would forgive you for deceiving me, I would forgive you for threatening me and my crew, I would forgive you for selling information about me and my plans to Blackbeard, I would forgive you for this weapon, I don't care much about it, damn, I would even forgive you if you stood up and spat in my face..." – said the captain, while Cito listened to him in disbelief, fidgeting in his chair.

- "... but you, Cito, just did something much worse" - Shanks said, and his low voice suddenly reached an eerie seriousness, while the flash of his red Haki unleashed for a split second, only to blind everyone around and prove that this time the Emperor was really mad.

- "H-huh?".

- "You have committed the worst crime that I will not forgive anyone" - growled the Redhead, and his voice was so harsh that Cito jumped, almost falling over with the chair he was sitting on.

- "W-What have I done?" – the young man cried.

At this point, it was impossible to determine if the sky suddenly darkened, or if it was the whole aura of Red-Haired Shanks that was so terrifying that he gave the impression that the world was about to end.

- " You dared to worry someone I did not want to worry under any circumstances" - the Emperor confessed, still looking out over the stormy sea, feeling the presence of the letter that was hidden in his pocket. - "You might as well have taken your ridiculous pistol and shot me straight in the heart. After interfering with my letters, I can always write and send a new one, after ruining my plans, I can always come up with a new one, none of these things are a reason to take your life. But you have done unimaginable harm that I cannot undo. You and your brothers have failed, but I will have to find my angel wounded, look into those beautiful eyes, and come up with a way to apologize and say how sorry I am...".

- "Me and... My brothers? Big Brother Des?" - interrupted Cito, utterly devastated and terrified when he realized that he wasn't the only one who had been captured. – "And brother Pa? What have you done to them?!".

- "Angel eyes took care of them".

- "Took care?! And who are those fucking angel eyes?!".

- "My whole world" - the Emperor confessed, sighing dreamily while his crew began to laugh at him.

Cito snorted. - "One person couldn't knock my brothers down, you must be kidding me" - the young man said, not believing anything the captain said. – "So that's what you mean? You will avenge your… a what? lover?".

- "Yes" - the Redhead nodded shortly as if it were obvious.

And now that Cito had honestly thought about it, for a man like Shanks, that was indeed a good enough reason to take revenge.

 And now indeed Cito really began to fear for his own life. It wasn't supposed to look like this. This was not the end Marshall D. Teach had promised him!

- "Mr. Shanks, I'm sorry... I beg you, don't kill me..." – he began to beg, and the atmosphere around them was filled with his ugly sobs. - "I'll say anything you want, I'm just begging you to let me out of here, I don't want to be here anymore".

- "I'd like to check something first" - the Emperor interrupted him.

Check? What will it be, a test? Cito thought.

- "What can you tell me about the Warlords?".

This question surprised Cito. But this question also calmed him down in a way. This question was trivially simple. After all, everyone knew the obvious attitude of the Emperors toward the Warlords.

- "I know that they are bitches of the World Government without self-respect" – the young man confessed as if it were obvious. - "None of them can match a powerful Emperor like you" - he added, trying to appease the red-haired man in front of him as much as possible. It will increase the Redhead's ego, and he will let him go. It was so simple, Teach was exactly the same.

- "None of them?".

- "Exactly, none of them!" - Cito nodded, almost excited, when he suddenly remembered something and a small light bulb lit up in his mind. – "And especially your pathetic former rival! This threat to humanity will never match a strong man like you! A primitive coward and a fraud, they should hang him, so that his title will finally belong to someone who actually deserves it-".

The young man didn't finish when suddenly every man in the Red-Hair Pirates crew reached for his weapon, and the sound of swords and unlocked firearms filled the air. All this made the boy afraid again.

- "That's enough" - Shanks said, raising his hand and then turning slowly to look again at the boy in front of him. The young man's brave words were enough to prove to him that he had no idea about anything.

- "W-will you let me go now?" - asked Cito as he waited for a long moment and the Emperor said nothing more.

- "Did I ever say that I was going to let you go?" - asked Shanks, slowly and lightly approaching the young man. Really, how naive could this boy really be? - "You owe me a lot, Cito. Far too much for me to just let you out of here. You're going to tell me all about Blackbeard first before I make you clean the entire deck with your own tongue, okay? Let's call it an honest exchange of information between two independent pirates, shall we?" - said Shanks in a light and cheerful tone, placing a warm hand on the tense and trembling shoulder of the young man, who swallowed loudly when he realized that he was very wrong and that the Red-Haired Emperor was not as frivolous and petty as he thought.

