Chapter 128: A Promising Future

The thought that his little darling might already have been ravaged by a gang of drunkards made Saul’s heart ache as though it had been cut by a knife.

After roaring at the top of his lungs, he acted with surprising decisiveness, using Moonwalk with only one leg and wobbling crookedly toward the island.

Hearing Saul’s furious bellow, Shanks remained utterly calm, carrying himself with the boldness of someone who had nothing left to lose.

The liquor was nearly gone anyway.

So—

Nya nya nya…

Unlike Shanks, Sunny could no longer sit still. She rose soundlessly and crept toward the forest.

“Big Sis… hic… are you going to pee… hic… pee?”

Bailey lifted his upper body and looked at Sunny, who had just stood up.

Sunny stopped at the sound of his voice. She glanced back at Bailey, who was drunk enough to resemble a puddle of mud, then turned her eyes toward Shanks and the others, who had been drawn over by Saul’s voice.

Thump!

Clatter!

Bailey fell asleep.

Sunny slipped into the forest and hid.

A while later, Saul hurried onto the scene.

Seeing the empty barrels scattered all over the ground, Saul’s heart sank. He immediately stormed over to Shanks.

The crew members who had been gathered around Shanks scattered like startled birds, leaving only Morde, who had been thoroughly drunk and now lay beside the bonfire, sleeping fitfully.

Sabo and the others also retreated a little before finally slipping away altogether.

In the blink of an eye, only Saul and Shanks remained beside the bonfire, along with the unconscious Morde and Bailey.

Saul narrowed his eyes, his tone relatively calm.

“You brought it all out?”

Shanks handed him a cup of liquor and shook his head.

“I left one barrel.”

“One… one barrel?”

“That’s right.”

Shanks wore an utterly serious expression.

Saul fell silent for a long moment. Then he took the cup and asked, “The one you left behind wasn’t the barrel tucked away in the corner, was it?”

“Exactly.”

Shanks nodded, then pretended to look surprised.

“But how did you know? Has your Observation Haki really become that powerful?”

“Get lost. My Observation Haki isn’t the same kind as the captain’s. No matter how strong it gets, it’ll never reach that level.”

Suppressing the urge to smash the cup against Shanks’s forehead, Saul snapped, “That was the only barrel in the cellar that hadn’t been sealed properly. If it hadn’t been for that, would you have simply ignored it, you bastard?”

“Hahaha!”

Shanks suddenly burst into delighted laughter.

Looking at Shanks, who possessed not the slightest trace of shame, Saul felt utterly helpless.

By this point, he glanced at the empty barrels covering the ground and could only accept reality.

“Forget it. If it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Saul shook his head with a sigh and drained the liquor in his cup.

As for the ridiculous notion that he shouldn’t drink until his injuries had fully healed, he did not care in the slightest.

Shanks lifted the barrel that still contained less than half its liquor and took the initiative to refill Saul’s cup.

Saul drained another cup in one swallow, let out a soft belch, and asked, “Where’s Sunny?”

He could have used Observation Haki to sense Sunny’s location immediately, but sometimes there was no need.

“She went to hide in the forest. After all, if little Sunny hadn’t been so considerate, how could we have enjoyed all this liquor?”

Shanks sold Sunny out without the slightest hesitation, all while chatting and laughing.

Saul shook his head and sighed.

“That girl…”

Shanks lifted his cup and took a sip.

“You still haven’t confessed everything to little Sunny?”

Saul nodded calmly.

Shanks looked surprised.

“What, are you planning to take this secret to your grave?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“It’s allowed, but there’s no need for it.”

“Tch. A fellow like you, who doesn’t even have a family…”

Saul waved his hand impatiently.

Shanks smiled helplessly. After Saul had brought out such a deadly weapon, what else could he say?

Saul raised his cup and drained it once more. With his head slightly bowed, the flickering firelight reflected in his old eyes.

“Back then, all I thought about was setting sail. I even abandoned my wife and children for it. I should have realized it then… Forget it. When all is said and done, it was because I was unworthy of being a man that Sunny and the others had to suffer such a calamity.”

“I’ve heard you mention it before. It was because of the Heavenly Tribute, wasn’t it?”

Shanks set down his cup and turned his head toward Saul, whose face was flushed red in the firelight.

Saul nodded silently, unwilling to say anything more on the subject. Instead, he glanced at Morde, who was sleeping deeply beside the bonfire.

“Shanks, what do you think of Morde?”

“He has a bright future.”

“Ha. To put it plainly, that boy Morde is a monster.”

At those words, a broad smile spread across Saul’s aged face.

“You saw the shot that wounded Garp, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“But do you know this? From the moment he learned to use Armament Haki to the moment he fired that shot, less than five days had passed.”

“Oh?”

Shanks was startled. His first reaction was that it could not possibly be true.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? But that’s the truth.”

Seeing Shanks’s reaction, the smile on Saul’s face deepened.

Shanks realized that Saul was not joking.

In other words…

He could not help looking toward the sleeping Morde.

Was this kid a monster?

Saul looked at Morde as well and said calmly, “I’ve lived to this age. Birth, aging, sickness, and death no longer mean much to me. Before I met Morde, even if I had died at the hands of that Iron Fist bastard, it would not have mattered.”

“But things are different now. I want to live a few more years, then use these eyes—which have already begun to fail me—to see how far Morde can go.”

“So let Morde join your ship. With you, he’ll surely shine.”

As he spoke, Saul shifted his gaze to Shanks’s face.

Shanks shrugged.

“Well… I’m afraid that won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Haha. I already invited Morde while you were still unconscious. Unfortunately, he turned down my invitation.”

“Hm?”

Saul furrowed his brows slightly, then turned to look at Morde.

Shanks smiled.

“He had a fairly convincing reason for refusing. Still, I think it’s worth trying again. If you can persuade Morde, all the better.”

To reach that level with Armament Haki in less than five days—

Such potential had reignited Shanks’s desire to whisk Morde away.

“Very well.”

Saul nodded.

Shanks set down his cup and suddenly asked, “Saul, what are you planning to do after this?”

Saul thought for a moment.

“Find somewhere suitable for retirement.”

“Where are you planning to go?”

“The East Blue.”

“The East Blue?”

Hearing that unexpected answer, Shanks was momentarily stunned, but he soon understood.

“You want to go to Jaba?”

“Right. It’s a pretty good place over there. Remote, and there aren’t any Marines. The difficult part is figuring out how to fool the Marines’ informants. If I accidentally draw trouble to Jaba, I imagine he’ll pull out his axe and chop me to pieces.”

Shanks smiled.

“That won’t be difficult. I’ll help you.”

“Good. At least you know how to behave.”

Saul grinned.