About a month had passed since Robin set sail with Pedro and Zepo as her bodyguards.
Olivia, who had initially been moping in the corner of Kanata's office, had finally pulled herself together and returned to her research.
Then, one day, Kanata received an urgent message from one of her subordinates at the harbor.
"This is Harbor Management!"
"Did something happen?"
"Pirates! It's the Red Hair Pirates! We can see their flag from here!"
"Shanks, huh? Let them through."
"What?!"
It seemed they were panicking at the sudden appearance of the Red Hair Pirates, whose influence had grown significantly in recent years, but Kanata remained calm.
She was acquainted with them. The older members of Twilight had interacted with the Roger Pirates, so they knew them. But it had been over a decade since Roger's execution. Many of her current crew members didn't even know about their past relationship.
He had still been a child when they last met. She was curious to see how much he had grown.
She had heard rumors about his battle with Dracule Mihawk, who was now a Warlord. And, of course, she knew about his "left arm."
"Kanata! It's been a while!"
Shanks, waving his right arm cheerfully, greeted Kanata as she arrived at the harbor. The empty sleeve of his left arm swayed in the breeze.
Kanata, unfazed, simply looked at him with a serious expression.
Shanks was left-handed. She could only imagine how difficult it must have been to lose his dominant arm, and how much effort it had taken to reach his current level of strength.
She gestured for Shanks, who was now much taller than her, to lower his head.
"? What is it?"
"A reward for your hard work."
Kanata patted his head.
Shanks, initially surprised, blushed and stepped back.
The other members of the Red Hair Pirates whistled and cheered.
"Oh, is that all?"
"Hey, hey, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm a captain now! Stop that!"
"I see. That's a shame."
Kanata still saw him as the child who had traveled with Roger. She had unconsciously treated him as such.
He wasn't even wearing the straw hat anymore. It was a stark reminder that he had been on his own adventure.
"I'm curious to hear why you're here, but… That can wait. Tell me about your journey."
She wanted to hear about his crew as well – Ben Beckman, Lucky Roux, Yasopp… They were all famous in their own right.
She decided that a daytime feast was in order.
They held a large feast to welcome Shanks and his crew, gathering all those who had time, including Scotch and George.
Most of them had never met the Red Hair Pirates, so she introduced them to the executives.
It would take too long to introduce them to everyone. Even though they weren't as large as Twilight.
"This place has gotten lively."
Shanks, observing the bustling crowd in the plaza near the harbor, remembered the feasts they used to hold on Roger's ship. The contrast was stark.
The houses, the shops, the people… The island, once almost deserted, had flourished. Shanks was astonished.
Twilight's name was known throughout the world.
It was only natural that their home base would prosper.
"Is Kaie doing well?"
"Yes, she's grown a lot taller… Even taller than you."
"Really…? Is she here today?"
"She's out on a mission. What about Buggy? Weren't you two always together?"
"I asked him to join my crew after the execution, but… I heard he's become a pirate somewhere."
He had last seen Buggy in Loguetown, the town where the Pirate King died.
It seemed he had met Rayleigh on Sabaody Archipelago before entering the New World, and Rayleigh had asked the same question.
He wasn't the strongest member of the Roger Pirates, but everyone seemed to be fond of him.
"…Who took your arm?"
"This…? I… gambled it on the "New Era"."
"I see… I'm glad you have no regrets. What kind of person is he?"
"He's still young, but… He said the same thing as Captain Roger!"
Shanks talked about the child with a happy expression.
He had met him while their ship was stationed on an island in the East Blue. They had become friends, and in the end, Shanks had lost his arm and given him his straw hat.
They promised to meet again when the boy became a pirate, and Shanks was looking forward to that day.
"What's his name?"
"Luffy. He said he wanted to be a pirate, but he couldn't swim! Well, now that he's eaten a Devil Fruit, he can't swim no matter how hard he tries."
"…That Devil Fruit. Is it the Gum-Gum Fruit?"
"!... You knew?"
"The government was making a fuss about it a while back. It's unusual for you to attack a government ship."
