Lucky Roux looked extremely proud, waiting to see how the two youths would handle this.
However, that was only from his perspective.
From the perspective of Shanks and his crew:
Lucky Roux had drawn his pistol and was actually holding it against his own temple!
Terrified, Shanks, Ben Beckman, Yasopp, Limejuice, and the others cried out in alarm and leaped to their feet!
"Hey! What are you doing, Lucky Roux? Put the gun down!" Shanks roared with a stern expression.
"Are you out of your mind, Lucky Roux?! Why are you pointing a gun at yourself?!" Yasopp shouted in terror. Since both he and Lucky Roux specialized in marksmanship, they knew each other inside out; men like them would never perform such an idiotic action on themselves.
Yet, Lucky Roux acted as if he heard nothing at all.
He remained completely immersed in the Genjutsu.
Continuing his provocation toward Itachi, he sneered, "Little brat, speak up. What's your purpose in following us?"
Itachi's face remained as expressionless as a stone mask as he activated his Genjutsu once more.
In an instant, Lucky Roux felt the entire world turn a wash of blood-red. It was as if he had been pulled into another dimension.
All around him was an endless expanse of water beneath a crimson sky, and an overwhelming sense of his own insignificance flooded his heart.
"A Devil Fruit user!" Lucky Roux muttered in surprise.
Suddenly, he felt as though something inside his neck was about to burst—something living was surging outward!
The sensation was intensely real!
The next moment, he threw his head back and gaped in horror as a massive swarm of black crows burst from his mouth like a hurricane!
Panicking, Lucky Roux began firing wildly in all directions.
Outside the Genjutsu, Lucky Roux kept pulling the trigger while Shanks and the others rushed forward, wrestling to control his body and arms.
Bullets sprayed everywhere inside the bar.
Makino shrieked in terror, cowering beneath the counter.
"Hey!"
Red-Haired Shanks realized that those two brats must have used some kind of special ability.
He glared fiercely at Itachi and Shisui.
Hum—!!!
A terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki manifested as a physical shockwave, slamming directly into the two boys and blasting them heavily out of the tavern.
Only then did Lucky Roux break free from the Genjutsu.
Still pale and shaken, he collapsed onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath as he stammered, "Crows! So many crows! Captain, a whole bunch of crows just flew out of my mouth!"
"What crows? You were hit by some kind of Genjutsu ability and almost shot yourself. Take a breather. Boys, let's go outside and meet those two brats. Remember, don't look into their eyes."
Shanks was furious.
No one laid a hand on his nakama.
If you did, you had to pay the price!
The crew walked out of the bar.
Itachi and Shisui stood expressionlessly on the crowns of two towering ancient trees in the distance, looking down at them.
The previous shockwave of Conqueror's Haki had clearly affected the two of them as well, but with the vigilance ingrained in ninjas, they subconsciously maintained a safe distance.
"Hey, brat, try using your ability on me."
Down below, the one-armed Shanks calmly drew his famous Western-style saber, Gryphon, from his waist.
With a casual, sweeping slash, a thin line of silver light instantly severed the two giant trees standing a hundred meters apart.
Itachi and Shisui leaped into the air and drifted slowly downward.
Ben Beckman drew his twin pistols, and Yasopp raised his sniper rifle.
The pair's top-tier Observation Haki instantly locked onto their targets, with Armament Haki coating their bullets!
They were just waiting for Shanks's command.
In midair, feeling the threat, Itachi instinctively wanted to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan, but Shisui stopped him with a gesture.
Uchiha Shisui said with a solemn expression, "Mr. Shanks, His Majesty Lynn wishes to meet and speak with you. He cordially invites you to enter the Royal Palace tomorrow to attend a banquet, though we hope such rude behavior will not be repeated."
With that, Shisui and Itachi burst into dual plumes of thick smoke in midair and vanished into thin air.
Shanks, Beckman, and Yasopp showed no shock. Their top-tier Observation Haki tightly locked onto the two figures rapidly sprinting away through the jungle.
