Chapter 51: Conversation With Whitebeard
“Brat, why haven’t you scrammed yet? What are you still doing here?”
“I want to ask you something.”
“You damn brat, do you think my Moby Dick is one of those intel dens? Go snoop for intelligence from those sleazy lowlifes.” Whitebeard lifted the wine urn and gulped down a lot more, leaving Marco, Sachi, and the other captains watching helplessly beside him.
If His Highness Elus weren’t here as an outsider, they would have spoken up long ago to stop Whitebeard from drinking like this.
In recent years, Whitebeard’s physical condition had deteriorated badly, getting worse day by day. Under Marco’s diagnosis, he had been advised to drink less; ideally, he should quit altogether. But as one of the earliest sons to follow the old man, Marco knew best that tasting fine wines from around the world was the old man’s greatest hobby.
Making the old man quit drinking······
That’s an impossible mission.
So,
they had to settle for the next best thing with an order to drink as little as possible. Even that couldn’t stop the old man from finding excuses to drink every few days, like right now with the Giant Race fine wine brought by His Highness Elus—so big an urn that normally it would last at least three days.
Now,
it was almost empty.
It was truly a headache! Marco silently let out a breath, feeling utterly frustrated, and subconsciously glared at His Highness Elus with unfriendly eyes. It was all this brat’s fault!
His Highness Elus noticed Marco’s hostile gaze and felt puzzled. He shouldn’t have provoked this guy, right? But puzzled or not, he kept his focus on the conversation. After all, he hadn’t sensed any killing intent from Marco—just pure annoyance.
He maintained his upward gaze and said:
“I want to know Sea Knight Jinbe’s whereabouts.”
“Jinbe?”
Whitebeard’s drinking slowed.
He set down the wine urn and stared at His Highness Elus. “Brat, what do you want with Jinbe?”
“I want to discuss something with him.”
His Highness Elus said with a smile.
“······Fish-Man Island is my territory, brat. Don’t you dare mess around.”
“Haha! Whitebeard old man, rest assured—as long as you’re alive one more day, I won’t lay a finger on Fish-Man Island. I’m planning to wait until you kick the bucket, then take over Fish-Man Island.” His Highness Elus said it without mincing words, using rather unpleasant phrasing.
Marco, Jozu, Sachi, and the other captains’ faces all changed.
Boiling killing intent was as clear and piercing as needles on skin.
“Gurarara!!! You sure have guts, you damn brat!” Far from offended by His Highness Elus’s impudent words, Whitebeard laughed heartily instead. “Marco, you overthink too much. Learn from this damn brat—birth, old age, sickness, death; these are the most normal things! Captain Rocks will die, Roger will die, and of course I’ll die too. So don’t deliberately avoid it.”
“Old man!”
Marco’s face was stern, teeth grinding as he replied lowly, “I understand.”
He then glared fiercely at His Highness Elus again.
But this time, the killing intent was reined back in.
“Since it’s not trouble for Fish-Man Island, then it’s trouble for Jinbe? Brat, tell me clearly—what do you want with Jinbe?” As one of the Seven Warlords, Jinbe was seen by many pirates as a lackey of the World Government.
But Whitebeard exceptionally admired this man who stood up to protect Fish-Man Island.
So,
he needed to clarify what His Highness Elus wanted with Jinbe. If it was to pick a fight, he’d give His Highness Elus a slash right now.
“I’m looking for Jinbe just to owe him a favor. I think he won’t refuse that. Whitebeard old man, no need to be so wary of me. We’ve dealt with each other plenty, right? You can see what kind of person I am.”
“Hmph, brat, anyone can spout pretty words. I’ve seen too many bastards who talk nice but act without scruples—especially little bastards like you with good looks; seven or eight out of ten are rotten to the core. Even I, a pirate, feel ashamed in comparison!”
As he spoke, Whitebeard reached out and gripped the hilt of the Supreme Grade Great Sword named Moyagarare.
His cold gaze sized up His Highness Elus from top to bottom.
