After making a ten-day deal with his crew, Shanks headed into the town of Narohara, braving the scorching heat as he searched high and low for Takumi. But despite all his efforts, he couldn't find any sign of him.
As he passed by the hat vendor's stall, the vendor, just like before, called out to him, "Hey there, sir! You don't look like a local—probably from another island, right? If you're planning to stick around, you might want to buy a hat to keep from getting heatstroke. It can be a real pain if you get sick in a place like this."
Shanks glanced at the vendor and, without missing a beat, walked up to the stall, excitement evident on his face. He started gesturing as he spoke, "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a kid about this tall? He's not from around here either. Let's see… Oh yeah, he's got this permanent scowl on his face like the whole world owes him money. That's the guy—seen him?"
The vendor, seeing how eager Shanks was, couldn't help but sweat a little. But the description matched the kid who had bought a hat from him earlier.
"Well, uh… I did see someone like that, but I can't quite remember where he went," the vendor said, stroking his chin with one hand while rubbing his fingers together with the other. "Maybe I'll remember in a bit, or maybe not."
"So you have seen him!" Shanks asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I've seen him… So, you know… you get what I mean," the vendor said with a sly smile.
Shanks nodded, laughing, "Hahaha, I get it, I get it. No worries. Take your time. I've got time to wait for you to remember where that kid went."
The vendor was speechless.
Is this guy an idiot?
"How could you not get what I'm saying?" the vendor muttered, getting frustrated. Was this guy playing dumb on purpose?
"Do you really get what I'm saying?" the vendor asked, exasperated.
Shanks scratched his head, confused. "Didn't you just say you might remember where he went in a bit?"
The vendor raised his hand and rubbed his fingers together right in front of Shanks' face, trying to spell it out. When Shanks didn't react, he kept rubbing.
"Hey, what's wrong with your hand?" Shanks asked, concerned. "Is it itchy?"
"Pff…" The vendor nearly spat out blood in frustration. He couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! How can you not get it after I've made it so obvious? What's your deal?!"
Shanks just looked at him innocently, scratching his head again. "No need to get so worked up, boss. Getting angry isn't good for you, especially in this heat. Oh, are you thirsty? I've got some wine—want a sip?"
As he spoke, Shanks actually handed over his wine flask.
The vendor nearly knocked the flask out of Shanks' hand in frustration. "You idiot! I'm not itchy, I'm not hot, and I'm not thirsty! I just want you to buy a hat! Are you gonna buy one or not? If not, get lost and stop bothering me!"
"Whoa, no need to be so mad, boss. You could've just said you wanted me to buy a hat," Shanks replied, rubbing his chin as he looked over the hats on display. He picked up a straw hat, grinning, "Alright, I'll take this one. How much?"
The vendor's eye twitched in annoyance. "Five Beli…"
"Not bad, pretty cheap." Shanks put the straw hat on and tossed five Beli to the vendor.
The vendor pocketed the money and then pointed in the direction of Alubarna, the capital. "The kid you're looking for went that way. You'd better get yourself a camel if you want to catch up to him. Walking won't do it."
"Hey, your memory's not so bad after all," Shanks grinned. "Thanks, boss."
With that, he sprinted off in the direction the vendor had pointed.
The vendor sighed as he watched Shanks run off without a camel. "What a weirdo…"
Not long after Shanks left, a group of people suddenly appeared and surrounded the vendor's stall.
"Hey there, boss. Looks like business is good," said Benn Beckman, carrying a long rifle on his shoulder, as he grinned at the vendor.
Lucky Roo, munching on a large piece of meat with one hand and holding a gun with the other, pointed the barrel at the vendor's head. "My gun's been thirsty for blood for a while now. What do you say, boss—your blood for sale?"
"Hey, hey, Roo, put the gun down. Let me have a go," Yasopp said, raising his own gun and theatrically wiping the barrel in front of the terrified vendor. Then, with a smirk, he pulled the trigger.
There was a loud click.
