One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"How heartless, Newgate. We were comrades-in-arms."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere below, which had been cracking continuously, finally reached its limit.

With a crisp cracking sound, a massive shockwave, like that of a volcanic eruption, burst forth from the shattered atmosphere, piercing through hundreds of meters of sky and crushing the void. Like a celestial sword, it pierced through the falling island inch by inch before the pirates' astonished eyes.

The thick layers of rock and soil were ruthlessly broken apart and torn apart.

Hundreds of meters of rocky land cracked and split, and amidst a series of dense explosions, the massive island that had fallen from tens of thousands of meters in the sky was blasted in two by Whitebeard's punch from a distance, turning into two huge pieces of the island that tilted and fell towards the sea on either side of the Moby Dick.

Amid a series of deafening roars, millions of tons of seawater exploded, creating towering waves hundreds of meters high that tossed the Moby Dick high into the air beneath everyone's feet.

Amidst the violent turbulence, Whitebeard and Golden Lion locked eyes across the spraying seawater.

Suddenly!

Beneath Whitebeard's feet, the deck shattered with a deafening roar, and his massive body rose into the air. He gripped a huge pheasant sword in his right hand, raised it high, and slashed at the golden lion that was also charging towards him.

The Golden Lion raised his right leg high, his sword blade swirling with domineering aura and boundless sharpness, colliding with the massive pheasant sword that Whitebeard was slashing down at him.

Clang!

Amidst a deafening explosion that shook the heavens, violent energy surged and rippled in all directions, causing the massive Moby Dick to be blown backward continuously. Terrifying high-level Armament Haki was unleashed wildly, turning the surrounding atmosphere into a mushy mess.

The pirates on the deck were shaken so badly they staggered and couldn't stand up.

“Dad!” Marco shouted.

"Look at the sky!" Sachi exclaimed.

Everyone looked up and saw that the sky above the two people colliding in the air was split in two by thick dark clouds, as if the entire sky had been cut in half by their collision.

"The sky has cracked open!"

Whoosh!Whoosh!

Two figures descended from the sky, landing steadily on the bow of the drifting Moby Dick, standing facing each other.

Whitebeard and Golden Lion stared at each other, a tense and oppressive atmosphere filling the air, causing everyone on the ship to tense up.

Just as Marco and the others were about to gang up on Shiki, Whitebeard slammed his pheasant sword heavily onto the deck beneath his feet with a loud thud, grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and laughed heartily.

"Gulalalala, gulalalala!"

The golden lion opposite him, who was almost half his height, was also grinning broadly.

"Hehehehe, hehehehe!"

Loud and maniacal laughter rose and fell, leaving Marco and the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

This scene seems familiar.

"Phew, they're not fighting anymore?" Marco wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"If I could, I'd rather face Kaido than confront a madman like Shiki." Jozu looked at the dozen or so tiny black dots that were barely perceptible in the sky.

Those were islands suspended tens of thousands of meters in the air.

“Anyway, let’s have a banquet. I think they need some drinks now.” Vista sheathed his longsword at his waist.

Teach scratched his head and suddenly said, "Oh right, Sachi and Ace..."

"Damn it! I almost forgot about the two of them! Quick, check where they are!" Marco's expression changed drastically, and he rushed to the ship's side.

A dozen minutes later.

Whitebeard and Golden Lion sat facing each other, with some food and drinks laid out on the deck in front of them.

Not far away, Sachi and Ace, whose bellies were filled with seawater, were pulled out of the water, and several slender female nurses were treating the two unconscious men.

"It's been seventeen years since you escaped from Impel Down, hasn't it? Why are you suddenly thinking of coming to the sea? I thought you were dead, Shiki."

Whitebeard picked up a large bowl of wine, drank most of it in one gulp, and looked at the Golden Lion sitting cross-legged opposite him, his gaze falling on the two famous swords that served as his legs.

It must have been tough on the Golden Lion; even sitting cross-legged was so difficult after losing both legs.

Golden Lion took out the cigar he was holding, flicked it with his finger, and sparks flew. The burning cigar turned into dust and scattered in the wind. He grabbed the wine jar in front of him, tilted his head back, and poured it into his mouth.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.

His throat bobbed as the hot alcohol poured into the Golden Lion's belly, yet a rare look of melancholy appeared in his eyes.

Rose is dead.

He put down the wine jar and uttered four words.

"Rose..." Whitebeard's hand holding the food froze in mid-air. An image of a three-eyed girl with tattered clothes, an explosive collar around her neck, and a beautiful face involuntarily appeared in his mind.

That happened many years ago.

So much time has passed that the image of the owner of the name the golden lion spoke of has become very blurry in my mind.

He frowned, put down the food, and looked at the golden lion.

When did this happen?

“A little over ten days ago, her life paper burned out.” Golden Lion picked up another jar of wine.

Whitebeard was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "How did she die?"

Bang!

Golden Lion, who was tilting his head back to gulp down wine, paused, and the wine jar in his hand suddenly shattered, attracting the attention of pirates not far away.

The golden lion clenched its fist and slammed it onto the deck beneath it.

"The Navy, the Navy killed her, and the leader was Zephyr."

“Zeff?” Whitebeard was taken aback and sighed, “An old rival. It’s not unjust that Rose died at his hands.”

