Chapter 220: My Mom and the Pirate Empress
"You've been gone for a whole year. Let me get this straight. You're now called the 'World's Greatest Swordsman,' and your bounty is 3,276,000,000 Belly, correct?"
"Yup."
"And these 'Emperors of the Sea' are so strong that the entire Marine Headquarters and the Seven Warlords combined can barely maintain a balance with you?"
"Yup."
"And on your ship, besides Kuina and Robin, you've added a cute little thing named Bonney?"
"Yup... wait, HUH?! Nami's been feeding you lies again, hasn't she? She's just a kid! Mom, what are you getting at?"
"What do you think?!" Belle-mère twisted Shane's ear, annoyed. "You're nineteen years old, which means you're in your twentieth year, which basically makes you twenty-one! You're successful, you're surrounded by beautiful, age-appropriate women, and you're still single! What do you think I'm getting at?!"
Shane's eye twitched. So you came all the way back from Shimotsuki Village just to nag me about getting married? "You're not even forty yet. What's the rush to be a grandma?" he said, taking a huge bite of honey-glazed ribs. "Mmm, delicious... By the way, did you come back on your own, or did Koshiro send someone with you?" The best way to deal with a nagging mom was to let it go in one ear and out the other while changing the subject.
It worked.
"I sailed back myself," Belle-mère sighed, taking a drag from her cigarette. "One of the kids at the dojo is very sick. I was helping take care of him, so Koshiro couldn't get away. He wanted to come see you, though. He also told me to tell you that Sanji and Zoro set sail at the beginning of the year."
"Is that so?" Shane was a little surprised. They were only sixteen. Even Ace and Luffy had waited until they were seventeen. Kuina's fame must have really lit a fire under them. He wondered if they were traveling together or had gone their separate ways. If Zoro was captaining his own ship... he'd probably get so lost he'd end up at Laugh Tale by accident.
"I look forward to seeing them in the New World," Shane laughed, draining his bowl of corn chowder. "Delicious. It's been a long time."
"Don't give me that," Belle-mère huffed, stubbing out her cigarette. "You've got that old geezer Zeff with you. You're not exactly starving."
"You're just jealous," Shane pouted. "It's not the same. Even the best chef in the world can't beat the taste of home."
"Is that so?" she snorted, but the corner of her mouth quirked up in a smile. She stood up to clear the table. "Alright, enough with the flattery. Go take a shower. You reek of booze."
"That can wait. We need to talk about something important," Shane said, helping her with the dishes. "I'm sure Nami already told you what I was planning. Have you thought about it? Do you want to come with me to the New World?"
"Eh?" Belle-mère paused. "I thought Nami was joking. You're serious?"
"Of course," Shane said with a grin. "I've got two territories over there already, and I'll have more in the future. You can live wherever you want. If you get bored and miss us, you can stay on my ship. The only reason I didn't take you with me before was because I was afraid of putting you in danger. But things are different now. In this world... no one can hurt my dear mother anymore."
"Such big words," she said, giving him a light kick. "Never mind the dishes. Go brush your teeth first!"
Shane sniffed his breath... it did reek of alcohol. "Oh." The Emperor of the Sea obediently went to brush his teeth.
"Leaving the East Blue... to see the outside world?" Belle-mère leaned against the windowsill, gazing out at the orange grove. "All these years, my only wish was to see you, Nami, and Nojiko grow up safe and sound, and to save up a little money. You're all doing well now, and I've got my savings. I guess... I can finally start chasing my own dreams."
"Chasing your dreams? I'm all for it!" Shane said, spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste. "So that's a yes?"
"Yes. All my things are still packed from Shimotsuki Village," she said with a grin. "As soon as you're done with the dishes, we can go!" She sat down at the table and started writing something.
"What are you writing?" Shane asked.
"My dream travel list!" Belle-mère snapped her fingers. "Totto Land, Elbaf, Dressrosa... And the one place I've always wanted to go... I don't think I can get there on my own."
"Where?" Shane leaned over to look. It couldn't be Marineford, could it?
"Eh?" He saw what she had written. "The Red Line?"