The vendor's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.
Yasopp holstered his gun, feigning disappointment. "Whoops, I forgot to load it."
"Bwahaha…"
"Yasopp, you idiot! How do you forget to load your gun?"
The rest of the Red-Haired Pirates laughed uproariously.
The vendor, however, was trembling in fear. "I—I'm sorry, sirs. I don't know what I did wrong, but please, don't hurt me."
"You didn't do anything wrong," Benn Beckman said, picking out a few hats and tossing them to the crew members behind him. He then placed a bag of Beli in front of the vendor, smiling. "That red-haired idiot isn't someone you can just mess with. Don't judge people by their looks, young boss."
With that, Benn and the rest of the crew started walking away.
"Beckman, are we really just going to let the boss go off on his own?"
"Yeah, he's out there all by himself. Even though he's strong, it still makes me worry."
"Sigh, even though he's a grown man, he still acts like a kid sometimes. What a handful."
"Maybe we should send a couple of guys to secretly follow him. I'm really worried someone might just kidnap him…"
"Don't worry, Shanks knows what he's doing," Benn said with a smirk. "We'll just wait on the ship for him to come back."
Meanwhile, Takumi had no idea that Shanks had also arrived in Alabasta. He continued riding his camel leisurely through the vast desert.
Before long, a large sand bubble suddenly erupted from the ground in front of him.
Out of the bubble emerged a massive purple lizard, its jaws wide open, ready to snap up Takumi and his camel in one bite.
Takumi looked at the lizard calmly. He wasn't fazed—after all, during his time at sea, he had taken down sea monsters many times larger than this lizard. To him, this creature was no threat at all.
But his camel, being just an ordinary animal, was terrified. As the lizard approached, the camel panicked and bolted, carrying Takumi off in the wrong direction, away from the path to Alubarna, and into an unknown part of the desert.
******
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Shanks continued chasing after Takumi as fast as he could. Just when he caught sight of a small figure riding a camel in the distance, a giant desert lizard appeared out of nowhere.
Before he could get excited, the lizard scared the camel so badly that it ran off at an incredible speed, carrying Takumi away.
Watching Takumi fade from sight again, Shanks picked up his pace, trying to catch up.
But just as he was about to overtake the lizard chasing Takumi, another giant lizard burst out of the sand right beside him. It opened its massive jaws and swallowed Shanks whole.
These giant lizards in Alabasta always traveled in pairs.
Almost immediately after the lizard gobbled him up, a flash of steel sliced through the air.
The lizard's head was cleanly severed in an instant, and Shanks landed lightly on the sand.
The lizard chasing Takumi turned back, furious after seeing its companion fall, and tried to avenge it.
But with Takumi getting farther away, Shanks didn't have time to mess around. With one clean swipe, he sliced the second lizard in half, just as easily as the first. Then, he took off after Takumi, shouting as he ran, "Takumi, it's me! Wait up…"
Even though the lizards were now dead, Takumi could still sense it from a distance. And he could also feel a familiar presence nearby.
When he turned to look back, he saw a man with red hair and a straw hat chasing after him in the distance.
Takumi couldn't help but feel a little exasperated.
Shanks… What's he doing in Alabasta…?
And how on earth did he even know I was here?
Running into Shanks here was quite a coincidence. Maybe this time, Shanks would play a role in whatever mission he had in Alabasta.
With that thought, Takumi tried pulling on the camel's reins to get it to stop. But no matter how hard he pulled, the terrified camel refused to stop.
Left with no other choice, Takumi used a bit more force, yanking the reins back sharply.
The camel reared up on its hind legs, nearly toppling over. But before it could fall, Takumi effortlessly leapt off and landed smoothly on the sand.
The camel scrambled back to its feet, looking around in confusion. Once it realized the giant lizard chasing them was gone, it finally calmed down.
In just a few minutes, Shanks caught up.
"You sure can run fast, kid," Shanks said with a grin.
Takumi glanced at Shanks' straw hat and his intact arms.
