Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

Shen Jue remained standing in the same spot, without moving an inch.

The Cloud-Cutting Sword stopped three inches above his head, blocked by a finger.

Shen Jue raised his right hand, his index finger gently touching the blade. The power that was enough to shatter a giant island flowed through his fingertip and disappeared into the surrounding air!

The blade hummed violently, and the white-bearded man's arms bulged with veins, but he did not advance an inch further.

"Your body has indeed reached its limit," Shen Jue said softly.

The white-bearded man's pupils constricted sharply, then he burst into laughter: "Enough with the nonsense!"

He drew his sword and spun around, his body flipping at a speed completely disproportionate to his massive frame, unleashing a sweeping attack with Murakumogiri.

The air cracks spread like lightning, and the outer edge of the entire island began to crumble.

Whitebeard had put all his strength into this attack, and his black and red Conqueror's Haki poured out like a tsunami, pressing down on Shen Jue.

Shen Jue felt that domineering aura.

That was the aura of a king that had made countless pirates bow down and made the sea tremble.

But now, it's like a final roar squeezed out of a body riddled with holes—powerful, yet carrying an undeniable air of decay.

"What a pity. The theory of lifespan is truly pathetic for the strong." Shen Jue sighed softly, his body slightly to the side. The Murakumogiri swept past him, the wind pressure it generated carving a trench several kilometers long into the sea behind him.

Out of respect for a man like Whitebeard, Shen Jue delivered a punch with carefully controlled force.

Whitebeard's eyes and Observation Haki both detected this punch.

But he couldn't escape it.

There's really no escaping it.

The sound of the fist landing on the white-bearded man's chest was not loud.

But Whitebeard was struck as if by a star falling from the sky, flying backward, crashing through half the island, and carving a wall of water tens of meters wide in the sea.

Before the captains could even exclaim in surprise, Shen Jue appeared behind the white-bearded man, placing one hand on his shoulder and bringing him to a steady stop.

The white-bearded man coughed up blood, but laughed even louder.

"Gurara la la!"

"That felt great! So satisfying!"

He turned around, his eyes filled with relief as he looked at Shen Jue: "You didn't use your full strength."

"Yes, but you're getting old too," Shen Jue said.

Whitebeard was taken aback, then laughed until tears almost streamed down his face.

He looked down at his hands, the hands that had once gripped the Murakumokiri, shaken the sea, and protected countless sons.

But now, it is trembling.

"I'm dying." The white-bearded man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"The wounds you suffer when you're young become your death knell when you're old."

"Given that my lifespan is nearing its end, I'm only barely prolonging it now."

"I wasn't ready to die until I saw you lead your men to attack Mary Geoise."

He slowly stood up, looked around at the anxious captains who were constantly approaching, and then looked at Shen Jue.

"Shen Jue, kid, I'm not going to be your navy officer." Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri to the ground, and the entire island trembled.

"But I can help you."

"The Whitebeard Pirates, from this day forward!"

"Disband!"

Upon hearing this, the entire island fell into a deathly silence.

The captains' eyes widened, and some opened their mouths as if to say something, but Marco raised his hand to stop them.

He understood the look in his father's eyes.

"The territory will be taken over by the new navy," the white-bearded man continued, his voice booming like thunder.

No one spoke or argued with him.

As the sons of the white-bearded man, they could only respond to their father's capricious decision with silence.

"But," the white-bearded man suddenly laughed.

"My sons can't go hungry, so from this day forward, the Whitebeard Mercenary Guild is established!"

He turned around and faced the stunned captains: "Gurarararar!"

"Kids! How about that, were you scared?"

Marco was the first to laugh: "What? It's still the same as always."

Diamond Joz banged his fist: "Dad!"

Vista held his twin swords to his chest: "Should we stop being pirates? That's not impossible."

Each team leader smiled, as if the tension from just moments ago had never existed.

The white-bearded man turned to look at Shen Jue and stretched out his hand with the IV tube inserted.

"As you wish, our pirate crew has disbanded."

