One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 325: About Shamrock!

The Red-Haired Pirates surrounded Chenye and escorted him to the shore.

No one spoke.

Chen Ye walked at the front

He suddenly stopped.

Without any warning.

Shanks, who was following behind, almost bumped into his back.

Chen Ye turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone else and fixing on Shanks.

"Don't come any closer."

He raised his hand, palm facing outward.

A gesture of restraint.

Everyone suddenly stopped walking.

Yasopp opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, Ben Beckman pressed down on his shoulder.

The cigarette in Beckman's mouth flickered.

Chenye grabbed Shanks's empty left sleeve.

The force was not great.

But it cannot be refused.

Let's talk in private.

Chen Ye leaned closer to Shanks, a familiar smile curving his lips.

"I have something to tell you privately."

Shanks' eyelids twitched.

He read something completely different in Chen Ye's eyes.

"it is good."

Shanks nodded.

Chen Ye pulled him along, one in front and one behind, towards a huge black reef far from the crowd.

Chen Ye let go of his hand and casually found a dry rock to sit on.

"There's no one here anymore."

Shanks leaned against the rock wall, his right hand resting on the hilt of "Griffin".

"What are you talking about? About that 'old bastard's' revenge?"

The "old bastard" he was referring to was, of course, Figaland Garin.

"Garin Sei can't cause any trouble for now."

Chen Ye flicked his finger, and the gold coin made a "ding" sound.

"After being reprimanded by Im, that old dog has to keep his tail between his legs. But I'm talking about someone else."

Shanks narrowed his eyes.

"Who?"

Chen Ye looked up, met his sharp eyes, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"I bet your twin brother, Figaland Shamlock, will sneak over to see you in a few days."

The air freezes.

Shanks' pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

How did you know?

Hearing Shanks' question!

Chen Ye didn't even lift his eyelids.

"take it easy"

Why did he come?

Shanks forced himself to calm down.

"He is the core of the Knights of God, and Karin's most perfect 'creation'."

"It is precisely because it is a 'perfect work' that it has flaws."

Chen Ye's laughter was laced with sarcasm.

"The 'gift' you sent, the three CP0 corpses, and what you said to Garin Saint not only intimidated the old dog, but also shook the little dog."

Chen Ye stood up, walked up to Shanks, and poked his chest with his finger.

"Shamrock isn't a robot. He's your twin; there's an unbreakable telepathic connection between you. When you're raging for your mother, do you think he'd be completely unaffected, even in the Holy Land?"

Besides, wasn't it him who took care of you during the time you were in the Holy Land?

Shanks remained silent.

He will definitely ask you why you're going to wipe them out this time.

Chen Ye's voice was seductive.

"Listen up, Shanks. This is an opportunity."

"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

Chen Ye turned around and pointed to the distant shore.

The red-haired mother stood in the wind, gazing tenderly at them.

"Use your mother to win him over."

Shanks looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"You mean... to turn Shamrock against the Celestial Dragons? To make him betray them?"

Why not?

Chen Ye spread his hands.

"Although Shamrock grew up in the Holy Land, a melting pot of corruption, and was fed a lot of garbage, he still has some affection for you deep down. That affection is your bargaining chip for turning the tables."

Shanks' brow furrowed into a deep frown.

He shook his head and sighed.

"It's difficult, Chenye."

His voice was tinged with helplessness.

"You don't understand that place. I spent some time there before. My brother was raised as a 'perfect creation'."

What constitutes a perfect work of art?

Shanks' laughter was dry.

"Absolute obedience, absolute ruthlessness, absolute order. In his worldview, the Celestial Dragons are gods, and everyone else is worthless. It's impossible to get him to betray the Celestial Dragons and join us 'pirates'."

"Perceptions can be changed."

Chen Ye countered with a question.

"Why don't you tell him about the things your 'good father' did? Tell him the truth about God Valley? Tell him how his mother was thrown away like trash?"

"The truth is a knife."

Chen Ye took a step closer.

"If the knife goes deep enough, there's no one who can't be awakened."

Shanks shook his head again.

His eyes darkened.

"Even if he wanted to rebel, he couldn't."

Shanks lowered his voice even further, afraid that the wind would hear it.

"Don't forget, the core members of the Knights of God all have contracts planted by 'that person' on them."

He raised his finger and pointed to his heart.

Life pulsates there.

But inside Shamrock's body, there was a time bomb.

"Im".

The temperature around Shanks dropped several degrees as soon as he uttered that name.

"The moment every member of the Knights of God joins, an ancient magical contract is implanted in their heart—a chain directly connecting their souls."

"The contract will be activated once there is any act of betrayal, or even just a strong thought of betrayal."

Shanks made a gesture, his fist open as if something were exploding.

