novelnext Chapter 194 The Plan to Capture Loki
Chapter 194 The Plan to Capture Loki
Chapter 194 The Plan to Capture Loki
Shanks' smile lingered on his face for three seconds, then faded away little by little, like a candle flame blown out by the wind.
This process is very slow.
So slowly that Bai Yu could clearly see every subtle change on that face: the curve of the lips gradually smoothed out, the lines at the corners of the eyes gradually relaxed, and the light deep in the pupils gradually sank.
In the end, Shanks' face was completely bare.
There was no smile, no cunning, no carefree, nonchalant attitude.
All that remained was a calm, serious, even solemn face.
This face is completely different from the red-haired Shanks that Bai Yu remembers.
If Shanks just now was an ordinary pirate who was drunk and having a blast at a party, then Shanks now is a silent narrator.
Bai Yu looked at that face and remained silent for a second.
"Go ahead and tell me, Shanks."
Shanks did not speak immediately.
He stood up, turned around and walked to the ship's side, his back to Bai Yu, facing the sea.
The sea breeze blew in front of him, making his open shirt flutter and his red hair dance in the wind like a burning flag.
He stood there, silent for a long time.
So long that Rangiku stopped her drinking contest with Rakiro and turned to look at him.
So long that Beckman's cigarette burned down to almost nothing, the ashes scattered by the wind, he didn't light another one. So long that Mihawk put down his wine glass with a soft, almost inaudible sound, the bottom of the glass hitting the deck.
Everyone felt it.
The atmosphere has changed.
It was as if an invisible hand was pressing down from the sky, burying all the noise and joy into the seabed.
The music stopped, the drumbeats stopped, the laughter stopped, and even the sea breeze seemed to pause for a moment.
The Red-Haired Pirates crew members showed no surprise whatsoever.
They simply put down their wine bowls and meat legs quietly, and quietly stepped aside, leaving their captain a spacious, undisturbed space.
The movement was so natural, it was as if it had been rehearsed countless times.
Clearly, there are some things that even the crew members cannot know.
Beckman straightened up from the mast, threw his cigarette butt into the sea, put his hands in his pockets, and stood three meters behind Shanks.
His expression remained languid, as if he had no interest in anything, but it was clear that he was the core of the ship.
Rakiro put down the meat leg he was holding, and his plump body moved incredibly lightly to the stern of the ship, placing his hands on his waist.
Yessop sheathed his weapons, walked from the bow to the mast, leaned against it, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and scanned the sea and sky with his eyes.
The other core crew members also dispersed and occupied every key position on the ship.
Looking at all this, Bai Yu made a clear judgment in his mind: the Red-Haired Pirates were not an ordinary pirate crew; they were a battle-hardened, disciplined, and well-trained army.
Every movement they make is subconscious, instinctive, and ingrained in their bones.
But they still had smiles on their faces.
This is contradictory.
On one side was a tight, almost cold-blooded vigilance, and on the other side was a relaxed, indifferent smile.
The simultaneous occurrence of these two diametrically opposed states in the same group of people produced a strange effect.
Bai Yu withdrew his gaze and looked back at Shanks's back.
"Speak."
Shanks finally spoke.
His voice was completely different from before. Before, it was hoarse, languid, and smelled of alcohol, like someone who was still hungover and talking nonsense.
The voice now is deep, clear, and each word is pronounced heavily.
"Bai Yu, do you know about the giant race?"
Bai Yu nodded.
"I know. Elbaf, the world's truly strongest nation, the village of warriors, home to the largest race of giants in the world..."
Perhaps the most powerful race in terms of combat strength. Their average height exceeds twenty meters, and they possess lifespans and strength far exceeding that of humans. An ordinary giant warrior can easily destroy a warship, while their elite warriors, those who have mastered overwhelming power, are even more terrifying.
Shanks didn't turn around, but his shoulders twitched slightly, as if he were nodding.
"You're right. But you only know the surface."
He paused.
"The real terror of the giants lies not in their size and strength, but in their—bloodline."
Bai Yu frowned slightly.
"Bloodline?"
"Um."
Shanks turned around, leaned against the ship's railing, and looked up at the sky. The sky was a deep blue, like a piece of silk that had been washed until it shone. A few white clouds drifted lazily across it, motionless, as if nailed to the spot.
"The history of the Giants can be traced back to the Void Century, before the establishment of the World Government, before the union of the Twenty Kingdoms, and before everything was rewritten. The Giants already existed. They are one of the oldest races in the world, and like the Fish-Men, Mink, and Three-Eyed, they possess the ancient bloodline left behind by this world."
"But giants are different from other races."
Shanks' voice became even lower, so low it sounded like he was telling a secret that no one else could hear.
"Sometimes, special individuals are born among the giants. This has nothing to do with Devil Fruits, Haki, or any power acquired through training. It is a power etched into their blood, passed down through generations, and innate."
"What kind of power?"
The person who asked this question was not Bai Yu.
It's Artoria.
She stood up at some point and walked to Bai Yu's side. Her golden hair shone in the sunlight, and her expression remained serious, but there was something more to it—something Bai Yu rarely saw in Artoria.
That's an interest.
Shanks glanced at Artoria, his gaze lingering on her for a second.
In that instant, his gaze changed, from calm to scrutiny, and from scrutiny to a strange, respectful approval.
"You're also a King? That's really rare."
"
Shanks said this was not a question, but a statement.
Artoria did not deny it.
No wonder.
He didn't ask about Artoria's identity, where she came from, or how her kingdom was doing.
He simply said "No wonder" and then looked away from her.
This is Shanks' way.