Shen Jue grasped his hand, her voice calm: "Okay."

"As long as your members do not violate the laws of the new navy, this free sea belongs to all of us."

The white-bearded man laughed loudly, his laughter piercing through the clouds and echoing across the entire ocean.

Before his laughter had even subsided, Shen Jue had already put one hand on his arm, and with a quick step on the cracked sea, the two of them crossed the boiling water and landed steadily back in the heart of the island.

"Let the feast begin!" The white-bearded man waved his hand, his voice weaker than before, but it still made the torches sway.

The entire island seemed to be on fire.

The Whitebeard Mercenary Guild members carried barrels of liquor out of the ship's hold and built a bonfire in the open space. Several captains, their eyes red with laughter, shouted, "What are you standing there for? Daddy said to start the feast! Even if the sky falls, we'll drink first!"

The white-bearded man sat on the largest wooden chair, his chest wrapped in bandages, yet he continued to drink bowl after bowl of wine.

Shen Jue sat to his left, with a bowl in front of him that he hadn't touched.

His gaze passed over the noisy crowd and landed at the end of the long table.

Blackbeard Teach was engrossed in gnawing on a piece of meat with bone, his mouth glistening with oil, laughing carefree as if everything around him was just a snack to accompany his drinks.

He seemed to sense something and looked up in Shen Jue's direction. Their eyes met through the firelight.

Shen Jue remained expressionless, only glancing at him once more.

Just one glance.

Titch's mouth froze for less than a second before he grinned again, raised the meat in his hand, and waved it at Shen Jue, as if offering a toast, or perhaps just displaying the foolishness of a drunkard.

Shen Jue withdrew his gaze without saying a word.

Now is not the time; he doesn't want to spoil the atmosphere of the banquet.

"Brother Shen Jue!"

A hot body bumped into his leg, reeking of alcohol.

Ace suddenly appeared out of nowhere, knelt on the ground, wrapped his arms tightly around Shen Jue's thighs, looked up, and his eyes were terribly red.

"I...I'll tell you!" Ace burped, his tongue slurring.

"My dream will never end!"

"Brother Shen Jue too!"

"Your dream will definitely come true!"

"Our two silly brothers! They too will become free!"

"But the younger brother is a pirate, and the older brother is a Marine... How cliché!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, his voice almost shouting towards the end. Several captains tried to pull him away, but Marco waved them off with a smile: "Let him talk, this kid has been holding it in for too long."

Ace buried his face in Shen Jue's legs and said in a muffled voice, "I used to think I shouldn't be alive. But after I got on Dad's ship, and had Dad and brothers, I realized that I could have a family too."

He looked up, tears mixed with alcohol streaming down his face, making him look dirty: "So Brother Shen Jue's dream must also come true!"

"Attack Mary Geoise and drag those Celestial Dragons down from the Red Line!"

"May Brother Shen Jue's gentleness and justice permeate this vast sea!"

"People will eventually find happiness!"

Shen Jue looked down at Ace, the firelight flickering on his cheek. After a long while, he raised his hand and placed it on Ace's head.

"Okay," Shen Jue said.

"My silly little brother."

"People's dreams will definitely come true."

Ace burst into tears and hugged her even tighter.

Marco sighed, stepped forward, grabbed Ace by the back of his collar, and dragged him away: "Alright, don't wipe your snot on the guests' pants."

"I didn't freeload!" Ace struggled. "I can still drink! Brother Shen Jue, let's have a drink!"

Shen Jue watched as Marco dragged him away, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

The white-bearded man chuckled beside him: "This kid, he likes to talk nonsense when he's drunk."

"It's not nonsense," Shen Jue said.

The white-bearded man's laughter paused, then grew louder: "Fine, fine! I believe you too."

The campfire crackled, and the sea breeze blew in from afar, carrying the salty taste and the scent of freedom.

Shen Jue looked back at the end of the long table, but Teach was no longer there.

"Next, it's time for the final battle," Shen Jue said to himself in a low voice.