Chapter 171: I’m Old Man’s Son Too!
“Is this over just like that?”
Farrug, with his arm in a plaster cast and bandages, watched the Whitebeard Pirates’ fleet slowly disappearing from view, his eyes full of doubt. “When did Whitebeard become so easygoing?”
Children in the New World all knew that Whitebeard was a man more terrifying than any demon. Anyone who provoked him never met a good end—not even fellow Pirate Emperors like BIG·MOM and Beasts dared to touch Whitebeard’s whiskers lightly.
He had thought he would witness an earth-shattering battle today!
But the great battle he anticipated never happened. His Highness Elus and Whitebeard only clashed once before both withdrew. Though that strike was immense in momentum, splitting the cloud sea and sinking the ocean waves, the storm it whipped up blew the large waterwheels near the sea inlet on the island flying inland.
The surrounding ships were all shaken with visible cracks.
“What else could it be? Whitebeard is already old, while Your Highness is in his prime. Fighting Your Highness now would be a losing proposition even if he won—not to mention if his stamina failed and he lost even half a move to Your Highness, revealing his weakness to the world… Even without the other Pirate Emperors making a move, Whitebeard would be worn down by endless challengers.”
It was Isca speaking.
This former Navy member who once firmly believed in justice underwent a complete transformation after being betrayed by the person she trusted most. In the past, her eyes had been fixed solely on fighting pirates and trying to save those who seemed worth saving—nothing else caught her extra attention.
All that ended at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Betrayed by the man she saw as a father who had saved and raised her, that somewhat naive girl matured. She began to look with her own eyes, observe, and constantly absorb knowledge. Now she was a reliable subordinate whom Elus greatly valued.
Though in terms of strength, Isca was still a bit lacking compared to his aides-de-camp.
However, of his four aides-de-camp, only Dillon and Eschbach could truly stand on their own. The other two were one a hothead and the other a slacker… Their strength was unquestionable, but their personalities and abilities always made Elus uneasy.
“……Whitebeard is old?”
“Yeah! That Whitebeard is old now. After all, the Pirate King has been dead for nearly twenty years—Whitebeard should be old too.” Isca also gazed toward Water Wheel Island, where the Whitebeard Pirates’ fleet was anchored. Fire Fist… was there too.
“I see! Whitebeard is old.”
Farrug’s expression was incredibly complex.
For someone his age, the Pirate King, Whitebeard, Golden Lion… these were unrivaled strong persons in their hearts. Beasts and BIG·MOM were no small fries back then—or rather, they never were small fries from the start.
However,
That era belonged to the Pirate King, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and the others.
Beasts and BIG·MOM truly joined Whitebeard and Red-Haired as Pirate Emperors only after the Pirate King’s death and Golden Lion’s escape during his prison break. In Farrug’s view, Whitebeard was still the one standing at the pinnacle of all pirates.
However,
Even such a figure couldn’t withstand the erosion of time.
“Then why didn’t Your Highness take the chance to strike? Defeating Whitebeard would make Your Highness’s name truly echo across the Four Seas…”
“What use would that be?”
The voice came from behind. Farrug, mid-sentence, shuddered and turned to see Elus strolling over casually. His face fell. “Your Highness, it was my mistake. I shouldn’t have spoken nonsense.”
“No matter. Such a small thing isn’t a fault—you weren’t badmouthing me behind my back.” Elus waved it off, showing he didn’t mind. Farrug breathed a sigh of relief, secretly glad he hadn’t said anything truly disrespectful.
“Continuing our earlier topic, you’re right, Farrug. If I wanted, I could have seized that moment to strike and might have even beaten Whitebeard. But what would that gain me? Greater fame, perhaps, but that’s worthless to me.”
“I’ve outgrown the phase where I need empty reputation to prove my existence. Extra titles are just baggage now. And if you don’t kill the snake, it strikes back—failing to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates entirely would mean painful trouble in the future.
Besides, that Fire Fist has remarkable talent. Given time, he’ll likely become another Pirate Emperor figure…
Moreover, this paradise protected by the Whitebeard Pirates—I don’t want to crudely destroy the peace here.”
Elus rubbed his chin.
Fighting Whitebeard now offered him little benefit but much trouble, so he had no intention of personally striking at this time. Whitebeard shouldn’t die by his hand yet—at least not for another two or three years…
“Your Highness.”
Isca suddenly stepped forward, thumped her chest solemnly, and said gravely, “Thank you for your kindness. The Whitebeard Pirates are pirates, but people like those on Water Wheel Island are innocent.”
“Miss Isca, you should know that residents of places like Water Wheel Island regularly pay protection fees to the Whitebeard Pirates.” Farrug looked at his Navy-born colleague, surprised by her attitude toward them. Was this that so-called loving the house for the tile’s sake?
“The people of Eckmond Kingdom also pay taxes.”
Isca retorted seriously.
“And civilians having to pay protection fees to pirates is ultimately because of the World Government and Navy’s incompetence. They can’t protect these people, yet they blame them for colluding with pirates… That’s the real shamelessness.”
Her heated words carried deep disappointment toward the World Government and Navy.
Farrug smacked his lips, looking at the resolute Isca. He thought for a moment and gave up rebutting, as he actually agreed with her view. He’d raised the counterpoint initially thinking it was Fire Fist-inspired bias making her favor the Whitebeard Pirates, but he’d been wrong—her favoritism wasn’t because of Fire Fist…
This woman is truly a good person!
Farrug realized this.
