Chapter 293: Kizaru Gets Absolutely Destroyed
Hm...it really had been a while since they'd all last gathered like this—the last time had been during that one group mission.
And it was precisely because of that mission that every member who'd participated had undergone what could only be called a genuine, qualitative leap in strength.
If not for that mission, Ryū honestly had no idea when—or even whether—he'd have reached star-busting territory on his own. Hard to say, hard to even guess at.
Sometimes, on the road to getting stronger, luck mattered just as much as anything else. You could see it plainly enough just by looking at Yukari—someone with terrible luck getting rapidly overtaken by someone with good luck.
Thinking back on that youkai sage's mysteriously cursed luck, Ryū couldn't help but wince a little. She was, without question, a far unluckier character than even Tsunade back in the Naruto world.
At least Tsunade won a bet once in a while—sure, whenever she did win, something terrible was guaranteed to follow, but hey, at least her luck spiked occasionally.
Yukari, though? Genuinely painful to look at. Whoever was up there in charge of doling out luck clearly had it out for her specifically.
Why does the universe insist on tormenting this thoroughly un-cute old hag who spends every waking hour playing "eternally seventeen" and driving inappropriate content into the chat?
All these thoughts flickered through Ryū's mind in the span of a few seconds, before he shook them off and muttered, "It really has been a while since I last saw everyone. Over a month now, I think?"
"So this is Edward Newgate from the chat group? He's incredibly tall—and just looking at that body, you can practically see the power packed into it with the naked eye. Astonishing."
Master Roshi, standing nearby, let out an admiring murmur. Not entirely clear why he'd overlooked so many cute anime girls in favor of commenting on Whitebeard's physique first—possibly all those movies Tony Stark had been supplying him with lately.
That had apparently sent this impure-minded old man's brain into some strange new operating mode. Sage Mode, one might call it, in a manner of speaking?
That was really the only explanation that made sense. Watching Roshi's slightly unsteady gait, Ryū genuinely felt tempted to suggest the three-hundred-plus-year-old master eat a few more tonics.
Sengoku and Kizaru towered over the rest of the crowd—both of them clocking in somewhere between two and three meters tall.
Hands in his pockets, Kizaru glanced up at the sky, then over at the Whitebeard Pirates gathered ahead, and shrugged as he said to Sengoku beside him, "First time meeting Whitebeard like this, huh. Wonder what those sons of his are thinking right now."
Sengoku clicked his tongue and shook his head. "That man knows how to keep his sons in line. Though I'll admit I didn't expect one of them to be Roger's own kid—guy's got some nerve. If the World Government ever found out, that son of his would be hunted down without mercy."
Sengoku himself had only learned the astonishing truth about Ace's identity, origins, and history after joining the Dimensional Chat Group.
Everyone knew the Pirate King Roger had left behind an heir—but next to nobody knew where that heir had actually ended up.
And the twist nobody could've predicted: Roger's son had gone and called Whitebeard his father. One pirate captain's son calling another pirate captain "dad"—now that was some genuinely dramatic irony.
Still standing there with his hands in his pockets, Kizaru wore an odd expression as he spoke up. "Sengoku-san, I recall Admin mentioning in the chat that the one who originally took Ace in was Garp-san, wasn't it? Garp-san somehow ended up with a grandson out of nowhere—surely you knew about that, didn't you? Or is it more that you just didn't want to look into it, didn't want to accept the truth?"
Hearing that, Sengoku fell silent for a few seconds, then broke into a sharp grin. "Maybe so. That old man's always been just as reckless as Whitebeard. If he'd told me from the start, none of that mess from the original story would've happened. My ability to keep someone's identity hidden is a lot more reliable than some pirate's."
"You'd really do that, Sengoku-san? Doesn't that go against your sense of justice a bit? Now, if it were Kuzan doing something like that, I wouldn't be surprised—that's just his personality."
"...Hmph, you're not me. How would you know what I would or wouldn't do?"
"Eh? And you're not me either, Sengoku-san—so how would you know I don't already know exactly what you'd do?"
Glancing over at Kizaru, who'd clearly read a few books and was feeling just a touch smug about it, Sengoku replied flatly: "A father knows his son best."
"PFFT—!!!"
Kizaru nearly coughed up blood on the spot. What the hell kind of "father knows his son" nonsense is that?!
They were not related by blood in any way whatsoever!
