Uchiha Puppet Master, Starting from One Piece.

He picked up the wine jug and raised it towards Bai Yu.

Bai Yu also raised his glass and clinked it with his.

The sound was crisp and clear.

The two of them tilted their heads back and drank it all at the same time.

Rangiku has already become close friends with the members of the Red-Haired Pirates.

She was holding a large bowl of wine and drinking with Rakiro. Her face was flushed, her eyes were bright like burning flames, and her laughter was crisp and unrestrained.

"Another bowl, please!"

"Are you sure? You've already drunk five bowls!"

"Five bowls is nothing! I can drink ten bowls!"

"Great! That's satisfying!"

Artoria sat on the other side of Shiraha, holding a glass of wine in her hand, and had also drunk quite a bit.

She was observing.

Her gaze lingered on each member of the Red-Haired Pirates, as if analyzing their combat strength and threat level. Her expression was serious and focused, making her seem more like she was conducting military reconnaissance than attending a banquet.

Bai Yu noticed her condition and waved his hand in front of her.

"Relax, this is a drinking party, not a war."

Artoria glanced at Bai Yu, her brows furrowing slightly.

"It is dangerous to relax in this environment."

"why?"

"Because you never know which of these people will become your enemy in the next second."

Bai Yu smiled.

"They will not become enemies."

"how do you know?"

"Because they are not pirates in the conventional sense."

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly lively.

Shanks' face was already red, but his eyes were still clear, as clear as if he hadn't drunk any alcohol at all.

He picked up the wine jug, took another big gulp, then put it down, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, looked around the deck, and his smile became even brighter.

"I'm so happy today!"

He said the sound was so loud the whole deck could hear it: "I haven't been this happy in a long time!"

The crew members of the Red-Haired Pirates echoed in unison, their voices deafening.

"Yes, Captain!"

"It's been so long since it's been this lively!"

"Another jar of wine, please!"

Shanks laughed loudly, then he stood up, staggered over to Bai Yu, squatted down, and looked Bai Yu in the eye.

"White Feather."

His voice suddenly became serious, as if he were talking about something of life and death.

"Ok?"

"There's something I want to tell you."

"what's up?"

Shanks paused for a second, then a sly smile appeared on his lips.

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 crew members of the Red-Haired Pirates 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 were relaxed, nonchalant smiles.

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.

"Go ahead."

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 number one power, the village of warriors. The giants are perhaps the largest and most powerful race in the world. Their average height is over twenty meters, and they possess lifespans and strength far exceeding those of humans. An ordinary giant warrior can easily destroy a warship, while their elite warriors, those who have mastered Haki, 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?"

"Ah."

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, the Mink Tribe, and the Three-Eyed Tribe, 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 that is engraved in their blood, passed down from generation to generation, and innate."

"What 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 that Bai Yu rarely saw in Artoria.