On the white cloud flying swiftly across the sky, little Yamato clutched tightly at the corner of Yemu's clothes. Her adorable eyes were wide open, her cheeks flushed red as she gazed at everything in the vast world around her. The sea breeze swept over her kimono, making it rustle softly.
It was incredible.
She had never imagined that the outside world could be so big, so beautiful, and so wondrous.
Although she knew there were many countries beyond Wano Country, she had thought there were only seven or eight at most. Yet in just this one morning, they had already passed over twenty countries.
Because they were too far away, she could not see what the people below, as tiny as ants, were doing. But from the bustling scenes alone, she could tell how beautiful the world below must be.
Beyond that, there was the beautiful sea, the many kinds of fish darting across its surface, the uninhabited primitive islands, and the constantly changing weather. Yamato could hardly take it all in.
She tried hard to remember everything she saw, planning to write it all down in her diary that night.
She lost all sense of time because of it. Only when Yemu's voice sounded beside her ear did she finally snap back to herself.
"We're here!"
Yamato looked down. Sure enough, on the deep-blue sea below was an incredibly beautiful, enormous white pirate ship shaped like a whale...
...
Whitebeard was also rather puzzled by this meeting.
The request had been passed to him by Marco on the very night Yemu invaded the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
As for the means of contact, Yemu's side had left it with them back when they met on Warship Island.
Whitebeard did not know the purpose of this meeting. The message from Yemu's side only said that Fire Dragon Yemu wished to visit the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and discuss a deal with them.
Still, anyone could guess that at this critical moment after declaring war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, Yemu, as captain, was not staying in his own territory to think of ways to deal with the Marines and World Government's coming retaliation. Instead, he had come to see him, and had even gone to see that brat Kaidou. This deal was definitely going to be troublesome.
But Whitebeard did not refuse. Perhaps, deep down, he also wanted to meet Yemu.
Still, expecting him to greet Yemu warmly was impossible.
Especially at this moment, when he saw the cloud descending from the sky, Whitebeard immediately thought of one thing.
That was definitely the ability of Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Although he and Shiki could not exactly be called friends, they had been rivals of the same era who respected one another. Seeing Shiki killed by Yemu and even having his Devil Fruit ability taken away was not something that could make him happy.
But just as he was brimming with killing intent, ready to give the visiting Yemu a warning,
a little girl jumped down from the cloud, looking at him with a face full of curiosity and cuteness.
"Yemu-sama, is this the man you said is even stronger than Father? He's amazing!"
The little girl looked at him and spoke with admiration.
The stern expression Whitebeard had prepared collapsed on the spot, leaving him with nowhere to vent.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew beside him were stunned too.
In their minds, a meeting between their Oyaji and Fire Dragon Yemu should have been an extremely solemn affair. After all, it was a meeting between kings. They had even imagined the two clashing the moment they met, but what was this strange scene of him showing up with a child?
Although most members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew could be called ruthless villains, faced with such an adorable little girl, they subconsciously pulled back their fierce auras.
Yemu also played along very generously. "Mm. This is the strongest man in the world, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, Edward Newgate. Even your father, Kaidou, is just a junior before Captain Whitebeard. Oh, right, the two of them were once crewmates on the same ship."
"Wow... Uncle Whitebeard is amazing!"
Yamato looked at Whitebeard with sparkling eyes, her face full of admiration.
"..."
At that moment, Whitebeard's face stiffened slightly.
Fortunately, Yemu finally spoke then, easing the awkward atmosphere.
"It's good to finally meet you, Mr. Whitebeard."
...
On the deck of the Moby Dick, after the initial surprise had passed,
Whitebeard had already collected himself. Sitting in the captain's seat, he looked at Yemu, who had greeted him, and asked in a low voice with some confusion, "That brat Kaidou actually has a daughter now?"
"That's right. She's cute, isn't she? Her name is Yamato."
Yemu said this while fondly patting Yamato's little head.
What should have been a clash of Conqueror's Haki that split the sky and shook the earth suddenly turned into casual small talk. The focus also shifted from Whitebeard versus Yemu to the adorable Yamato.
Yamato was clearly startled as well. Being stared at by everyone, she blushed shyly, which only made her look even cuter.
Countless members of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, pirates who had originally looked utterly vicious, watched the scene with stars in their eyes and whispered, "So cute!"
Whitebeard's expression stiffened slightly again before he asked with feigned indifference, "Why would Kaidou hand his daughter over to you?"
"There was no helping it. That guy Kaidou doesn't know the first thing about raising children. He saw that the children on my side were doing pretty well, so he decided to let this little one come to me to learn a thing or two, see the world, and make some friends."
At that, Yamato looked up at Yemu with an adorable expression. Only now did she understand why her father had let Yemu-sama take her out to sea.
Hearing this, Whitebeard seemed to understand something.
"Looks like your talks with that brat Kaidou went well."
"That's right. Kaidou and his Beasts Pirates have already agreed to my deal. Next are the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and the Big Mom Pirates. Add in my younger brother Enel's Thunder Pirates, and with the strength and influence of these four Emperors, it will be more than enough."
The moment those words came out, everyone on the Moby Dick was shocked. Even Whitebeard himself frowned slightly, as if he had realized something.
"I see. So you want to borrow our strength to help you deal with the Marines and the World Government? That's your deal? Aren't you being a little too naive?"
Yemu said without minding it, "Whether it's naive or not should only be decided after I've laid out what I'm offering in exchange, shouldn't it?"
Whitebeard's brow furrowed tightly, but Yemu did not rush. Instead, he said, "But before we discuss the deal, could you let me have a proper meal first? I've been flying since leaving Wano Country, and I haven't eaten all day... Oh, and no alcohol. There's a child here, after all..."