White seabirds soared through the clear blue sky, letting out sharp cries as they passed overhead. Two pirate ships—one large, one small—lay quietly on the sea, as if listening to the ocean's stillness.
"...The Poneglyphs?"
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow after hearing Roger's words. Casually tilting back his head, he took a swig of strong sake and spoke in his deep voice.
"That stuff's just a bunch of stones nobody can read. What's it got to do with the end of the sea?"
Roger, already flushed with drink, swayed slightly as he shook his head, the red in his face deepening.
"No. After that war back then, I used the Eternal Pose we found on the battlefield in God Valley... and it led me to Lodestar Island."
"But when we got there, the island was empty. The pointer went haywire and stopped working entirely. Rayleigh and I both believe there's another island beyond Lodestar Island. Only by reaching it can the voyage truly be considered complete."
"All these years, I've been searching across the sea. And finally—I found a clue to the final island. It's in the Poneglyphs."
Roger lowered his voice, a faint smile curling his lips.
"The Poneglyphs record the secrets and truths of history. After some investigation, I discovered that four ancient red stones—the Road Poneglyphs—mark the way to the final island."
"I call them 'Road Poneglyphs'—because only by gathering all four can you find the legendary island at the end of the Grand Line."
"And there…"
Roger's eyes gleamed with boundless longing.
"—is where 'ONE PIECE' lies!!"
But Whitebeard, seeing Roger so fired up, just shrugged with disinterest.
"So what?"
Roger's eyes widened.
"What do you mean, 'so what'!? Aren't you even curious about what's at the end of the sea!?"
"That's the final island! Isn't that the reason we set sail? To uncover the world's secrets?! That's what true freedom and dreams are about!"
Whitebeard rolled his neck and took another swig.
"Roger, I've got no interest in some so-called great treasure."
"If you want to find it, go find it yourself."
His sharp, intense gaze drifted toward the deck, where Marco and the others occasionally peeked over in curiosity. Beneath the haze of drunkenness, a gentle smile quietly surfaced in his eyes.
"I've already found my ONE PIECE."
A soft breeze swept across the deck as Whitebeard's long golden hair danced in the sunlight.
Roger stared silently at the satisfied smile on Whitebeard's face, suddenly at a loss for words.
"I see…"
After a moment, he exhaled a long breath of sake, chuckled, and shook his head.
"I really envy you... getting to live your dream so soon."
Whitebeard smiled faintly and looked away. A strange red glint flickered deep in his eyes.
"You should go, Roger."
Roger nodded.
Through his Observation Haki, he could already sense two Marine ships entering the nearby waters. Powerful, ominous presences pulsed faintly from within.
Garp and Sengoku... had finally caught up with the main force.
So Roger raised his sake bowl and flashed a radiant grin.
"Well then, next time we meet—let's have a proper fight!"
Whitebeard laughed and picked up the sake jar.
"No problem."
The two men exchanged smiles.
Clink!
Their bowls and jars met high in the air, colliding with a crisp ring. In that moment, under the sunlight, the clash carried the flavor of freedom and dreams.
And then they downed it all.
...
Boom—!!
A low rumble of cannon fire echoed from the distant sea. Black cannonballs rained down around the two pirate ships, sending towering plumes of water into the air.
"Enemy attack!!"
"Oyaji!! It's the Marines!!"
"Captain Roger!! The Marines are here!!"
...
The sea churned violently as both pirate ships rocked under the assault. Cries of alarm rang out from the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates alike.
"Wahahaha! Newgate… until next time!"
Roger burst into laughter as he stood up.
Whitebeard also rose from the deck, watching Roger's retreating back as he stepped onto the gangplank.
"Don't let Garp catch you," he chuckled.
Roger looked back with a scoff.
"Like that's gonna happen! I'm plenty strong."
He flexed an arm, showing off his biceps.
"Oh?" Whitebeard raised an amused eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"But I heard some brat from the Marines gave you a real beating... even ripped your pants off?"
As the words left his mouth, Roger stumbled and faceplanted on the deck of his ship.
"Newgate, you bastard!! That never happened!!"
He jumped up, face flushed green with rage.
Whitebeard chuckled and gave a side glance to the plastic button on Roger's belt.
"Looks pretty real to me."
"Damn you!! I'm not letting this go!!" Roger howled, reaching for his sword—only to be tackled by his own crew.
"Captain Roger, we have to run!!"
"If we don't leave now, the Marines will surround us!!"
...