After that, the only thing he remembered was the constantly darkening sky and the loud laughter of the Red-Hair Pirates crew, which would resound in his ears for the rest of his life.

Three days later, the day of the battle with Blackbeard's crew, Red Force, New World, Dead Canyon.

It was the early hours of the morning when Red Force crossed the Dead Canyon.

But before that happened, and dawn was just flashing on the horizon, signaling to the sailors that it would soon be there to banish the dark, chilly night, Red-Haired Shanks, the mighty Emperor of the Seas, stood on the deck, elbow on the railing, staring out at the calm sea below, dreaming of better times, of times when he had the love of his life right next to him, almost at his fingertips, of the times when he could touch him and taste his soft lips whenever he felt like it, and his throat didn't burn with the incessant desire of the other person, but also of the times to come, the times that are still ahead of both of them, when they will be reunited and fall into each other's arms.

Muttering a last, silent I love you, I'll find you soon, angel towards the calm waves, his gaze turned to greet the thick fog and darkness that emanated the place as soon as Red Force crossed its threshold.

Well, the moment has come to put Shanks' plan into action.

The Emperor put his hand in his pocket, then stepped out into the middle of the deck of the ship, and from there he began to walk slowly towards the bow of the ship. As he walked, at a slow pace, his silhouette looking completely relaxed and calm, the only sound that broke through the sepulchral silence was the sound of sandals hitting the wooden floor.

Suddenly, in the thicket of fog, Benn Beckman stood on the starboard side, right next to the railing, who, as if unaware of anything, pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, exhaling smoke that mixed with the fog which engulfed everything around him.

There was no trace of Blackbeard's captains, at least at first glance. Everyone who was able to use the Observation Haki was aware that both opposing teams were already aware of each other's presence in this place. Shanks might have surprised them by coming here much earlier, but knowing that Van Augur was one of those, whose ass would have to be kicked was more than certain that they already knew that the Red-Haired Emperor had just stepped into their trap.

But will this ultimately be their trap? The seas will see.

And as if on cue, Augur himself, hidden in the fog, was spotted by the Emperor's Haki. The other two captains of Blackbeard were loitering somewhere nearby, their presence could be traced. Shanks himself never intended to hide and seek from his enemy, cause if he did, he would not walk around his ship as lightly and selflessly as if he himself was inviting you to face him in battle like right now. Forgive him, but Red-Haired Shanks could do more than hide and dump all the work on others, as was the case with Marshall D. Teach.

Beckman took over the attitude of his captain, and just stood and smoked in peace, not caring about anything. The fog between them thickened the deeper they went into the long corridor of the canyon, from which there was only one exit, waiting for them at the end.

And so it was time for the next part of the plan.

From the thick fog behind Beckman, the silhouette of Cito emerged. The young man stood and stared at the back of the first mate's head, knowing full well that his every move was watched by Blackbeard's crew, hiding on the rocks hidden in the fog. Finally, the boy cocked his firearm and raised his hand, aiming the barrel straight at the first mate of the Red-Hair Pirates.

And still, nothing actually happened.

The young man stood motionless, his pistol pointed straight at Beckman's head, and sweat pooled and dripped down his forehead in great drops.

And then something finally happened.

Something, that Shanks was waiting for in order to move on to the next stage of his plan.

Augur became clearer in the thick fog, revealing himself, presumably to force Cito to pull the trigger and perform an attack.

And well, it was certainly not the kind of trigger pull and attack that Augur expected when he appeared, as in a split second the bullet went straight between his eyes, piercing through the skull and knocking him out on the spot.

- "The first one down, boss" - muttered Yasopp, who had been sitting hidden in the fog all the time, just behind Cito's silhouette, patiently waiting for Blackbeard's sniper to lean out enough to knock him down with a single shot. - "What an idiocy, having Advanced Observation Haki and focusing your attention only on a shabby, scared little shit".

- "And what else did you expect from Blackbeard's pirates?" – Beckman said dismissively, reaching for his weapon. - "They can only follow orders, without it they are like lost children in the fog".

