The Grand Line, the New World.
In a certain stretch of sea, the Whitebeard Pirates were sailing across the ocean.
On the Moby Dick, people came and went in groups of three and five, chatting about a battle from not long ago.
Just a few days earlier, they had destroyed a pirate crew that didn't know its place.
That crew had only recently entered the New World, yet had dared offend their Pops. So the Whitebeard Pirates uprooted them without hesitation and wiped them out completely.
To the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, this was little more than a post-meal conversation topic.
Although there were heroic figures among pirates, such as their Pops, most pirates were fools who couldn't recognize their own place.
The moment they made even the slightest name for themselves, they became eager to challenge the lofty Four Emperors and drag them down from their thrones.
Fools like that appeared every year.
What the Whitebeard Pirates had to do was use victory after victory to clean up those clueless idiots and defend the dignity of the Four Emperors—no, the dignity of Pops.
As for the fools they cleared out, they would soon vanish from memory and become nothing more than medals marking another victory.
Before long, everyone's conversation shifted from the battle to the victory feast.
Quite a few people said the wine at the feast had been excellent. Especially after defeating a group of enemies, the wine had tasted particularly fine.
At the same time, unlike the cheerful pirates around him, Marco, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division, had been keeping his attention on Pops.
Mainly because Pops was getting old, and his body was no longer what it used to be. Marco had to watch him at all times.
And then he noticed that Pops seemed distracted today.
"What happened, Pops?"
Marco walked over and asked curiously, "You look like something's on your mind."
Hearing his son's concerned voice, Whitebeard—Edward Newgate—withdrew his gaze from the horizon and said, "Where is Ace?"
Not long ago, Blackbeard Teach had betrayed them and secretly murdered one of their comrades.
Without question, that had violated the iron rule of their pirate crew.
So Second Division Commander Ace had chased after him without hesitation, intending to capture Blackbeard and bring him back for punishment.
But ever since Ace left, a shadow had settled over Edward Newgate's heart.
He had a constant feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Especially today, that ominous feeling had grown stronger and stronger, as though a dark cloud were pressing down on his heart, making him lose focus again and again.
So after hearing Marco's question, Whitebeard instinctively asked about Ace's whereabouts.
Marco said, "I spoke with Ace not long ago. He's already reached the Alabasta Kingdom."
"Alabasta? The same Alabasta that was exposed a few days ago as the location of Pluton?" Whitebeard frowned slightly. "What is Ace doing there?"
Marco shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe he went there because of Pluton?"
After all, that was Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons.
Marco was almost certain that Ace had most likely gone to Alabasta hoping to find Pluton and offer it to Pops.
Although Crocodile, who had coveted Pluton, had already been captured, the Alabasta Kingdom was still at the center of the storm.
No one knew how many factions had infiltrated that country, all searching for the legendary Pluton.
In the short term, the storm around Alabasta would not easily fade.
Unless someone could prove that Pluton wasn't in Alabasta.
Whitebeard sighed and said, "I don't care about Pluton. What I care about is my family's safety. Call Ace and tell him to come back as soon as possible."
Marco smiled bitterly. "I can make the call, but whether Ace comes back or not, I can't guarantee. You know Ace's temper. Once he decides something, not even ten bulls can pull him back."
Whitebeard couldn't help laughing. That really was true.
But for some reason, the dark cloud in his heart only grew heavier.
He waved his large hand. "You make the call. I'll speak to him myself."
Marco nodded, took a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and was just about to call—
when the sky went dark.
No, that wasn't right.
The sky hadn't gone dark.
Something enormous had blocked the sun overhead.
Marco suddenly looked up and saw a huge island appear in the sky more than a hundred meters above them.
The island hovered silently over the Moby Dick, blocking out the sunlight.
That was why it felt as if the sky had gone dark.
Edward Newgate also saw the island and abruptly stood up from his chair. His wild Conqueror's Haki swept outward like a mountain collapse and a tidal wave.
At the same time, an equally wild and arrogant burst of Conqueror's Haki came from the island above, colliding directly with Whitebeard's.
Black-red lightning exploded, and the sky split open in an instant.
A blond man leapt down from the island, rapidly closing in on the Moby Dick.
In both hands, he held two incomparably sharp great blades, and he slashed them viciously toward Whitebeard's head.
Whitebeard clenched his right hand into a fist, activated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, wrapped it in Conqueror's Haki, and smashed it toward the blond man descending from the sky.
"Shiki!!!"
"Edward Newgate!!!"
Boom!