Elus also deeply felt how kind-hearted Isca truly was. After such cruel betrayal, she still loved this world… Even after leaving the Navy, she hadn’t turned to the opposite side of justice—instead, she’d found her own justice.
“The World Government and Navy are incompetent? I agree completely!”
Elus nodded with a smiling face in agreement.
————
Water Wheel Island, port.
On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard reclined in his massive custom chair with narrowed eyes. The exhaustion on his face was plain to see. Nurses carefully inserted huge needles into the veins of his arm, injecting medicine and nutrients directly into his body to ease his pain and replenish his spent energy.
He had clashed with Elus in a probing strike, then forced himself to chat idly with him for a while.
Only after Elus finally left and Eckmond Kingdom’s fleet vanished over the horizon did Whitebeard exhale deeply. The suppressed pain and fatigue surged over him like a high tide.
“Sachi, is the old man… okay?”
Ace watched the busy nurses anxiously.
He didn’t dare get too close, fearing he’d hinder them, nor disturb Marco, who was muttering to himself while staring at the heart monitor and other medical equipment beside the old man. So he turned to Sachi and the other captains, equally uneasy.
The deck had been cleared of idlers.
Aside from Whitebeard and the nurses, only some captains could stay here.
Ace, Marco, Jozu, Sachi, Bramank, Namiur… not all captains were present. Vista and a few others were patrolling the ships, calming the anxious crew members.
“It’s fine, it’ll definitely be fine. The old man is Whitebeard! Even demons tremble before him—he won’t go down from something this small…” Sachi forced an unconvincing smile, but his trembling voice betrayed him.
Jozu, Bramank, Namiur, Haruta, and the other captains wore stiff smiles.
Everyone prayed silently.
As sons, they prayed their father would keep disciplining these incompetent sons.
“Alright, all of you, get out of here. The old man is fine!”
The voice, like heavenly music, made everyone widen their eyes in surprise.
“Marco, is the old man really okay now?”
Ace rushed ahead, past Jozu and Sachi, grabbing Marco’s hand.
That lightning-fast speed stunned Jozu and Sachi. Ace had gotten stronger again!
“I’d never joke about the old man, Ace. You’re a captain now—what’s with panicking like this?” Marco completely forgot his earlier muttering and unapproachable aura that had unnerved everyone. Instead, he put on a stern face and scolded Ace.
“As long as the old man is fine, that’s good. That’s good.”
Marco’s lecture went in one ear and out the other for Ace, who didn’t take it seriously. A brilliant smile lit his face. He glanced up at the old man dozing in his chair and lowered his voice. “If anything happened to the old man, I was ready to take out that bastard Elus.”
In his agitation, the worry he’d mulled over escaped his lips.
“Me too.”
“Whoever dares hurt the old man, I swear I’ll tear him to pieces.”
“Ace, you bastard—that was my line!”
The captains crowded around, echoing Ace’s words. Marco’s eye twitched as he barely resisted joining in, though he’d indeed planned to war with the Black Prince if anything happened to the old man…
But now the old man was fine.
No need to stir up extra conflict.
“Enough, all of you shut up. The Black Prince has left—what we need to worry about next isn’t him. The old man came through this time, but for a while, avoid fighting if possible. So… you all know what to do if anyone causes trouble during this period, right?” Marco eyed the group.
“Take out anyone who comes.”
“Kill them all.”
“Feed them to the fish in the sea.”
The captains’ responses varied, but the intent was unified. They didn’t linger long on the Moby Dick’s deck. Though Vista was soothing the crews on other ships, captains gathering on the Moby Dick outside a banquet would still spark massive unease.
The sight of Whitebeard getting his daily IV drip couldn’t be hidden from the crew’s eyes.
Even if unspoken, they’d worry about Whitebeard’s condition.
However,
Marco kept Ace behind.
“Ace.”
“What is it?”
Ace looked at Marco blankly, unsure why he was singled out.
“……The old man thinks highly of you.” Marco stared at Ace silently for a few seconds before speaking slowly. “He believes you’ll one day be as strong as him. Don’t let losing to him a hundred times fool you—he’s always said you’ll achieve as much as he has.”
Ace froze in place.
Watching stunned Ace, Marco hesitated, then glanced sideways at the peacefully sleeping Whitebeard… Even tigers nap. Even Whitebeard, more terrifying than demons, didn’t keep his eyes wide open twenty-four hours—he needed sleep and rest too.
Of course, that didn’t mean anyone could sneak attack him now.
Before being subdued by Whitebeard, Ace had once attacked while he slept—only to be sent flying into the sea by the sleeping Whitebeard. If not for night watch pulling him out, he might not have survived.
Tangent aside, Marco withdrew his gaze and opened his usually half-lidded eyes wide. “Ace, the old man is getting on in years. Someone needs to share his burden. It should have been my duty, but… I can’t anymore. I just… can’t.”
“But you can, Ace. You can get stronger—strong enough to face the Black Prince in the old man’s place. I know it’s sly, dumping my responsibility on you…”
“Leave it to me!”
Ace replied with a smile, his warm, sunrise-like grin dazzlingly bright.
“……Sorry, Ace.” Marco’s smile was bitterly wry.
“What are you saying? I’m the old man’s son too—this is my duty!” Ace punched Marco’s shoulder lightly, yet it made Marco bow his head—the head he only lowered willingly before the old man.
“Sorry. And thank you.”
Marco kept his head down, hiding his expression.
“Marco, just wait! Black Prince, Beasts—whoever it is, sooner or later I’ll make them afraid to draw a blade before the old man.”
Ace waved his fist toward the sea, making his vow.
