Aster, Guest Reception Room.
Uma pushed open the door and immediately saw the red-haired man sitting inside.
His black cloak hung casually over the back of the chair, his left sleeve empty, his face wearing its usual easy smile.
"Mr. Shanks. I've long wanted to meet you."
Uma's gaze settled on the Four Emperor before him. "I thought you would spend more time catching up with old friends first."
"Don't stand on ceremony — just call me Shanks."
Shanks grinned and drained the rum in front of him in one go. "It's true I haven't seen Loki and the others in a while, but I couldn't help it — I've been wanting to meet The Zodiac for far longer than that."
"You have no idea — ever since 'Snake' from your organization defeated Mihawk, things have been so much more peaceful on my end. Hahahaha!"
"He hasn't come looking for a sword fight in ages. He's just been holed up at his new base training, waiting for a chance to challenge 'Snake' again." He laughed heartily at that.
"Hm. If Snake ever hears you say that, he probably won't take it as a compliment."
Uma's words carried a quiet undercurrent.
But somewhere along the way, the conversation between the two had shed its unfamiliarity. Something closer to ease had taken its place. Perhaps that was simply Shanks's nature — no matter who he faced, he had a way of making people feel like they'd known him for years.
"Since we're on the subject of old friends, let me be a bit presumptuous."
Then Shanks's tone shifted. "Regarding Mr. Gaban's recovery, and what you did for Elbaf — I owe you my thanks."
He rose and bowed to Uma with genuine solemnity.
"At the time, I had something I had to go and investigate personally, and couldn't keep an eye on what was happening in Elbaf. If it weren't for The Zodiac, my friends would probably have..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
"Whether it was dealing with Teach or saving Elbaf — that is a debt I won't forget."
The Four Emperors each held territory and deep ties in the New World. And as the sea well knew, the waters near Elbaf were firmly within "Red-Haired" Shanks's domain. Past experiences, combined with his bond with Gaban, had made his relationship with that Land of War a close one. His relationship with Teach, by contrast, was something else entirely — the scar across Shanks's left eye had been left by a young Teach, and he had long regarded the man as one of the sea's most dangerous threats. So his gratitude now was genuine, and he offered it without hesitation.
"There's no need for thanks."
Uma waved his hand.
"Elbaf is now a people of the stars — a race under The Zodiac's protection. Saving them was the leader's will. As for Mr. Gaban, it is the same — he and the heroic spirits are people the stars protect, so the leader gave them new bodies."
What Uma said was true.
Gaban had been wounded by Teach during the battle of Elbaf, using Loki's power, and had become a heroic spirit within the Kingdom of the Dead bound to the 'Nidhogg Fruit'. But for Roy, who was by now far from short on Source Energy of Lineage Factor, fashioning a body from scratch was no great task. Beyond Gaban and the Giant race's heroic spirits, he had also recently given new forms to Linlin and even the children of the Sheep's House.
"Star Lord..."
Shanks nodded, his expression thoughtful.
Then he shifted without preamble. "Actually, my visit today is because there are things I need to warn your side about."
Uma straightened slightly.
"I'm listening."
In truth, from the very first moment he had heard Shanks was coming, he had suspected the Four Emperor was bringing something important. The reasoning was simple — from Shanks's territory in the New World to the sea area where the Aster currently sailed, the voyage spanned nearly half the Grand Line. A Four Emperor covering that distance, leaving his own territory exposed, would not do so without serious cause.
And Uma's instinct had been right.
"I want to form an alliance with you."
Shanks came straight to the point. "Mr. Rayleigh should have told you some things already. I am an enemy of the 'Abyss' — same as you."
Uma paused at that.
But beneath the horse-head mask, Roy's expression was unsurprised.
"A former God's Knight who defected from the Holy Land, turned pirate, inherited the Pirate King's dying wish, and personally took that fruit out of the Government's hands..."
"That you are an enemy of the Abyss — yes, we were already certain of that."
He nodded.
Yes. Shanks had to be Imu's enemy. He couldn't have defected from the God's Knights otherwise, couldn't have kept the Nika Fruit from the Government's hands, and certainly couldn't have worn that straw hat — the symbol of Roger and Nika — all these years.
Shanks, hearing Uma's words, was visibly taken aback. After a moment he smiled and shook his head. "You've dug that deep?"
He had no way of knowing Roy was a transmigrator, and simply assumed The Zodiac's intelligence network had uncovered his history. That thought drew a reluctant admiration from him — but not anger. If anything, he felt a quiet relief. "If you already know all of that, then you shouldn't have any reason to doubt what I'm about to tell you."
He reined in his expression and looked at Uma directly. "Please relay this to Star Lord — do not let the Government's silence breed complacency. The Abyss still holds trump cards capable of destroying everything. Their forbearance right now is almost certainly them waiting for the moment to use those cards."
"Trump cards?"
Uma leaned forward slightly. "What exactly are they?"
"...I'm not entirely certain myself."
Shanks shook his head.
Then he spoke of what he knew.
It was from his time in the Holy Land, when he was still part of the God's Knights — before he had truly accepted the Deep Sea Contract and become a full member. But his strength had been recognized, and his bloodline as a member of the Figarland Family gave him access to places others could not enter.
"The God's Knights' headquarters — 'Shangri-La'."