As Roger flushed crimson and struggled wildly, the Roger Pirates were sweating buckets trying to hold him back.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cannon fire grew heavier, shells bursting across the sea in towering sprays of water.
Marco had already transformed into his phoenix form, soaring through the sky as he shot down cannonballs one after another.
In the distance, Garp's voice boomed like thunder across the waves.
"Roger! Don't you run! This time, it won't just be your pants you lose! Bwahahaha!"
Roger's face instantly darkened like scorched iron.
"Gurararara… let's go, Roger."
Whitebeard chuckled and shook his head.
"I'll send you off."
As soon as he spoke, Rayleigh gave the order without hesitation to retract the gangplank.
Whitebeard turned around. His deep eyes locked onto the two Marine warships surging toward them across the sea. His long golden hair danced wildly in the sea breeze.
On the deck of the approaching ships, the figures of Garp and Sengoku at the prow became steadily clearer.
"It's not time to fight you yet, Garp, Sengoku..."
Whitebeard muttered with a faint smile and took a deep breath.
His fists clenched tightly, the muscles on his arms bulging like stone, crossing firmly in front of his chest.
"Oyaji... don't tell me..."
Marco's pupils contracted, and his face fell.
The other crew members quickly grabbed onto whatever they could on the Moby Dick, holding on for dear life.
"Gurararara!! Marines, here's a little parting gift for you!!"
Whitebeard roared, his eyes flaring with explosive intensity.
A milky-white aura wrapped around both his fists as he hurled them forward with full force!
Boom!!
His fists slammed into the air itself. Crackling sounds erupted, and visible fractures spread out across the void like shattered glass.
For a moment, the world fell into a deathly silence.
Then—
In the stunned eyes of Garp, Sengoku, and the assembled Marine elites, the sea suddenly exploded into chaos!
A deep, rumbling roar surged from the depths of the ocean, growing louder and louder until it became deafening.
Boiling waves surged upward layer upon layer, transforming into a towering tsunami hundreds—no, thousands—of meters high, blotting out the sky.
Amid the crashing fury, the Oro Jackson was tossed into the air like a toy flung by a giant, vanishing into the distance with shrill, pig-like screams echoing behind it.
The tsunami thundered skyward, its roar threatening to tear the world apart.
...
Three full minutes later.
The mountainous waves finally began to settle.
Across the churning sea, fragments of ships and broken debris floated everywhere.
On the two battered Marine warships—mastless and wrecked—survivors gasped for breath, their faces drained of color.
"Damn it!! They got away again!!"
Soaked to the bone, Garp cursed at the empty ocean before him.
The Oro Jackson and the Moby Dick had completely vanished—clearly taking advantage of the tsunami's cover to make their escape.
"With a tsunami like that... even if the Moby Dick wasn't hit head-on, they must've taken heavy damage."
Sengoku panted heavily, his brows furrowed as he muttered,
"Who knows where the current swept them off to…"
His breath was unsteady—clearly a lingering effect of clashing with the overwhelming force of the tsunami.
"So this is the power of the world's strongest man... terrifying, isn't it?"
A calm, unhurried voice rang out as dazzling golden light descended from above.
Countless photons gathered beside Sengoku, forming a human figure. Borsalino appeared without so much as a wrinkle in his coat, lazily stroking his stubbled chin with a grin.
Sengoku glanced at Borsalino—bone-dry and utterly untouched—and twitched at the corner of his mouth.
...
Meanwhile—
On the Grand Line.
A ruined town smoldered in silence.
Bodies lay strewn across the ground, while the shattered remains of buildings burned with thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.
A bloodied military boot crushed a fallen pirate flag underfoot. A towering blond youth in a black military uniform held a pirate up by the neck, hoisting him into the air with one hand. His eyes burned with defiance and disdain.
"This guy's worth 80 million Belly?"
He sneered, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
"Pathetic."
Crack!
With a twist of his thick fingers, the pirate's neck snapped cleanly, sending the head soaring into the air.
Scalding blood spurted like a fountain from the corpse, painting a cruel streak across the crimson sky.
The blood splashed across the blond youth's face, amplifying the savagery in his twisted grin.
He let go, letting the body crash lifelessly to the ground.
Then, as if sensing something, he turned and squinted toward the sea.
A warship brimming with bloodlust cut through the waves in the distance.
"Marines?"
Douglas Bullet Bullet licked his cracked lips and grinned darkly.
"Perfect timing... I'm just getting warmed up."
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake