One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 253 Just One Point Away from Success

Let's go back to the present.

Now that everyone else has been brought under control, Roman needs to go and meet Shanks.

Regardless of whether the plan succeeds or not, there are only two possible outcomes now.

Shanks fainting, Shanks waking up.

Roman felt that both outcomes were acceptable.

Failure is simply another battle.

“None of them are ability users, and even seastone handcuffs might not be safe. They all need to be locked up in a special prison made of seastone. Pay special attention to Beckman. Although he is currently delirious, his confused state is much better than Patch's. Understand? Absolutely do not believe anything they say,” Roman began to instruct.

Patch: "..." I feel insulted.

“But don’t you need our help? Aren’t you going to ask the branch colonel here for help?” Sly asked.

“It’s not that I’m underestimating you, or the naval branch here, but that man’s strength is definitely not to be underestimated.” Roman immediately rejected the suggestion.

It's true that many hands make light work; as the saying goes, many hands make light work.

However, this is a world where individual power can determine the course of a war.

The emergence of Conqueror's Haki further eliminated the possibility of using sheer numbers.

Before Luffy appeared, Shanks' Conqueror's Haki was probably the strongest of all Conqueror's Haki.

At his peak, he could make a large number of people on Whitebeard's ship faint, and even the people on his own ship would lose their senses when he released his Conqueror's Haki.

In the future, Shanks will definitely possess world-class strength; even now, he can take down a whole bunch of people on his own.

Roman believed that he should be able to control his Haki just like him, but because it was Conqueror's Haki, the aggression it contained was even more terrifying than Roman's Armament Haki.

Roman can use his domineering aura to intimidate others, or to grasp intangible objects, such as the power of nature, or even the domineering aura of others.

However, Shanks's Haki possesses tangible offensive power; it can not only knock people unconscious but also damage physical objects. Anyone with a slightly weak mind would actually foam at the mouth upon touching him and feeling his Haki.

So, in gaming terms, Roman is more like a magical attack, using the opponent's strength against them, while Shanks is more like a physical attack, forcing his way through.

Shanks hasn't lost his left arm yet, so his swordsmanship is constantly improving.

No, even losing his left arm wouldn't mean much to him. He would remain as powerful as ever; that was an undeniable fact, and Roman knew he had to be careful.

In the future, Shanks defeated Kidd, who had a bounty of 30 billion, with a single move, and in the end, Killer had to give up Road Pose to save Kidd's life.

However, the defeat of the Kid Pirates was already a foregone conclusion.

what about now?

In fact, there has always been very limited information about Shanks.

Shanks has always kept a low profile, neither plundering nor setting fires.

The scale of the battles was also very limited.

So unfortunately, Roman didn't know what moves Shanks was good at either.

Roman wasn't entirely sure what his other motives were.

Forget it, there's no point in dwelling on this.

Whatever it is, just do what you're supposed to do.

So I decided to see it for myself.

If Shanks has indeed discovered Adam's scheme, then he will have to rescue him as well.

……

No, the person has disappeared?

Roman was dumbfounded when he saw the empty courtyard and house.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers, and the quiet atmosphere was intoxicating, as if it had always been this peaceful.

Not only Shanks, but Adam is also missing.

The flower tea on the table had gone cold; it was no longer warm and had lost its original aroma.

However, upon examining the rim of the glass, there were no traces of alcohol, nor did it smell like alcohol.

In other words, Shanks did not drink tea.

Roman hadn't forgotten that when she first met Shanks, he was holding an opened bottle of liquor. She hadn't forgotten Shanks, the king of parties.

So, did he not drink because he noticed something was wrong, or was there some other reason?

It's really hard to tell.

Because of Shanks' Observation Haki, Roman did not leave behind any Marines for surveillance.

After all, this action was blatantly telling Shanks and Beckman that it was a trap.

Of course, even rational measures taken to avoid detection can increase the uncertainty of an event.

Therefore, Roman adopted a very conservative approach.

This also makes it impossible to know Shanks' whereabouts.

What about Adam?

Shanks is not a murderer. In the original story, Sieg repeatedly provoked him, but he always just laughed it off.

Adam is not a pirate, not a competitor, and poses no threat to him.

Even if he discovered the trap, he probably wouldn't have killed Adam.

Of course, it would be foolish to attribute everything to Shanks's kindness.

Roman also had to accept the idea that Adam was dead.

But where exactly did they go?

His companions are still imprisoned by him, so Shanks cannot leave.

Even if...

Suddenly, Roman noticed the bloodstains on the tablecloth.

It's already dry, but you can tell from the color that it hasn't been dry for very long.

However, in terms of the wound itself, this amount of bleeding is far from fatal; it's more of a slightly serious abrasion.

But what if it doesn't flow from inside the skin, but from the facial features?

Could it be Adam's body...?

In an instant, Roman realized this possibility.

……

"I don't know much about tea, but I think it wouldn't hurt to give it a try this time."

Shanks picked up the teacup.

It seems I performed very successfully.

Although Roman told himself that Shanks was by no means a stupid person, he now realized that Shanks was just a young man.

Even if you become a pirate, it's not enough; you still don't have enough experience.

He simply believed in himself.

Perhaps, as Roman said, his continued success in recruiting had truly boosted his confidence.

Naive. The world is not that simple.

It might be easier to solve than I thought.

My vision suddenly became a little blurry.

The sudden pain caused Adam to cough violently, and drops of blood fell onto the tablecloth.

Shanks was clearly frightened by the scene.

He had already seen countless lives; even when he and his companions were just playing around, they had shed far more blood than he was now.

However, for someone who is weak and sickly, this bleeding is not a good sign.

"Hey, Makino, are you alright? Hang in there, Makino, I'll take you to see a doctor."

Makino's face turned pale rapidly, and she began coughing up blood.

Shanks' expression upon seeing this was no better than Makino's.

He immediately grabbed the straw hat beside him, picked up Adam, and rushed out of the house.