- "As a sniper, I'll tell you that you hit the nail on the head with this one" - the other chuckled. - "And what's next, boss?" – Yasopp asked, reloading his weapon.

Screams rang out all around them, and a sudden alarm caused by the death of one of the captains was enough for a group of feral Blackbeard pirates to take up arms and rush into battle aboard the Red Force.

Shanks smiled, calmly observing the growing panic around him. His hand found its place on the Gryphon's hilt.

- "Take up arms, boys! It's rude to greet your guests empty-handed!".

While the war outside continued, and the air was soaked with smoke and gunpowder from the cannons that shook the entire ship as the shots were fired, Cito was forcibly dragged by Hongo into one of the sanitary rooms, where he was supposed to sit and don’t piss them off anymore until the battle was soon over by Shanks and the rest of the boys.

- "The captain said that you will be safe with us, but you are also supposed to be useful" – the doctor growled, pushing the younger man away with force to make the other land on one of the benches in the room. - "You will help me with stitching and bandaging the wounds if any of our men have been wounded, you got it?".

- " No, but have you got IT?" – asked Cito, then kicked the poor doctor straight in the groin with all his might, then slid off the bench he was sitting on and ran to the exit.

Ignoring Hongo's screams and curses, Cito ran through the corridors of Red Force, knowing now, after all his time here, where the crew kept the lifeboats that could be used to leave the ship quickly and safely.

He just had to get out of there as soon as possible. He had had enough of the Emperors and their sick, fucked up plans once and for all! His life wasn't worth the money and fame Blackbeard had promised him, and he didn't think that after all the losses the Emperor would suffer after the war with the Redhair, he would be generous enough to actually pay him for everything he'd been through here.

Fuck all the Emperors and their fucking money and fame.

Shooting down men with the precision of the sniper he was, and mortally wounding anyone who dared approach him, Cito finally reached the lifeboats, freeing one of them, and finally, after a swift rappel into the water, in a thicket of fog and black cannon dust, he managed to get away from the two enemy pirate crews unnoticed and escape from Dead Canyon.

Now everyone could kiss his ass!

Meanwhile, Hongo appeared on the deck of the Red Force, with trembling legs and visible pain painted on his face, wincing as he headed straight towards Shanks, who was just finishing decapitating Captain Shiryu with Gryphon. The Red-Haired Emperor rarely undertook such brutal acts, but this whole Shiryu motherfucker was crazy enough that Shanks thought that if he didn't decapitate the other, he would get up anyway to kill them all, despite the body loaded with Haki.

- "Captain..." – Hongo called weakly when he finally reached his boss.

- "What's wrong, Hongo?" asked Shanks, observing the other's attitude with obvious surprise. – "Your dick is stuck to your thigh from the heat of the battle? Dude, I know that pain, the worst possible feeling, you dance, and still this stinky bastard just doesn't want to peel off...".

- "That's not it, damn it!" - the doctor yelled, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He wanted to remind the captain that some normal people wear underwear here, but he knew it was a road to nowhere, so he should better get straight to what he wanted to say. - "This little shit just fucked off from here! He took one of our lifeboats and ran away. I tried to chase him, but that fucker kicked me in the nuts with such force that for a moment I thought I was seeing the Kingdom of Heaven".

- "Uh, that must have hurt" - Shanks said sympathetically, wiping the blood from Gryphon on his pants.

- "And that's it? Won't you do anything about it?" - the surprised doctor asked.

- "Hongo, you are the doctor, you should know how to help yourself...".

- "I'm talking about this guy!".

- "And what would you like me to do, chase him?" - asked the Emperor, not very interested in the idea. - "I have more important things on my mind right now, for example, this war, which is still ongoing. If this guy thinks that having two enemies in the form of Emperors is something he can handle on his own, then who am I to tell him that is not the case?" - said Shanks simply, before leaving to join Beckman and Lucky Roux as they fought an enraged Burgess.

Hongo stood for a moment, thinking about what the captain had just said, finally finding that there was actually some truth in it.

The day after the start of the Battle in Dead Canyon, New World, unknown seas.

After successfully bypassing Marco's crew and the other pirate ships who, in alliance with the Red-Hair Pirates, had joined the ranks of those who conserve themselves in the fog of Dead Canyon, Cito finally found himself on the open waters, less than two nautical miles from a place where he sincerely hoped all these pirates will kill each other.