Shanks's tone was grave. "It is located behind Pangea Castle, connecting directly to the castle's deepest levels. It is a remnant of the Ancient Kingdom."
At that, Roy naturally recalled the images he had seen in Doflamingo's memories.
The Knights' Temple of Shangri-La, linked to Imu's Room of Flowers, running down into the deepest recesses of Pangea Castle. That matched.
"The ruins of the Ancient Kingdom are in decay," Shanks continued, "but certain facilities of that ancient civilization still function — enough to maintain specific structures." He paused. "I can confirm that within Mary Geoise, beyond Shangri-La itself, there are at least two other ancient installations that remain active and in use."
"The first, known internally among the God's Knights as the 'Ancient Wall' — it is a massive structure located at the very core of Pangea Castle. Only the 'Abyss' may enter it. The specifics, I was never able to learn."
"The second is in the southern part of Pangea Castle. The Knights call it the 'Ancient Coffin'."
His voice was steady and deliberate. "According to what was spoken of among the Knights, both installations contain a power with the potential to 'destroy the world'. They will only be activated when facing an existence the Government considers a genuine opponent."
He looked at Uma.
The meaning in his eyes was plain — The Zodiac had clearly reached that threshold. That was why he had come. Do not grow careless from recent gains.
Beneath the horse-head mask, Roy's expression went very still.
There was no question — what Shanks had just described was dangerous intelligence.
"Ancient Wall..."
He turned the name over carefully in his mind, and something from the source material surfaced.
A vast ancient installation Imu had once entered — a place resembling a treasury, which held at a minimum one giant straw hat. Based on its position in the original work, buried in the core of Pangea Castle beyond the Room of Flowers, it matched what Shanks was describing.
As for the second location —
"The place from Doflamingo's memories?"
Roy recalled it clearly: within the area corresponding to Shangri-La in those memories, there had been a massive structure that resembled a coffin.
That was almost certainly the 'Ancient Coffin' Shanks spoke of now.
"Power sufficient to destroy the world..."
He turned it over quietly in his mind.
Even so, he felt no particular anxiety.
There was a reason for that — in the course of gradually mastering the Source Energy of Lineage Factor, he had come to understand exactly how formidable Imu's power truly was. He had never underestimated Imu, not for a moment. Shanks's warning didn't change that, but it was still worth hearing.
"Thank you. This intelligence is genuinely valuable."
"I'll relay it to the leader."
Uma nodded his thanks. The information Shanks had brought carried real weight.
Shanks seemed to catch the trace of vigilance in Uma's tone, and let out a quiet breath of relief.
"There's also a second matter."
He moved on.
"Kaido's recent behavior has been unusual."
"Kaido?"
Uma tilted his head.
Honestly, after leaving Elbaf, his attention on the New World and the Four Emperors had narrowed considerably — his focus had been almost entirely on dealing with the World Government rather than following the movements of other pirates.
"Mm."
Shanks nodded. Sensing the other man's uncertainty, he didn't delay and explained the situation directly.
"Beckman has contacts near Wano Country who have been passing information about the situation inside Wano to us for some time. They have their methods — even from an isolated country, they can gather a fair amount."
"But recently, they were all taken out by Kaido, one after another."
"And the Beasts Pirates — which had been contracting overall ever since the Dressrosa incident — have suddenly started showing unusual movement. The number of ability users among their ranks appears to be increasing rapidly. Beckman's assessment is that Kaido has very likely received support from somewhere."
Shanks left it there.
Uma wasn't surprised to hear it.
As the two youngest among the Four Emperors, it was common knowledge that the Red Hair Pirates and the Beasts Pirates had always been at odds. That much was clear from the source material — during the Summit War, the Marines hadn't been shocked that 'Red Hair' and 'Beasts' had clashed, only that they'd heard about it at all. And in the Wano Country arc, the moment Kaido fell, Shanks had appeared in the waters near Wano and driven Admiral Green Bull off with nothing more than presence. The Red Hair Pirates had always maintained eyes near Wano.
So the issue was clear.
Because of The Zodiac, the Three Disasters had all died in Dressrosa, and the supply of Artificial Devil Fruits — the SMILE fruits — that Kaido had been counting on never materialized. As a result, the Beasts Pirates had spent the past stretch of time in a state of slow contraction.
For them to suddenly be expanding their ability-user numbers, and simultaneously purging the Red Hair Pirates' informants near Wano — that was strange enough to warrant a trip across half the Grand Line.
But Uma wasn't sure what any of this had to do with The Zodiac. He was still turning the question over when Shanks provided the answer himself.
"About half a year ago, I faintly sensed what felt like the power of the 'Abyss' somewhere within Wano Country. It was only the once, and I couldn't be certain, so I just had my contacts increase their monitoring."
His expression was serious now.
"Then, half a month ago, I sensed it again."
"And it was exactly from that point that Kaido began clearing out our people near Wano."
Uma went still.
Then his voice, too, turned serious. "Can you be certain of this?"
"Yes."
Shanks nodded without hesitation, and touched his empty left sleeve. "I once accepted the contract myself. Even after breaking free from it, that presence... there's no mistaking it. It's the power of the 'Abyss'."
"However well-concealed it was — those are the traces of the 'Magic Circle'."
He said it quietly and plainly.
"Kaido has almost certainly allied himself with the 'Abyss'."
(End of Chapter)
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