As soon as Whitebeard's voice fell, a voice rang out, slapping his face so quickly.
Whitebeard's mouth twitched. No way, I just finished speaking! Someone actually refuted me? Who is so disrespectful?
Whitebeard looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ace standing up angrily.
"Pops, I disagree!"
"Ace! Sit down quickly!"
Marco immediately pulled Ace to sit down. Although Pops was a good person, he didn't like being contradicted. Furthermore, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates respected Pops greatly for the protection he provided.
Unexpectedly, Whitebeard smirked slightly after seeing Ace and wasn't unhappy about Ace's objection. "Is that Ace? Why do you disagree?"
"The position of Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates should belong to Marco. Marco has worked conscientiously for the Whitebeard Pirates for so many years. Yet Pops, you let someone who just arrived at the Whitebeard Pirates for the first time become the Vice-Captain. This is too unfair to Marco!"
"Yeah! Pops! Ace is right!"
"Do you want to reconsider?"
...
Hearing Ace say this, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates all expressed their agreement.
"..."
Whitebeard didn't speak but looked at Lucas.
Lucas pouted, thinking: What are you looking at me for? It's not like I want to be the Vice-Captain.
Seeing Lucas pretending not to see him, Whitebeard looked back at Ace. "Any other reasons?"
"Yes. How old is he? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Fourteen."
Lucas's basic information was in the chat group.
Lucas had just turned fourteen this year. Kanae was seventeen, Erica sixteen, and Rin was the youngest at six.
"Fourteen?!!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't help but exclaim. That was too young.
Ace was also a bit dazed hearing Lucas's age. "Fourteen?! For the Whitebeard Pirates to let such a young boy be the Vice-Captain instead of the world-renowned Marco... how would others view the Whitebeard Pirates? And how would they view Marco?"
"No... I don't really care about this..."
Marco spoke up. Hearing Pops say he wanted to make Lucas, a newcomer, the Vice-Captain, he was a bit uncomfortable at first.
But he adjusted quickly. He wasn't interested in power itself. His main job now was helping Pops manage the Whitebeard Pirates.
And helping Pops take care of his health so he could live longer.
"Also! Pirates have always spoken with strength."
Whitebeard became interested and smirked. "Oh? Is that so?"
"I want to duel him. If he beats me, I'll admit he's qualified to be the Vice-Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Ace pointed at Lucas and shouted.
"Oh oh oh oh oh!!"
Hearing Ace wanted to fight the new guy, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates cheered loudly.
They loved watching this kind of scene the most.
Whitebeard looked at Lucas. "Kid, Ace challenged you. What do you think?"
"Today is Pops Whitebeard's 70th birthday. Fighting isn't good. Ace is absolutely right; I am indeed unworthy of the position. Let's forget about the Vice-Captain thing."
Whitebeard nodded. "Good!! You agreed!! Then let these brats see your strength!"
Saying that, Whitebeard slapped Lucas's back hard, causing Lucas to stumble forward.
"???"
I didn't speak clearly, or is your hearing bad, old man?
Seeing the slight smirk on Whitebeard's face, Lucas knew what was going on. The old guy actually plotted against me.
Rin clapped happily. "Wow!! That's great! I can finally see Lucas-nii fight with my own eyes!!"
Erica smiled. "Pops, really... plotting against even Lucas."
Kanae nodded. "Hehe, it's Pops' 70th birthday today. Just let him be happy."
Marco noticed the three girls' expressions were slightly surprised.
But they didn't seem worried about the boy named Lucas at all. On the contrary, they seemed filled with absolute confidence in him.
Knowing Pops' personality, he wouldn't let someone duel Ace for no reason.
Because they all knew Ace's strength clearly.
Before Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates, he was invited by the World Government to become a Warlord of the Sea (Shichibukai).
The three great powers of the world were the World Government, the Four Emperors of the New World, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
That Ace was invited to be a Warlord showed his strength.
Since Pops pushed this boy forward, it meant Pops was also very confident in his strength.
This made Marco curious too. Just how strong could such a young boy be?
"Oh oh oh oh oh!"
"Go! Ace!"
"Don't get beaten by the rookie!"...
The Whitebeard Pirates cheered for Ace.
"Hey! It's too small here! Let's go over there."
Ace pointed to a nearby island and said to Lucas.
Seeing the atmosphere had reached this point, it seemed a fight was inevitable. Lucas really didn't understand what Whitebeard was up to.
"Alright!"
Everyone followed them to the island. They all wanted to see who this person was that Pops immediately appointed as Vice-Captain.
If the rookie's strength could rival Ace's, the Whitebeard Pirates' strength would be greatly enhanced.
"Hey! Kid, although I have no grudge against you, I believe the position of Vice-Captain belongs to Marco."
"What a coincidence, I think so too."
"..."
Lucas's words left Ace at a loss for words.
Ace scratched his head. "Looks like I misunderstood you. But the fight still has to happen. I also want to know what strength you have to be so highly praised by Pops. Don't worry, I'll hold back."
"Thanks a lot then."
Just then, Whitebeard's voice rang out: "Ace!!"
"You'd better not underestimate that brat Lucas. His strength is much greater than yours."
---
100 power stones= 1 Bonus Chapte
advanced chapters available on{P@treon/Anna_N1}