radiothebook Chapter 305: Shanks' Brother!
Chapter 305: Shanks' Brother!
The atmosphere at the banquet was lively.
Shanks was like a child who had received candy, his face covered in orange juice, grinning foolishly.
The mother's fingers were still resting on her son's hair.
however.
A single sentence fell lightly to the ground.
"By the way, Shanks, where's your brother Shamrock? Why isn't he with you? You were both... back then..."
This sentence sounded like a casual remark from a mother.
But to the pirates present, it was like a cannonball exploding next to their eardrums.
The scene fell silent instantly!
Yasopp, who was playing rock-paper-scissors with Joz, still had his hand raised in mid-air.
"Clatter."
A muffled thud
From Raki Lu.
The fat man, who loved meat as much as life itself, dropped the half-eaten bone-in meat in his hand onto the beach.
He hadn't swallowed the meat in his mouth, his cheeks were bulging, but his eyes were wide open, staring intently at the red-haired man.
Even the white beard on the distant rocks.
The giant bowl in his hand also stopped in mid-air.
The wine in the bowl sloshed, reflecting Edward Newgate's astonished face.
"elder brother?"
A sharp scream shattered the silence.
He is Rockstar, a newcomer to the Red-Haired Pirates.
This greenhorn, who had just joined, was completely oblivious to the atmosphere.
He stared wide-eyed, pointed at his captain, and his voice changed.
"Boss...Boss has an older brother?!"
"And his name is... Shamrock?!"
These two words were uttered.
The air grew even heavier.
Shanks' smile shattered.
That expression, brimming with happiness and even a touch of naivety, crumbled.
All that remains is paleness.
Pale and bloodless.
He didn't react at all.
His body was as stiff as a stone.
"Ah... this..."
Shanks opened his mouth.
He wanted to laugh.
He wanted to brush it off with his usual carefree laughter.
"Haha...that...Shamrock, him..."
His voice was trembling.
His voice, usually so domineering and powerful that could knock out 100,000 people with a single roar, was now as weak as a schoolchild who had made a mistake.
His eyes darted around.
Look at the sky, look at the sea, look at the sand beneath your feet.
He just couldn't bear to look at his mother in front of him.
He dared not look at his companions behind him.
"He...he..."
Shanks stammered, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Sweat mixed with orange juice streamed into my eyes.
Tingling.
He didn't dare blink!
Shanks' mother looked at her son's reaction with utter confusion.
Her memory stopped thirty-eight years ago.
At that time, Shanks and Shamrock were twins in the cradle.
Why would asking about his other son cause Shanks such terror?
"What's wrong, Shanks?"
She asked with concern.
"Could it be...could it be that you've been separated?"
"Or did something happen to him?"
This sentence was the last straw.
The surrounding chatter exploded.
Instead of laughter and joy, there was shock, confusion, and a hidden sense of dread.
"Hey, did you hear that? The boss has an older brother?"
"I've never heard of that! I've been with the boss for over ten years, and he's never mentioned his family!"
The murmurs of discussion surged forth like a tidal wave.
Every line is like a knife, stabbing into Shanks' taut nerves.
The youngest of the Four Emperors.
The freest man on the sea.
She actually has an older brother.
If this news gets out, the World Government will be shaken, and the Navy Headquarters will have to hold an emergency meeting overnight.
But more importantly.
This means deception.
To conceal from one's partner.
The crowd automatically parted to form a path.
Footsteps.
Very heavy.
Very stable.
Leather boots tread on the sand.
Every step he took resonated with the heartbeats of the crowd.
Ben Beckman.
The vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates.
The man with the "world's highest IQ".
At this moment, his face, which always wore a wise smile, froze.
It was terribly gloomy.
He had a cigarette between his fingers.
The cigarette burned to the end, scalding my fingers.
He didn't throw it away.
He walked until he was three meters away from Shanks.
He stopped.
Raise your hand.
Rub two fingers together vigorously.
"Zzz."
The fire went out.
Beckman didn't look at his aunt.
At that moment, his eyes were full of questions!
"Shanks".
Beckman spoke.
He addressed him by his first name.
It's neither "boss" nor "captain".
