Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

Chapter 306 306: Big Sister, Watch Out!

After saying that, Buggy split his body and sprouted several extra legs, sprinting toward the inner halls of the Golden City.

Although Shanks was full of questions, he simply laughed, shook his head, grabbed the half bottle of wine in his hand, and followed.

You really spoiled that guy.

The two of them arrived at a relatively quiet side hall. Buggy stopped at the door, let out that irritating, mischievous laugh again, and suddenly pushed it open.

"Shishishi! Red-Haired idiot! Take a good look! This is the surprise your great Captain Buggy prepared for you!"

Inside the hall, a figure stood by the window with his back to them, gazing out at the sea that was gradually calming after the long celebration.

That familiar posture.

That unfathomable aura.

The drunken haze vanished from Shanks' face in an instant. His pupils shrank sharply, and almost by instinct his right hand gripped the hilt of his sword, Gryphon.

A powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki burst out uncontrollably, shaking the curtains in the hall so violently that they fluttered like storm-tossed sails.

That back...

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

He had seen it with his own eyes. At Loguetown. The execution platform. The moment the Pirate King died.

This had to be some cruel joke.

Did Buggy find someone with some strange ability to impersonate him? Or...

Just as Shanks' Conqueror's Haki was about to explode completely, and Gryphon was about to leave its sheath

A gentle voice came from the other side of the room.

"Shanks? What's wrong? Why did your aura suddenly become so intense?"

With that voice, Rouge walked out from a small inner room, carrying a plate of freshly sliced bitter melon that gleamed with a vivid green color. She looked toward the tense Shanks at the doorway with slight confusion.

When she saw him clearly, Rouge seemed to understand something. Her smile softened even more.

That voice was incredibly familiar, like a bucket of cold spring water poured straight onto Shanks' nearly uncontrollable killing intent.

Shanks was the only one present with Observation Haki strong enough to sense such subtle things.

But at this moment, he did not need it.

The bitter melon on the plate was bright green and unmistakably real. It was certainly not the one at fault.

Aunt Rouge's voice.

Aunt Rouge's gentle presence.

The way she looked at them, that mixture of warmth and helpless affection.

The bitter melon might as well have been waving at him.

You idiot.

Shanks' hand froze on the hilt of Gryphon.

He blinked in disbelief, glanced at Rouge holding the plate of bitter melon, then suddenly whipped his head back toward the figure by the window.

Hearing Rouge's voice, the man slowly turned around.

That wide, brilliant smile.

The very face Shanks believed he had said goodbye to forever. The face that only appeared in his memories and nightmares.

"Captain...?"

Shanks' voice trembled with disbelief.

Gol D. Roger looked at the nearly petrified Shanks and burst into his iconic, magnificent laughter, carrying a trace of playful mischief.

"Oho! Shanks! Long time no see! You've grown a lot! Just like back when you were on the ship! Hahaha!"

Buggy stood beside them watching Shanks' stunned expression. Finally he could not hold it in anymore. He clutched his stomach and burst into wild laughter.

"Shishishi! Look at that, Red Hair! Stunned speechless, aren't you?! I win! Hahaha!"

Rouge watched the scene unfold and sighed with a helpless smile. She set the plate of bitter melon on the table and spoke gently to the frozen Shanks.

"Don't just stand there, kid. Come sit down and try some bitter melon your aunt just cut. It's very fresh."

Shanks said nothing.

At this moment, he felt like he might need to drink ten more barrels of wine before he could understand what was happening in front of him.

Captain looks twenty years younger.

Should I start taking better care of my skin too?

While Shanks' brain struggled to process two world-shaking facts, one, his deceased captain had apparently come back to life and looked twenty years younger, and two, Aunt Rouge had just offered him bitter melon and he had no idea whether he should eat it, the side hall door opened again.

Reed walked in first, wearing his usual slightly irritating lazy smile.

Behind him followed several others.

Dragon-Eye, Max, and a few more.

It was clear Reed had not only brought Buggy and Shanks. He had also gathered every old core member who could arrive on short notice. Only a few legendary veterans were missing, still enjoying their peaceful retirement. Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban were specifically complained about for not showing up.

The room suddenly filled with people again.

But everyone's gaze immediately locked onto the man standing by the window, laughing like a big kid who had just pulled off the greatest prank in history.

Gol D. Roger.

For three full seconds, the room fell into deathly silence.

Then...

"Captain... Captain... is it really you?!"

Max was the first to break the silence, his voice trembling with sobs.

"Hey, what's going on here? A secret meeting without inviting me?"

Reed grinned, glancing from the completely stunned Shanks to the smug Buggy before finally looking at Roger and Rouge in the center of the room.

However, before anyone could answer, Reed's expression suddenly turned alarmed. In an instant he appeared beside Rouge.

"Big sister! Watch out!"

A cloud of blood mist surged around him and quickly condensed into a small, delicate crimson umbrella canopy that covered Rouge completely.

Almost the very next second

"WAAAAH! CAPTAIN!!!"

"YOU BASTARD! YOU'RE REALLY BACK!!!"

Decades of suppressed emotion finally burst free.

Massive tears mixed with joy, grief, and nostalgia exploded from their eyes. There was simply too much emotion for their eye sockets to contain.

The tears shot out like fountains.

Literally.

Dragon-Eye and Crocus cried the hardest. Their tears sprayed the farthest and the strongest. If Reed's blood mist umbrella had not blocked it in time, Rouge and her plate of bitter melon would have been completely drowned by this sudden downpour.

Rouge looked up at the small crimson umbrella above her head, then at the group of elderly men crying without a shred of dignity.

She paused for a moment, then shook her head gently and laughed. Her eyes were soft and helpless.

You people...

Meanwhile, Reed stood beside her seriously holding up the little umbrella and pointing at the crying crowd.

"Watch it! Watch it! Maintain public hygiene! Control your emotions! Your tears are splashing over here!"

The warning was completely useless.

The next moment, centered around Roger, a group of old men with an average age of fifty or sixty who had once ruled the seas suddenly threw themselves into a massive group hug.

Shanks' eyes turned red from the contagious emotion.

Buggy was already clinging to him and howling loudly.

"Captain! I knew you wouldn't die that easily!"

"Roger, you bastard! Do you know how much we suffered after you left?!"

"You idiot! It's so good that you're back! It's so good that you're back!"

"WAAAAAH!"