One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

On the sea off the island in the Whitebeard Pirates' territory, the island where Thatch's accident happened, which was named Thatch Island by the Whitebeard Pirates because Thatch was buried there, two of the most powerful pirates in the New World met.

Ahead of the massive Moby Dick, the Redford, with its flags waving, slowly slowed down and approached.

Both pirate crews could see the faces of renowned and powerful figures from the New World on each other's ships.

"Welcome, Captain Red-Haired Shanks!"

A pirate's shout rang out from the Moby Dick.

As the two world-renowned pirate ships drew closer, a lithe figure leaped from the Redford and landed gracefully on the spacious deck of the Moby Dick.

Shanks was still dressed in his usual casual attire.

White shirt, capri pants, black overcoat, flip-flops, and his sword Griffin hanging at his waist.

Just like last time, he was carrying a huge wine jug in his hand.

Shanks looked at Marco walking towards him and, unusually, refrained from uttering his usual invitation to Marco to join him on board.

"Marco, where's Whitebeard?"

"Dad's up ahead."

Marco gestured with his hand, his expression complex, with a hint of gratitude in his eyes, and said softly, "Red-Haired Shanks, thank you for coming to meet me. My father... hasn't been in a good mood these days, so please forgive him if I say anything wrong later."

"Don't worry, Marco, I'm always very patient with seniors."

Shanks smiled and dragged his large flask through the Whitebeard members standing on either side.

He noticed that, apart from Captains Marco and Besta, the other captains and elite members of the Moby Dick were not on board.

Shanks guessed that the captains had probably gone to the New World to gather manpower for the vassal pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates.

This war is no small matter; even Whitebeard will have to go all out.

Even with all their efforts, whether they can rescue Ace from Marine Headquarters remains an open question.

"Get rid of these ugly things! What will it look like if the enemy sees this? I am Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world!"

Shanks hadn't even reached Whitebeard when he heard Whitebeard's loud voice from afar.

At the same time, we saw him rip off the IV drip bag that was being administered to him and reach for the wine jug next to him.

Beside him were a group of doctors earnestly trying to dissuade and persuade him, and a helpless-looking Bista.

Upon seeing Shanks arrive, Vista gave him a wry smile from afar.

Shanks understood his meaning, deliberately increased the pace of his steps, and looked at the seven or eight beautiful nurses with long legs around Whitebeard, while teasingly saying, "Whitebeard, at your age, you still have a bunch of such beautiful women around you, can your body handle it?"

The white-bearded man, who was bending down to pick up the wine jug, stopped abruptly.

Vista, who kept giving Shanks meaningful glances, was stunned.

Marco, who was leading the way ahead of Shanks, twitched at the corner of his mouth and almost tripped.

"You sharp-tongued brat! Didn't Roger teach you how to speak to your elders? You have no manners at all, get out! The Moby Dick doesn't welcome rude people!"

Whitebeard stopped grabbing the sake, sat up straight, and made a move to grab the pheasant sword beside him.

Just then, a blurry black shadow came hurtling down from mid-air and crashed directly into Whitebeard.

Whitebeard showed no surprise whatsoever. He casually raised his hand and grabbed the flying wine jug, then looked down at Shanks, who had already arrived in front of him.

"What? Trying to apologize with alcohol? I'm not buying it!"

Whitebeard threw the flask he had caught back at Shanks.

Shanks stretched out his right hand and easily grabbed the rope tied to the flask. With a tug in the air, the thick rope binding the flask's mouth loosened coil by coil.

The flask spun in mid-air, spilling a long stream of golden liquid that fell perfectly into a large bowl in front of Shanks.

The rich aroma of wine wafted around the white-bearded man, making him involuntarily sniff.

"West Sea wine again? Red-haired brat, don't you have any fresh wine at all?"

"Haha, the wine from my hometown is the strongest. I could drink more wine from Xihai than ever before."

Shanks slapped the spinning jug in mid-air, and the jug, now empty of a large bowl of wine, spun and flew back toward Whitebeard.

Shanks plopped down on the deck, picked up the full wine bowl in front of him, and looked at Whitebeard.

"Are you sure you don't want to drink this? Perhaps this will be the last drink we have, Whitebeard. Consider it... a farewell."

Just as the white-bearded man was about to throw the flask back, he heard Shanks' words and suddenly stopped.

"Redhead! What are you saying?!"

Marco and Vista's expressions changed drastically, and they were about to step forward when they were stopped by Whitebeard's outstretched hand.

Whitebeard looked at the wine in his hand and Shanks' serious expression in front of him, and suddenly laughed heartily.

"Gulalalala, gulalalala!"

"Kid, you really dare to say that! Anyway, I'll drink this wine!"

He grabbed the flask in his hand, clinked it against the bowl Shanks was holding, and then tilted his head back to drink it down.

