One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me

Chapter 350 The News Shanks Brings!

The Esther, the reception room.

Wu Ma pushed open the door to the Esther's meeting room and immediately saw the red-haired man sitting inside.

His black cloak was casually draped over the back of the chair, his left sleeve hanging loose, and his face wore his usual carefree smile.

"Mr. Shanks, I've heard so much about you."

Wu Ma looked at the Four Emperors in front of him: "I thought you would spend more time chatting with your old friends."

"Don't be so polite, just call me Shanks."

Shanks grinned, downed the rum in front of him in one gulp, and said with a grin, "Although it's been a long time since I've seen Loki and the others, I can't compare to them all. I've been eagerly anticipating meeting you twelve constellations for ages."

"You have no idea—ever since your organization's 'Snake' defeated Mihawk, things have become much easier on my end, hahaha!"

"He hasn't challenged me to a sword duel in a long time. He's just been practicing at his new post, preparing to challenge 'Snake' again." He laughed heartily at the end.

"Hmm... If the Snake heard this, it probably wouldn't think it's a good thing."

Wu Ma's words, however, inevitably carried a subtle undertone.

But without realizing it, their conversation had become less awkward and more familiar.

This is perhaps Shanks's defining characteristic—this Yonko can always treat anyone like an old friend.

"However, since we're talking about old friends, I won't stand on ceremony and ask a few more questions."

But then Shanks paused, saying, "I have to thank you for what happened to Mr. Jabba and Elbaf. I had other things to investigate at the time, so I couldn't keep up with the changes in Elbaf. If it weren't for you Zodiacs, my friends would probably already be dead by that Teach guy."

He stood up and solemnly thanked Wu Ma.

"Whether you eliminated Teach or saved Elbaf, it is a great favor to me."

The Four Emperors each have their own territories and allied forces in the New World.

As is well known, the waters near Elbaf are the area where Shanks, the Red-Haired Shanks, frequently operates.

In fact, due to past experiences and Jabba's influence, Shanks has an excellent relationship with that war-torn land. At the same time, his relationship with Teach is that of sworn enemies—in fact, the scar on Shanks' left eye was inflicted by a young Teach. He has always viewed Teach as a huge "threat" to the sea.

That's why he took the initiative to express his gratitude at this moment.

"No need to thank me."

But Wu Ma simply waved his hand dismissively after hearing Shanks' words.

"The Elbaf are now children of the stars, a race protected by the twelve constellations."

"Saving them is the leader's will."

"As for Mr. Jabba, it is the same—he and the other heroic spirits are also protected by the stars, so the leader has given them new bodies."

What Wu Ma said was true.

Jabba was killed by Teach with Loki's help in the previous battle in Elbaf, and thus became a Heroic Spirit in the Land of the Dead, a place associated with the "Nidhogg Fruit".

But it is quite obvious.

For Roy, who currently has no shortage of bloodline factor energy, creating a body out of thin air is not a difficult task.

Not only Jabba and the giants' spirits, but also Lingling and even the children of the Lamb's House, had their bodies reconstructed by Roy not long ago.

"Star Lord"

Shanks nodded solemnly.

Then, without hesitation, he changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I came here today because there are some things I want to remind you of." Upon hearing this, Wu Ma slowly straightened up.

"I would like to hear the details."

In fact, from the moment they heard that Shanks was coming to visit...

He already realized that this Yonko probably had something very important to tell him.

It's easy to tell that the journey from Shanks' territory in the New World to the seas where the Esther is now located spans almost half of the Grand Line. For a Yonko to travel thousands of miles, disregarding the risk of his territory being attacked, to force his way here, his purpose must be extremely important.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Wu Ma had predicted.

"I want to form an alliance with you."

Shanks cut to the chase: "Mr. Rayleigh must have told you something... I am an enemy of the Abyss, just like you." As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Ma was slightly taken aback.

But beneath the horse-head mask, Roy's expression wasn't one of surprise.

"The former knight of God left the Holy Land to become a pirate, inheriting the Pirate King's will, and even personally snatched the Devil Fruit from the government."

"We are certainly certain that you are an enemy of the Abyss."

Then, he nodded slightly.

Yes.

Shanks is bound to be Im's enemy.

Otherwise, he could not have left the Knights of God, could not have prevented the Knights of God from obtaining the Nika Fruit, and could not have worn that straw hat symbolizing Roger and Nika all this time.

Shanks was utterly stunned by Wu Ma's words, and after a long pause, he shook his head with a smile: "You actually investigated this far?"

Shanks wouldn't know that Roy was a time traveler; he would only assume that the Zodiac was secretly investigating him.

This made him marvel at the "intelligence system" of the twelve zodiac signs, but surprisingly, he didn't feel angry. Instead, he felt a little relieved. "Since you know this, you shouldn't doubt what I'm about to say."

His expression hardened as he looked at Wu Ma: "If possible, please convey my message to the Star Lord—do not let the government's forbearance go to your head. The Abyss still holds a 'trump card' powerful enough to destroy everything... Chi's current forbearance is likely a prelude to using that 'trump card'!" "A trump card?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ma became interested: "What exactly is it?"

"...I'm not sure either."

Shanks shook his head.

He then briefly recounted what he knew.

That was when he was still in the Holy Land, and a member of the Knights of God.

Although he did not actually obtain the Deep Sea Contract and become a formal God Knight at that time.

But his power has been recognized, and his lineage as a member of the Figarand family allows him access to that place.

"The headquarters of the Knights of God: Shangra".

Shanks said solemnly, "That place is located behind Pangaea City, directly connected to the deepest part of Pangaea City, and is the ruins of an 'Ancient Kingdom'."

He said that.