As if considering whether to give this little bastard—who seemed skilled at deceiving with his good looks—a slash.
“Then I’m one of those two or three out of ten.”
His Highness Elus remained completely composed, as if not seeing Whitebeard’s move to grip his sword. “Also, Whitebeard old man, if you’re still worried, I can meet Jinbe right here, on the deck of the Moby Dick. That way, no need to worry about me causing him trouble, right?”
As the Fifth Overlord of the New World, repeatedly lowering his demands like this showed full sincerity.
Next,
it was time for Whitebeard to show his sincerity. He couldn’t keep constraining His Highness Elus one-sidedly. After all, from the moment he drank the Giant Race fine wine brought by His Highness Elus, the protection relationship between the Whitebeard Pirates and Eckmond Kingdom had ended.
Now,
it was an equal dialogue between New World emperors and overlords.
“Marco, contact Jinbe. Tell him everything here word for word, and let him decide what to do.”
Whitebeard turned his head and gave the order.
Then,
Marco entered the cabin and went to the communication room, where the Den Den Mushi was usually kept instead of carried around. It was only taken when leaving the Moby Dick for easy contact.
Once Marco’s figure vanished at the cabin door, Whitebeard released his grip on Moyagarare’s hilt. He raised the nearly empty wine urn again, sending the last of the alcohol into his belly. He so masterfully controlled the quake power that could destroy the world, shaking out every last drop from the urn, leaving it utterly empty.
Seeing not even a drop left in the wine urn, Whitebeard smacked his lips and narrowed his eyes, savoring the taste of the Giant Race fine wine.
As for the empty wine urn,
it was tossed back onto the deck, landing right beside His Highness Elus.
“Brat, what do you plan to do to this world?”
Suddenly,
in this waiting time, Whitebeard broke the silence with a somewhat vague question.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
His Highness Elus answered quickly. He spread his hands, showing a somewhat helpless smile. “You might not believe it, but before clashing with BIG·MOM, I never imagined I’d reach this height. At first, I planned to run if I couldn’t win. Before fighting BIG·MOM, I’d already dismissed my subordinates ahead of time. Unexpectedly, the result······”
The result was already well-known to all.
New World,
beyond the Four Emperors, another overlord emerged.
But since His Highness Elus wasn’t a pirate, it didn’t turn the Four Emperors into Five. Morgans used “Fifth Overlord of the New World” in the newspaper to refer to His Highness Elus having strength and influence comparable to the Four Emperors.
Yes,
if only individual martial power counted, with Hawk Eyes around, it wouldn’t be His Highness Elus’s turn to be the Fifth Overlord of the New World.
The criterion for New World overlords wasn’t just individual martial power; it included the forces under them. The lone wanderer Hawk Eyes couldn’t be counted, even if he’d repeatedly tied with one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired, in sword bouts. He only bore the title of world’s greatest swordsman, not a New World overlord.
In comparison, His Highness Elus as prince of Eckmond Kingdom naturally had a sizable foundation. Plus, he was actively taking over the legacy of King of Maritime Transport Umit, so it was foreseeable that a massive force centered on the Black Prince would soon emerge in the New World.
Thus, Morgans hyped His Highness Elus as the Fifth Overlord of the New World in the newspaper.
However,
this somewhat excessively young overlord indeed hadn’t set a more long-term goal yet, like BIG·MOM’s obsession with the Pirate King’s crown or the dream of building a country where all races, people, and food could live equally.
The former showed no hope, the latter was still in progress.
The other Pirate Emperors each had their own ideals and pursuits.
Whitebeard had no interest in the Pirate King’s glory. His greatest dream was to have a “family,” and he’d achieved it by establishing the Whitebeard Pirates, gaining in his mind a perfectly flawless family.
Beasts’ greatest interest was suicide, wanting to start “the world’s ultimate war”······a crazier emperor than even BIG·MOM.
As for Red-Haired,
this young Pirate Emperor’s thoughts were too deep, making it hard to grasp what he wanted.
His Highness Elus was still pondering. He hadn’t figured out what his future would be—or more precisely, he hadn’t discovered what kind of future he wanted.