That's not his original hat… So, he must have given it to Luffy already.
Also, if he remembered correctly, Shanks was supposed to lose an arm saving Luffy from the Sea King near Windmill Village.
Could it be that the Sea King that was supposed to bite off Shanks' arm was the one Takumi had killed when he left the village?
Without dwelling on it too much, Takumi looked away and asked casually, "Where's Benn Beckman and the others?"
Shanks shrugged. "They're waiting for me by the shore near that town. Don't worry about them. Haha, Takumi, it's been over six months—did you miss me?"
Takumi responded flatly, "No."
"Hahaha," Shanks laughed heartily. "You haven't changed a bit, still not one for chit-chat, haha…"
"So, what do you want with me?" Takumi asked.
"Can't I just drop by to catch up?" Shanks grinned. "On the way here, I heard about a kid around ten years old who likes to visit taverns on every island, buying up large amounts of alcohol. I knew right away it had to be you. So, I figured you were heading to Alabasta and decided to follow your trail. Turns out I was right—pretty lucky, huh?"
"Oh."
Takumi gave a nonchalant response, then started leading his camel forward again.
All around them, the landscape was nothing but golden sand. Today was cloudy, so without the sun to guide him, Takumi just picked a random direction and hoped it would lead to the next town where he could ask for directions.
Seeing Takumi walk off, Shanks quickly caught up, walking alongside him and chatting as they went. "I didn't expect you to reach the Grand Line so quickly. I thought it'd be a few years before we saw each other again."
Takumi kept walking, silently.
It was supposed to be a few years, but thanks to your persistence, it's happening now. No surprise—it's Shanks we're talking about. You're really something…
"Hahaha…" Shanks laughed, taking a swig from his flask. His eyes widened when he noticed two swords hanging from Takumi's waist. "Huh? You've started practicing swordsmanship?"
Takumi didn't respond.
Shanks' gaze shifted to the sword's hilt, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "That sword… It looks like a Kitetsu. Don't tell me it's actually a Kitetsu?"
Takumi casually replied, "It is."
"That's a cursed blade!" Shanks exclaimed. "You really can handle a cursed sword, huh?"
Takumi chuckled. "What's so hard about that? Only those with weak wills get controlled by cursed swords."
Shanks was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you're right, you're right! With your willpower, no cursed sword could ever control you. I should've known better, hahaha…"
"So," Takumi asked with a hint of exasperation, "how long are you planning to make Benn Beckman and the others wait?"
Takumi's question was clear—he wanted Shanks to leave and stop following him.
But Shanks didn't seem to mind. "I promised them I'd be back within ten days. Don't worry, it's been a while since we had a good drink together. Once we reach the next town, let's find a tavern and have a proper drink. My treat."
If it's just a drink, I guess that's fine.
Without giving it much thought, Takumi responded with a simple, "Okay."
Shanks, clearly in high spirits, walked beside him, his eyes landing on the gourd Takumi carried. "That gourd looks pretty cool. Where'd you get it? Maybe I'll pick one up too."
"Shimotsuki Village."
"Hmm? Shimotsuki Village?" Shanks rubbed his chin, thinking. "Isn't that the village with the Isshin Dojo?"
"Yeah."
"Hahaha, no wonder you've got those swords. So, you went to that dojo, huh? I heard the dojo master is quite the swordsman. Did you spar with him?"
"No."
"Eh? Why not?" Shanks asked, puzzled.
Takumi shot him an annoyed glance.
This guy is really getting on my nerves…
Seeing that Takumi wasn't going to answer, Shanks thought for a moment, then said, "Don't tell me you chickened out because you thought you'd lose to the dojo master, hahaha…"
Takumi remained silent.
"Hahaha," Shanks laughed, "I was just kidding. You're the strongest kid I've ever met—no way you'd lose to just anyone. Let me guess—knowing you, you probably thought it was too much of a hassle to fight, right? Am I right? Tell me I'm right!"
******
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