"Gurararara, what an interesting group."
Whitebeard gazed at the familiar figures standing atop the Marine warship not far away, a faint smile spreading across his face.
Revolutionary Army commanders.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Former Warlords.
Once-renowned great pirates.
And then…
"A kid who looks somewhat familiar…"
Whitebeard's eyes swept past the grinning Douglas Bullet and the forced smile on Buggy's face, finally settling on Luffy. More precisely, on the straw hat resting atop the boy's head.
"Gurararara… that hat looks just like the one Red Hair used to wear."
"Ace!!!!"
Ignoring the sharp, hostile stares of the surrounding Marines, Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs without the slightest hesitation.
"I've come to save you!!!!"
The corner of Whitebeard's mouth lifted slightly.
This kid has courage, and loyalty too.
So this is the younger brother Ace always talked about. The captain acknowledged by Shirogai Yamikuro.
Not bad. Truly worthy of being recognized by someone like Shirogai. His bearing is anything but ordinary.
"Hm?"
Whitebeard suddenly sensed a cold, disdainful gaze directed at him.
"Gurarara. What is it, crocodile? Looking for revenge?"
Whitebeard calmly met Crocodile's stare, unmoving like an immovable mountain.
"Do you want to attack me?"
"Heh."
Crocodile sneered, then turned his gaze toward Ace on the execution platform in the distance.
"I have no interest in killing someone who cannot even protect his own son."
Silence followed.
Whitebeard was briefly taken aback, studying Crocodile with surprise.
"You… you seem to have changed."
Crocodile lit a cigar and slowly exhaled smoke.
"Hmph. At least I am not like you, an old man who can no longer change. I can still grow stronger."
Through Shirogai, Crocodile had seen a possibility he had long since abandoned.
Devil Fruit Awakening.
"And you, Whitebeard…"
Crocodile turned back toward him, his tone cold and detached.
"You have been abandoned by the era. You are blind to everything that has happened in the world recently. The new era no longer has a place for old relics like you. The future belongs to us."
The smoke rose, partially obscuring his face, yet it could not hide the ambition burning unmistakably in his eyes.
"Crocodile, you are not allowed to insult the Old Man!"
The Whitebeard Pirates erupted in fury, glaring at Crocodile with open hostility.
…
Whitebeard looked calmly at Crocodile's face hidden behind smoke, and for the first time, a subtle sense of age crept into his heart.
New generations replace the old.
Perhaps there truly was no longer a place for an old man like him in the coming era.
Look at Shirogai, look at Crocodile. They had no one shielding them, yet they still carved out their own paths through sheer strength and will.
Perhaps his presence had lasted too long.
Because of that, the sons under his banner had unconsciously grown dependent, never fully maturing into pirates who could stand on their own.
"Hmph. Kid, do you think this old man has nothing left?"
Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri into the ground and grinned fiercely.
"Straw Hat, do you want to save your brother?"
"Of course!"
Luffy laughed brightly, his confidence unwavering.
"Ace, wait for me. I'm coming to save you!"
"Oh, right!"
Luffy suddenly scratched his head, stepped closer to Whitebeard, and whispered urgently.
"We overheard a Marine Den Den Mushi on the warship earlier. It sounds like they are planning something. They are moving Ace's execution time forward."
"So that is it…"
Whitebeard's eyes darkened as he pondered.
"No wonder Sengoku has been acting strangely. So he plans to break his word and abandon the publicly announced execution time. Is this the Marine's sense of justice? How laughable."
Though his tone carried disdain, Whitebeard had already expected as much.
After dealing with the Marines for decades, he knew them all too well. They were no different from pirates like himself. They produced nothing, created no wealth.
They merely cloaked themselves in the banner of justice while driving out pirates and monopolizing the spoils, deceiving the world in the process.
Among them were true Marines who genuinely upheld justice.
But the majority were nothing more than pirates in uniform, hiding behind the word justice.
They occupied the richest regions of the seas, suppressed resistance, and branded anyone who opposed them as criminals.
Breaking promises was nothing new to them.
That they would execute Ace ahead of schedule was well within Whitebeard's expectations.
"By the way," Whitebeard said with a faint smile, "how is your vice captain, Shirogai?"
"Why didn't he come with you?"
"Shirogai…"
Luffy's expression dimmed slightly.
"We were sent flying by a Shichibukai named Kuma. Later, I realized he was probably helping us. Otherwise, we would have been killed by that magma Admiral."
"Akainu…"
Whitebeard felt a trace of regret upon hearing that Shirogai had not arrived, but he did not dwell on it.
This war concerned the Whitebeard Pirates alone.
If Shirogai had rushed in, it would have dragged him into this conflict as well, drawing the full hatred of the Marines.
That would only bring endless trouble to his future journeys across the seas.
"Whitebeard, it has been a long time."
Douglas Bullet crossed his arms, studying Whitebeard with open disappointment.
"Have you really aged this much? I thought I could finally have a proper fight with you. But defeating someone this weak would bring me no honor."
"Fusion brat, long time no see."
Whitebeard smiled calmly, his eyes sharp as ever as he looked at Bullet, whose Haki still roared fiercely, just as it had in the past.
"I heard you were hit by a Buster Call more than twenty years ago and sent to Impel Down. So you finally managed to escape."
"Hmph, a mere Buster Call."
Bullet grinned savagely, his gaze fixed on the thunderous Marine cannons.
"If it happens again, they will be the ones who lose."
___
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