The dozen or so division commanders all expressed their opinions angrily.
Ace suddenly said, "It was completely my fault in the beginning. If I had been more careful, maybe this kind of thing wouldn't have happened. So, I'm the one who caused all this tragedy."
"Ace."
Seeing Ace blaming himself, the people of the Whitebeard Pirates all tried to persuade him. Although they had suffered heavy losses in this war, they didn't blame Ace. After all, no one would have thought that Blackbeard was hiding so deeply, and also had such calculations. No one could have prevented it.
Akira said to Ace, "Don't say these kinds of words in the future, Ace. If you really feel guilty, then vent your guilt on training. When you have enough strength, killing Blackbeard will be the biggest reward for everyone."
"Ace, Akira is right. What you need to do now isn't to feel guilty, but to turn grief into strength. It won't be too late to find Blackbeard for revenge later when you have strength." Everyone also followed Akira to persuade Ace.
Hearing everyone's comfort, Ace was really very touched, his eyes turning red, saying excitedly, "Thank you, thank you everyone, thank you..."
After Ace calmed down, Akira continued with a solemn expression, "What I'm most worried about now is Blackbeard. That guy brought a batch of criminals out from Impel Down, and formed the Blackbeard Pirates. Now that our territories are without a leader, and people are panicking, that guy will definitely take this opportunity to act. Moreover, he's very familiar with our Whitebeard Pirates' territories. Once he takes action, it will definitely be on a large scale, making it difficult to defend."
"If he dares to take action, we'll fight him. Although that guy is powerful, you're not weak either, Akira. Moreover, our pirate crew's foundation is stronger than his newly formed pirate crew. If they really fight, it's hard to say who will win or lose."
Fourteenth Division Commander Speed Jiru shouted loudly. His words received the approval of many people.
Akira said, "We definitely have to fight. But we can't attack blindly. After all, we haven't fully recovered yet, and that guy Blackbeard has already made preparations. A rash attack will only allow Blackbeard to seize the opportunity. So, we must be more cautious."
"Akira, what do you want to do?" Marco asked.
Akira said, "I need at least a month to recover my body. So, it's not advisable to confront the Blackbeard Pirates head-on during this time. Besides what I said before, release another message, saying that whoever dares to contact Blackbeard will be our enemy. I want to see who's the enemy, and who's the friend."
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. During this month, the entire New World could be said to have undergone huge changes. Among them, the two things that had caused the biggest commotion were:
One of them was what had happened in the Whitebeard Pirates' sphere of influence. After the end of the Summit War, the Blackbeard Pirates took advantage of the situation, quickly emerging in the New World. Of course, his target was naturally the Whitebeard Pirates' territories.
Besides that, it was the change in the Whitebeard Pirates. Since Whitebeard had died in battle, his territories had almost disintegrated in a very short period of time. Countless forces who had depended on them in the past had all declared independence, no longer being sheltered by the Whitebeard Pirates. So, in this month, nearly 30-40% of the territories had fallen, the Whitebeard Pirates' reputation greatly reduced.
Of course, the reason why it had been so fast actually had a lot to do with Akira. Because Akira had people release the word that he was going to inherit Whitebeard's position, attracting a lot of people's dissatisfaction.
Although Akira's name wasn't weak, and he could be considered to have shown his skills in the Summit War, he was still too far off from Whitebeard. Naturally, there were many people who wouldn't be convinced, thinking that handing the Whitebeard Pirates over to Akira would lead to their demise sooner or later.
However, Akira naturally wouldn't know about all this, because he had been completely healing his injuries during this time. It was only after leaving seclusion a month later that he learned what had happened.
Akira had been recuperating on the small island where Whitebeard had been buried. However, when he left seclusion, he was surprised to discover that all the people of the Whitebeard Pirates were gone. There were only a small number of people guarding by his side.
"What happened?"
The people who were still guarding Akira on the small island were Jozu and Curiel. They had been the most seriously injured during the Summit War, so they had also stayed here to heal their injuries, and guard Akira. Akira felt very surprised seeing that there were only the two of them.
Jozu, seeing that Akira had left seclusion, immediately asked happily, "Akira, have your injuries fully recovered?"
