One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 69

"Long time no see. You've come to pay your respects to that capricious captain too?"

Liu Jiu didn't turn around, but simply nodded in response: "Redhead, you seem to have it easy. Lately, you've been causing quite a stir in the New World; the newspapers have been full of your headlines for years!"

From the shadows, a man with a black cloak, three scars on his left eye, and striking red hair emerged, a cheerful yet sharp smile on his lips. He was none other than Shanks, one of the Four Emperors.

He carried the famous sword Griffin at his waist, but had no subordinates with him.

"I just happened to be passing by and sensed a familiar presence, so I came over to take a look."

Shanks walked over to Liu Jiu in a few steps, took a flask of wine from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and did the same thing Liu Jiu had done before.

"So many years have passed since then, and this is the first time we've met! Interested in boarding my ship?!"

Liu Jiu glanced at him and teased him, a rare occurrence for him: "Is the standard in the New World this low now? Even if you lose an arm, or just wander around, you can still sit on the throne of one of the Four Emperors."

Shanks was taken aback, but instead of getting angry, he burst into laughter, drawing the attention of passersby.

He patted his empty left sleeve forcefully: "This arm? I've staked everything on the new era!"

Chapter 78 The Red-Haired Man's Solemnity

Shanks' laughter echoed across the empty square, carrying a sense of boldness and unbridled spirit. He took a large gulp of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and looked at Liu Jiu with a mixture of reminiscence and inquiry in his eyes.

"You're still the same as always, either silent or saying something shocking."

Shanks grinned. "However, compared to the guy on the ship back then who only knew how to mop the floor, he's got a bit more humanity now."

Liu Jiu didn't reply, but just stared at the high platform with a deep gaze.

Shanks didn't seem to mind and continued speaking to himself: "Over the years, I've visited some old friends on and off. Uncle Crocus is still guarding the inverted currents at Twin Capes, guarding the captain's 'beginning'."

"Mr. Rayleigh, well, he works in the Sabaody Archipelago, occasionally selling himself into the lives of the nobility. After receiving some 'ransom from his master,' he goes to the casino to gamble, forming a closed loop. He lives a carefree life."

He paused, a hint of melancholy in his voice: "That red-nosed bastard Buggy, I heard he's running his circus in the East Blue... cough cough, his pirate crew, he's having a good time. And Kozuki Oden... never mind, let's not talk about him."

Liu Jiu knew most of what he was saying. Those who had sailed together on the Oro Jackson scattered like dandelion seeds to every corner of the world after Roger announced the "disbandment."

Some went into seclusion, some continued their search, and some embarked on completely different paths.

The era that revolved around the same man and the same goal has come to a complete end.

“So,” Shanks changed the subject, his gaze fixed intently on Liu Jiu, “you suddenly appeared in the East China Sea, surely not to find a place to live in seclusion, or… specifically to pay homage to the captain, right?”

He shook the wine jug in his hand, making a pointed remark: "It's not easy for you to choose to stay in the East China Sea, the weakest sea in the world."

Liu Jiu remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice calm and even: "I just met... someone I need to make up for."

Shanks raised an eyebrow, his smile deepening, tinged with understanding and amusement: "Oh? To make up for a regret? Who could it be? I'm really curious."

Liu Jiu ignored his teasing and instead asked a seemingly unrelated question, or perhaps a question he already knew the answer to: "Where did you bet your arm?"

Mentioning this, Shanks' expression turned serious. He touched his empty sleeve, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, as if they could pierce through time and space and see a small tavern in a windmill village.

“Into a brat from the East Blue.” His tone was undeniably certain. “When I was about to leave the East Blue, he said he was going to become the Pirate King. His eyes… were very similar to those of Captain Roger back then.”

He looked at Liu Jiu, his smile returning to its usual hearty tone: "How about it? Want to place a bet? The tide of the new era is about to rise!"

Looking into Shanks' expectant and determined eyes, Liu Jiu seemed to see the red-haired apprentice who had been passionately worshipping the captain on Roger's ship many years ago.

He shook his head, his tone still calm: "That's your gamble, your new era."

He paused, then added, "And I'm just a mower crew member adrift in your era! Always have been."

Upon hearing this, Shanks was not disappointed at all. Instead, he burst into laughter and patted Liu Jiu's shoulder forcefully (which Liu Jiu dodged without making a sound).

“I knew it! You’re still the most laid-back person!” He tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in the pot. “Good! This ocean is vast enough to accommodate different choices and paths.”

He casually draped the wine jug over his body, and the cloak behind him fluttered in the sea breeze.

"Well then, farewell, old friend." Shanks turned and waved to Liu Jiu with his back to him. "I hope our next meeting won't be on the battlefield. After all..."

He turned his head, revealing a smile that conveyed both strong confidence and a hint of warning:

"I'm one of the Four Emperors now. If anyone gets in my way, I'll do what I did back then, and I'll take action against anyone."

After saying that, he turned and strode away. His red hair stood out conspicuously in the lights of Loguetown, and his figure quickly disappeared at the end of the street, as if he had never been there.

Liu Jiu stood there, looking in the direction where Shanks had disappeared, and then looked up at the deep night sky above the execution platform.

Old friends, old ships, a new era…

Roger's death ushered in an era of change that no one could stop. Shanks chose to nurture and wait, Rayleigh chose to observe and guide, and Buggy... chose to play his treasure hunt in the East Blue, ultimately entering a new era in the most unexpected way.

Everything seemed to be part of a grand scheme.

No outsiders allowed...

"Are you going to attack anyone?"

He repeated the sentence in a low voice, turned around, and left the square that held so many memories and destinies.

My steps were steady, and my direction was clear—it was the way back to the hotel.

