Also in the New World.
Dialanc Island.
Located in the central region of the New World, this place had previously been a frontline where the Flying Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates frequently clashed in fierce battles.
But today, there was no conflict at all.
Not only that—the Flying Lion, Shiki's flagship, and the Moby Dick, Newgate's flagship, were both docked peacefully in the island's harbor.
Almost the moment these two legendary pirate ships met, news of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Flying Pirates gathering in one place began spreading rapidly across the seas.
Outside the town, along the beach—
The core members of both pirate crews had gathered here. Instead of fighting, they were busy preparing for a grand banquet.
Not far away, Shiki sat atop a reef, a cigar clenched between his teeth, completely relaxed and without any guard up as he chatted with Newgate, who sat opposite him on a log.
"Don't think I called you here because I'm scared of you, Newgate," Shiki said, exhaling a puff of smoke.
Newgate held a jug of alcohol, gulping down more than half of it in one go before letting out a loud belch. "Hmph. Never thought you would be, either."
After a brief pause, Newgate continued, "I had a feeling before coming here… but let's cut the crap. You called me out to talk about a ceasefire, didn't you?"
"That's right." Shiki nodded without putting on airs. "We've been fighting for years since splitting off. Fact is, neither of us can do anything to the other. If this keeps up, we'll just waste our strength on each other while letting other threats grow."
"Take Linlin, for example. I hear her pirate kingdom is shaping up nicely. You and I both know how terrifying her talent and potential are. If we keep ignoring her, sooner or later she'll become a rival on our level, won't she?"
"I don't care about that," Newgate replied calmly.
Compared to Shiki, Newgate had never been particularly ambitious—no desire to conquer the world or dominate everything.
If Shiki hadn't come back to the New World back then and immediately treated him as his greatest rival, triggering continuous clashes, the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't have insisted on going all-out against him either.
Just like now—since Shiki had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch, Newgate had no intention of clinging to past grudges. He accepted the invitation and came.
Newgate's calm attitude irritated Shiki a little.
But as a true schemer, Shiki suppressed that feeling and sneered, "Since you showed up, that means you agree with me. From today on, we call it a truce. Neither of us messes with the other. We divide territory based on the current situation. Deal?"
"As long as you don't come bothering me, I won't interfere with whatever ambitions you've got," Newgate said bluntly, though he still agreed.
With Newgate's word, Shiki didn't press further.
He actually trusted Newgate's character. While Shiki himself was infamous for breaking promises whenever it suited his interests—something everyone knew—
Newgate was different. When he said something, he meant it.
Truthfully, both sides were reaching their limits. Even though the New World had no shortage of pirates willing to join them, years of constant large-scale warfare between two massive crews had taken its toll.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have tacitly prepared for a decisive battle at Linderland Island back then.
Unfortunately, that battle had been disrupted, leaving the outcome unresolved.
And chances like that didn't come easily.
Since then, neither side had found a better opportunity.
In the end, Shiki decided to reconcile first—then, once he obtained overwhelming power, he would settle things with Newgate properly.
As for how to obtain that power—
Shiki now had a new idea: the Roger Pirates.
Back when they met in the West Blue, Shiki already knew Roger was searching for the Poneglyphs, and he had even given some pointers. But afterward, he hadn't paid much attention to it, nor did he care why Roger was doing it.
Now, however, things had changed.
After the battle at Linderland Island, the Roger Pirates had forcefully returned to the New World, and the World Government had issued warnings to various forces about them.
One particular claim caught Shiki's interest—
The Government said Roger was searching for the Poneglyphs to revive the Ancient Weapons.
Shiki didn't believe Roger would do such a thing.
But the claim itself proved something: Roger likely possessed extensive knowledge about the Ancient Weapons.
Roger might not want that power—
But Shiki certainly did.
Recently, he had started paying attention to Roger again. Back in the West Blue, Roger had rejected his invitation to join forces. Maybe his stance hadn't changed—but Shiki still intended to try again.
If persuasion failed…
He'd take it by force.
Either way, he was determined to get his hands on whatever knowledge Roger had about awakening the Ancient Weapons.
...
While Shiki was lost in thought, Newgate looked toward the distance—where Silver Axe was chopping wood for the bonfire, and Babel was catching fish in the sea.
A trace of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.
"Never thought… after the West Blue, we'd ever gather like this again for a banquet," Newgate said.
His words stirred something in Shiki as well.
Glancing at the lively scene, Shiki replied with a hint of emotion, "Yeah… that bastard Rocks went on about taking the world, and in the end, he died just like that in the West Blue…"
All those grand ambitions had vanished like smoke.
Such was the sea—cruel, yet beautiful enough to captivate countless great figures.
Coming back to himself, Shiki looked at Newgate and said, "Speaking of which, back on that ship, you were the closest to that guy. But you never thought about inheriting his will?"
"From the start, I never wanted to take the world," Newgate said, taking another swig of alcohol before sighing. "Though sometimes, when we drank together, he did say… you were the one most like him."
"Same ambition. Same refusal to bow to anyone. He even said that after taking the world, you'd definitely challenge him—and when that happened, he'd beat the hell out of you."
"Jihahahahaha! That's why I say he was a bastard!" Shiki burst into laughter. "But you know… deep down, I did admire him a little."
"We were all gathered through Davy Back Fights… but who can honestly say they didn't admire him at least a bit?" Newgate admitted. "That man was a born leader…"
Neither of them knew that it had actually been Wang Zhi who betrayed the crew—kidnapping Shakky and setting off the chain of events that led to the God Valley incident.
Otherwise, with their personalities, they would've gone straight to Hachinosu and chopped him to pieces long ago.
"Enough with the past," Shiki said, extinguishing his cigar against the reef. "Thinking about it almost makes me soft."
He casually reached out, and a bottle of liquor flew through the air into his hand.
"Let's just enjoy this banquet. Who knows if we'll ever get another chance to drink like this again…"
Newgate naturally raised his own bottle, and the two longtime "enemies" clinked them together.
With that simple gesture, the Flying Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates officially declared a truce.
And with the ceasefire between these two great crews—
The balance of power in the New World was about to enter an entirely new phase.
No one could yet see how turbulent the tides ahead would be.
But one thing was certain—
Ever since Rocks fell, the throne of the New World had remained vacant for far too long.
And Shiki was far from the only one eyeing it.
...
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