"What happened?" Looking at quite a few crew members lying directly on the ground, Roger, along with Barrett and Rayleigh, rushed over and asked in great surprise.
"It's all right, Captain! It's Shanks... He seemed to use Conqueror's Haki just now! Everyone wasn't prepared, so that's why this happened!"
With such an incident, it was no longer suitable to continue the sparring. So Fang Yi, who had stopped, voluntarily explained what had just happened.
"Conqueror's Haki?" Roger, Rayleigh, and Barrett all looked at Shanks in great astonishment.
Currently, only Roger and Rayleigh on the Roger Pirates possess Conqueror's Haki. Even Jabba hasn't awakened it. So everyone was quite surprised that Shanks was able to use it.
Especially Barrett. The way he looked at Shanks was different. Conqueror's Haki isn't something just anyone can awaken. Once someone awakens Conqueror's Haki, it proves that this person has the qualifications of a king. This is an ability that even he and Fang Yi haven't awakened.
You know, normally he didn't pay that much attention to Shanks and Buggy. Even though Buggy had eaten a Devil Fruit before, in Barrett's view, he was still weak.
And Shanks, this guy who usually seemed so ordinary, actually awakened Conqueror's Haki. This made Barrett, who was already in a bad mood, even more annoyed.
But apart from him, the other members of the Roger Pirates were still very happy, especially Fang Yi.
Actually, Fang Yi understood Roger's thoughts. He, Shanks, and Buggy had always been interns, so as not to affect their future growth.
The Roger Pirates would eventually fade away, but the three younger ones still had a longer journey ahead. Without the Roger Pirates in the future, they could form their own pirate crews.
Interns weren't considered official crew members, so it wouldn't have any impact on their future pirate crews.
And Shanks... was almost already reserved by Fang Yi.
As one of the future Four Emperors, Shanks' potential was beyond doubt. So Fang Yi had intended to cultivate a relationship with Shanks a long time ago. Now he was more than 80% sure that he could recruit Shanks when he formed his own pirate crew.
The stronger Shanks' strength became, the better it would be for him.
That day, Roger held a grand banquet for Shanks to celebrate for him.
But Fang Yi was a bit confused. Why did Shanks awaken Conqueror's Haki first? According to the general process, one would either awaken Armament Haki first or Observation Haki first, and only then would they awaken Conqueror's Haki.
But these didn't matter. The most important thing was that Shanks had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
Moreover, since Shanks awakened Conqueror's Haki, his status on the Roger Pirates had risen sharply. Even after a few days, Captain Roger gave his straw hat to Shanks, which made Fang Yi a little flustered.
It wasn't that he was afraid Shanks' status on the Roger Pirates would overtake his or something. He wasn't that petty.
Instead, they are afraid that Roger assigned some tasks to Shanks. This view actually has quite a following among pirate fans. In the future, Shanks, who has become one of the Four Emperors, is quite close to the position of the Pirate King. Moreover, he knows about the four Road - Poneglyphs and even their locations.
So why doesn't Shanks go to the Final Island? Pirate fans speculate that it's very likely that when Roger passed on the straw hat to Shanks, he also assigned him some tasks, like waiting for Roger's heir to appear.
If that's the case, then Fang Yi may not be able to recruit Shanks onto his ship, which is why Fang Yi starts to get a little anxious.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
"Shanks, are you in?"
One day, Fang Yi finally decides to talk to Shanks. He hopes to settle the matter right now. In this way, even if Roger wants Shanks to do something in the future, Fang Yi will have already made an agreement with Shanks.
"Is that you, Brother Yi? Wait a minute, I'm coming!" Hearing Fang Yi's voice, Shanks in the room quickly opens the door.
"Got some time? Let's have a chat?" Fang Yi asks with a smile.
"Sure!" Shanks doesn't refuse. He nods, glances at Buggy who is already fast asleep, then closes the door and follows Fang Yi away.
"Shanks, have you thought about the future?" After they reach the stern, Fang Yi sits right on the ship's railing and asks Shanks.
"The future?" Shanks is taken aback and looks at Fang Yi in puzzlement.
"Yeah! The future..." Fang Yi nods and says, "There's a big age gap between us and the captain. By the time we grow up, the Roger Pirates may have faded out of the stage of the era! So have you thought about what to do in the future?"
"Fade out of the stage of the era..." Shanks seems a bit silent after hearing Fang Yi's words.
"Sorry, Brother Yi, I've never thought that far! I just feel really happy here and get along well with everyone!" Shanks smiles apologetically and says.
