Red-Haired Shanks Arrives at Windmill Village 12: Chapter 12 — The Monster Worth Over a Billion Berries!
Red-Haired Shanks Arrives at Windmill Village Hurried footsteps echoed throughout the streets of the Goa Kingdom.
The disturbance caused by Sabo’s attack had already alerted the royal patrol forces.
Fully armed soldiers rushed toward the scene rapidly.
Yet despite the approaching danger— Sabo remained completely calm.
He even took the time to adjust the black cloak behind him dramatically.
Then he lowered his voice deliberately.
“Tell your noble friends something.” “There are eyes watching them in the darkness.” “Try anything cruel again…” “…and the night will come for them.” Sabo personally believed those lines sounded extremely intimidating.
Then— Boom!!
He kicked the air beneath his feet repeatedly.
Using Geppo, Sabo soared upward like a black owl disappearing into the rooftops of High Town.
By the time the patrol soldiers arrived, only chaos remained.
Unconscious guards.
Shattered streets.
And Viscount Charles rolling across the ground while clutching his broken leg and screaming hysterically.
The patrol captain’s scalp immediately went numb.
An attack against nobility within High Town itself?
That had never happened before.
And from that day onward— A strange legend spread throughout the Goa Kingdom.
A ghost wearing a top hat.
A vigilante appearing only at night.
A mysterious figure punishing cruel nobles beneath the cover of darkness.
Among commoners, people secretly began calling him the “Knight of Justice.” Meanwhile, the nobles became paranoid enough to reduce nighttime gatherings entirely.
Back atop Mount Colubo— Kahn lay calmly upon the highest sunlit rock with his eyes closed.
He was not sleeping.
Even moonlight contained trace amounts of reflected solar radiation.
Although extremely weak, it still nourished his Kryptonian physiology slightly.
More importantly— His super-hearing remained active constantly.
Everything happening inside Goa Kingdom’s inner city echoed clearly into his ears.
Including— The sound of Sabo breaking bones.
And those painfully embarrassing vigilante lines.
Kahn could not help laughing quietly.
This kid really intended turning Goa Kingdom into Gotham City.
Still— That was not necessarily a bad thing.
A person with conviction awakened Haki far more smoothly than someone lacking purpose.
In the original timeline, Sabo eventually fled to sea purely to escape Goa Kingdom’s corruption before losing his memories after encountering the Celestial Dragons.
But now— Things had changed.
Kahn’s existence altered the trajectory entirely.
Sabo no longer ran away from injustice.
He confronted it directly.
Perhaps someday, even before the Revolutionary Army intervened, Sabo himself might overturn Goa Kingdom’s rotten hierarchy personally.
Kahn rolled over lazily atop the rock.
Life in Foosha Village had become increasingly entertaining.
Luffy remained an idiot obsessed with food.
Ace still scavenged scrap metal daily to fund his dream pirate ship.
And Sabo— The boy originally destined to “die” at sea— Had somehow become a masked vigilante terrorizing nobles.
Kahn yawned slowly.
No matter how chaotic they became, he only needed to remain the invincible sun above them all.
Eventually dawn arrived.
Warm sunlight once again poured across Mount Colubo.
At noon, the enormous rock beneath Kahn had become scorching hot.
Yet Kahn remained lying shirtless across it comfortably.
His breathing slowed dramatically.
Every heartbeat compressed absorbed solar energy deeper into his cells.
The process was repetitive.
Monotonous.
But addictive.
The sensation of constant evolution never became boring.
At his current level, Kahn estimated that even direct attacks from Marine Admirals might struggle to injure him seriously anymore.
Meanwhile, hidden several dozen meters below the rock— Two suspicious heads covered with leaves peeked from nearby bushes.
Ace and Sabo.
The pair whispered conspiratorially.
Ace elbowed Sabo in the ribs.
“Where were you last night?” “I woke up to pee and your bed was empty.” Sabo adjusted his top hat casually.
Dark circles remained visible beneath his eyes, yet his expression looked unusually energetic.
“…I did something big.” He lowered his voice mysteriously.
“I beat up that fat noble who enjoys whipping civilians.” “And I stole a bunch of Berries from him too.” Sabo proudly displayed several gold coins.
Ace’s eyes widened instantly.
“You bastard!” “You robbed High Town without taking me?!” Ace sounded genuinely betrayed.
After all, the two had spent years scavenging junk to save enough money for a pirate ship.
Now Sabo apparently discovered an even faster income source.
“Keep your voice down!” Sabo hurriedly covered Ace’s mouth.
