Chapter 39

The conversation passed through Shanter's mind in just a moment. In an instant, Shanter regained his focus.

However, the observant Robin still noticed something odd about Shanter and asked with concern, "Brother, what happened?"

Shanter shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a bit of dizziness, probably because I didn't rest well."

"Then you should rest well!" Robin didn't suspect anything. Even with Robin's imagination, she couldn't guess what had just happened to Shanter.

"Ha..." Shanter exhaled a sigh but didn't speak further. After all, the contents he had received from the Huang Tian were simply too shocking.

Pangu, Hongjun, Shanter had never heard of them, but terms like Opening the Heavens and Unbreakable through Millennia were something he could understand. As for the other random names that followed, Shanter had never heard of them either, though they felt vaguely familiar. But there was one name—Zeus—he recognized. The legendary ruler of the gods, the master of Mount Olympus, the supreme deity of thunder and lightning. Shanter had heard of him.

And according to the way normal people talk, those beings who could be placed ahead of Zeus must at least possess a strength that was comparable to his. The first ones mentioned in the dialogue—Pangu and Hongjun—must have surpassed Zeus by a considerable margin.

Then, what level of terrifying existence could the former owner of this blade have been?

Wait, the previous owner of this blade wasn't that glasses-wearing man I dreamt of last time, was it? If that's the case, could I have been some extraordinary figure in my previous life?

Shanter's mind wandered.

Robin, deeply focused on studying the historical text, didn't notice Shanter's distraction.

"Alright, brother, I'm done reading," Robin said with satisfaction, closing her small notebook after about two hours.

"Brother?" Seeing that Shanter didn't respond, Robin called out again.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, what did you say?" Shanter, still lost in thought, snapped out of it as Robin interrupted his reverie.

"I said I'm finished, let's go." Robin took Shanter's hand and began to walk toward the beach.

"Let's take a walk, just to relax," Shanter suggested once he was fully aware again.

"Sure," Robin agreed, though she was a bit puzzled by Shanter's seemingly uninspired proposal. Still, she went along with it.

The young pair strolled along the beach, Robin resting her head lightly on Shanter's shoulder as they both watched the setting sun.

"Little girl, quick, hard to port! Cannonballs are coming!" Shanter scrambled to defend against the cannonballs fired by the navy ship.

"Mm." Robin knew better than to stay calm and keep reading at a time like this. She immediately steered the Darkness ship as per Shanter's instructions.

"Little girl, I think—boom! Our ship—boom! needs—boom! a gunner!" Shanter continued to knock the incoming cannonballs into the sea. "Or, boom! A sniper would be good too!"

"I think so too," Robin strained to control the ship's direction.

Though the Darkness ship was equipped with a few cannons, both Shanter and Robin were unable to fire them. If they attempted, it would only waste cannonballs without any real effect.

In this skirmish, the enemy had only two warships and perhaps a couple of hundred ordinary sailors. If they were on land, Shanter would have ended the battle long ago, but because the Darkness had no one who could fire cannons, they had been relentlessly pursued for nearly an hour. Fortunately, Shanter's defenses were tight enough to block all the cannon fire, allowing them to hold on.

"Little girl, this isn't going to work. Prolonged defense will only result in failure," Shanter said as he sliced another cannonball in half.

Robin said nothing, waiting for Shanter's next move.

"Focus on steering the ship and find an opportunity to get close to them. I'll board their ship and deal with them," Shanter said quickly and clearly.

"Okay." Robin didn't waste any time with unnecessary words.

The Darkness ship rocked and swayed as it moved slowly toward the two navy ships.

The navy soldiers aboard the ships were pleased, thinking that this pirate ship had been hit and preparing to capture the pirates onboard. They weren't worried about the pirates being numerous because such a small pirate ship couldn't hold many people.

However, the navy had no idea that this was the ship of the infamous "Shura" Shanter.

"Shura" Shanter had risen to notoriety in the West Sea in recent years. He always wore a mask, and despite being under 20 years old, he was ruthless, with thousands of naval officers, pirates, and bounty hunters falling under his blade (though the majority of these were pirates and bounty hunters). Almost all of them died with a single strike. Even the notorious Tevister Pirate Group, which had been cleared for over a decade, had been destroyed by him.

It was rumored that "Shura" Shanter had a complicated relationship with "Demon's Child" Nico Robin. Together, they had caused enough havoc to earn a combined bounty of 120 million Berries, making them one of the most dangerous criminals in the West Sea. Their search for historical texts only added to their dangerous reputation. Who knew when ancient weapons would be revived? It was anyone's guess.

If these navy soldiers knew this was Shanter's ship, they wouldn't dare approach it, and would instead keep firing cannonballs from a distance.

Of course, this wasn't their fault. After all, there had been no information suggesting that Shanter had become a pirate, and instead, detailed descriptions of Shanter's hatred for pirates had been spread.

"Never seen this pirate flag before. I wonder which pirate group it belongs to?"

"Who knows? Pirates have been getting more and more numerous recently. Ever since Roger's speech, it's like you can't wipe them out."

"Never seen this pirate flag before, probably some unknown group. Look, they're even too scared to fight back."

"Yeah, you're right."

Finally, the Darkness ship drew closer to the navy warships.

"Pirates, you are under arrest. Do not resist!" The loudspeaker blared from the navy ship.

"So noisy," a person wearing a skull mask rasped, leaping onto the navy warship.

"Just one person? What a fool. Everyone, go together and catch him. If we can't catch him, then just kill him," a navy second lieutenant ordered.

"Hmph," the masked man snorted and threw a punch into the air. The force of the punch knocked down a dozen or so navy soldiers.

"Impossible?" The second lieutenant stared dumbfounded before snapping out of it. "You're... 'Shura' Shanter?"

"Shanter?" The surrounding new recruits exclaimed in shock, their faces going pale. The name Shanter was now synonymous with terror.

"I don't want to kill you, but your ship must sink," Shanter's deep voice resonated as he drew the Huang Tian from his back.

Shanter didn't really want to kill these navy soldiers. Over the years, though he had killed many, they were all people who deserved death. Evil pirates were one thing, bounty hunters acted in self-defense. As for the navy soldiers, Shanter only killed when his life was in danger. Right now, despite being outnumbered, he had the clear advantage, so there was no need to kill.

"Boom!" Shanter slashed at the deck, and instantly, the navy warship was split in two.

It had to be said, after obtaining the Huang Tian, Shanter's strength had reached a whole new level. His self-created sword style seemed to have been made specifically for the Huang Tian, and his old sword, the Fukuoka Ichimonji, couldn't bring out its true potential.

"Goodbye. You have lifeboats, so you should be fine, right?" After easily slicing through the two navy warships, Shanter returned to Robin's side on the Darkness ship.

---

Marineford

Kuzan, wearing sunglasses, lounged on a recliner, reading a report submitted by his subordinates.

"So, you've finally become a pirate, huh? Was it because of necessity? Or have you changed your beliefs?"

"It seems I'll have to find a chance to meet you and Nico Robin soon!"

"Furst D. Shanter, was not killing you back then a mistake?"

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