@burikubato liked for a starter
Shanks stepped off his ship onto the dusty shores of Karai Bari Island where the Cross Guild had set up its makeshift headquarters, the salty breeze tangling his vividly red hair as he scanned the horizon. Buggy the Clown as the figurehead, Mihawk and Crocodile pulling strings in the shadows, and those rumors had piqued his curiosity enough to seek out his old rival.
Mihawk's curt dismissal during their brief encounter, a vague mutter about "having his own reasons" still rang hollow and had only fueled Shanks' resolve. With his crew waiting at a checkpoint out in the distant sea, he strode toward the towering tent emblazoned with the guild's emblem, his conqueror's haki subtly rippling to part the wary guards like waves before a storm.
Inside, the air was thick with a cloud of cigar smoke. Shanks' sharp eyes instantly locked onto Crocodile lounging behind a massive desk, his hook glinting under the dim lights. And somehow, with that predatory, almost knowing smirk, the former shichibukai looked as if he'd been expecting this visit all along.
Leaning against the desk, Shanks' gaze was steely as he wasted no time, cutting through the pleasantries.
"...If it isn't the very pirate I'm most interested in speaking with. I think you know what this is about, Crocodile, clever man that you are."
Sitting down unceremoniously, Shanks allowed his crimson bangs to fall forward over his scarred eye as he smoothly suggested, "I sure hope for your sake you provide me with better answers than Hawkeyes."