"In an instant, they vanished into thin air. Not even their souls remained."

This is the Celestial Dragons' trump card for ruling the world for eight hundred years.

Absolute control.

Use death to lock down every potentially out-of-control high-end combat force.

Therefore, Shamrock could not take that step.

The price of taking that step is death.

Chen Ye listened without any change in expression.

The curve of his lips actually widened.

It was an arrogance that saw through the whole situation and regarded gods as worthless.

"this one?"

Chen Ye chuckled softly.

"Don't worry. Leave that contract to me; I have a way to purify it."

Shanks' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He suspected that he had heard wrongly.

"Do you have a solution?"

His voice rose.

"That's a restriction that even the Five Elders couldn't lift!"

"rule?"

Chen Ye interrupted him, his eyes gleaming with golden light.

"In this story, I am the rule."

He patted Shanks on the shoulder, the warmth of his palm carrying a reassuring power.

"I have my own methods. Whether it's Im's curse or some ancient pact, it's nothing more than a piece of code that can be rewritten in front of me."

Chen Ye's expression turned serious.

"Your task is to have your mother influence him. Use familial love to awaken his instincts as a 'human being.' Make him understand that he is not Garin Saint's tool, but his mother's son, and your brother."

"Let him be a 'human being' again."

"Leave the rest to me."

in case……

If that doomed contract could truly be broken...

So, it's really possible that Shamrock...

"I see."

He nodded emphatically.

His eyes regained their resolve.

"I will do it."

"very good."

Chen Ye nodded.

"Remember, don't mess it up. The climax of this scene is the reunion of the mother and son."

The voice just fell.

Chen Ye turned around and faced the sea.

Om-!

A low, rumbling sound.

light.

A dazzling light burst forth from behind Chenye.

A pair of enormous wings, composed of pure light particles, unfolded instantly.

The wings were several meters wide, each feather radiating flowing light, exuding sacred majesty.

Shanks raised his hand to cover his eyes.

This power...

"Remember your mission, now you're gone!"

Chen Ye's voice echoed in the light.

boom!

With a sudden flap of its wings.

A sudden gust of wind arose.

The surrounding seawater was instantly pressed into a huge depression.

Chen Ye transformed into a stream of light and soared into the sky.

At such high speeds, even Shanks' Observation Haki could only catch a fleeting afterimage.

In the blink of an eye.

The streak of light disappeared at the edge of the clouds, leaving only a long-lasting golden trail.

Calmness returned.

Shanks stood still, his head held high, for a long time without moving.

After a while.

He then lowered his hand and stroked the stubble on his chin.

His eyes were deep and complex.

"Purification Contract... Just who is this guy...?"

He muttered to himself.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that.

Since Chenye said that Shamrock would come, then he definitely will.

He must be prepared.

For my mother, and for my brother who never truly lived.

shore.

The Red-Haired Pirates had been waiting for this for ages.

The streak of light that shot into the sky just now stunned everyone.

Upon seeing Shanks emerge, they swarmed around him.

"Boss! Boss!"

Raki Lu, biting into his meat, shouted indistinctly.

"What was that just now? Mr. Chenye flew away? Was it the Bird-Man Fruit?"

"It flies so fast..."

Yasopp held up the binoculars until his neck ached.

"At this speed, even Kizaru would be eating dust."

"Boss, what secret did Mr. Chenye tell you?"

Loxda looked on with a gossipy expression.

"Did they give you a treasure map?"

Ben Beckman also cast an inquiring glance his way.

The mother stepped forward and looked at her son.

"Shanks, are you alright?"

Shanks looked at his companions and at his mother's worried eyes.

He smiled.

His smile was somewhat cunning, yet brimming with unprecedented confidence.

"A secret is a secret precisely because it cannot be told."

He winked mysteriously.

The crowd immediately booed.

"cut--!"

"You stingy little brat!"

Shanks laughed a few times, then looked at Ben Beckman.

His eyes changed.

"Beckman".

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the entire venue.

"Strengthen vigilance."

"Triple the patrol area. Especially at night, don't let a single fly in."

"There might be 'guests' coming."

Beckman exhaled a smoke ring, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"Understood."

He didn't ask who it was.

But he knew that a "guest" whom Shanks treated with such seriousness was definitely not a good person.

"My little ones! Get moving!"

Beckman turned around and yelled at the lazy pirates.

"Stop drinking! Polish the cannons! Load the guns! Let's get to work!"

"oh--!!!"

Despite their complaints, the members of the Red-Haired Pirates acted with astonishing speed.

The Red Fosse was bustling with activity once again.

Shanks helped his mother toward the cabin.

"Mom, stay with me these next few days and don't go anywhere."

The mother looked at her son's serious profile and nodded gently.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."