Truly worthy of being Fleet Admiral, this man—even his verbal sparring was terrifyingly effective. He'd absolutely demolished Kizaru, silver-tongued as the man usually was, in one clean line. For the first time, Kizaru genuinely understood why Sengoku had ended up Fleet Admiral in the first place.
Meanwhile, trailing behind Whitebeard, Marco—Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division—had spotted the two tallest figures in this crowd of strangers right away. Who wouldn't, given their height?
Marco's expression froze for a solid few seconds. He genuinely couldn't wrap his head around why a Marine Admiral and Fleet Admiral would be standing here, out in the New World, of all places.
Being in the New World at all was strange enough—but on their territory, the Whitebeard Pirates' own turf? Marco briefly wondered if he was misidentifying them entirely.
Because otherwise, a Marine Admiral and the Fleet Admiral himself, showing up unannounced on Whitebeard Pirate soil—wasn't that basically a declaration of war?
It looked exactly like the opening move of a full-scale battle! And then, to Marco's utter shock, he realized he hadn't misidentified anyone at all—the two men standing there really were Admiral Kizaru and Fleet Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters!
"Pops—"
Marco had barely gotten the word out before Whitebeard cut him off. "Gurararara! Marco, Ace, Jozu, Vista—no need to get worked up. Kizaru and Sengoku there aren't enemies of the Whitebeard Pirates. It's a bit complicated to explain, but for now, just think of them as allies."
Marco froze again, a possibility suddenly dawning on him. He stared at Pops in disbelief and couldn't help but blurt out, "Pops...don't tell me you've thrown in with the World Government? Whatever you decide, we'll back you—but isn't this awfully sudden? You didn't give us any time to prepare—OW! That hurt!!"
Whitebeard pulled his hand back, pouting a little. "I wasn't finished talking, Pops still has more to say! Sure, Sengoku and Kizaru are friends of ours now, but the Whitebeard Pirates have absolutely no ties whatsoever to the World Government. Those so-called Celestial Dragons think they can order old me around? Ha! I could level Mary Geoise single-handedly if I wanted to!"
"Like I said, it's a real pain to explain properly—all you lot need to know is that everyone standing here is a friend of mine. Show them proper respect. Plenty of these people, I couldn't beat myself! Gurararara!"
At that, the division commanders behind Whitebeard all froze in place, exchanging bewildered glances, finding his words nearly impossible to believe.
As Whitebeard's own sons, they knew exactly how monstrously powerful their father actually was—especially after this past year, during which he'd grown at a rate that was frankly hard to fathom.
They'd personally witnessed the day fellow Yonkō Kaido had come to challenge Whitebeard, only to get beaten half to death with a single hand. If Whitebeard hadn't been holding back, Kaido would've been finished for good right then.
And now this same monstrously powerful Pops was casually admitting he couldn't beat certain people here...which meant some of these total strangers were stronger than Whitebeard himself?
Wait—seriously? Someone stronger than Pops?
Sengoku? Kizaru? Someone else entirely?
Right at that moment, Ace suddenly cried out in surprise. "Wait, Marco, look! That girl with the golden hair, and that boy with black hair—aren't those the same two we ran into a year ago?"
Following the direction Ace was pointing, Marco spotted them too—and sure enough, it was Ryū and Yukari.
The two of them had visited the One Piece world exactly a year prior, completing a mission in this world by hunting down and killing the illegal reincarnator, Blackbeard.
Which meant the two of them were quite familiar faces to the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders—recognizable pretty much on sight.
Marco murmured in astonishment, "It really is them. We already knew Pops had these two mysterious friends—he was incredibly respectful toward them, back then too."
"Didn't expect them to show up again this time, and with all these other people too. Seriously, when did Pops make so many friends? I've got zero memory of any of this. Were they friends from before he even set sail?"
"Wait—no, that's not right, some of these people look way too young. There are literal kids in this crowd!"
"Could they be his friends' descendants or something? Hm...I guess that's possible. Am I on the right track here, Pops?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard shook his head helplessly and let out a booming laugh. "Gurararara! Marco, you're only a little right. Let me give you boys a hint, though—if you manage to get a few pointers from any of these folks, your strength might just take off like a rocket!"
With that, Whitebeard strode forward toward Ryū, the Dimensional Chat Group's Admin, and said, "This past year, Admin-dono, we've been well looked after thanks to you! Everyone, please, follow me—the feast's all ready to go, we can get started whenever you like."
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