Akira nodded, and said, "Yeah, they've fully recovered, and I've also made good progress. Why are there only the two of you? Where are Marco and the others?"
Hearing Akira's question, Jozu and Curiel's expressions both changed. Then, Jozu said with a solemn expression, "Akira, something has happened."
Seeing Jozu and Curiel's expressions, Akira knew that something big must have happened. He asked in a calm tone, "What big thing has happened?"
Jozu said, "During this month that you were in seclusion, many things have happened. It's about the same as what you had expected before. After the results of the Summit War were revealed, there were indeed many forces who directly broke away from us. Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is still that guy Teach.
He's very familiar with our territories. Not long ago, he took action, taking down many of our territories in a short period of time, and constantly provoking us. Marco was worried that if things continued like this, it would make those forces who still belonged to us lose heart. So, he took everyone to fight the Blackbeard Pirates."
"It still happened."
Although Akira had already thought of this kind of result, he was still somewhat sad after it actually happened. After all, those places were all Whitebeard's hard work. When he was still alive, those people had been respectful, constantly offering tributes and trying to please him. But now that he was dead, people had immediately changed their attitude. How could it not make people feel cold?
"Have Marco and the others exchanged blows with the Blackbeard Pirates?" Akira asked.
Jozu said, "They've exchanged blows a few times, but haven't gained any advantage. That guy Teach brought a lot of powerful pirates out from Impel Down. Their strength is very powerful."
Hearing these words, Akira immediately knew that they probably hadn't just not gained any advantage. They should have still fallen into a disadvantage.
"What about Blackbeard? Has he appeared?"
Jozu said, "No. I don't know why, but Blackbeard rarely shows his face. He hasn't been seen in the few times they've exchanged blows."
Akira sneered, "There's no need to think to know. He's definitely training Pops's Gura Gura no Mi power. After all, even if he's very familiar with Pops's power, without a certain amount of time, it will be difficult to fully grasp it. However, so much time has passed. He's probably almost finished breaking it in. Where are Marco and the others now?"
Jozu said, "They're now at..."
Akira nodded, and said, "I understand. Arrange for some people to stay behind to take care of Pops. The rest, get on the ship with me, and go to join up with Marco and the others."
Hearing these words, Jozu and Curiel immediately asked excitedly, "Akira, are you preparing to take action?"
A fierce light flashed in Akira's eyes, and he said in a cold voice, "After not appearing for so long, do those guys in the New World really think that our Whitebeard Pirates have fallen to the point where anyone can bully us? I want to let everyone know that even if Pops is gone, our Whitebeard Pirates aren't someone that anyone can step on."
"That's right. We've been holding back for so long. Do they really think that our Whitebeard Pirates are easy to provoke?"
Curiel shouted indignantly. They had indeed been holding back quite a bit during this time. When Whitebeard was around, they had always been the ones who bullied others. When had they been bullied by others? Now, even if Whitebeard was gone, they wouldn't be able to swallow this breath so easily. So, he was naturally very excited now that Akira said he was going to take action.
Akira took Jozu and them onto the ship, heading all the way towards the location where Marco and them were. On the way, Jozu and Curiel explained in detail to Akira what had happened during this time. Akira was listening very seriously.
Overall, the New World, besides the Whitebeard Pirates' territories, had been relatively calm in the other places during this month. But Akira knew that this was just the prelude to the storm. It wouldn't be long before a huge change would happen in the New World.
Standing on the Moby Dick pirate ship that was sailing, Akira looked at the sea in front of him. The Moby Dick had suffered a lot of damage in Marineford. But fortunately, with Akira's protection, it hadn't been completely damaged. It had taken a month to restore its former glory. Now, this ship belonged to Akira's flagship. Even if Marco and them had left, they hadn't taken this ship away.
"Hmm?"
Standing on the ship, Akira suddenly let out a light hmm, looking towards the north. Under his Kenbunshoku Haki's perception, he felt that there seemed to be a very powerful aura in that direction.
"Jozu, what place is in that direction?"
He called Jozu over. Jozu clearly understood the New World much more than him.
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