He doesn't ask questions he shouldn't ask, doesn't delve into secrets he shouldn't delve into, and doesn't touch on the past he shouldn't touch. Everyone has their own secrets, even he is no exception.
"Sometimes, the giant race also gives birth to ancient giants. These giants are much taller and stronger than the giants of today. The lifespan of giants is generally more than three hundred years, so their strength does not increase very quickly. But there are always some exceptions. When these giants are forty or fifty years old, which is equivalent to fifteen or sixteen years old in humans, they can possess quite exaggerated strength."
Everyone remained silent, waiting for Shanks to finish telling the story.
"And this happened a few years ago, with the death of Harald, the king of the giants."
"How did he die?"
Hawkeye was a little curious, as Shanks had never told him these things before.
"Killed by his son, Loki."
When Shanks said this, his voice was eerily calm.
"Loki, the prince of the giants, son of Harald."
silence.
Dead silence.
The sea breeze stopped, the waves stopped, even the clouds in the sky seemed to have stopped moving. The whole world stood still, with only Shanks' voice echoing in the air.
Everyone remained silent for a long time.
As Rangiku's hand slipped from her grasp, the sake bowl fell onto the deck with a dull thud, spilling sake everywhere, but she didn't pick it up.
It took so long that Robin closed the book in his hands, his fingers gripping the spine tightly.
Violet's eyes widened slightly, her pupils reflecting a complex and indescribable emotion.
Retsu Unohana paused for a moment on Kanna's back, then continued patting gently, with the same rhythm and intensity, as if she hadn't heard anything.
Why?
Hawkeye frowned. Unlike Bai Yu, he wasn't calm. Instead, he shared the same thought as everyone else: unbelievable.
Shanks looked at him, something gleaming in his eyes.
"Because of the World Government."
Bai Yu's brows furrowed even deeper.
"World Government?"
"Um.
"
Shanks straightened up from the ship's railing, walked over to Shiraha, and sat down cross-legged. His movements were casual, as if he were about to tell a bedtime story.
"Harald was one of the greatest kings in the history of the giants. During his reign, Elbaf reached unprecedented prosperity and strength. He unified all the giant tribes, ended the century-long civil war, and established the first unified kingdom in the history of Elbaf. He reformed the laws, military, education, and economy of the giants, turning Elbaf from a barbaric and backward village of warriors into an empire that the whole world dared not underestimate."
"But Harald did something particularly foolish."
Shanks' voice suddenly turned sharp, as if he disapproved of the action.
"He placed too much faith in the world government and in that corrupt system."
"Elbaf is one of the member states of the World Government. Like the other member states, King Harald of Elbaf provides military force to the World Government, accepts the World Government's protection, and abides by the World Government's laws. At the same time, the King of Titans accepted the most inappropriate gift and refused the World Government's request to fully utilize Elbaf's military force."
"The highest levels of the World Government would certainly not tolerate such a thing happening, but Elbaf is too powerful. So powerful that the World Government dares not easily resort to force. If the World Government sends the Navy to attack Elbaf, even if they win, they will pay a heavy price, so heavy that other schemers will take advantage of the situation and uproot the World Government."
"So the world government has changed its approach."
Shanks' gaze turned cold.
"They didn't send warships, they didn't send the navy, they didn't send CP0. Instead, it was the true king hidden in that Void Throne who made the move. The true ruler of the world called Im controlled Harald through the gift."
The moment Shanks uttered that name, Bai Yu felt a strange change—not a change in the environment, but an invisible, inexplicable sense of oppression.
It was as if something had risen from the deep sea, something huge, silent, and indescribable. It made no sound and left no trace, but its very existence was like a mountain pressing down on everyone's chest.
"Im?"
"The Void King?"
"The true ruler of this world?"
"The mastermind behind the world government?"
Hawkeye frowned; he had learned far too many secrets today.
"The Five Elders, those five old guys who stand at the pinnacle of world power, are nothing more than five puppets in front of him."
Shanks repeated the name, his voice carrying an indescribable heaviness.
"For eight hundred years, he has been manipulating this world. The rise and fall of every country, the victory or defeat of every major war, and the life and death of every outstanding king are all behind his shadow. He is like the god of this world."
"No."
Shanks shook his head: "Not a god, but a demon, a demon who sits on the Void Throne and controls the fate of the entire world."
"Almost no one knows what he did in Elbaf. No one knows what he did to Harald, no one knows what happened during that time."
"But everyone knows the result."
"Harald is dead."
"They died under Loki's hammer, but they didn't know that Jabba, the Pirate King's left-hand man, and I were both witnesses. We both know that Loki's actions were not wrong. He simply prevented the destruction of a country and preserved that man's last dignity."
Shanks paused, looked up, and gazed into Shiraha's eyes.
"And Loki's next task is to take revenge on the World Government."
Bai Yu's expression remained unchanged, but Hawkeye's expression did.
"Taking revenge on the world government?"
"Yes, Loki wants to destroy the World Government. Not defeat it, but destroy it, uproot it completely, leave no one alive. He wants to avenge the Giants, or rather, to avenge his most beloved father."
"But with his current strength, he can't do it."
Shanks' voice became urgent: "Loki is powerful, but he is no match for Im. No one in this world is Im's match, at least not now. If Loki goes to Im now, he will only face death. He will be killed or even used by Im."
"And it's not just Loki who will die."
Shanks' voice lowered even further: "The entire race of giants will die. Im won't let Elbaf go. He'll wipe Elbaf off the map, just like he wiped the name of that kingdom eight hundred years ago. All the giants, men and women..."
Children and the elderly will die; no one will survive.