Fang Yi rolls his eyes and says, "Do you think I don't get along well with everyone? But when we're in our thirties or forties, at the peak of our lives, have you thought about how old everyone else will be? You wouldn't expect them to be pirates in their seventies or eighties, would you?"
He knows that Shanks has misunderstood him. Shanks must think that he wants to set up his own crew right now. So Fang Yi quickly explains.
Shanks also realizes that he has misunderstood Fang Yi. He embarrassedly scratches the back of his head and asks with a smile, "So what are your plans, Brother Yi?"
"If the captain continues to be a pirate, I'll definitely follow the captain and the others! But if the captain stops being a pirate... I don't want to give up! If the captain's dream hasn't come true by then, I'll form my own pirate crew and continue to help the captain find the Final Island. After we find it, I'll fetch the captain and the others!" Fang Yi says with a smile.
Currently, Roger's physical condition is still kept secret, so Fang Yi doesn't say much.
Shanks looks at Fang Yi with his mouth open. He never thought Fang Yi would think so far ahead.
"So... If I form my own pirate crew in the future, will you come and help me? Be the first mate on my ship, my left - hand man!" Fang Yi stared at Shanks and asked.
"Well..." Shanks hesitated for a moment. He really wanted to agree, but he couldn't guarantee it, so he was a bit hesitant. No one could tell what the future held.
"Is there something that's making you so hesitant?" Fang Yi asked, looking at Shanks' conflicted expression.
Shanks shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "If it's you, Brother Yi, I can join your crew! But for some reason, I feel like something's off, though I can't quite put my finger on it right away!"
"Actually, what you're concerned about... is why I'm thinking about forming my own pirate crew so early, right?" Fang Yi smiled slightly, looking out at the distant sea, and said, "Although I have my reasons, in your opinion, as members of the Roger Pirates, we shouldn't be thinking about forming our own crew at this time! Am I right?"
After hearing Fang Yi's words, Shanks was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head and remained silent, which was a kind of tacit agreement with Fang Yi's statement.
"You idiot!" Seeing this, Fang Yi tapped Shanks on the head and said with a smile, "What can't you tell me? Just say what's on your mind!"
"Then... then why do you have such an idea, Brother Yi? It shouldn't be the time for us to form our own pirate crew yet, right?" Shanks asked, looking up at Fang Yi upon hearing this.
Fang Yi hesitated for a moment, looked at Shanks again, and sighed, saying, "I can tell you the reason, but you can't tell anyone else! Actually, even if I don't say it, I'm sure the captain will announce it in a while!"
Upon hearing Fang Yi's words, Shanks' heart sank. There really was something he didn't know.
"The captain has an incurable disease! That's why Crocus joined the crew, to control the captain's condition! According to his guess, Captain Roger... probably doesn't have many years left!" Fang Yi whispered.
"What?" Shanks widened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Fang Yi. Then he asked anxiously, "But... but didn't Mr. Crocus and Mr. Rayleigh say... say..."
Shanks didn't finish his sentence because he himself knew why Captain Roger wasn't announcing this news at this time.
"Don't be in a hurry. Although Mr. Crocus has no way to cure him, I read in a book before that there's a Devil Fruit called the Ope Ope no Mi that might be able to cure Captain Roger!" Fang Yi told Shanks about the Ope Ope no Mi.
"I see..." Shanks finally understood why Fang Yi was doing this.
"So... what are you going to do, Brother Yi?" Shanks looked at Fang Yi and asked.
"Mr. Rayleigh has already asked Shakky to investigate the whereabouts of the Ope Ope no Mi! I think it's more likely to be in the hands of the World Government! As soon as there's news, no matter where it is, I'm going to get it for the captain!" Fang Yi said firmly.
"Call me then!" Shanks nodded and replied.
"Of course. I've already started making plans!"
"Since you don't have a bounty yet, we'll definitely need your help!" Fang Yi said with a smile.
So the two of them talked about the Ope Ope no Mi for a long time. Finally, before returning to the cabin, Shanks seriously said to Fang Yi,
"If the captain's dream isn't fulfilled by then, I'll join you, Brother Yi, and keep working hard to achieve it! If we've already found the Final Island by then... I don't know what I'll do, so... sorry, Brother Yi, I can't give you a definite answer right now!"
"It doesn't matter. Just follow your heart! If I forced you to join, our voyage wouldn't be pleasant, would it?" Fang Yi patted Shanks on the shoulder and said with a smile.
"By the way, are you going to invite Buggy, Brother Yi?" Shanks suddenly thought of Buggy and asked.
"Definitely! We're all companions and know each other well. It'll be better if we adventure together in the future!" Fang Yi nodded and said.