"Most of the people are at the frontlines in the New World, locked in a standoff with the World Government," Marco sighed and continued.
"Originally, since the old man is getting on in years and his health has been declining recently, I wanted him to stay in Marineford... But in the end, he ordered me to stay behind and led the other division commanders of the Whitebeard Kingdom to the frontlines."
"That goes without saying..." Michael looked at Marco as if he were an idiot. "You actually dared to suggest that Whitebeard retire at home? You really are his beloved son. If an outsider had said something like that, they'd probably be preparing to take a hit from Murakumogiri."
"Of course I understand the old man's temperament..." Marco sighed.
"But his illness is really quite severe... Even with the combined treatment of Dr. Kureha from Drum Kingdom, Hogback from Amazon Lily, and Ivankov a few months ago, they could only guarantee three to five more years of life... And that's only if he doesn't use his Devil Fruit powers in battle."
Michael frowned.
Three to five years...
Whitebeard was about the same age as Zephyr, meaning that if things continued like this, Whitebeard would die before reaching eighty.
Honestly, given the lifespan threshold of humans in this world, eighty could hardly be considered old age.
Especially for an exceptional individual like Whitebeard among pure-blooded humans.
In the few years he'd been gone, this world had gradually begun to follow the trajectory of its original history.
He had examined Whitebeard's body before leaving, and there hadn't been the slightest sign of illness...
But... no matter!
"That's just the conclusion they reached while I wasn't here," Michael nodded.
"That old man Whitebeard insists on going to the frontlines because he probably wants to die on the battlefield... But don't worry, I won't give the old geezer that chance."
"With you saying that, I can rest much easier."
Marco let out a long sigh of relief.
"There shouldn't be any other problems now, right? Then isn't it my turn to ask some questions?"
"No, no, no, before that, can you explain something first..." Garp's lips twitched. "I've been wanting to ask this since earlier—why is this little girl sitting on your lap so casually? And you don't seem to have any intention of resisting?"
"Would resisting even help in this situation?"
"Then at least let us know who this person is?"
Upon hearing the conversation shift to herself, Imu, who had been sitting on Michael's lap, immediately stood up and gave a slight nod to the clearly elderly group around her.
"I am the king of the Nerona Kingdom, Nerona Imu... though I suppose that country no longer exists now?"
Imu's words left everyone present utterly stunned.
Because both the surname Nerona and the name Imu were identical to those of the true leader of the World Government—the greatest enemy of the Angel Alliance.
Even Sengoku and Garp, who had seen that "Lady Imu" over the past seven years, noticed that the Imu before them had the same crimson eyes.
"This... what exactly is going on?"
"Simply put... the Imu in the World Government isn't the real Imu, but another one of my adopted daughters, Lily of the Nefertari family... while this is the genuine Imu herself." Michael shook his head helplessly.
"It's a long story... in short, just know that, like Toki, she's someone from over 800 years ago."
"This is... truly bizarre," Tsuru remarked, studying Imu. "It seems our strategies will need some targeted adjustments."
"We can discuss that later..." Michael shook his head again. "Right now, I'm more concerned about... who let Yamato set sail and become a pirate?"
The old-timers exchanged glances before their eyes eventually settled on Ginny, the youngest among them and the one in charge of intelligence.
"What, none of you are going to say anything?" Ginny gave the old folks an exasperated look before resigning herself to explaining.
"Actually, this was a decision Yamato made after discussing it with the Fleet Admiral and the Alliance Commander... and after you disappeared, she really didn't want to stay in the Angel Alliance, so we just went along with it..."
"By becoming a pirate, she could gather intel while gradually dismantling the new pirate factions. The reason Blackbeard's forces have grown stronger over the years but never fully flourished is because Yamato's been hunting him down at sea."
"Fine, we'll set Yamato aside for now. I won't even ask about Jack, since he and Yamato are practically siblings—naturally, he'd stick with her. But you, Ginny, care to explain why Bonney, who's only twelve this year, became a pirate supernova three years ago?"
Michael crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on the irresponsible mother before him.
"Ahem, Michael, you know how it is—I've never been able to handle Bonney," Ginny scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Anyway, she's strong enough, and she was with Yamato... so I just let her do as she pleased."
"You and Kuma really are something else."
Michael sighed.The basic situation is now clear.
Yamato was indeed planted as a mole within the pirate groups.
This move was not without reason.
The World Government had exerted all its efforts in propaganda, reviving the pirate forces that had already been dismantled by Michael.
If they weren't planning to manipulate the pirates from behind the scenes, that would be absolutely impossible.
Judging from this situation, Blackbeard was likely already under Lily's control.
However, as for Blackbeard himself… even if Michael looked down on him, he had to admit that his Dark-Dark Fruit posed a significant threat.
Not only could his personal strength grow through multiple powerful Devil Fruit abilities, but he could also strip other Devil Fruit Users of their powers and grant them to whomever he wished.
Combined with his relentless hunting of ability users across the seas, Michael could easily draw one conclusion.
That was…
Lily was doing everything possible to assemble an army of Devil Fruit Users…
Just as Michael had done eight hundred years ago.
"Tch, I see. Then leave the rest to me."
As he spoke, Michael stood up and grinned at Rocks beside him:
"What do you say, old man? Fancy setting sail… and becoming a pirate?"
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