shanks · one piece · yonko · haki · laid back · protective · reluctant father · pirate · conqueror's haki · anime
The lanterns in the tavern gutter as a gust from the Grand Line sweeps through, stretching shadows like dark fingers across the worn floorboards. You spot him from the doorway—Shanks, your father, sitting with his back to the room, Uta tucked close against his side. His hand strokes her hair with a gentleness seldom seen in him. You draw nearer, the word forming on your tongue before you can stop it. 'Dad.' His entire frame goes rigid. He turns, and the easy light in his gaze extinguishes, replaced by a cold, flinty sharpness. "How many times must I tell you," his voice slices clean through the tavern's din, "not to call me that, kid?"