Golden liquor flowed down the white-bearded man's throat, some spilling onto his broad chest and wetting his captain's coat and trousers, but he didn't seem to care.

After a hearty drinking session, they drank to their hearts' content, feeling extremely happy and exhilarated.

Shanks, also with a smile on his lips, tilted his head back and drank several large gulps of wine before putting the large bowl down.

Whitebeard took a few big gulps of the wine Shanks brought, and a hearty smile appeared on his face that Marco hadn't seen for many days. Marco and Vista's eyes welled up with tears.

"Marco, Vista, step back. Let me speak with Shanks alone."

Setting down the wine jug, the white-bearded man gave Marco an instruction.

"Yes, Father."

Marco gave Shanks a grateful look, then called over a few doctors and, together with Vista, retreated to the bow of the Moby Dick, leaving space for the two New World Emperors.

After Marco and the others had walked away, Shanks sighed, "Has the news been confirmed?"

"Hmm, it should be right."

The white-bearded man's face showed little anger or sadness, but his voice was very deep.

"Ace may have really fallen into the hands of the Navy."

"What about Teach? If Ace was captured by the Navy because of the pursuit of him, what role did he play in Ace's capture? My informants in Paradise Waters haven't spotted him or his Blackbeard Pirates for a long time. They've vanished from the world, just like Ace."

Shanks frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

"I don't know, we've lost track of him too." Whitebeard shook his head and took another sip of his drink. "But that bastard Teach is too cunning. He has a grand scheme. He's probably gone into hiding again, trying to seize an even bigger target."

"Have you found out what kind of Devil Fruit he took from Thatch?" Shanks asked thoughtfully.

Whitebeard paused in his grip on the wine jug, then uttered four words.

"Dark-Dark Fruit".

Shanks' pupils contracted, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, "Just as I thought!"

He looked up at Whitebeard and said, "Whitebeard, you probably guessed it too, right? Why would Teach kill his own comrades just to take that Dark-Dark Fruit?"

The white-bearded man remained silent, simply picking up the wine jug and drinking.

Shanks continued speaking in a deep voice.

"With his grotesque body, after consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit, he gained the most vicious Logia-type ability in the world, and then... he went to steal even more abilities. The Dark-Dark Fruit is an evil fruit that can nullify other abilities upon contact and has a chance to steal abilities from the corpses of recently deceased Devil Fruit users. Teach wanted to use this evil ability to acquire other, even more powerful Devil Fruit abilities for himself. If Ace was indeed captured by him and handed over to the Marines, then Whitebeard..."

He gave the silent, white-bearded man a deep look, and said in a solemn voice:

"His next target could very well be you."

"What are you trying to say? Like last time when you advised me to find Ace, you're advising me not to go to Marineford?"

Whitebeard tilted his head back and drank the wine in the jug, then tossed aside the empty jug and looked out at the deserted island.

"No," Shanks shook his head. "I know I can't dissuade you; you're Whitebeard. I just want you to be careful of Teach."

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded man threw his head back and laughed.

"Gurarararar! Red-haired brat, you've said a few nice things I like to hear today. What? Are you taking pity on this old man who's about to die?"

In the distance, Marco and Vista, hearing the white-bearded man's hearty laughter, had tears welling up in their eyes and involuntarily clenched their fists.

"Dad!"

Whitebeard laughed a few times, then lowered his head to look at Shanks again.

"You didn't come here just to amuse this old man, did you? I don't remember that bastard Roger teaching these things to his trainees on his ship. That guy is no polite person."

Upon hearing this, Shanks became serious.

He picked up the wine bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp before lowering his voice and saying, "Whitebeard, I know. Ace... he's Captain Roger's son and Luffy's brother. For both personal and professional reasons, I will help you with this mission."

Whitebeard's smile faded, and his expression became serious. He said in a deep voice, "Then thank you very much, Shanks. I do need your help."

A hint of guilt flashed in Shanks' eyes, and he raised his hand. "Listen to me, Whitebeard, this is very important."

Whitebeard looked at him, Shanks took a deep breath, and continued:

"What I'm about to say might sound cold-blooded, but I have to make it clear beforehand."

"I know, Whitebeard, that you see some of the future you want to see in Ace."

So, you want to use your old life to send Ace into the new era.

Ace... he's lucky to have a father like you in this era.

It was your tolerance that helped him find meaning in life.

That's great, and I admire you very much.

However, you should probably know that the future Captain Roger and I wanted to see did not lie in…Ace.

Whitebeard remained silent.

Shanks didn't stop and continued speaking.

"What we are doing is a battle with no turning back, a battle with only victory, no defeat, and one that we cannot afford to lose."

Centuries of destiny and waiting are about to unfold in the near future.

Those who bear the weight of destiny will become the key to unlocking a new era; destruction or rebirth will be the final chapter in this new age.