The waters were calm, and the sea currents gently swayed his lifeboat, pulling him away from the bloody battle not far away and transporting him safely to a more distant place.

The only thing that caused the young man a little fear was the thick fog that now hung over the entire sea around him, and Cito was unable to see anything in front of him or behind him.

With no solution to his problem, the young man lay back comfortably in his little lifeboat, deciding to take a nap and wait for the sea to deliver his boat to any land where he could hide.

But he hadn't expected his little boat to collide with something so quickly, and still so close to the Canyon, young Cito was sure that what he had hit couldn't be the mainland, because nothing else had the right to exist here.

Offended by the sudden collision, the young man rose from his seat with a visible grimace on his face. The fog was pretty damn thick, so he'd probably have to strain and get up to see what the hell just hit his boat. But as soon as he opened his eyes slightly, the first thing he saw was a piercing, greenish light, coming from... a candle?

Staring at the small flame, which, completely undaunted by the sea winds, was not going to go out, he was almost hypnotized by its glow, until a mysterious, low, and smooth voice broke through the silence that reigned around him.

- "Who are you?".

Cito jumped up in terror and stepped away, landing on his back, surprised that he had just come across someone on the great open sea in the middle of nowhere, and in thick fog at that. To top it off, this someone's voice sounded more like an order than a question, which only irritated the young man more.

- "My name is Cito and that's the last thing you'll hear from me, so you better fuck off! I've killed enough pirates lately, I'll have no problem taking another one!" - he growled, hoping that the other one, whom he couldn't see through the fog, would eventually let go and detach from him.

The last thing he could expect was a black blade driven into his boat, right in front of his face, so close that he was able to see his own reflection in the beautifully polished surface of the huge sword.

Cito cried out in horror as he felt the water slowly pool in his small ship, and he raised his head to see a pair of horribly golden, animalistic eyes above him, nailing him to the bottom of the slowly sinking boat.

- "Repeat your name, brat".

The last thing Cito decided to do at the last minute was to reach for his firearm and fire a shot.

Two days after the end of the Battle of Dead Canyon, Red Force, New World.

The pale dawn, illuminating the sky so far shrouded in darkness, together with the sea breeze slowly, without haste, woke up the world to life. The men on board the Red Force moved just as slowly and unhurriedly, still recovering from all the events that had taken place recently. However, the first rays of the sun, warmed their skin and strengthened their souls, because after difficult months and an even more exhausting struggle they could welcome another sunny day into their lives, all this made them realize that they remained steadfast and won.

News Coo, within the first hours of the end of the bloody slaughter in Dead Canyon, spread the news in all the seas about the great victory of Red-Haired Shanks, the Emperor of the Sea, and at the same time, the great defeat of Marshall D. Teach, who did not even show up for the war he dared to unleash. Not only that, the Red-Hair Pirates decapitated all three Titanic Captains, sending the aforementioned "trophies" back to Blackbeard's ship, not only as a warning and a real threat of what would happen to Teach himself if he tried to get in the Redhead's way again but also as a form of ridicule of his supposedly invincible and powerful fleet, which, as it turned out, was not so "invincible" after all. The Red-Hair Pirates ravaged all the ships left behind by Blackbeard's crew, gathering their food, weapons, medicine, and maps, as well as gold, really huge amounts of gold, as well as precious stones and other riches. Shanks and his allies then visited the island originally under his protection, freeing the people from the tyranny imposed by Teach and his gang. One of the pirate crews, an ally of the Red-Hair crew, promised to stay nearby and look after the Emperor's interests in case a similar attack returned in the future. After a whole day of helping those in need, looting enemy ships, implementing new policies, and resupplying Red Force, the crew was finally ready to officially celebrate their greatest success over Teach so far and the fact that they proved to the world that they remain one of the most powerful pirate crews to be warded against.

Despite the early hours, there was a cheerful and friendly atmosphere on the deck of the ship. Every now and then the sound of crates being moved across the floor could be heard, men walking around, laughing and joking with buckets and cloths in their hands, cleaning the floor of the ship and scrubbing so hard that one could see their own reflection in the polished freshly varnished wooden parquet. The minor glitches that the ship had earned during the battle had already been fixed, and Red Force itself shone with freshness and cleanliness like never before.