Before the two even reached each other, their violent powers had already clashed, erupting into a deafening roar.
Above the Moby Dick, circular shockwaves exploded outward like a tsunami, sweeping endlessly in every direction. Visible ripples spread layer after layer through the air.
Marco stared at the scene in shock and secretly felt relieved that the collision had detonated in midair.
Otherwise, the entire Moby Dick would have been torn apart, and only a handful of people would have survived.
This was a battle at the level of the Four Emperors.
Marco had seen it more than once before, but every time he saw it, he was still left in awe.
"Long time no see, Newgate. Looks like your blade hasn't dulled."
Golden Lion Shiki saw that his strike hadn't taken Edward down, so he sheathed his blades and slowly landed on the Moby Dick, laughing loudly.
"Jihahahahaha!"
But Edward Newgate wasn't buying it.
"Shiki, do you want to die?"
If he hadn't blocked that strike in time, the entire Moby Dick would have been torn apart, and who knew how many people would have been caught in the aftermath. Several of his sons might have died.
So Whitebeard was genuinely angry.
Because Shiki had touched his reverse scale.
But even as he was furious, he was also curious about Shiki's condition.
If he remembered correctly, Shiki had cut off both his own legs when he escaped from Impel Down more than ten years ago.
Yet now, Shiki stood before him completely intact. Even the ship's wheel on his head was gone. The man looked full of vitality.
What was going on?
Facing Whitebeard's anger, Golden Lion Shiki laughed loudly.
"Don't be so impatient, Newgate. I came to see you this time, and I brought two old friends with me."
Old friends?
Before Whitebeard could react, two more figures dove down from the floating island.
One rode a thundercloud, bringing with her a ferocious wave of Conqueror's Haki.
The other was a massive azure dragon, flying down with claws bared, its own wild Conqueror's Haki refusing to fall behind.
"Long time no see, Newgate!!!"
"Whitebeard, I'm here!!!"
Facing those two waves of Conqueror's Haki descending from the sky, Whitebeard refused to be outdone. He unleashed his own Haki again, smashing it against theirs.
In an instant, the sky split open once more.
Black-red lightning raged across the heavens.
At that moment, not only the Moby Dick, but even nearby ships were affected. One crew member after another collapsed, knocked unconscious by the collision of Conqueror's Haki.
"Linlin, Kaido, you've gone too far! Air Quake!!!"
Seeing his sons fall one after another, Whitebeard's anger surged beyond measure. Without hesitation, he activated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and struck at Kaido and Charlotte Linlin with an unprecedented blow.
A white halo exploded, as if even space itself was about to shatter. The violent atmosphere, carrying the force to destroy everything, swept toward Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
Kaido instantly shifted into his hybrid form and pulled out his kanabo.
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
Charlotte Linlin drew her weapon.
"Elbaf's Spear: Ikoku Sovereignty!!!"
Boom!!!
Three completely different powers collided. In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to lose their color, and the atmosphere wailed. Terrifying shockwaves blasted the nearby seawater into the air, forming waves dozens of meters high.
Whitebeard involuntarily took a step back, and his heart sank.
If this were his younger self, he truly wouldn't have cared about Kaido and Charlotte Linlin joining forces.
Back then, he had absolute confidence in himself.
But now was different.
He was old, covered in injuries and illness. If they really fought, he might not be able to handle Kaido and Charlotte Linlin—let alone with Golden Lion watching from the side like a tiger.
If the three joined forces, he might truly not escape today.
Even the Whitebeard Pirates might become history.
So Edward Newgate had no choice but to suppress the fury in his heart and coldly question them.
"Shiki, Linlin, and Kaido, you brat—what exactly are you trying to do?"
Marco's expression had become extremely ugly.
Golden Lion alone was already difficult enough to deal with. Now there were also two Four Emperors: Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
He didn't understand why these three had come together, but this was unquestionably the greatest crisis the Whitebeard Pirates had ever faced.
Golden Lion said calmly, "Relax, Newgate. We're not here to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates. We're here to recruit them. Someone wants to move against the World Government, and he hopes you'll join his camp."
Edward Whitebeard froze. "Don't tell me you've already joined?"
Golden Lion nodded. "That's right. We've all joined that lord's banner."
Marco's worldview practically exploded.
The legendary great pirate Golden Lion, along with the Four Emperors Kaido and Charlotte Linlin, had all joined someone's command?
Who the hell was this person?
How could he be that powerful?
Whitebeard was equally shocked, and a possibility suddenly occurred to him.
"Could it be… Rocks has returned?!"