Before setting off, Marco took Old Man Whitebeard's Vivre Card.
Even a fragment of a Vivre Card could accurately point to its owner's location, no matter where or when, unless the person had died, in which case the card would spontaneously combust, burning completely to ashes.
Inside the Den Den Mushi City Fortress held by the black shadowy figure, Liam popped open a City Fortress window and gazed back at the Calm Belt receding behind them.
Beyond this Calm Belt lay the North Blue.
'What's happening in the North Blue right now...?'
'Where is Doflamingo?'
'Right, I told him last time that if he kept "fuf fuf fuf" grumbling, I'd go over and smash his head in! Gotta remember that.'
'Trafalgar Law... and the Operation-Operation Fruit?'
'It's about twelve years before Luffy sets sail... Did Law already obtain the Operation-Operation Fruit by then?'
'Forget it. I'm really not that interested in the Operation-Operation Fruit, anyway!'
'I don't know anything about medicine, and I have no desire to learn it. Besides, medicine can't save everyone... As for the Undying Operation, which grants immortality by sacrificing someone's life, Liam felt he wasn't ready to consider such a thing yet.'
"What are you looking at?" Robin asked from beside him, turning to gaze at the receding, calm sea. She brushed her wind-tossed hair behind her ear and smiled. "The West Blue is on the other side of the Calm Belt... Kano Country is there too. Are you homesick?"
"Yeah, a little," Liam replied, watching the sea rush past beneath them.
In just a short span of time, the New World sea had already cycled through violent winds, lightning, and torrential rain several times. Fortunately, neither the Phoenix guiding them from above, nor Vane in his black battle armor, nor as the Castle-Castle Fruit user, was fazed by these wicked weather changes.
He turned to the side, and Robin gazed at the sea, lost in thought. She's the one who misses home, isn't she? It's just... her homeland no longer exists.
Liam stretched out his long arm and draped it around Robin's shoulder. She leaned into his embrace without a word, simply resting against him.
'Germa 66...?'
'I wonder if Sanji has already fled to the East Blue. I can't quite remember…'
A black shadow and a blue shadow soared through the sky for what seemed like an eternity. Below, the sea shifted endlessly, sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm, sometimes surging with towering waves. Above, the sky raged with lightning and thunder, whipped by violent winds, pelted by icy hail and snow, and occasionally clear and boundless... Gradually, on the tranquil sea ahead, an enormous pirate ship loomed into view. Its prow bore a whale-like design and markings, the flagship of the world-renowned Whitebeard Pirates, the White Whale・[The Moby Dick]!
…
The deck of the White Whale buzzed with the elite members of the entire pirate crew.
The First Division Commander was absent, and the Second Division Commander's position remained vacant. However, the Third Division Commander, "Diamond" Jozu, the Fourth Division Commander Thatch, the Fifth Division Commander "Flower Sword" Vista, the Sixth Division Commander Blamenco, the Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo... along with the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Divisions... all the way to the Fifteenth Division Commander, Fossa, and the Sixteenth Division Commander, Izo, a samurai from Wano Country, they had rarely all gathered in one place.
"It's been several days now. I wonder if Marco's back yet?" Jozu said with arms crossed in front of him.
Flower Sword Vista stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Dark King Rayleigh is also at the Sabaody Archipelago. I hope Marco hasn't clashed with them..."
The crew nodded in agreement, especially the veteran members who deeply understood the formidable strength of the Pirate King's right-hand man.
Nearby, Izo twirled his Gun, occasionally glancing at the sky.
The rest of the crew stood or sat in small groups. Some clustered around Old Man Whitebeard, while others, like Izo, kept their eyes fixed on the horizon. They yearned for Marco's return but also feared he might come back empty-handed, dashing their hopes.
The towering, six-meter-tall Whitebeard sat cross-legged on the deck's steps, taking large gulps of sake. As he gazed at his sons, who were so concerned about his health, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes softened considerably.
Suddenly, he paused mid-drink and lifted his gaze toward a patch of sky to the side.
Hiding in a corner of the crowd, looking as harmless as any bystander, Marshall D. Teach had his arm slung around a Second Division teammate. His laughter abruptly ceased.
"Haha, huh? Teach?" the teammate asked, puzzled. He looked up to see Teach smiling widely, his eyes fixed on the sky to the side. Teach muttered to himself, "Finally... he's here."
"He's here!" Flower Sword Vista shouted, his expression hardening as he looked up.
The entire crew turned their heads to follow Vista's gaze. "It's Marco!" Jozu yelled.
The familiar silhouette of the Blue Flame Phoenix soared toward them from the distant sky.
"Damn it," Thatch said, cupping his hands over his eyes to squint into the distance. "It looks like Marco's the only one who made it back..."
The expressions of Sixth Division Commander Blamenco, Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo, and the others darkened. If Marco had returned alone, it meant... had they failed?
Izo stopped twirling his pistol, gripping it firmly in his hand, and stared at the sky where the Blue Flame Phoenix was rapidly approaching. "Something's not right..."
"Gū lā lā lā, my sons!" Whitebeard roared with hearty laughter.
He fixed his gaze on the black battle armor accompanying Marco, far in the distance. Those narrow, white-glowing eyes seemed to lock onto his own from the deck of the White Whale!
Whitebeard grinned, muttering to himself, "...Such a young prodigy, how could you all have overlooked him?"
On the deck, the crew reacted with shock and confusion. As Whitebeard's words trailed off, the Blue Flame Phoenix swooped down in a wave of flames, executing a nimble mid-air somersault before transforming back into his humanoid form and landing gracefully before his assembled comrades.
"Marco! You're finally back!"
"Marco, are you alone?"
"Marco..."
As soon as Marco landed back on the deck in his human form, his crew swarmed around him, bombarding him with questions. Everyone was deeply concerned about Old Man Whitebeard's health.
"If you don't make some space, how am I supposed to introduce you to Giorno and the others?" Marco waved his hand dismissively.
He exchanged a glance with Whitebeard and smiled. "Old Man, I've fulfilled my mission."
Whitebeard harrumphed playfully, remaining seated and taking another swig of sake.
The crew hastily retreated, clearing space beside Marco. All they saw was a green Den Den Mushi floating in mid-air.
"Hello, Giorno. I hope you can heal the Old Man..." A crew member with a bandana bowed deeply to the floating Vane, only to be punched by his Mediterranean-haired companion. "You idiot! How could that possibly be Giorno?!"
Third Division Commander "Diamond" Jozu, Fourth Division Commander Thatch, Fifth Division Commander "Flower Sword" Vista... and Sixteenth Division Commander Izo... all the commander-level powerhouses watched with solemn expressions as the black-clad figure held the green Den Den Mushi.
Just standing there exuded an undeniable aura of oppressive weight.
"Gū lā lā lā, brat, wherever you're hiding," Whitebeard chuckled, taking a swig of sake, "don't you think it's time you showed yourself before this old man?"
The black-armored figure's narrow eyes glinted as they swept across the crowded deck, quickly locking onto the stocky, short-legged Robust Man hiding at the edge, his mouth full of Bluetooth devices.
"Hmm?" Teach raised an eyebrow.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi City fortress in B.I.B.'s hand opened, and a figure immediately leaped out.
"Giorno Giovanna!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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