The captain and his first mate left the control room, where they discussed the most important plans for the coming weeks and set the direction of their next course, and volleys of greetings and warm words greeted them as soon as they set foot on the deck.

Shanks took a deep breath, enjoying the first feeling of the fresh sea air in his lungs. The sound of his sandals reflected off the wooden floor, the morning sea breeze blew the red strands of his hair, and the first rays of the sun hit his eyes as soon as he stepped on the deck, but this time it didn't make him wince - on the contrary, he greeted the morning as if it were his old, dearest friend.

Summoned by the conversation next to him, the Emperor turned and walked towards his crewmates, already joined by Beckman, who was lighting a cigarette and watching with pity as Yasopp clumsily tried to wipe off the coffee, which he supposedly "didn't spill, and besides, it's all Lucky's fault, because his belly is so big that he can't see where he's going,  and also, leave him alone".

- "You better scrub it thoroughly before the boss sees it" – muttered the first mate supportively, which finally had the opposite effect.

- "You're exaggerating! Since when has boss ever cared so much about making the floors on his ship shine like porcelain?" - complained Yasopp loudly, scrubbing the wood with more force.

- "Beck is right. I won't lay Mihawk on every inch of this ship unless the floor is absolutely perfectly clean" - Shanks said in a voice as if what he had said was obvious, completely ignoring the fact that the faces of his colleagues were slowly frowning in disgust and with a certain amount of jealousy.

- "Then maybe warn Lucky not to wash the dishes, since you're going to eat from the floor anyway-" - the sniper began, but quickly fell silent when Beckman's fist met the top of his head.

- "Shut your mouth and you'd better be nice to the boss, otherwise he won't warn us that he's going to eat, and believe me, you wouldn't want to accidentally come in in the middle of his dinner" - the older man threatened him, knowing very well not to play with fire. Especially the red one in the form of their unpredictable captain.

- "Come on, now" - Yasopp muttered, rubbing his hand over the growing bump on his head. - "Our captain has more restraint than we think, am I right, boss?".

Shanks just smiled brightly at them, not commenting on it.

- "A-am I right, boss?" – the sniper asked again, now a little less confidently.

- "Uhh..." - muttered Lucky Roux softly, speaking for the first time since the captain and his first mate had joined them here. The cook looked incredibly surprised and slightly worried.

- "See? This is what you're going to look like if you don't stop pissing me off" - Shanks laughed, gesturing to the cook standing next to them.

- "Boss..." – Lucky continued as if he wanted to tell them something, but he was shocked enough to run out of words. – "Guys...".

- "Go to the kitchen and get me a cup of coffee, okay, Lucky? This tar tastes like shit, but I already drink it every day that it has become a habit. That and admiring the sea-" said the Emperor, pausing suddenly when he realized that there was a presence behind him, so familiar to him that he did not recognize it at first as something new, but so fresh that it did not match with any of the men on this ship.

Shanks straightened up, then turned abruptly, and where he used to admire the calm waves, undisturbed by anything, so gentle, so dangerous in their depths, but at the same time so interesting and beautiful, while the morning sun like a painter dyes the color of the water a shining gold... there stood Mihawk, overshadowing it all and making it no longer matter in the Emperor's eyes, except for that one and only, desirable presence he had missed for so long, and without which he was sure he could not survive another day.

Separated from one another for so long, the lovers were unable to do anything but look into each other's eyes, which slowly began to shine visibly from the tears they had not shed so far.

Shanks couldn't, just couldn't focus on anything else, even breathing didn't seem so important at that moment, not when he was looking at this beautiful, bright, and enigmatic gold, encased in the most unique irises this world had ever seen, a pale face, with one tiny beauty mark under his left eye, and black as obsidian and late night hair, some of whose strands came out from under the hat because of the breeze to find their place on the beautiful face of the love of his life. His love, the sweetest and truest one, which stood a few steps away from him, was safe and sound. The most beautiful, the perfect one.

The captain of the Red-Hair Pirates was ready to move forward and embrace his beloved, take the other in his arm(s), and never leave him alone again, if his dear little hawk hadn't breathed so heavily, tracing his faint eyes between Shanks and Beckman, who stood beside him in the same shock as the rest of the crew.

After that, the only thing Shanks sees is Mihawk, who tries to take a step towards him, when suddenly his tired body refuses to obey him any longer and he falls down.