Chapter 176: The Storm Brought by the Golden Lion
In the depths of the New World, on the Moby Dick.
At this moment, all the division commanders and crew members were looking at the bounty posters and newspapers in their hands with various expressions, clearly captivated by the contents.
On the deck, the man known as the World's Strongest, Whitebeard, sat in his chair, tilted his head back, and poured a large gulp of sake into his mouth. Then, Whitebeard raised a hand to wipe the booze from the corner of his mouth, a look of emotion on his face.
"You've really done it, Shiki. You've caused such a huge storm the moment you returned."
At this moment, the scene of Shiki visiting him here just after escaping from Impel Down appeared in Whitebeard's mind. Originally, Whitebeard thought that Shiki would disappear for a very long time. But just when he least expected it, that guy Shiki had returned to the New World without any warning, and had returned to his peak in a time when no one could have reacted or stopped him. This turn of events had caught even Whitebeard somewhat off guard.
Not far away, Marco the Phoenix with great difficulty pulled his gaze away from the newspaper in his hand and shifted it to his pops, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Pops! That guy, the Golden Lion, really did return to his peak with the help of that Archangel! Let's go find that person too!"
Marco's words seemed to speak the minds of the entire Whitebeard Pirates. All the pirates who had been immersed in the newspaper's contents raised their heads, casting expectant glances at Whitebeard.
"Yeah, Pops!"
"Even a guy in as miserable a state as the Golden Lion could be perfectly restored! Pops's condition can definitely be cured too!"
"That's right! Pops's condition is so much better than the Golden Lion's!"
The pirates clearly remembered that when the Golden Lion Shiki had come to the Moby Dick after escaping from the great undersea prison, they had all seen how terrible his condition was—far more than any other pirate in the sea knew.
Hearing this, Whitebeard stopped the motion of pouring sake into his mouth and looked flatly at his foolish sons, led by Marco. "Are you all idiots?"
"Eh?" The pirates were a little confused.
Seeing this, Whitebeard shook his head and then spoke in a strange tone, "I am the strongest man, Whitebeard! Even if I'm old, I am still the strongest. I don't need to go looking for some brat who isn't even fully grown for treatment!"
The pirates looked at each other, wanting to speak but holding back. The various division commanders subconsciously stepped forward, wanting to speak again, but were stopped by Whitebeard's angry glare, and had no choice but to swallow their words. For a moment, the faces of every pirate on the deck were incomparably grim.
Seeing this, Whitebeard sighed faintly in his heart. Even he didn't believe the words he had just said. He knew his own physical condition clearly. In a few more years, he would probably only be able to use Armament and Observation Haki. But there was nothing he could do. He was not like that guy Shiki, who was already at a point where he had almost nothing.
Shiki, having nothing, could gamble that the Archangel wouldn't take his life. But he couldn't. If he died on the operating table, his sons would lose their protector. The malice of the outside world would come flooding in. Therefore, Whitebeard preferred to be more conservative, to hold on just like this, until his sons had grown up.
Thinking of this, Whitebeard once again poured a large gulp of sake into his mouth. However, this action seemed to annoy the nearby nurses, who were dressed in nurse uniforms and leopard-print stockings.
"Hey, Pops! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Didn't we tell you that in your condition, you can't touch booze or women anymore?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard's drinking motion paused. But soon, he smiled and replied, "Is that so... Then I'll give up women!" It's impossible not to drink, so I'll just give up women. It's not like I'm interested in them anyway.
Then, Whitebeard once again poured another large gulp of sake into his mouth.
Elbaf.
Dorry, who was over twenty meters tall, with a long beard and covered in bandages, abruptly raised his head. He looked with a bewildered expression at the giants gathering around him. "Who is the Golden Lion?"
Soon, someone in the vicinity gave him the answer. "He seems to be a pirate who dominated the New World not long ago. He can make ships and islands float. He's also called the Pirate Admiral. Later, he was arrested for attacking Marine Headquarters, but he escaped not long ago. I didn't think he'd be back on the seas in the blink of an eye!"
Nearby, the similarly battered and bruised Brogy let out a strange laugh. "Kababababa! He can make islands fly? That's a terrifying ability! He can almost be compared to Louis!"
At these words, the several giants nearby who had not met Louis looked at each other. "Is that the person who is closest to the three top-tier fighters? Gerd and Goldberg are under his command, right?"
To this, Dorry replied with a laugh, "That's right! Louis is only fifteen, but he's already at the pinnacle of strength!"
"Fifteen?!" The members of the Giant Warrior Pirates were astonished. "Even among humans, fifteen is just a child, right? Is he the same kind of person as that woman?"
To this, Dorry and Brogy looked at each other and smiled. "That's right. But Louis is a kind person, much better than her!"
Just then, an aged voice sounded from the giants' feet. "Yo, what are you talking about?"
