In the New World, upon an unfamiliar stretch of sea, the whale-shaped Moby Dick sailed steadily across the waves.
Early in the morning, the Whitebeard Pirates' "family bonding time" was already in full swing.
On the wide sofa at the main seat of the deck, Whitebeard sat firmly in place.
His face carried a warm, fatherly expression as he watched his many sons, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
After enduring countless storms over the years, he had finally built a happy and complete family. His life could now be said to be fulfilled without regrets.
Recently, aside from occasionally guiding Ace in his training, he spent the rest of his days like a normal retired old man.
Basking in the sun, sipping some wine, and living each day in comfort.
Thinking of wine, Whitebeard shook the wine jug in his hand and noticed it was already empty. Just as he was about to call someone to bring another jug, Marco's helpless voice came from below.
"Old man, didn't we agree you could only drink one jug a day? And now you're already…"
"Gurarara..." Whitebeard laughed awkwardly, then immediately changed the subject. Turning his gaze toward a group of people nearby, he asked in confusion,
"What are those guys doing over there? Why are they gathered together like that instead of joining everyone else?"
"Old man, we're talking about the Thunder God."
Ace stood up from the crowd and walked over in a few strides.
He handed over the newspaper in his hand and continued,
"That guy defeated BIG MOM again a few days ago. Now people are calling him the Uncrowned King. Pretty incredible."
"Gurararara... Ace, you shouldn't belittle yourself. In the future, you won't be any worse than him!"
Whitebeard didn't care much about the contents of the newspaper. At this point, nothing that kid did would surprise him anymore.
What he cared about most was the young man in front of him. He had high expectations for Ace and didn't want him to lose his fighting spirit because of this.
Hearing his father's encouragement, Ace knocked his fists together and grinned widely.
"Don't worry, old man. I won't lose!"
"Oh right, Ace. Jinbe mentioned that when you were at Fish-Man Island, you fought that Thunder God once?"
Marco suddenly wrapped an arm around Ace's neck and asked with a teasing grin.
"You kept quiet about it before. So how was it? How many moves did you last against him?"
"…Uh, well…" Ace's smile stiffened. He stammered, "It—it wasn't really a fight. We just exchanged a single strike…"
"..."
Not far away, Jinbe received Ace's meaningful glance and immediately had black lines across his forehead, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
There was nothing to say.
It really was just a single strike.
You also just happened to lie down for a full day afterward.
Honestly, Jinbe never expected this thick-browed guy Ace to lie so smoothly without even blinking.
…
Wano Country, Onigashima, inside the central hall.
"Bang!"
A huge wine gourd smashed onto the ground, and beside it lay a newspaper that had been torn to pieces.
The officers around the hall quickly distanced themselves from Kaido, who was crying and throwing a tantrum. Everyone had already grown used to scenes like this.
Every time news about Leno arrived, their boss Kaido would inevitably have a meltdown.
"What kind of bullshit king is that?! What king does that bastard think he's becoming?!"
Sitting at the main seat above, Kaido's face was filled with rage. He grabbed another wine gourd and gulped down several mouthfuls before starting to wail.
"Linlin! You old hag, you lost too?! Waaaah…"
"How could you lose?! Waaaah…"
"..."
After crying for a long time, Kaido wiped his tears and stared blankly toward the outside of the hall with drunken eyes.
After a while, he suddenly stood up and strode toward the exit.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He had to ally with that old woman as soon as possible.
At this rate, that bastard was becoming unstoppable.
Although he hated Leno to the bone, even he had to admit how terrifyingly strong the man was.
If that bastard ever came to Wano again, Kaido's situation would become very dangerous.
Inside the hall, the officers looked at their boss leaving through the gates and exchanged puzzled glances.
Was he going out to cause another drunken rampage?
Well, at least they wouldn't have to clean up the mess at home.
Moments later, a thunderous dragon roar echoed across the sky.
Kaido transformed into a thousand-meter-long azure dragon and shot straight into the heavens, disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
Inside the hall, Page One—wearing his small green cap—patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Lord Kaido finally left. Every time he gets drunk and starts acting crazy, it scares people to death."
"..."
Standing at the front, King glanced in his direction but said nothing. He simply turned around and left the hall as well.
Page One looked completely baffled by the glance. He looked around and spread his hands innocently.
"Did I say something wrong? Drunk Lord Kaido really is terrifying."
"Tch." Queen curled his lip in disdain from across the room and said mockingly, "What an idiot."
"Bastard! What did you say?!"
Before Page One could react, Ulti—who stood beside him—exploded in anger.
She stepped forward, glaring at Queen and speaking word by word.
"Try insulting little Page One again."
"Hmph."
Queen arrogantly turned his head away. The small braid behind his head bounced around as his massive round body rolled out of the hall like a ball.
He had no time to argue with those fools.
More important was collecting information about the Thunder God.
His guess had been correct.
That guy was a monster.
He was practically invincible now.
Next time, before that monster ever came to Wano again, Queen planned to make sure he avoided meeting him at all costs.
Behind him, Ulti—restrained by Page One—grew irritated and slammed him to the ground instead.
The other officers in the hall gradually left as well.
With their boss gone, there was no reason for them to stay gathered together.
Even though they belonged to the same pirate crew, their relationships weren't nearly as friendly as people imagined.
Everyone competed fiercely with one another.
No one wanted their position to one day be replaced by someone else.
…
Ten thousand meters beneath the sea, Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Palace.
"Shirahoshi! Shirahoshi! There's news about Lord Leno again!"
The eldest prince Fukaboshi arrived in front of the Hard-Shell Tower with his two younger brothers, waving the newspaper in his hand while calling for their sister.
Now that the threat of Vander Decken was gone, Shirahoshi could have moved back into her former palace chambers.
But after living in the Hard-Shell Tower for so many years, she had grown accustomed to it.
More importantly, it was the place where she first met Leno.
So Shirahoshi refused her father's suggestion and continued living in the Hard-Shell Tower.
The moment she heard Leno's name, the previously bored Shirahoshi—who had been lying on her bed—immediately swished her enormous fish tail and rushed outside.
When she saw the newspaper in her brother's hand, her eyes burst with excitement.
She hurried forward and snatched the newspaper, eagerly reading it.
The three brothers surrounded Shirahoshi, watching her with affectionate smiles.
Ever since Leno left, the three of them often stayed by her side, constantly trying to cheer her up.
Perhaps because she had lived in the Hard-Shell Tower for so long, Shirahoshi had grown used to staying indoors and rarely going outside.
Knowing she followed Leno's news closely, the three brothers would occasionally bring her whatever information they gathered.
After Shirahoshi finished reading the article in the newspaper, she couldn't help covering her mouth in shock.
"The Uncrowned King?!"
"Lord Leno is amazing!"
…