“Kahn’s still up there!” “And it’s not robbery.” “I’m a knight of justice.” “I’m redistributing wealth while supporting our pirate fund.” His tone sounded utterly serious.
Above them, Kahn rolled his eyes.
Thanks to super-hearing, he overheard every single word perfectly.
Redistributing wealth?
What nonsense.
Sabo had fully transformed into a vigilante already.
At this point, the Goa Kingdom nobility probably slept with one eye open every night.
Still, Kahn did not interfere.
As long as nobody died and no Admiral got involved, Sabo could do whatever he wanted.
Consider it practical training for the future Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.
Then suddenly— Kahn’s expression changed slightly.
His hearing caught something unusual.
The sound of massive waves splitting apart violently.
Not natural ocean currents.
A ship.
An enormous ship.
And aboard that vessel— Several extraordinarily powerful heartbeats.
One heartbeat in particular stood out clearly.
Steady.
Dominant.
Like a sleeping lion.
Kahn immediately sat upright.
That level of presence did not belong anywhere within East Blue.
Finally.
The man who would eventually change Luffy’s fate had arrived.
Shanks.
At this point in time, the captain of the Red-Haired Pirates already carried a bounty exceeding one billion Berries.
One of the future Four Emperors had finally entered this quiet beginner village.
Kahn leaped from the massive rock casually.
He did not use flight.
Gravity alone carried him downward.
Moments before impact, he lightly touched the air beneath his feet, dispersing momentum effortlessly.
He landed directly behind Ace and Sabo.
The two nearly jumped out of their skin.
“KAHN?!” “Can’t you walk normally?!” Ace instantly shoved Sabo’s stolen gold coins into his shorts with astonishing speed.
Kahn merely glanced toward them.
“Relax.” “I don’t care about your tiny amount of money.” Then he turned toward the village.
“Come on.” “A real monster just arrived.” Ace blinked.
“Monster?” “Bigger than old man Garp?” Kahn walked downhill calmly.
“…Different.” A future Emperor of the Sea and a Marine Hero represented completely different kinds of monsters.
Halfway down the mountain, Kahn casually reached upward into a nearby tree.
Then yanked Luffy downward by the ankle.
The five-year-old had apparently been raiding bird nests again.
“LET GO OF ME!” “I WANNA EAT BIRD EGGS!” Luffy flailed wildly.
Kahn tucked him beneath one arm effortlessly.
“I’ll buy you grilled meat from Makino.” “It tastes better.” Luffy immediately stopped resisting.
Drool started forming already.
Soon, the group arrived at Foosha Village’s harbor.
Anchored beside the shore stood a massive three-masted pirate ship.
The Red Force.
Its pirate flag fluttered proudly in the sea breeze.
A skull marked by three claw scars across its left eye.
The villagers nearby had already hidden themselves indoors in fear.
To ordinary East Blue civilians, pirates represented disaster itself.
Yet the Red-Haired Pirates showed no hostility whatsoever.
The crew laughed casually while walking down the gangplank.
At the front stood a man wearing a loose white shirt, floral-patterned cropped pants, and sandals.
His red hair shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
And resting atop his head— The legendary straw hat once belonging to Gol D.
Roger.
Shanks smiled casually.
Nothing about him resembled a terrifying pirate worth over a billion Berries.
Behind him followed the core officers of the Red Hair Pirates.
Benn Beckman calmly smoked a cigarette while looking half asleep.
Yasopp carried his rifle lazily over one shoulder.
And Lucky Roux continued chewing meat nonstop.
Despite their relaxed appearance— Every member radiated terrifying confidence.
These were monsters who had truly conquered the Grand Line.
“Boss,” Yasopp muttered while glancing around the village.
“This place barely even has a decent tavern.” Shanks laughed loudly.
“Quit complaining.” “After sailing that long, alcohol anywhere tastes amazing.” Then he sniffed the air dramatically.
“…I smell booze.” Without hesitation, Shanks led the crew directly toward Foosha Village’s tavern.
Creak.
The tavern door opened.
A small bell rang overhead.
Behind the counter, Makino instinctively stiffened after seeing armed pirates enter.
Yet despite her nervousness, she still tried maintaining composure.
“W-Welcome…” Shanks removed the straw hat from his head before placing it atop the counter casually.
Then he smiled warmly.
“Relax, miss.” “We’re only here for drinks.” Makino carefully studied him.
Despite being pirates, these men strangely lacked hostility.
“What would you like?” Shanks immediately grinned broadly.
“Bring out your best alcohol!”