"Captain, how about we go raise some hell right now?" Ben Beckman said, chewing on a blade of grass as he slowly holstered his twin pistols.
"Let's go check on Roux's condition first. Yasopp, Beckman, you two head into town to gather intelligence and see what they're actually doing to this country. Remember to move carefully. Including the red-eyed kids like those two just now, that young king has over a hundred people like them by his side! Even in the New World, a force like this cannot be underestimated," Shanks ordered in a deep voice.
Hearing this, Yasopp's face showed a trace of fear.
Just two brats had almost made Lucky Roux shoot himself.
And that young king had over a hundred individuals like that under his command, perhaps even stronger ones. Plus, Garp the Hero of the Marines had apparently fought them and gotten beaten to a pulp.
Could they... really pull this off?
"Captain, you're not actually planning to go to that banquet tomorrow, are you?" Yasopp asked timidly, acting just like his future sniper-king son, Usopp.
"I am Shanks, the future King of the Pirates! Would I not dare to attend a mere dinner party? That would be far too shameful!" Shanks's theatrical display of anger instantly eased his subordinates' tension, and they burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha~ If we didn't dare go, how could we possibly keep making our way on the seas? Hahahaha~" ship doctor Hongo chuckled lightly.
"It's all the Captain's fault. If you hadn't lost an arm, we wouldn't be this worried. Still, seeing you so full of fighting spirit puts our minds at ease, hahahahaha~" combatant Gabu laughed.
"Yo-ho-ho~ ho-ho~ Captain, if we find out that king isn't doing good things, we'll just claim this country as our territory and protect them from other pirates. Once they lose their status as a World Government member state, this country is bound to be in a panic," musician Bonk Punch laughed loudly.
...
Night fell.
Inside the Royal Palace:
Each of the 108 members of the Uchiha Clan created five Shadow Clones, while their true bodies remained behind to guard various locations within the Royal Palace.
The remaining 432 Shadow Clones took command of the Kingdom Army, executing His Majesty Lynn's royal decree.
They confiscated the wealth of the corrupt nobles inside High Town.
The nobles, stripped of their status and reduced to commoners, were driven out to the outlaw settlement known as Duan Town in the outskirts.
Duan Town was subsequently converted into a military garrison.
All outlaws and former nobles would undergo forced labor reform there, baptized by the ideology of the Sun!
Meanwhile, inside the brightly lit royal bedchamber, Lynn was not lost in the joy of annexing the Goa Kingdom and seizing a nation's treasures.
He sat upright at his desk,
working diligently with brush in hand, meticulously outlining the kingdom's upcoming social system, developmental priorities, and financial consolidation guidelines.
"Someone come," Lynn commanded in a deep voice.
Fugaku pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Your Majesty."
"Pass down these guidelines: strengthen port security; all pirates and outlaws who make landfall must surrender their weapons and pay protection fees, and anyone who causes trouble will be publicly executed... As for visiting merchant vessels, all shipyards will be open free of charge. Summon craftsmen to construct ten shipyard ports across the entire nation within three months, exempt all citizens from taxes for three years, and vigorously promote commerce... After tonight, the outlaws of the East Blue are bound to be restless. I leave this hard work to you."
Lynn stood up, walked over to Fugaku, and handed him the documents.
Fugaku dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully, "Your Majesty's wisdom benefits both the country and the people. The Uchiha Clan swears to follow you to the death, but Your Majesty, truly not practicing Ninjutsu? With all sorts of shady characters mixing together in the country going forward, having a bit of extra strength to protect yourself wouldn't hurt. My Uchiha Clan possesses many secret techniques that can—"
Before Fugaku could finish, Lynn smiled faintly and waved his hand to signal him to leave.
Practice Ninjutsu?
Please, His Majesty has a system.
What need is there for practice?
After Fugaku departed, Lynn lay down on his luxurious large bed and gave the mental command:
"Open the system panel."