Chapter 209: A Special Existence!
As Shanks brought his crew to the abandoned station once used by the bandit king, the expressions on their faces twisted with confusion.
Everyone knew the story—Shanks had once been beaten up by Higuma and didn’t fight back.
Not because he couldn’t.
But because, in Shanks’ eyes, a man with no dreams wasn’t even worth the effort.
This place... was just a rundown hideout for so washed-up mountain bandits.
What could possibly be so important here?
---
"Let’s go," said Ben Beckman, lighting another cigarette, the glow briefly illuminating his thoughtful face. "If you want to know what Shanks is really after, you’ll find your answers inside."
Like Lucky Ruox with food, Beckman always seed to have a cigarette in hand.
Hearing this, the crew stopped asking questions and quietly followed Shanks inside.
The outer building seed ordinary enough—just an old shack at the base of a mountain. But as they passed through the courtyard and into the backyard, their Observation Haki picked up sothing unusual.
A massive hidden space lurked behind the back wall.
Click... Kukukukuku...
With a press of a hidden chanism, the stone wall groaned open, revealing a large, shadowy cave entrance.
A chill swept out from within, causing even these hardened warriors to instinctively tense.
It was cold—not just in temperature, but in presence.
Still, they pressed on, following Shanks without a word.
The passage beyond led to a vast subterranean chamber. And at the far end of the cavern, sothing was chained—bound by special seastone restraints.
It was a Sea King.
"...This thing looks kinda familiar," said Lucky Ruox, scratching his chin.
"Wait... Shanks, isn’t this the Sea King that bit off your arm?!"
It was a rare mont where Ruox first thought wasn’t food.
An achievent in itself.
Shanks gave a small nod. "That’s right."
"At first, I thought its appearance was just random. Coincidental."
"But the more I looked into it, the more I realized... this thing wasn’t ordinary."
"This is the Sea King that broke through my Armant Haki in a single bite—and took my arm."
His tone was quiet. Heavy.
The crew fell silent.
Sea Kings were powerful, yes—but they were far from the strongest beasts of the sea. Even among them, this one was small.
And Shanks—a Yonko, with Haki strong enough to shake the world—should have easily crushed such a creature.
They had all once assud he was simply distracted. That his concern for Luffy had dulled his instincts.
But if Shanks himself believed otherwise...
Then this Sea King was anything but normal.
"Shanks, what exactly are you investigating?" asked Yasopp, calm and direct.
"I believe this Sea King either ate sothing special... or was affected by sothing far beyond our understanding," Shanks replied. "That’s what I’m trying to uncover."
"A special existence, huh?" said Carlos, a tall, long-haired biologist with a wild yellow mane. He stepped forward, leapt effortlessly onto the Sea King, and sliced off a chunk of flesh.
After examining it briefly, he popped the at into his mouth.
"...Hmm."
"Well?" Shanks asked, eyes narrowing slightly. "Any discoveries?"
Carlos chewed thoughtfully, then gave his verdict:
"Tastes good. This cave’s cold enough to preserve the at—still fresh even after all this ti."
Shanks stared blankly.
"Who the hell asked if it was delicious?!"
RUOX looked offended. "Wait, it’s tasty? Why didn’t you say so sooner? Can I try too?"
So much for priorities.
"Focus, people!" Carlos said, brushing off Ruox and turning back to Shanks. "You didn’t use any preservation thod, right?"
"No," Shanks replied. "I killed this thing two years ago. Just locked it in here."
"That explains it..."
Carlos crouched beside the corpse. "This thing’s been dead for over two years—but the flesh hasn’t rotted. It’s still bleeding. That’s not normal."
Yasopp nodded in agreent. "Look at the bones. No signs of decay. That kind of preservation is unnatural."
"And yet," Carlos added, "there’s no energy loss in the tissue. That ans sothing inside it is keeping the life force intact."
"Which," Shanks said quietly, "is exactly why I’ve been looking into this."
"If sothing can do this to a Sea King..."
"Then what could it do to a person?"
"Do you have any leads?" asked Ben Beckman, casually leaning against the cave wall.
He sounded relaxed—but his eyes were sharp.
No one here could deny how tempting this discovery was.
Anyone but an idiot like Luffy would understand its value.
Shanks nodded. "I have a clue."
"But... I’m not the right person to follow it."
"I don’t even know when he’ll appear again."
"Monkey D. Garp."
---
The crew froze.
"Garp? The Navy hero? Vice Admiral?" Ruox raised a brow. "He was born in the East Blue... but what does this have to do with him?"
Shanks looked at him, serious.
"You’ve all noticed it too, haven’t you? At his age, Garp is still fighting at peak strength. Maybe even beyond that."
"Compare him to Whitebeard in his later years. The difference is massive."
"That kind of physical condition—it’s not normal. He might have discovered sothing... or co into contact with a force like this."
"And if anyone else knows about it..."
Shanks paused. "It might be Ryuunosuke."
The na lingered in the air.
Ryuunosuke. Captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. A rising force shaking the world.
"I learned about the concept of life essence from Whitebeard," Shanks continued. "But I never had ti to investigate."
"Now, putting all the pieces together... Ryuunosuke might understand it."
"But I still lean toward Garp."
"Why?"
Shanks looked down at the Sea King’s corpse.
"Because when I lost my arm... Ryuunosuke was still just a boy."
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