Shanks had attacked a government ship transporting the Gum-Gum Fruit and stolen it.
The government had taken various measures to prevent information leaks, but Kanata had heard about it. The CP9 agents in charge were imprisoned, and the government was prepared to confront Shanks, but ultimately, they decided the risks outweighed the potential benefits and let it slide.
Not that Kanata didn't already know about the boy.
"There were… reasons. I really wanted that Devil Fruit…"
"I see. I'm not interested in the details. You don't need to lie to me."
"…Yeah, I guess you would know."
There were probably some complicated reasons behind it. Kanata wasn't going to pry, so she changed the subject back to Luffy.
"Is his full name Monkey D. Luffy?"
"I don't know his full name… How do you know about him?"
"He's my son."
Everyone present spat out their drinks in unison.
The air was filled with a rainbow of sake. Kanata, disgusted, quickly created a wall of ice to protect herself.
"I'm kidding."
"D-don't joke about that! You're giving us heart attacks!"
Relieved, everyone wiped their mouths as Kanata sighed. It would be a disaster if she had a son. Even Scotch and George, who had rarely left her side, were surprised.
It was a testament to her influence.
"Garp visited recently, and bragged about his grandson."
"Why is Garp involved?"
"Because Luffy's grandfather is Garp."
Shanks stared at Kanata, "Are you serious?", but this time, she was telling the truth.
Shanks hadn't known that Luffy was Garp's grandson, the man who often clashed with Roger. He took a swig of sake, a distant look in his eyes.
"What a small world…"
"That girl with the blue-green hair over there is Oden's daughter."
"Really? Oden's… Oden's daughter?!"
Shanks stared at Komurasaki in shock.
She didn't look much like Oden, but she resembled Toki. Now that he thought about it, there was a resemblance. Shanks seemed to be convinced. He must have met her when she was a child on Roger's ship, but she had grown so much that he didn't recognize her.
Kanata explained the situation in Wano, Oden's death, and the alliance between Big Mom and Kaido. She also explained why Komurasaki was here.
"I see…"
Shanks, staring at his full cup of sake, was deep in thought. Everyone on the Roger Pirates had been fond of Oden. He was truly a charismatic man. Except for Kanata, of course.
"Are you having trouble dealing with Kaido and Big Mom? Is it even difficult for you to take them both on at the same time?"
"Kaido has gotten much stronger recently. Big Mom is already powerful as it is. It would be difficult to fight them both at the same time."
She wouldn't lose if she fought them one-on-one, but against both of them… The odds were unfavorable.
Especially Kaido. Even Bullet couldn't defeat him. His durability was monstrous, his spirit unyielding, his Haki seemingly limitless. He had conquered countless pirates with his strength alone. Kanata couldn't help but see him as a threat.
Big Mom might be past her prime, but she still showed no signs of weakness. And with her children growing up, she was even more dangerous as a force.
Twilight alone couldn't defeat their alliance.
"How about an alliance? With us?"
"With you?"
"Yes, I was fond of Oden. I want to help save his homeland."
The Red Hair Pirates were still relatively new, but they were strong. They would be a better ally than the Marines against the Big Mom-Beasts Pirates alliance.
But forming an alliance with Shanks now meant she would have to resign from the Seven Warlords.
That was a problem.
"…I'm currently working to get Fish-Man Island back into the Reverie. I can't resign from the Seven Warlords at this stage."
She had made a promise to Tiger. She would help improve the status of Fish-men and merfolk, so they could be treated as equals… but the path to coexistence was still a long one.
Resigning now would mean abandoning Tiger and Queen Otohime's efforts.
She had even met with Newgate, whom she couldn't stand, to smooth things over. It wouldn't be easy to abandon her efforts now.
She didn't need the privileges of a Warlord to influence other nations, but to get Fish-Man Island officially recognized by the World Government, she had to utilize her position.
"I see… You're busy, aren't you?"
"Yes, sorry. But I understand your intentions. I might need your help someday."