The group looked in the direction of the voice. A man in a conical hat, with long, graying hair and a beard, and a burn scar by the corner of his eye, was looking at them with a surprised expression.
"It's you, Yamakaji!"
"The news says that the Golden Lion has returned to the sea, and has already returned to his peak state with the help of Louis's treatment!"
"Shiki?" The man in the conical hat heard him and raised an eyebrow with great interest. "That guy has returned to the sea too?" Then, he leaped up, landed directly in a giant's palm, and carefully read the contents of the newspaper.
After a long while, he slowly looked up, a meaningful expression on his face. "Louis, the one Shanks spoke of? The child of my friends from Baal... to think he's so outstanding. I really want to meet him—"
East Blue - Foosha Village.
In the tavern, a group of citizens, while drinking, were flipping through the newspapers in their hands. It was clear that the contents of the paper were of great concern to them.
"That terrifying Golden Lion has reappeared?"
"What are those Marines doing?!"
"But this Archangel... he seems to be the person who came here with Shanks and the others back then. There's no mistake. I'll never forget that face!"
After confirming that their memories were not wrong, the group began to discuss animatedly.
The green-haired proprietress, while wiping a glass, had a worried look on her face. "That child... I heard he caused considerable losses for the Marines and the World Government!"
"That's right. I heard more than one Vice Admiral was killed, and even two Admirals were injured."
On the back mountain, a burly man, built like a brown bear, wearing a floral shirt and shorts, with graying temples, looked at the newspaper in his hand, his expression grave. "Shiki, you bastard... you actually dared to put your life in someone else's hands?"
Beside him, two bruised and swollen boys carefully poked their heads out, secretly looking at the newspaper in the old man's hand. "Grandpa, what does this paper say?"
Marine Hero Garp was taken aback. He looked with a complicated expression at his grandson, who was looking at the paper with a blank face. "Have I been too harsh on him? In order to make him a glorious Marine, I've been forcing him to train, to the point where he can't even read now."
Thinking of this, Garp's expression softened considerably. He smiled and explained to his two grandsons, one of whom was bewildered and the other pretending not to care. "It's nothing. Just a guy from the old era who was defeated by Roger, popping up again."
The black-haired, freckled boy heard the name "Roger," and a complicated expression appeared on his face.
Nearby, the child wearing a straw hat with a scar under his eye heard him, and his eyes lit up. "A guy defeated by the Pirate King?"
Garp heard him and nodded. "That's right! Ace, Luffy, relics of the old era like him... in the future, it'll be up to new-generation Marines like you to defeat them!"
However, at these words, the two around him instantly changed their expressions, decisively looking away as if they hadn't heard anything.
"..."
Veins bulged on Garp's forehead, and his whole being became terrifyingly grim. "As I thought, my beating just now was too light—"
West Blue, in the depths of the Flower Country.
Bashu - Peach Blossom Valley.
A tall, burly figure with jet-black wings and an aged face, leading a relatively shorter, slender figure who also had black wings, slowly descended.
In the thin dust, the mountain-sized figure slowly raised his head, looking up at the huge, deep pit that had been smashed into the mountain wall decades ago.
With a dull thud, the massive dark figures scattered throughout the valley were instantly awakened. They opened their oily green eyes and quickly headed toward the source of the sound. Soon, dozens of giant dogs, each several meters tall and covered in yellow fur, rushed to the source of the impact. The pack of giant dogs looked at the strange dark figures and all moved closer, their bone-white teeth and sharp claws instantly turning black.
Soon, one after another, burly figures arrived, surrounding the two strangers. After a while, a middle-aged Buccaneer with graying hair stared with wide eyes and called out tentatively, "Brother Amit?"
Amit heard him, looked away from the giant pit, and gazed in the direction of the call. "It's—been a while," he replied in a severely hoarse voice.
The middle-aged Buccaneer heard him, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He then had the clansmen and the giant dogs lower their guard. He quickly rushed forward, grabbed one of Amit's hands, and hurried him toward the depths of the valley.
Left behind, the woman with long white hair, brown skin, and a beautiful but incomparably grim face saw this, raised an eyebrow, and then strode after them.
Inside the huge wooden house, the old man, who had lost all his hair and was as thin as a skeleton, trembled as he stood up and came directly before Amit. He reached out a withered hand, covered in age spots, and stroked Amit's face, which was no longer young.
"You've also grown old, little brat—"
Amit was as silent as ever. He just reached out a hand and pulled the woman, who was standing quietly beside him, over.
The woman from the Lunarian race saw this and, shedding her grim and cold expression, showed a respectful look to the old man before her. "My name is Asmodai. I am Amit's granddaughter—"
Then, the woman, who looked to be about 30 years old and called herself Asmodai, took out the latest newspaper and placed it in front of the unbelievably old man.
"We have come this time to talk with the Buccaneer race about entering the New World together."
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