Shanks was sitting on the ground, just off the beach in the shade, leaning against a rock drinking. Around him, his crew were either drinking or eating, or in the case of Lucky Roux, both.
They were celebrating their recent success of defeating an enemy pirate crew and taking all their stuff. They stopped at this island to rest, as it was along the way to the black market, where they could sell the loot.
Suddenly, Shanks sat up and a grin began to grow on his face.
"Boys! We got a visitor!" he said with a smile, looking towards the sky.
The others, seeing their captain remain calm, came to the conclusion that whoever that is, they are either not a threat, or not being threatening.
Shanks then stood up and beckoned towards the sky, as if inviting someone to join them.
Shortly after that, they all heard a loud crack of sound, and a cloud of sand was knocked into the air.
As the sand settled, a figure dressed in a grey coat, with blue inner lining was revealed. Their stocky build along with their entrance made an impact on all of them. They all sensed this person is dangerous. Not to them, of course. But given time....
"Well, well. Didn't expect to see you here, Red Hair. Good to see you again, though." the newcomer said.
A few minutes before, Aden was just floating above the island, looking for Shanks with his Haki. Good practice he thought. And the moment his Haki swept over a group of people, the one-armed figure sat up as if noticing the intrusion.
"Interesting. So he either sensed me Observing them, or he just saw me through his own Haki. If the former, i need to get more subtle with it. If the latter i'm surprised i got this close before he reacted. Either way, this paints me a better picture of where i stand."
Aden thought to himself.
He then noticed Shanks waving at him, inviting him down. So he decided to make an entrance. Instantly breaking the sound barrier, Aden shot downwards towards the beach. Didn't even bother landing on his feet, just hit the ground, turned into air, then back to himself the right way up.
As the sand settled, he could see the carefree, yet cautious looks around him.
"Huh? They are cautious of me? But they are so far beyond me." Aden thought quickly.
"Well, well. Didn't expect to see you here, Red Hair. Good to see you again, though." Aden said as the sand fell back down.
"Aden? Is that you, kid?" Yasopp exclaimed.
"Holy crap, it IS Aden!" shouted Lucky Roux.
"All grown up, huh?" Beckman said calmly.
"Hey, kid. Good to see you..What are you doing here?" Shanks spoke, happy to see Aden, but cautious.
"I'm coming from Water 7. I was visiting Luffy, he's doing fine by the way, and i stayed there for a few days. He got a decent crew. Loyal, friendly, they'll be good for him." Aden explained with a smile.
"Great to hear...Wait visiting? Aren't you part of his crew?" Shanks asked flabbergasted, the others were equally confused.
"*sigh* No, not anymore. Turned out i was way too strong to stick around. It was not good for either of us." Aden spoke with a slight sadness.
"The fallback option." Shanks concluded with a nod."They knew you were ther to save the day if things got dicey. That means they would not be growing as fast as they can, and neither would you. Did i get it right?" Shanks asked, but already knew the answer.
"Yep. Got it in one." Aden admitted. " So i left and started my own crew. But i did promise Luffy i'd visit from time to time. And seeing as i can now fly at supersonic speeds, which i discovered on my way to Water 7, i have a lot more freedom to do so. Still took my about two days to get there from my ship though." Aden gave an explanation, not even slightly worried about revealing this to Shanks.
"...Now that is impressive." Lucky admitted.
"Thanks."
As they talked for hours, telling stories to each other, though Shanks had a lot more to share than him, Aden just had to know.
"Hey Shanks"
"Yeah kid?"
"I need to know. How did you notice me when i arrived." Aden asked curiously.
"How? Well, i felt your presence above us. Though i am impressed you got that close without me noticing." Shanks explained and took another swig from his bottle.
"Ahh, so that's how. I thought you felt my Observation on you, and that's why you reacted." Aden said, with understanding.
"...What sid you just say?" Beckman asked in shock.
"What? Did i say something wrong?" Aden asked nervously.
"Not really, no. But that is.... I don't even have words." Shanks said, also slightly surprised.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Aden got frustrated.
"Easy, kid. We were just surprised is all.
Let me explain. Normally, even Haki users, cannot detect someone's Observation. But the Captain can do that. He always felt it, if someone was using Observation to spy on him. He says it's like a tingle at the back of his neck. The fact you used Observation to see us, and he didn't notice, is completely unhears of to us." Yasopp took to explain the reason to their shock.
"That's right. Now i am curious how powerful you are." Shanks nodded, and spoke with a rising desire to spar with Aden.
"Well...Can't really think of anything to say to that." Aden admitted, slighlty shocked.
"Then don't. I have an idea. Let's spar. I wanna see where you are." Shanks suggested with a smile.
"Here he goes again..." Beckman sighed.
" Wait what? Spar with you!? Me? You wanna kill me? That won't be a spar, when you destroy me instantly." Aden got worried. He knew he was strong, but he was not really ready to climb a mountain, when he just saw over the anthill.
"Oh come on. It'll be fun" Shanks said excitedly, already standing up as if Aden's protest didn't even register.
"But..."
"Just give it up and spar with him, kid. When he gets like that, there is no stopping him. Just go while he still gives you a chance to prepare." Beckman said, rubbing his eyes.
"*sigh* Well, i hope you have a good doctor with you." Aden said with surrender.
"Don't worry, i won't let you die." said Hongo with an amused grin from the side.
"That's not helpful!" Aden shouted at the doctor causing the others to laugh.
As he stood opposit of Shanks on the beach, he suddenly became calm. All his nerves disappeared, and were replaced by a cool, and calculating mind.
"Good. Nice to see good instincts in the younger generation. You subconciously know being nervous is useless against a strong opponent. So your mind simply calmed down in preparation for the fight. Good." Shanks complimented as he stood there, relaxed.
"Well that's nice. At least i'll be calm, when you kill me." Aden said sarcastically.
"Hah. Nah, I won't. Can't do that to Luffy."
"Gee thanks. Nice to hear you care so much."
"Ready?" asked Shanks, done with the banter.
"No, but do i have a choice?" Aden replied, taking a battle stance.
"Not really. But i promise you, i'll not hurt you too much." Shanks said.
"*sigh*"
(Done. Sorry it took a bit longer. Had headaches. Still not great, but i wanted you to habe a chapter. I think i fixed all mistakes and gramatical errors, but i really cant be bothered to proof read it right now. Sorry.
Next up will be the spar. No clue how to write that. If you have any ideas you wanns share, i think i put a discord somewhere in previous chapters. Peace)