Chapter 7: Red Memories-02

"Baki, you bastard, stop talking nonsense!" Shanks' reaction was extremely excited. It seemed that he was furious after his thoughts were exposed.

"I'm not talking nonsense. It was you, Shanks, who replaced the female navy's juice with beer, and you kept staring at her at the party!" Buggy retorted.

Shanks: "Bucky!"

Roger interrupted their quarrel: "In that case, when we met that little girl on Rose Island before, it was Shanks who ran out of the tavern first."

Rayleigh: "Cheng Xi has very strong swordsmanship, and she is a young and beautiful girl. She should be liked by many little boys. I didn't expect that even Shanks is no exception."

Spencer pinched Shanks' cheek as usual, and his tone was flat: "It's nothing. Shanks is twelve years old this year. Boys of this age are in the period of youth and ignorance. It is common for young boys to like beautiful girls."

He continued: "What's more, Cheng Xi is a good kid and everyone likes her very much."

Shanks: "So annoying! I don't like her just because she is beautiful!"

After hearing what he said, the members of Roger's pirate group looked at each other, and then laughed loudly and unscrupulously.

Shanks was ridiculed by Captain Roger, whom he always respected: "Stupid Shanks, just admit it yourself."

Spencer joked: "Maybe little Chengxi will appear in your dream one night."

"Hahahaha."

Everyone's hearty and warm laughter lasted for a long time on the ocean. Although Shanks hated Spencer pinching his face, he still listened to what he said.

She said that it was common for young people to like pretty girls. Maybe she didn't like her, but simply liked pretty girls, and she just happened to appear at this time.

He reminded himself.

Later, Cheng Xi came to their ship several times again. Shanks always secretly replaced her juice with beer, and then watched her angrily guessing whether it was Captain Roger or Mr. Rayleigh who replaced the juice.

Everyone knew that Shanks was the culprit, but they all chose to remain silent as if they were just watching the fun. Even Buggy was covered in the mouth by Rayleigh several times.

When she was exposed, Shanks thought she would be scolded like Mr. Rayleigh, but Cheng Xi thought she was just a little brat and did not punish her at all.

Roger sighed: "You really treat us differently."

Cheng Xi: "Are you still trying to treat us the same as children?"

Rayleigh: "Aren't you a child too?"

Cheng Xi: "..."

That was the last contact between Cheng Xi and Roger's pirate group.

Later, Roger arrived at Raftel and became the Pirate King.

On that sunny afternoon, he disbanded the Roger Pirates. He said that men's farewells don't require tears, but in fact, everyone on the ship was so sad that they couldn't stop crying.

The Roger Pirates were disbanded, and Shanks felt like he had no home anymore.

Until the day Roger was executed, many people gathered under the rack. They all had their own thoughts and purposes in watching the execution of the Pirate King.

He had lived on this ship for as long as he could remember, from the age of one to fourteen. The Oro Jackson was his home and Captain Roger was his family.

Now, his home was gone and his family was dead.

Maybe the sky was crying for the remaining members of Roger's pirate group. After the execution, it rained heavily in Roger Town.

Huge raindrops fell with a crackling sound, getting heavier and heavier.

Thinking of what Captain Roger said to him before the disbanding, Shanks rejected Buggy's dream of becoming the Pirate King: "I have changed my mind now, and I don't have that idea."

"But I will continue to be a pirate."

Buggy was angry and disappointed when he heard Shanks' refusal. In his eyes, Shanks was the person chosen by Captain Roger to inherit his will, and he was more powerful than him. It was only natural that he should continue sailing to Raftel and become the second Pirate King.

So he rejected Shanks' invitation and decided to form a pirate group and be the captain himself.

In the storm, the two companions of similar age and best relationship on the Oro Jackson parted ways and left in different directions.

By evening, the usually bright moonlight and stars were blocked by dark clouds and raging rainstorms. The sky was gray and there was no one to be seen on the streets.

Shanks just walked aimlessly.

When they arrived at a tavern, they could see through the window that the lights were bright and the place was full of guests. It was very lively, which was in stark contrast to Shanks' loneliness at the moment.

The pirates at the table by the window had terrible table manners, their hands were covered with grease and meat crumbs, and they had very poor character. The noise from their drinking, eating meat, and shouting was so loud that Shanks could hear it even outside the window.

However, they did not take it too seriously. Instead, they were proud of it, believing that it was a generosity unique to pirates.

Shanks was just about to pass by, but suddenly heard Roger's name from them.

The man with the flesh on his face unscrupulously commented on Roger's past, thinking that he was a loser. As the Pirate King, he was caught by the navy and was simply a waste, which insulted the reputation of their pirates.

"I don't know how he found the one piece."

"If I were Roger, I would definitely not be stupid enough to be captured and publicly executed by the navy, or even lead my crew to Marinford to make a big fuss."

After saying that, he laughed even louder, and everyone at the table started to laugh.

"Damn it." Shanks gritted his teeth.

He ran into the tavern with his sword tightly gripped, intending to chop down those who dared to laugh at Captain Roger.

However, someone was one step faster than him.

Shanks stood in the middle of the tavern and was about to draw his sword when a yellow shadow with flames on it passed in front of him at an extremely fast speed and landed on the table of those people.

The pirates were confused by this sudden change. Before they could react, they were struck by the thunder talisman, trembling all over, and fell to the ground, emitting black smoke.

