Yasopp looked up at Carl, his expression extremely grim.
"Even haki can't hurt him... Just like the rumors said. Damn it! How is this possible?!"
Carl's pupils shifted slightly as he glanced down at Yasopp, raising a hand gently.
Ben Beckman and the others noticed this and their expressions changed drastically. They quickly raised their weapons, aiming at Carl. Only Shanks stood empty-handed, his expression tense as he shouted:
"Wait a moment..."
Before he could finish, Carl had already spread his palm, releasing Universal Pull. Yasopp was immediately dragged toward Carl at an astonishing speed and was finally held by the shoulder.
Yasopp struggled, attempting to raise his gun in defiance, but Carl exerted a bit more force. With a harrowing scream, Yasopp's shoulder blade was crushed into fragments, and his gun fell to the ground.
"Yasopp!!!"
Beckman and the others couldn't hold back any longer upon seeing Yasopp's tragic state. They were about to launch an attack when Shanks stopped them again.
Ignoring the confused stares of his crew, Shanks looked up at Carl and said,
"Yasopp has already been punished. Can you spare his life? I don't want to fight you."
Hearing this, Beckman's frown deepened. He could understand Shanks stopping them because of Yasopp's precarious situation, but that last statement—"I don't want to fight you"—was baffling.
Shanks, despite his carefree and easygoing demeanor, was known for his ruthlessness in battle. Over the years, countless pirate crews had been destroyed under his hand. After all, one didn't become an Emperor of the Sea by playing nice—except, perhaps, Luffy.
Carl lowered his head and locked eyes with Shanks. Yasopp gritted his teeth, enduring the searing pain in his shoulder, and spat out,
"You killed Usopp! I'll—"
Without even glancing at him, Carl tugged sharply, dislocating Yasopp's jaw. All Yasopp could manage was a series of guttural sounds.
Shanks, surprisingly, seemed relieved at this. Based on his understanding of Carl, if this were anyone else, their head would already be separated from their body.
Carl suddenly spoke.
"Shanks, didn't you forget to say something just now?"
Shanks was taken aback. "What?"
"Something like, 'Give me a favor?'"
"Uh, if I said that, would you give me one?"
"Why not try and see?"
Shanks was dumbfounded for a moment. He steadied himself, then cautiously said,
"Brother... could you spare Yasopp's life?"
"Hmm."
Before the words had fully settled, Yasopp's body let out a series of popping sounds. His eyes widened in shock before he passed out completely.
Carl released his grip, and Yasopp fell like a ragdoll. Shanks darted forward and caught him effortlessly. After checking that Yasopp was still breathing, Shanks heaved a sigh of relief and handed him over to Beckman. He then turned to Carl and said softly,
"Thank you."
Carl smiled faintly, leaping down to stand before Shanks and his crew.
As Carl approached, Beckman and the others tensed as if facing a deadly foe. Everyone activated their armament haki, their eyes fixed on Carl.
Under the intense scrutiny of an entire Yonko crew, Carl walked right up to Shanks and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Shanks' body trembled, but he didn't resist.
Carl leaned in and whispered,
"It's been years, Shanks. You've become an Emperor of the Sea, and yet you still know nothing, do you?"
The rest of the Red-Haired Pirates turned their attention to Shanks. Since Carl's arrival, Shanks had been acting unusually, and even Beckman couldn't shake the sense that something was off.
There was clearly more to Carl and Shanks' relationship than met the eye.
Shanks lowered his head in silence before slowly speaking.
"Am I... from the Figarland family?"
Carl nodded slightly. With his confirmation, Shanks' gaze turned dazed, and he muttered,
"This... has to be a joke, right?"
Hearing this, the crew members' eyes widened in disbelief. They turned from Shanks to Carl, their thoughts racing.
They all remembered reading in the papers that Carl's full name was Figarland Carl.
Now, learning that Shanks shared the same surname—did that mean Shanks was also a Celestial Dragon? And from the same family as Carl, no less?
Their minds raced further. Earlier, Carl had demanded that Shanks call him "Brother."
Shanks' expression grew complicated as he looked at Carl.
"So... you're really my brother?"
Carl smiled faintly.
"To be precise, your cousin."
At these words, the entire crew seemed to freeze in place, as though struck by lightning. Even Beckman, their team's brilliant strategist, found himself struggling to process the revelation.
Who could have imagined that the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines and one of the Emperors of the Sea both hailed from the same Celestial Dragon family?
Was the Figarland family simply filled with "rebellious" members?
Shanks fixed his gaze on Carl and asked,
"Then why did you choose to become a Marine?"
"Call me 'Brother.'"
"...Brother, why did you become a Marine? Was it because... the family fell into ruin?"
Carl shot him a glance and replied coolly,
"Yeah, it fell into ruin. Otherwise, do you think we would've been abandoned in the Valley of Gods back then?"
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+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg