Compared to Red-Haired Shanks, Rosinante was far more intrigued by the man who was fighting Shanks.
Shanks, with his advanced-level swordsmanship, Vice Admiral-level physical skills, and mastery of all three types of Haki, was already at the level of a top-tier Vice Admiral—perhaps even a quasi-Admiral.
And yet, this opponent was managing to fight him evenly, relying solely on his terrifying fighting spirit.
Rosinante knew that as the future Yonko, the strongest possessor of Conqueror's Haki, Shanks would never submit to anyone.
Besides, Shanks had inherited Roger's will—a man willing to risk his life for his dream. Such a person would never kneel to anyone.
But this mysterious fighter—someone who could go toe-to-toe with a future Yonko, and yet was someone Rosinante had never even heard of in the future—made him extremely curious.
Perhaps, Rosinante thought, there might be a chance to recruit him.
This wasn't blind overconfidence. In today's seas, Rosinante's reputation was formidable enough that just raising a hand could draw countless pirates under his banner.
Gone were the days when he had to rely on threats, bribes, and brute force to make others follow him.
"You don't know who he is?" Benn Beckman was stunned when he heard Rosinante's question.
"Should I know him? Are you saying he's famous?" Rosinante tilted his head curiously.
"Well… to someone like you, he probably doesn't count as much," Benn Beckman admitted, "but he is pretty well-known. He's a Supernova from the South Blue, captain of the Flathead Pirates, Zoan-type Honey Badger Fruit user—the battle maniac, Bratt."
"Oh, so it's the so-called 'Flathead Brother,' the guy who sees death lightly and fights anyone who disagrees. No wonder he's radiating so much fighting spirit."
Hearing Benn Beckman mention that Bratt had the Honey Badger Fruit, Rosinante paused for a moment—then grinned with a strange expression.
No wonder that endless, sky-shaking fighting spirit kept surging from Bratt's body, as if he could destroy the world at any moment.
The Honey Badger Fruit wasn't exactly a broken ability—certainly not one of those absurdly overpowered Zoan fruits. At most, it was about on par with Ryan's Mountain Cat Fruit. But that insane, boundless will to fight? Even Rosinante felt his scalp tingle at the sheer intensity of it.
It was that fighting spirit alone that allowed Bratt to take his otherwise not-too-impressive strength and fight Shanks to a standstill.
Truly worthy of being called the banner-bearer of brawlers, the ultimate combat maniac of the animal kingdom—an existence brimming with fearless, irrational confidence, challenging all living things without hesitation.
His creed was simple: "See death lightly—fight anyone who refuses." It had earned him the nickname "the little master of courting death" among Zoan users.
He feared nothing—heaven, earth, or even empty air—and dared to provoke any powerful opponent.
"'See death lightly, fight anyone who disagrees.' That's… a very accurate description." Benn Beckman chuckled. "I don't know if it's because of the Honey Badger Fruit, or if Bratt was simply born a lunatic, but whoever he meets, if they so much as glance at him, he'll lose it and start fighting. He even actively seeks out strong opponents to provoke. Because of his constant courting of death, his crewmates have been dragged to their doom one after another. I used to think our captain was the ultimate troublemaker, but compared to this guy… he's a complete amateur!"
"How interesting," Rosinante said with a slow grin. "This guy—if properly trained—could become a combat force not weaker than a Marine Admiral."
"Oh? The Dragon King is interested in him?" Benn Beckman asked.
"Grey Kingdom is in dire need of powerful fighters," Rosinante replied. "Not only am I interested in Bratt, I'm interested in all of you Red-Haired Pirates. What do you say—want to jump ship and join Grey Kingdom? Come over, and I'll make you a division commander at the very least. If your captain's willing, I could even make him a vice-captain of Grey Kingdom."
"Heheheh…, you must be joking. We're just wanderers—we'd make terrible division commanders," Benn Beckman said, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Relax, I am joking." Rosinante laughed. "If you could be poached that easily, you wouldn't be the Red-Haired Pirates. You were chosen by Pirate King Roger himself, entrusted with that straw hat, and your captain possesses one of the strongest Conqueror's Hakis in the world. How could such a man ever bow to someone else? I never seriously considered it. But that Flathead Brother—him, I am very interested in. Think you could let me have him?"
"Of course! If the Dragon King is willing to take him off our hands, we should be the ones thanking you," Benn Beckman said with a relieved smile.
The Red-Haired Pirates had never considered recruiting Bratt.
First, his fighting spirit was just too much—even Shanks' Conqueror's Haki couldn't fully suppress him.
Second, they already had one trouble-seeker in Shanks—bringing in another, one even crazier than Shanks? Just the thought of it made Benn Beckman's scalp tighten and his whole body tremble. If that happened, they might as well just disband and go home.
Then a strange look crossed Benn Beckman's face.
This captain of Grey Kingdom he seemed to know a lot about their captain. He even knew that Shanks had been on Roger's crew, and that the straw hat on his head had been entrusted to him by the Pirate King himself.
That was not common knowledge.
Benn Beckman fell into thoughtful silence.
"Well then, I'll be counting on you," Rosinante said with a smile.
Then, without hurrying, he began to walk toward the two fighters.
"Careful!" Benn Beckman called out in warning.
After all, jumping into the middle of a clash between two top-class fighters without warning was incredibly dangerous—it could get you struck by both sides at once.
Ryan and the others tensed the moment they saw Rosinante step forward.
Raijin Kisu even stepped out, ready to take Shanks and Bratt's blows for Rosinante—but Ryan quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.
Raijin turned, only to see Ryan shake his head and give him a meaningful look.
Rosinante had already decided to step in—there was no place for them to interfere.
Rosinante's steps looked slow and steady, but in truth, they were shockingly fast.
Benn Beckman's warning had barely left his lips before Rosinante appeared right between the two combatants.
Neither Shanks nor Bratt had expected him to suddenly appear, and with their fighting instincts locked in, they both instinctively struck at Rosinante at the same time.
Bang! Bang!
Rosinante extended both arms.
With one hand, he gently lifted Shanks' wrist, stopping the sword strike just before it landed.
With the other hand, he casually blocked Bratt's incoming punch, freezing it in place so that it could not advance another inch.