When Liu Jiu pushed open the hotel room door, Noki immediately jumped up from his chair, ran over, and carefully examined him, as if to make sure he wasn't missing a piece of flesh.

"Uncle, you're back! Are you done with the memorial service?" she asked softly.

Bellemere also put down what she was holding and looked at him, her eyes filled with a hint of barely perceptible concern.

"Hmm." Liu Jiu nodded, his expression still calm, but the faint, chilling aura he had brought back from the square quietly dissipated, and he returned to being the silent yet reassuring man he once was.

Meanwhile, off the coast of Loguetown, aboard the USS Red Fosse.

Shanks stood alone at the bow of the ship, gazing at the dark sea. His cheerful smile had vanished, replaced by an unusual solemnity.

First mate Ben Beckman approached with a new bottle of wine, keenly sensing the captain's unusual behavior. He handed over the bottle, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the ship's railing: "Seeing an 'old friend'? Judging from your expression, it's not just a simple reunion."

Shanks took the bottle but didn't drink it; he simply stroked its cool surface.

“Beckman,” he said in a low voice, with a hint of barely perceptible confusion, “do you believe that there are people in this world who seem to exist outside of time, doing nothing but ‘staying,’ yet they seem to become increasingly unfathomable.”

Beckman exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes sharp: "Are you talking about Liu Jiu, the one you called a 'ghost crew member' on Roger's ship?"

Shanks nodded and finally took a swig of liquor. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't dispel the fog in his mind.

"He's still the same as ever, silent, calm, like a bottomless pool of water." Shanks recalled their brief meeting, "but he seemed even more formidable than he was back on the Oro Jackson."

He turned to look at his trusted first mate: "Back on the ship, he hardly participated in any fighting or treasure hunting. He just spent his days wiping the deck, like a transparent shadow. Captain Roger and Mr. Rayleigh seemed to tacitly approve of his presence and rarely assigned him any tasks."

Beckman said thoughtfully, "A person who 'only wipes the floor' on a legendary pirate ship is unusual in itself."

“That’s right.” Shanks’ eyes sharpened. “What’s even more unusual is that when I faced him just now, even though I’m already one of the Four Emperors and possess top-tier Conqueror’s Haki, my Observation Haki… couldn’t sense the depth of his abilities at all.”

He gripped the bottle tightly: "It's like facing an abyss of nothingness, or... a frozen spacetime. He's clearly there, yet it's as if there's an invisible barrier separating him from this world. This feeling is even more... unsettling than facing the other Four Emperors or Marine Admirals."

Beckman was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Those who drift outside of their time... are either ultimately crushed by their time, or they are accumulating power enough to overturn their time. But his aimless choice to stay in the East China Sea? That in itself is very suspicious."

Shanks shook his head, his red hair fluttering in the sea breeze: "I don't know... Maybe this weakest sea has become different because of his existence."

He downed the bottle of wine in one gulp, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if he could pierce through the night and see the future of that new era.

Chapter 79 The Strength of the Manatee

On the return journey, the weather was fine and the ship sailed smoothly, towed by the mooing manatees.

Nojiko lay on the ship's side, humming a tuneless little tune she had learned in Loguetown, while playing with the pink pearl hair clip in her hand.

Bellemere rarely lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said that smoking this stuff occasionally was quite good for one's appearance.

Once a woman has money, she should treat herself to something nice.

This time, Liu Jiu did not interfere. Instead, he sat at the stern, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was sensing everything in the surrounding sea.

This tranquility was soon shattered by some inconsiderate individuals.

A pirate ship flying a menacing skull and crossbones flag aggressively pursued them from the side and rear. The ship looked dilapidated, but it was fast, and the deck was crowded with fierce-looking pirates wielding swords.

"Small boats ahead! Stop right there! You're surrounded! Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

A one-eyed man stood at the bow of the boat, shouting, "Hand over all your valuables! We might consider letting you go!"

Nojiko's face paled with fright, and she instinctively moved closer to Bellemere. Bellemere immediately stood up, her eyes sharp, and habitually reached for her waist, only to find nothing—her weapons had long since been sold off to make a living.

She subconsciously looked at Liu Jiu.

Liu Jiu had opened his eyes at some point, his gaze calmly sweeping over the approaching pirate ship as if he were looking at a pile of floating garbage.

He didn't get up, or even change his posture, but simply said something to MooMoo, who was diligently pulling the boat in the sea:

"Manatee, go and take care of them."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached the manatee's ears clearly.

Moo, who was leisurely paddling in the water, suddenly stopped. It turned its head, and a flash of anger, indicating offense, flickered in its previously docile eyes—

These damned two-legged creatures dared to disturb it from pulling the boat (and the potential delicious reward that might follow)?!

"Moo-!!!"

A deafening roar erupted from beneath the sea, carrying the terrifying power of a sea king.

Amidst the horrified gazes of the pirates opposite, the manatee, which had been as docile as a large dog, suddenly rose upright from the sea, revealing its massive upper body covered in thick blue fur, as large as a small mountain.

The shadow instantly enveloped the pirate ship, which appeared incredibly small in comparison.

"A sea...sea monster?!"

"It's a manatee! What's it doing here?!"

"Turn around! Run!"

The pirates' terrified screams abruptly ceased.

Moo Moo gave them no time to react. It quickly swam forward, swung its giant forefin, which was comparable to a small warship, and slammed it down on the pirate ship with the force to crush everything!

"Boom——!!!"

A loud bang, and sawdust flew everywhere!

The pirate ship was like a toy crushed by a giant, breaking apart and disintegrating instantly from the middle. The sails ripped, the masts collapsed, and terrified pirates were thrown into the icy sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, their cries and pleas for help instantly drowned out by the roar of the waves.

"Help! I can't swim!"

"Run! The sea monster is going to eat people!"