"Explain."
Beckman's gaze passed over Shanks, glanced at Shanks' bewildered mother, and then locked onto Shanks' eyes again.
"Who is this Shamrock that Auntie mentioned earlier?"
Everyone held their breath.
Jesus put down his wine bowl.
Raki Lu stopped chewing.
Even Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates stopped watching the spectacle and stood up straight.
This is not just a household matter.
This concerns the very foundation of the Red-Haired Pirates.
trust.
Shanks' Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
Cold sweat slid down his cheeks, dripped onto the sand, and disappeared.
He twitched the corner of his mouth.
It's uglier than crying.
"Ah... Beckman, why are you so serious...?"
Shanks raised his hand, intending to pat Beckman on the shoulder and, as usual, laugh it off.
"This matter... is a bit complicated."
"You know, things about the older generation are hard to explain."
"Later...later, I'll find an opportunity to tell you slowly, okay?"
"Everyone's having a great time today, don't spoil the fun..."
His hand reached into the air.
stopped.
Beckman didn't move.
He didn't even blink.
Those dark eyes held only a cold, unwavering resolve.
"Say it now."
Beckman interrupted him.
Not an inch will be yielded.
The voice rose a few decibels, like a heavy hammer slamming into Shanks' chest.
"You've never mentioned that you have a brother."
"We've faced life and death on the high seas for so many years."
"From the East China Sea to the New World".
From an unknown nobody to one of the Four Emperors.
We entrust our backs to you because we trust you.
Beckman took a step forward.
His aura exploded forth.
That was the aura of a powerful figure who wouldn't be at a disadvantage even when facing a general.
"But Shanks."
"About your background."
"About who you really are."
"Isn't it time to give an explanation to these brothers who bled and fought alongside you?"
Beckman's words ignited the fuse.
The core members of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Jesus, Raki Luke, and others.
They didn't speak.
But they all silently gathered around.
In their eyes.
Only confusion.
And the desire for the truth.
That look in his eyes hurt Shanks more than any hostility.
That was the look of someone being questioned by the person they trusted most.
"Figaland".
"Celestial Dragons".
"The Knights of God".
It was his biggest secret, and also his shame!
He hated that bloodline.
I hate Mary Geoise, that high and mighty holy land that treats human life like dirt.
He chose the sea.
I chose freedom.
I chose Captain Roger's straw hat.
He thought he had escaped that shadow.
He thought he was just "Shanks".
But now.
A single sentence from the mother brought that ghost back to the human world.
That non-existent ghost.
Shamrock.
That twin brother who may be enjoying divine privileges in the holy land, or perhaps judging the world.
If you say it out loud.
If we told everyone that their captain was a descendant of the Celestial Dragons...
It is the bloodline of that "god" who is despised by the world.
How would this group of friends who crave freedom and hate oppression view him?
traitor?
Or is he a Celestial Dragon disguised as a pirate?
The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.
The lively banquet suddenly became tense.
The sea breeze, instead of being warm, brought a biting cold.
Even if Shanks' mother's memories are stuck in the past, she's not stupid.
As a mother.
She sensed that something was wrong.
She felt her son's body trembling.
She felt a sense of oppression emanating from the people around her who were originally kind.
"Shanks..."
Shanks' mother was somewhat alarmed.
She instinctively reached out and grabbed Shanks' sleeve.
Just like when he got into trouble as a child, she protected him.
Her voice was filled with helplessness and self-blame.
"What's wrong?"
Did I... say something wrong?
"If it's inconvenient for Shamrock to bring it up, then Mom won't ask... won't ask."
His mother's cautious apology felt like a knife piercing his heart.
Blood was everywhere.
Not far away.
Chen Ye, who had been sitting on the coconut tree watching the show, narrowed his eyes.
The gold coins in his hand stopped bobbing.
"Oh?"
Chen Ye's lips curled up into a smile.
"Has it finally come to this?"
"The curse of bloodline theory".
"The test of free will".
"Shanks, this is a hurdle you must overcome."
Chen Ye did not intervene.
He just watched.
Watch as this most prestigious man on the high seas faces a choice between his origins and his companions.