"Just let me know. I'm always here for you."
They were old friends. There was no need for formalities.
There was no better ally than Shanks if she decided to go to war.
"By the way, why is Garp coming here? Does he occasionally inspect the Warlords?"
"No, the last time he came, it was because Bullet had caused trouble. And to buy all the tea we had in stock."
Bullet had been released at Kanata's request, so the government considered him part of Twilight. But neither Bullet nor Kanata agreed with that assessment.
Therefore, Bullet acted on his own, and Kanata didn't try to stop him. She wasn't responsible for his actions.
She occasionally traded goods with him, and sometimes she even gave him work, but Bullet was essentially acting as an independent agent.
Garp's complaints were ignored.
"Bullet, huh…? It's been a while."
Shanks had met Bullet when he was briefly a member of the Roger Pirates. He was a powerful figure, as strong as Rayleigh back then, but he couldn't match Roger.
Shanks wondered if he could defeat Bullet now. He wasn't eager to fight, but he was curious.
He doubted Bullet would be interested in fighting a one-armed man, though.
"You haven't settled things with Mihawk yet, have you? Do you want a prosthetic arm?"
"Nah, I don't think so. I doubt I could use it as well as my real arm."
Some Devil Fruit users could use their powers to replace lost limbs. Kanata could replace her missing parts with ice, but she was currently whole. It was an unnecessary skill.
Shanks wasn't a Devil Fruit user, so if they found the right Devil Fruit, he might be able to fight as well as before.
He didn't seem particularly interested, though.
"There's no harm in trying. One of my crew members created leg attachments because his sense of touch was dulled. I can arrange it if you're interested."
"Yeah, I guess… It's worth a shot."
It would be convenient to be able to pour his own drinks, Shanks said with a smile.
Apparently, that was his main concern.
They summoned Caterina, and she took Shanks' measurements. Even if he couldn't use it in battle, it would improve his balance.
She could create something high-quality, but it would take some time.
"Make sure it looks cool."
"Leave it to me! It'll be even better than your real arm!"
Both Shanks and Kanata were ordinary humans without Haki. Big Mom and Kaido were exceptions.
If he could imbue the prosthetic arm with Haki, it might actually be more powerful than his real arm.
…Assuming it worked as intended.
"By the way, why are you really here?"
"Oh, that's right. I just wanted to say hello. It's been a while… and I want to buy some sake and food."
Shanks still commanded a large fleet. He had his own territory now, protecting numerous islands under his banner.
Twilight traded with every country, regardless of their affiliation with the World Government, but they avoided entering Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard's territories to prevent unnecessary conflicts. They had applied the same policy to Shanks' territory, but Shanks, knowing this, had come to her directly.
"It would be more convenient for us to continue trading with your territory. So, I'm asking for your permission."
"Sure."
Shanks bowed his head, but Kanata, unfazed, readily agreed.
It was just a precautionary measure. She would resume trade operations if there wouldn't be any problems.
She thought, "I'll need to update the list later," as she observed the crowd drinking merrily. It seemed this would drag on until tomorrow.
As she predicted, the feast continued through the night, and most of them collapsed from exhaustion.
***
The next day…
Unsurprisingly, Shanks was suffering from a hangover. George and Scotch had also overindulged and were still asleep. Kanata, however, woke up at her usual time, ate breakfast, and visited Shanks.
"Ugh… I drank too much… I feel awful…"
"You idiot. Why do you always drink so much?"
"You drank a lot too, Kanata. How are you not hungover?"
"I don't get drunk easily. And I didn't drink as much as you."
Moderation was key.
Kanata, shaking her head, handed him a bottle of water. While he drank, she explained a few things.
"About the trade agreement you mentioned… I'll need a list of the islands in your territory. And do you know where the galley is? I'll have them prepare something for your hangover. If it's really bad, you can visit Sukura in the infirmary. He has medicine."
"You're taking care of everything… Mom."
"I'm not your mother."
She didn't remember ever having a child this big.
He might have grown physically, but he was still as clueless as ever.