Then, he looked at the Golden Lion and asked, "So you came down here to avenge her?"

"No, I'm not that dramatic."

Golden Lion shook his head, took out a cigar from his pocket, lit it again, and a cruel smile appeared on his face.

Rose's death was just a reminder that if we don't do something, our era will be completely over.

"Our era has long since passed, and that was inevitable. A new era is rolling in, and the future is destined to belong to the young." Whitebeard looked at Marco, Ace, and the others, his eyes filled with affection.

"Have you given up, Newgate?" The Golden Lion exhaled a puff of smoke.

"I have never given up, but I am just an ordinary person. Time will not linger on me for long, and neither will you."

Watching Shiki, who had briefly lost his composure before regaining his familiar aura of a ruthless leader, Whitebeard sighed inwardly and asked, "So what do you plan to do? Will you storm Marineford and cause a ruckus like you did 20 years ago, or will you go and fight Zephyr to the death?"

The Golden Lion grabbed a piece of beef, popped it into his mouth, and chewed. "No, no, no, this time it won't be a small skirmish. I'm going to start a war, a massive war like the one between Etwall, the last one in twenty years!"

A cruel smile gradually spread unchecked across his face. The golden lion opened his arms and laughed loudly:

"Hehehehe, Newgate, don't you think this world is too boring? The sea is calm and still, there's none of that burning passion from back then! It's time to give those foolish righteous people and those pigs who sit high on the clouds a grand show, just like the Valley of the West Sea 33 years ago."

"The first step is to let the Navy know who the true master of the New World is. Eliminate all naval forces in the New World, destroy those ubiquitous naval bases, and drive the Navy out of the New World!"

"The second step is to attack Marineford, destroy the Marine Headquarters which symbolizes justice, and execute Sengoku live in front of the whole world, just like they publicly executed Roger back then."

"The third step is to march on Mary Geoise on the Red Line and crush those swine like we did 33 years ago, crushing their bubble hoods and smashing their heads."

A glint of bloodlust appeared in the Golden Lion's eyes, and a terrifying aura gradually revived from his aged body. Strands of black and red lightning spread across the sky above the Moby Dick, like the branches of a towering ancient tree.

"What a terrifying aura! This is... Conqueror's Haki!"

Under the release of this terrifying aura, Marco, Jozu, and the others all looked grim, watching as the pirates around them foamed at the mouth, rolled their eyes, and collapsed onto the deck.

Moreover, the terrifying force even caused actual damage, cracking the deck and hull of the Moby Dick with numerous fissures.

“You can’t do it, you’re too old.” Whitebeard shook his head directly. “You’ll die before the second step even happens.”

"That's why I came to find you, Newgate!"

The lion stood up, spread its arms, and its golden hair fluttered without wind under its terrifying aura.

"Hehehehe, Newgate, ally with me, and together we'll upend this boring world, just like we did thirty-three years ago!"

The white-bearded man remained silent.

In the distance, Marco watched this scene with a tense expression.

After a long silence, under the expectant gaze of Shiki, Whitebeard slowly shook his head.

"Sorry, Shiki, I will not form an alliance with you."

"Why?!" Golden Lion's eyes narrowed. "Do you still have hope for this damn world? Or do you think those lackey Marines who clean up the Celestial Dragons' messes can maintain world peace and justice? Don't be naive! The present era is even more disgusting than it was 33 years ago."

Seeing that Whitebeard remained silent, Shiki seemed to have realized something. He glanced at Marco and the others with a cold smile and said mockingly, "That's right, it's these sons who are holding you back. The long period of playing house has worn down your fighting spirit. You are no longer the spirited Edward Newgate you once were. Hehehehe, hehehehe, I misjudged you!"

"Shut up, Golden Lion! You're not allowed to insult your father!"

Joz clenched his fists and was about to rush over when Marco reached out and stopped him.

Whitebeard stood up, looking down at the mocking Golden Lion, "Stop with the words, Shiki. You know me, I will not ally with you. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future. Leave, and I'll pretend you were never here."

"Newgate!"

As if insulted, the Golden Lion unleashed a furious surge of Conqueror's Haki, crashing down on Whitebeard before him, making the atmosphere on the entire Moby Dick extremely tense.

The atmosphere on deck was like a powder keg filled with explosives, ready to explode at any moment.

All the pirates were watching Whitebeard and Shiki with trepidation.

Whitebeard's towering figure remained unmoved by Shiki's Conqueror's Haki attack, without even releasing his own. He simply stood there quietly, like a statue.

After a long, long time, the storm-like Conqueror's Haki surging around Shiki subsided, and he gave Whitebeard a deep look.

“You haven’t changed at all, Newgate.”

As he spoke, he bent down, picked up a jar of wine from the deck, unsealed it, took a few gulps, turned around gracefully, and floated straight up into the air, where he paused.

“No alliance is fine, but at least come and see me off.” He grinned and tossed the wine jar in his hand toward the white-bearded man. “Win ​​or lose, this time, I will settle things with this world in my own way.”

Without waiting for Whitebeard's reply, he took flight and soared into the sky, disappearing from Marco and the others' sight in an instant.

Whitebeard caught the wine jar falling from the sky and, under Marco's worried gaze, tilted his head back and drank it all.

Chapter 375 The Rocks Pirates

The New World, the Totland Sea.