You can still vaguely hear the sound of electric current coming from them.

Shanks looked in the direction of the paper, and in that inconspicuous corner, a girl stood up and slowly walked towards the pirates who were talking nonsense.

Shanks' pupils flickered.

In the past two years, Cheng Xi appeared less and less in his mind. He thought that it was just an impulse of youth, as Spencer said, which would be gradually buried with the passage of time. He did not expect to meet him again here.

Cheng Xi stood in front of the pirates and said, "It's hard for a summer insect to talk about ice. I wanted to scold you, but when I thought about how you ugly frogs in the well will never see the sky where eagles soar in your lifetime, I had to give up these thoughts."

Yushula:...Aren't you scolding too! ?

"You... who are you?" The pirate who was speaking eloquently just now was now lying on the ground, dying from being struck by lightning.

"I'm in the Navy."

"Originally, I couldn't recognize a small pirate like you who doesn't even have a bounty warrant. I didn't expect you to directly identify yourself and admit that you are a pirate."

"Didn't you just say that you would take your men to Marinford to make a big scene?"

"Although it can't fulfill your dream of making a big scene in Marinford, it can fulfill your dream of going to jail in Impel." Cheng Xi waved his hand calmly, and said to the other girl who was sitting in the seat just now: "Yusula, tie them up and send them all to Impel Down tomorrow morning."

Yusula tied up the pirates according to Cheng Xi's order. After Cheng Xi went to the bar to pay for the meal, he was about to go out with Yusula and the others, but when he turned around, he saw Shanks standing beside them.

It's... the red-haired intern on Roger's ship.

She stopped.

"What's wrong, Lieutenant General Cheng Xi?" Yushula asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Cheng Xi said to her, "You guys go first, I met an acquaintance and have to stay here for a while."

"Okay." After that, Yusula took the pirates out of the restaurant alone.

Cheng Xi looked at Shanks, and their eyes met for a moment.

Cheng Xi couldn't believe how desperate and devastated Shanks was right now. Even he felt sad when he saw Roger's execution, not to mention this little boy who had lived on Roger's ship since he was a child.

A child who grew up in love and happiness now has nothing.

"I..." She didn't know how to comfort him. "Let me treat you to a meal."

Shanks looked at her and nodded.

Soon, the table was filled with steaks and beer. Shanks was actually very hungry, but he couldn't eat any food.

Although I tried my best to restrain myself, tears still flowed out uncontrollably.

Cheng Xi thought that he probably didn't want to be seen in such a miserable state, so he turned around and faced away from him.

It is never a good thing to have too much empathy, because you will also be affected by his sadness.

Shanks: "Cheng Xi."

"Yeah."

"I miss Captain Roger very much, but I still don't want to believe that he is gone."

"Shanks, death is something everyone has to face, and this decision is his own choice." Cheng Xi still had his back to him, "Although Roger's life was short, it was very wonderful. Whether it was fighting or something else, he was unrestrained and free. Perhaps he has no regrets anymore."

Shanks responded to her in a crying voice.

After forcing Shanks to eat some food and looking at him covered in rain, Cheng Xi asked him if there was a place to stay where he could take a hot shower. Shanks shook his head and said no.

Cheng Xi gave Shanks 2,000 berries and asked him to find a hotel to dry himself off first to avoid catching a cold.

Shanks refused Cheng Xi's Bailey, saying that he had money on him.

Cheng Xi originally wanted to leave immediately, but seeing Shanks looking so pitiful, he finally held an umbrella and took Shanks' wrist to send him to the door of the hotel.

"What are your plans for the future?" Cheng Xi asked him under the dim street lights at the hotel entrance.

Shanks told her about forming his own pirate group.

"Maybe he will become a troublesome guy again in the future." Cheng Xi thought.

Shanks: "Will Cheng Xi come to play with me as often as he did on Captain Roger's ship before?"

Cheng Xi: "Not necessarily, but he may come to catch you often."

Cheng Xi stroked his red hair, and then put a yellow paper talisman in Shanks' hand.

The moment their fingers touched, Shanks felt warmth for the first time in a long time.

"This is the amulet I made. It can protect your safety when you encounter storms or enemies while sailing at sea."

"Or you can come to me if you encounter any difficulties in the future."

Cheng Xi sighed. After all, they were in opposing camps, and this was the limit of what she could do to help.

When Cheng Xi left, Shanks looked at her back for a long time, until she disappeared into the dark rainy night, just like when he watched her walk into the auction house when they first met.

He felt like he really fell in love with Cheng Xi.

After Shanks went to sea, his ambition to become stronger reached its peak during this year. He wanted to become as strong as Captain Roger. Then Cheng Xi could chase him like he once chased Captain Roger.

What Spencer said when he was twelve came true on his sixteenth birthday.

He really dreamed of Cheng Xi.

Shanks felt a little ashamed when he realized the abnormality of his body when he got up.

Those seeds of youthful love gradually broke through the soil in his heart, took root and sprouted, and at this moment grew into a fruit called love.

The year Shanks met Cheng Xi, she was sixteen years old. Now he is sixteen years old. Sometimes he can't help but compare the sixteen-year-old Cheng Xi and the sixteen-year-old Shanks. Who is stronger?

The answer will never be revealed.

Because not long after that, Shanks received a newspaper report about the death of Vice Admiral Cheng Xi of the Navy Headquarters.

The year he just realized his love, the girl he liked left him forever.