"Yes!" her eyes sparkled with excitement. "They say that from the top of the Red Line, you can see the whole world! All four seas, the Calm Belt... I saw it once from a distance when I was in Loguetown, and I've never forgotten it!"
That's it? Shane was a little taken aback. "Belle-mère, your dreams are so... simple. We can go there right now."
"Really?" her eyes lit up, then she looked worried. "But that's World Government territory. With your status..."
"Don't worry. The Red Line is huge. Besides the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, I can go wherever I please."
"Let's go, Belle-mère! Let's go now!"
"What's the hurry? I haven't finished my list! Go wash the dishes!"
"Oh, right..."
That morning, Shane said a quick goodbye to Genzo and the others, and he and Belle-mère left Cocoyasi Village.
"It must be nice," Genzo said, watching them go. If only he had a son that successful. He scratched his head... and then froze. He took off his hat. Eh? Where's my pinwheel?
Two days later, the silhouette of the Red Line appeared on the horizon. "It's... magnificent," Belle-mère whispered, her breath taken away by the sight of the colossal continent that ringed the world.
"It's even more magnificent from the top," Shane said, parking his motorcycle and holding out his hand. "Hold on tight."
"We're... just going to fly up?"
"Pretty much," he laughed, and with a single stomp, they shot into the sky.
"WAAAAAH!!!" Belle-mère screamed, clinging to him for dear life as they soared past the crimson cliffs, the world shrinking below them. But soon, her fear was replaced by awe.
They landed softly on the summit. The wind whipped her hair around her face. Below her was a sheer, ten-thousand-meter drop, and before her was the vast, endless Grand Line.
She was silent for a long, long time. Then, she wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at the young man beside her. "This is wonderful, Shane."
She had been an orphan, a troublemaker, a Marine, and then... a mother. She had fought, and struggled, and sacrificed everything for the three little fools who had given her a new reason to live. And now... one of those little fools had grown into a man who could stand on top of the world, and he had brought her with him.
"This is wonderful, Shane," she said again, her voice soft.
Shane just smiled and handed her a red bean bun. They sat there in comfortable silence, watching the sun sink below the horizon.
"We should get going," he said after a while. "The rest of the trip might get a little... exciting. Are you ready?"
"Don't look down on me, you little brat!" Belle-mère huffed, taking the last bite of her bun. "I live for excitement! I remember a time when you were so scared of a little storm, you wouldn't let go of my waist!"
"I don't remember that at all!" he laughed, and with a flick of his wrist, the hover-motorcycle appeared. "Hold on tight."
He hopped on, and she jumped on behind him. The engine roared to life, and they shot off the cliff, plunging down the side of the Red Line. "Aaaaaah! You brat! This is not how you're supposed to go down!"
...
An hour later, they were cruising peacefully through the Calm Belt. Belle-mère was pouting, her arms crossed. Shane was driving, three large, smoking lumps on his head. Women... even my mom.
From time to time, a massive Sea King would emerge from the depths, but the moment it got close, it would freeze, then turn and flee in terror.
"These big guys are pretty smart," Belle-mère said. "Do they read the papers, too?"
"It's the Conqueror's Haki..." Shane sighed. "Speaking of which, Mom, you have it too, right?"
"Me? Of course not!"
"Then how can you hit me so hard?! Not even Admirals and Warlords can do that... huh?"
Shane's motorcycle screeched to a halt. Speak of the devil...
"What is it?" Belle-mère looked up. In the distance, a large, unique pirate ship was slowly sailing toward them, pulled by two giant sea serpents. The ship was decorated in a jungle theme, and the sails bore the skull-and-crossbones of the Kuja Pirates.
"They're all girls?" Belle-mère said, surprised.
"Look, a man!"
"Where? Oh, wow! And he's super handsome!"
"What's that he's riding? It looks like a white horse..."
"What is all this noise?" a cold, proud voice cut through the chatter. The female warriors immediately fell silent and parted to make way for their empress.
A tall, impossibly beautiful woman with long, black hair and a regal, arrogant air walked to the railing and looked down at them with cold, indifferent eyes.
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