"Is he even scarier than Kaido?"
Whitebeard raised a brow, clearly surprised by Marco's words.
"Even if that's true, so what?"
His lips curled into a grin as he let out a low, rumbling laugh.
"I'm Whitebeard!"
"It's just a three-eyed brat. Not worth losing sleep over."
Though aged and ailing, Whitebeard's domineering spirit had not diminished. He had lived through the Rocks era, clashed with Roger, and watched empires rise and fall. The arrogance of the world's strongest man wasn't something time could wash away.
"Besides—Kaido's not new to us. We've tangled with him before."
"If this Ragnar really is stronger... all the more reason for us to take him head on."
"We're the Whitebeard Pirates."
...
Marco, Jozu, and the other division commanders exchanged glances and laughed lightly.
Their captain's confidence wasn't just for show.
They were Whitebeard's men.
That was reason enough to believe.
—
"Whitebeard!"
A voice came from above. Riding the spirit-guided remnants of the Red Force, Shanks and his surviving crew landed beside the Moby Dick.
With a single leap, Shanks touched down on the deck in front of Whitebeard. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, then bowed his head respectfully.
"Thanks."
"This debt—Red Hair won't forget."
"If there's ever anything we can do for you... the whole crew will stand behind it."
Despite his ragged condition, the gratitude in his voice was deep and sincere.
Whitebeard gave him a long look.
"Well now... after all these years, I didn't expect to meet you again in this kind of situation."
"But the real surprise... is that a man like you lost to a little punk."
Shanks chuckled bitterly and touched the blood-stained wound on his side.
"Ragnar... is not just some kid."
"If it weren't for Beckman... I probably wouldn't have made it."
Those words fell like thunder across the deck.
The captains of the Whitebeard Pirates stiffened.
They knew exactly who Shanks was. The youngest of the Four Emperors. The one with the fewest crew members. The man who once clashed blades with Whitebeard himself without flinching.
But now... he was openly admitting defeat. And not just defeat—near death.
"Wait, what?"
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious for the first time.
"You mean to say you weren't just beaten—you almost died?"
Marco stepped forward, stunned.
"Yes," Shanks said bluntly. "If Beckman hadn't been there when he was... I doubt I'd be standing here talking to you."
"I'd have been a corpse by the time you arrived."
Even the wind seemed to quiet.
For someone like Shanks to say such a thing—it wasn't bravado, and it wasn't shame. It was truth.
Ragnar wasn't just another new tyrant rising from the New World.
He was something else.
Something worse.
---
Marco and the others exchanged glances, visibly shocked by Red-Haired Shanks' words.
As captains of the Whitebeard Pirates, they understood full well how powerful the Four Emperors were—and how deep their "health bars" ran.
Even among the Four Emperors, defeating one of their own in a one-on-one battle was no easy feat.
It took time.
There were too many variables.
And to kill one outright?
Nearly impossible.
Especially a Four Emperor like Red-Haired Shanks, who had never eaten a Devil Fruit. If he was determined to flee and dove into the sea—who could stop him?
Even the old and weakened Silvers Rayleigh could cross the Calm Belt.
Let alone a prime Shanks.
"Are Kaido's little monsters really that strong?"
Whitebeard's voice broke the silence, his gaze steady as he questioned Shanks.
"..."
Shanks didn't answer right away. A brief silence hung in the air.
"Very strong," he finally replied.
In that moment of silence, Shanks had replayed the battle with Ragnar over and over in his mind.
Each time, the conclusion remained unchanged.
Even if Ragnar hadn't disrupted his ability to use Observation Haki properly—
Even if he had fought in peak condition—
He still would have lost.
The only difference was: without that handicap, he might have at least escaped with his life.
"At the very least," Shanks added quietly, "I still haven't seen him go all out."
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
"You don't strike me as the kind of man who crumbles after a single defeat," he said, a note of skepticism in his voice.
If Shanks—unlike Crocodile or Gecko Moriah, both of whom had been crushed and broken by Kaido—was saying this without bitterness or excuses, then Ragnar's strength was no exaggeration.
At the very least...
He was someone worthy of attention—
Even from the world's strongest man.
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