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Yassop stared at Shanks, wide-eyed. "You came to recruit me into your crew?"
Before Shanks could answer, Sterling leaned back with a smug grin. "We came to recruit Yassop, not you, poser."
Yassop shot him a glare, clearly irritated. "Poser? Says the loud-mouth glutton."
Shanks chuckled lightly. "Alright, alright, stop teasing him already, Sterling."
He then faced Yassop again, his tone returning to calm seriousness. "Well… yes. We did come to recruit you, Yassop."
But then Shanks' eyes shifted to the side, and a small smile formed on his lips. "But it seems it won't be as easy as I thought it would be."
"Huh? Why?" Yassop asked, confused, until he followed Shanks' line of sight.
His eyes landed on Branchina.
He froze for a second, then broke into a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. "Ah… yeah."
Branchina blinked, looking at Shanks with surprise. "Wow, Shanks… I didn't know you guys were pirates."
Sterling stared at her like she had just said the sky was green. "Wait, was it not obvious? Me and Shanks both have swords. And Benn Beckman has a literal pistol."
Branchina laughed awkwardly. "I didn't pay attention before, but now that I look at it… yeah, it makes sense."
Sterling sighed dramatically. "Branchina-chan, you need to pay more attention. You just let pirates into your house like it's nothing."
Branchina put both hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks in irritation. "Well, it's not all my fault! You three are way too nice for pirates! Aren't pirates supposed to be aggressive, angry, and scary looking?"
Benn Beckman shrugged casually. "I suppose that's the stereotype. But not all pirates necessarily scream 'I'm a pirate.'"
Branchina eyed them warily. "So… are you good or bad pirates?"
Sterling tilted his head, suddenly wearing a sinister grin. "Branchina-chan… there are no good pirates. For example, we plan on plundering this village before we leave."
Branchina's face paled instantly. "Wait, really? Don't–don't do that, please!"
Shanks and Sterling immediately toppled over, bursting into laughter.
Branchina blinked, utterly confused. "W-What's so funny?"
Benn calmly took a sip of his drink. "Branchina, don't listen to Sterling. He's a bit childish. Take anything he says with a grain of salt."
A vein popped on Branchina's forehead. "Shanks-san. Sterling-san."
She began cracking her knuckles as she walked toward them with a smile far too peaceful to be harmless.
Sterling swallowed hard. "Branchina-san, wait–wait a minute. It was just a joke."
But it was too late.
Branchina towered over them like a giant, her shadow stretching across the ground. "I've had just about enough of the two of you."
What followed was a beating so swift and decisive that even Benn Beckman quietly slid his chair back out of the splash zone.
---
A short while later, after the scuffle ended and pride was restored, or at least taped back together. Everyone sat around the table eating again.
Yassop swallowed a bite of food and looked at the three travelers. "So… are the three of you the only members of your crew?"
Shanks nodded mid-bite. "Yes. And we've just come from recruiting Sterling."
Benn Beckman suddenly snorted, almost laughing into his drink.
Everyone turned toward him.
Shanks frowned. "What's funny, Benn?"
Benn raised an eyebrow. "Shanks… how many crew members do we have?"
Shanks blinked. "Is it not three? Is this a trick question?"
Benn sighed, half amused, half exasperated. "Shanks… you're only seventeen years old. How are you forgetting a whole person this easily? And someone that big at that."
Shanks froze.
Then—
He immediately spit out his food.
"LUCKY ROO!!!"
His scream echoed across the island.
Branchina's eyes widened, her voice rising sharply. "Hey, that's unhygienic, Shanks-san!"
Shanks immediately straightened up, hands raised defensively. "I'm sorry, Branchina-chan!"
Sterling, meanwhile, froze. Lucky Roo.
So he really had already joined…?
In the original Red-Haired Pirates, Lucky Roo and Yassop both shared the position of second mate.
Didn't Yassop join first?
He kept his expression neutral and acted clueless.
"Who's Lucky Roo?" Sterling asked.
Shanks rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "Lucky Roo is my third crew member. I… uh… forgot all about him."
Branchina leaned forward, staring at Shanks in disbelief. "Shanks-san, you forgot about your own crewmate? What kind of Captain does that?"
Shanks sighed deeply. "I've just been having so much fun in these small seas that I forgot all about him."
Yassop looked at him sharply. "Then where is he right now?"
"We left him on the Grand Line," Shanks replied casually. "He needed to fix some stuff."
Sterling frowned. "So I'm not even the third crewmember… then why did you make me your second-in-command?"
Shanks just waved his hand dismissively. "That was only to convince you to join. Besides, who cares about titles?"
Branchina blinked a few times, then asked, "But Shanks… are you really a four-member pirate crew with that tiny boat? And you want to recruit another member? Where are you all going to fit? Were you planning to get an actual ship?"
"Oh, we do have a ship," Shanks said. "It's on an island right before Logue Town. We couldn't keep it in Logue Town because there's a Marine Captain named Smoker there. He would most probably destroy our ship while we were gone."
Sterling's face tightened.
Damn… I forgot about Smoker.
The same Marine Captain who got manhandled by pre-timeskip Dragon.
Right now, in this timeline, Smoker had already been appointed Captain of Logue Town two years ago, right after Roger's execution.
And if Sterling fought him now?
Yeah… I'd be a prime victim. I can't even physically touch him in my current state.
Yassop turned toward him. "So Sterling, you just joined the crew?"
Sterling nodded. "Yes. We literally went from my village straight to here."
Shanks laughed. "Funny story, we didn't even know about Sterling when we left the Grand Line. We originally came here for you, Yassop. But then we heard about Sterling in Logue Town."
Branchina's eyes widened. "Was Sterling's reputation that big?"
Shanks grinned. "Anyone known as the Conqueror of the North surely has a decent reputation."
"Certainly," Branchina agreed. She turned to Sterling. "So what did you do to earn that name?"
Sterling shrugged. "It's something I did when I was eight years old. Honestly, I think it's blown out of proportion."
Before Branchina could ask more, Yassop suddenly shot up from his seat, slamming both hands on the table.
"Alright, Sterling, it's time for our competition!"
"Competition?" Branchina echoed, confused.
Shanks immediately facepalmed. "Yassop… Sterling was just teasing you. He doesn't actually believe he's a better sniper than you."
But Sterling looked at Shanks with a calm, dead-serious expression. "Oh no. I definitely believe I'm a better sniper than him."
Shanks paused.
Waited for a laugh.
Waited for a smirk.
Waited for anything to reveal it was a joke.
Nothing.
Shanks let out a weary smile, rubbing his forehead. "Oi, oi… Sterling. You're a swordsman. Just because you've held a gun before doesn't make you a sniper."
Sterling tapped the table lightly with one finger. "Watch me."
Yassop pointed dramatically at Sterling. "See!? See!? He genuinely believes he's a better sniper than me!"
Yassop grinned fiercely. "I can't wait to wipe that confidence off you."