Like Roger or Whitebeard, creating a legendary, stormy life?
Or like Dragon who founded the Revolutionary Army, unyieldingly fighting to overthrow the Holy Land and Celestial Dragons’ rule?
Or,
some other future?
“Haven’t decided? Then take your time thinking! Life seems long but is surprisingly short, brat. Don’t waste this hard-won life. Of course, don’t become a cowardly fool either. People have to die eventually, gurarara!”
Whitebeard laughed heartily again as he spoke.
He only said this because he took a liking to His Highness Elus.
Otherwise, the Whitebeard more terrifying than demons wasn’t some kind soul. He was a pirate, infamous and with countless kills. Not counting other pirates he’d taken down, he’d sunk over five hundred Navy warships alone, with who-knows-how-many Navy deaths—he couldn’t even count.
“Hard-won life, huh? Indeed! Can’t waste this hard-won life!”
Muttering it twice, His Highness Elus nodded in full agreement. He pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, dialed the dial, and contacted Fran on the warship trailing the Moby Dick. “Fran, send up more alcohol.”
He held the Den Den Mushi, issuing the order.
For Whitebeard’s words, they had to drink a couple more cups properly.
The Whitebeard Pirates captains’ faces turned green upon hearing this. More drinking? When Marco got back, wouldn’t he explode? As the second-in-command and ship doctor, he worried most about Whitebeard old man’s health.
Before the exchanging captains could figure out how to stop the old man from more heavy drinking without exposing the drinking restriction,
in the sky,
Fran flapped her wings carrying two large wine urns, carefully descending. She warily eyed the terrifyingly aura-emitting Whitebeard and the group of fierce-eyed captains with what she thought was a covert gaze, delivering the two large wine urns to His Highness Elus’s side.
“Your Highness, the alcohol you wanted is here.”
Fran retracted her wings and quickly shrank to His Highness Elus’s side, looking as if facing a great enemy under immense pressure!
Unlike His Highness Elus, who was confident.
The maid miss had grown up hearing tales of the Whitebeard more terrifying than ghosts. Now standing before Whitebeard and the Whitebeard Pirates captains, pretending not to be nervous would be a lie. Well, the jittery maid miss looked pretty cute too!
“Fran, relax. Whitebeard old man is more terrifying than demons, but he generally won’t kill idiots like you.”
His Highness Elus comforted his maid.
“Is that so?”
Overly nervous Fran first sighed in relief, then quickly caught the teasing in His Highness Elus’s words. She bit her lip in anger and huffed, “Your Highness, the one calling others idiots is the real idiot.”
“Is that so?”
His Highness Elus looked at Fran, who was too busy being mad to stay nervous, holding back laughter with all his might.
Without further teasing his maid, His Highness Elus pushed a large wine urn toward Whitebeard. “Whitebeard old man, let’s have another cup together! This is alcohol from East Blue. Though not as fierce as Giant Race fine wine, it has its own tranquil, distant flavor!”
“East Blue alcohol?”
Whitebeard’s throat bobbed. He slowly shook his head.
“The alcohol stops here today!”
Rejection.
“Let’s toast······Huh? Stops here?” His Highness Elus froze in shock. Just as BIG·MOM was insanely obsessed with sweets, Whitebeard was a thorough old drunk! He never imagined Whitebeard would refuse more drinking······
“Your Highness Elus, too much alcohol harms the body. Don’t ruin yours recklessly just because you’re young, or it’ll be too late for regrets later.”
Gloomy-faced Marco returned to the deck.
Emerging from the cabin, he saw His Highness Elus urging Whitebeard to drink and instantly turned livid.
“Marco, what’s Jinbe’s reply?”
Whitebeard asked.
Halting the conversation between His Highness Elus and Marco before it could start.
“Three days. In three days, Jinbe can arrive in Silver Iris Sea Area.” Marco relayed Jinbe’s answer.
“Three days?”
His Highness Elus’s hand rested on the wine urn beside him. “Then we’ll wait three days.”
