It was a wonderful day on the Grand Line. The sun was already high in the sky and not a cloud could be seen.
'A good day to die ...' thought the man who was led to the scaffold by the two naval officers. It was only a short walk to the execution scaffolding, but to the man it seemed like an infinity. He thought about his life so far and had to grin at the thought. 'I had a good life, had good friends, respect, everything you could want. Do I regret doing something in my life? 'He laughed inwardly. 'You always regret the things in life you didn't do and there is actually something that I regret ...'
He looked around and saw the crowd that had gathered in front of the scaffold and looked at him gleefully. Then he turned his gaze to the bright sun in the sky and grinned. 'The last time I see you ... But he will still be able to see you ...' Suddenly pictures of a little boy flashed through his head.He had to smile when he remembered his stubbornness. 'Luffy ...' he thought and a strange feeling spread through him. 'I wish I could see you again ...' His look suddenly turned sad. He looked at the sun again and looked at her a little desperately.


------

"Then just let me come with you, I want to accompany you on your next trip. I want to be a pirate too, Shanks."

"I'm also a top fighter ... Wherever I go, it's in the box!"

"Why do you keep saying no ?? !!!!!"

"I'm not a child anymore! I grew up a long time!"

"That's not funny at all!" ... "That's unfair !! You're a bastard, Shanks !!"

"What are you laughing at, Shanks ?! That was embarrassing! Why didn't you rub him?"

"What's going on now?" ....... "AAAAA !!! You must be crazy !!"

"Shanks!"

"Just shut up!"

"HELP !!!"

"S-Shanks .... your .. your arm !!!!""You're leaving us now, huh?"

"Wait and see! One day I'll put together a gang that is as good as it gets! Then I'll find the greatest treasure in the world and then I'll be the pirate king !!"

----



A smile crossed the redhead's lips. 'You're on the best way ...' he thought, then turned his gaze to the left and looked at his team, at least what was left of them, because many lost their lives fighting with the navy, some even fled which, however, did not make Shanks the least bit sad, for those whom he trusted were there. They sat in chains on the cobblestones and looked at their captain. They stood by him to the end and would now follow him even to death. Shanks looked at her a little angrily because he had ordered them to flee ... But Ben, Lucky Lou, Yassop and Rockstar had defied his command and continued to fight by his side ...

They were invincible for so long ... Unbeatable for so many years ... And suddenly there came a would-be god who could read their minds.And if that wasn't bad enough, he still had a few tricks with lightning in store ...
'Enel ...' thought Shanks and went on ... 'The Navy bought one ... I wouldn't be surprised if he would betray them one day ... With such an ego, the who put on the day ... But soon it will all be over anyway ... 'He grinned, couldn't help it. He wasn't afraid of death, why? Death is just the beginning ... But there was something he was terrified of.
'I hope you forgive me little one ... I never had a chance to tell you who your father was ...'
He thought again of the boy who inflicted a wound under his eye to prove he had what it takes to be a pirate.
Slowly but surely they approached the place where he was to be executed. It was kind of a wooden podium, about half a meter above the ground. He was about to be shot, he knew that, because the Navy was very fond of irony.A man has never dared to shoot the red and if someone had a gun pointed at him, he was quickly eliminated by either Lucky Lou or Yassop. So now he was going to be shot ...
'It won't be just a bullet ...' he thought, amused, and stepped onto the podium.

"In the name of the world government and the navy you have been sentenced to the death penalty. You have been found guilty of piracy, you have eliminated many officers of the navy, you have defied the world government ......" It went on, but Shanks had stopped listening. Somehow he wanted to leave it all behind .....
"Do you have anything else to say? One last wish perhaps?" asked the naval lieutenant.
Shanks just grinned at him and then said:
"I want my hat back."
The naval lieutenant looked at him visibly confused and looked at the other soldier questioningly. He looked at Shanks just as surprised and then looked again at the lieutenant:"He ... he didn't have a hat ..."
Shanks looked at the two of them in amusement and started laughing. His crew members, who were sitting next to him on the floor, couldn't help but laugh either.
The naval officers looked angrily at the pirate pack and the lieutenant shouted:
"That's enough! Execute the sentence !!"
The three soldiers with rifles aimed and aimed at the redhead. They almost pulled the trigger when suddenly something came flying at Shank's feet. The soldiers paused and looked at the thing in surprise.
Shanks looked at the floor and what he saw made him freeze. His mouth was partially open and he stared at the object in disbelief. Even Ben, Yassop and Lucky Lou couldn't believe what they saw ... What came flying at Shank's feet was a hat and not just one, but HIS hat !! His straw hat, which he gave Luffy a long time ago, lay on the floor between the soldiers and Shanks.
The redhead bent down and carefully picked up his hat, afraid of imagining it all.But it was not like that. It was really his hat.
'This is ... my hat !!!! 'He looked up and turned his head around searching. He was excited, you could see it. Suddenly he forgot why he was here, what situation he was in and also that the soldiers were still aiming at him with firearms. He was about to shout something when he was interrupted by the shouts of the marines.
"Soldiers! Fire !!!"
It happened like in slow motion. Shanks turned in astonishment and a little startled to the soldiers, who already had their fingers on the triggers. He didn't want to die yet. Now that he saw the hat, he just didn't want to die ...
The soldiers pulled the trigger and the bullets raced towards the red ones. Shank's eyes widened. 'Not now' were his thoughts.
Suddenly his eyes caught something black that stood between him and the soldiers. The bullets had hit the man in the black cloak, the redhead could see that, but strangely enough, the man didn't go down.Instead of dropping dead, he mockingly told the marines:
"Don't you know that bullets can't harm me?"
How the man could just hurl the bullets back with his body and kill the soldiers with their own guns, Shanks could not explain at that moment. He just looked in disbelief at the man in black, whose cloak fluttered back and forth in the wind. He then turned to the redhead and because of the hood he was wearing, you could only see his big grin.
"I promised you I would bring it back to you," he said finally, took off his hood and grinned at the older man.