Roy then naturally recalled the scene he had seen in Doflamingo's memories.

The Knights' Temple in Shangra connects to the Flower Chamber of Im, which is indeed the deepest part of Pangu City.

But the key point is...

"Although the ruins of the ancient kingdom are dilapidated, some of the facilities of the ancient civilization are still usable, used to maintain some of the past structures." Shanks paused here, "I can confirm that in Mary Geoise, besides 'Shangra,' there are at least two other facilities that are still operating and being maintained."

"One of them, known within the Knights of God as the 'Ancient Wall,' is a massive structure located at the very core of Pangu City, accessible only to the 'Abyss'... I was unable to investigate the specifics."

"The other one is located in the southern part of Pangu City and is called the 'Ancient Coffin'."

Shanks said in a deep voice, "According to the Knights, the power hidden in those two areas has the potential to 'destroy the world,' and it will only be activated when facing an entity that is qualified to be regarded as an 'opponent' by the government."

At this point, he looked at Wu Ma.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: the current "Twelve Constellations" had obviously reached the threshold of being considered a rival. That's why he came to remind the Twelve Constellations not to become careless because of their recent rise in power.

Upon hearing Shanks' words, Roy's expression instantly turned serious beneath the horse-head mask.

Without a doubt, what Shanks was saying at that moment was indeed dangerous information for him.

The Ancient Wall

He pondered the name carefully in his mind, and then thought of something that might correspond to it.

That was the enormous ancient facility that Im had visited in the original story—it seemed to be a kind of treasure vault, containing at least one enormous straw hat.

According to the original work, that area is located in the core of Pangu City, deeper within the Flower Garden, and is very likely the "Ancient Wall" that Shanks mentioned.

As for the second area Shanks mentioned.

"Is it the place I saw in Doflamingo's memories?"

Roy naturally remembered that in Doflamingo's memories, he had seen a huge, coffin-like place in an area corresponding to Shangra.

Now it seems that this is very likely the "ancient coffin" that Shanks was referring to.

"Power enough to destroy the world?"

Roy muttered to himself.

Despite this, he did not feel particularly anxious or heavy-hearted.

The reason is simple: as he gradually mastered the source energy of the bloodline factor, he gained a deeper understanding of the great power that Im once possessed.

Therefore, to this day, he has never looked down on Im in the slightest.

Even without Shanks' reminder, he would absolutely treat Im's trump card with the utmost caution.

"Thank you, your information is very valuable."

"I will pass on the message to the chief."

Wu Ma nodded his thanks to Shanks—the information provided by Shanks was indeed of great significance.

Shanks could sense a hint of wariness and seriousness in the other person's words, and Shanks breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Besides this, there's a second thing."

Next came Shanks' second purpose for coming here.

"Kaido's recent behavior is not quite normal."

He said in a deep voice.

"Kaido?"

Upon hearing Shanks' words, Wu Ma tilted his head slightly, looking somewhat bewildered.

To be honest, since leaving Elbaf, he has paid little attention to the New World and the Four Emperors—after all, what he is currently focusing on is the World Government, not pirates.

"Um."

Shanks nodded.

Perhaps sensing the confusion in the other person's eyes, Shanks explained the problem without any pause or hesitation.

"Beckman has some friends near Wano Country, and they occasionally give us updates about Wano Country."

"They have some methods; they can even obtain a lot of intelligence from within the closed-off Wano Country."

"But recently, they were all suddenly 'taken away' by Kaido."

"The Beasts, which had been shrinking since the Dressrosa incident, have recently shown some unusual activity—the number of Devil Fruit users within their ranks seems to be increasing significantly. Beckman judges that Kaido may have received help from some kind of force."

Shanks briefly explained the situation.

Wu Ma listened without showing any surprise.

As the two youngest of the Four Emperors, he had long heard that the Red-Haired Pirates and the Beasts Pirates had always been at odds.

This can also be seen from the original work. During the Marineford War, the Navy was surprised but not at all strange when they heard the news that "Red-Haired Shanks" and "Beasts" were fighting. This is enough to explain the situation.

In the Wano Country arc of the original manga, Shanks arrived in the waters near Wano Country immediately after Kaido was defeated by Luffy, and even remotely forced Admiral Green Bull to retreat. This is enough to show that the Red-Haired Pirates have their own intelligence network in the vicinity of Wano Country.

So that's where the problem lies.

Due to the Twelve Constellations, the Three Calamities perished in Dressrosa, and Kaido's original plan to obtain the artificial Devil Fruit "SMILE" was never realized.

Therefore, the Beasts Pirates have been in a state of contraction for some time now.

But now there's a sudden change in the situation. Not only have they cleared out the surrounding Red-Haired Pirates' forces, but a large number of Devil Fruit users have also started to appear within their ranks. No wonder Shanks finds this strange.

But Wu Ma didn't understand what this matter had to do with the twelve constellations. Why would the red-haired man come specifically to tell him?

The redhead quickly gave the answer.

"About half a year ago, I vaguely sensed the power of the 'Abyss' appearing inside Wano Country, but it only happened once, so I couldn't confirm it and just asked my friends to monitor Wano Country."

He said with a solemn expression.

"Until about two weeks ago, I felt that power again."

"It was from that point on that Kaido began to quickly clear out our 'eyes' near Wano Country."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ma was taken aback.

Then, his voice became serious: "Can this news be confirmed?"

"able."

Shanks nodded firmly, then pointed to his empty left arm: "I once accepted a contract—although I've broken free from it now, that aura... there's no doubt, it's the power of the 'Abyss'!"

"Although it was very well hidden, it was indeed a trace of a 'magic array'."

He whispered the answer.

"That Kaido guy... he's very likely already cooperating with 'The Abyss'!"