I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Neither Whitebeard nor Shiki used Devil Fruit abilities; they fought solely based on physical skills and Haki.

Even so, the aftershocks of the battle were enough to shake the sea and make it difficult for Whitebeard's young crew members to stand.

Marco smiled, neither confirming nor denying, but simply pointed to the sky above.

The mohawk-haired pirate followed Marco's finger and suddenly felt his legs go weak, so he quickly grabbed the railing for support.

Where his gaze fell, a giant chasm split open in the clouds above where the two sides were fighting.

At first glance, it looked as if the battle between Whitebeard and Golden Lion had split the sky open.

"Hehehehe... Whitebeard, I originally came to take your head, but it seems you're not old yet."

Golden Lion raised his twin swords to catch Whitebeard's powerful downward slash of the naginata. The terrifying force pulled at each other's weapons, causing the blades to tremble.

Whitebeard remained silent, brandishing his naginata and slashing again, his momentum undiminished.

Every clash of weapons caused the sea to tremble and the sky to crack open time and time again.

After several hours of fierce fighting, they still hadn't determined a winner. Finally, both of them sheathed their swords, stood up, and burst into loud laughter.

"Gulp gulp gulp... Bring me the wine!"

Two legends from the old era sat face to face on the deck.

"Whitebeard, your strength is indeed as great as ever, but..."

The golden lion sat down on the ground, glanced at the top of the white-bearded man's head, and a strange smile immediately appeared on his face.

In his youth, Bai Bei not only had a crescent-shaped white beard, but also shoulder-length golden hair, making him look quite imposing.

As for Whitebeard now...

His signature crescent-shaped white beard was still there, but his long golden hair on top was gone, replaced by a black headscarf covering his head.

"But you're bald, aren't you?"

The golden lion's smile was somewhat mischievous, and he even touched the top of his head with a hint of smugness.

Actually, the golden lion's head had started to go bald on the top, but since regaining its youth, the top of its head has begun to regrow.

Whitebeard's face darkened.

"Shiki, did you come here today just to spout this nonsense? If so, I can sink you to the bottom of the sea right now!"

Whitebeard growled in a low voice.

"Hehehe... Whitebeard, don't be angry. We've both reached this age."

The Golden Lion wisely refrained from continuing his rambling on the topic and instead patted his legs.

His legs were created using the derivative power of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit, resulting in ice crystal legs. Through training and development over this period, they are now indistinguishable from real human legs.

Whitebeard glanced down at Shiki's legs, narrowed his eyes, and sighed with emotion.

"The power of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit? The rumors are true. You really ate... the Angel-Angel Fruit and became a dual-power user."

When the Angel-Angel Fruit was mentioned, Whitebeard's tone became noticeably lower.

This word reminded him of some unpleasant things.

And the next second.

The scar in Whitebeard's heart was mercilessly reopened by Shiki.

"I heard that your son, Teach, was sent to Impel Down because of a fake Angel Fruit?" Shiki asked with a smile.

Chapter 489 The Strongest Pirate Alliance in History

"I heard that your son, Teach, was sent to Impel Down because of a fake Angel Fruit?"

When Shiki said those words, not only Whitebeard, but also Marco and the others' expressions darkened.

My previous baldness was nothing serious.

But since it involves Whitebeard's son, this matter is quite unusual.

"Shiki, just say what you want to say."

With a stern face, the white-bearded man raised the wine bowl in his hand and drank it down in one gulp, the wine dripping down his lips onto his bare, muscular chest.

Golden Lion also became serious. He put away his smile and said directly:

"You know, I'm the only one who has escaped Impel Down so far."

"Not only that, but if I want, I can also use the power of my Float-Float Fruit to bring people back to Impel Down at any time."

Whitebeard remained silent.

The Golden Lion was right.

Impel Down is an impregnable fortress, holding countless legendary criminals, many of whom, like Shiki, were once legends who stood alongside Whitebeard and others.

Impel Down is located in the Calm Belt, surrounded by a massive number of colossal Sea Kings, and also blocked by the Gates of Justice, making it virtually impossible to reach by conventional means of navigation.

Even if they barely reach Impel Down, the Marine Headquarters will immediately respond and dispatch a large number of powerful individuals to provide rescue along the internal ocean currents.

That's why, over the years, only the Golden Lion has escaped Impel Down.

But even the Golden Lion paid the price of having both legs broken at the knees.

"So you came here specifically to help me rescue Teach? Golden Lion, you're such a kind person."

Whitebeard stared at Golden Lion with a blank expression.

Both of them were pirates. Although they had known each other for many years and were rivals who respected each other, they were ultimately enemies.

"No, this is an equal exchange."

The golden lion pointed to the ship's rudder above its head.

"If you get Marco to assist my surgical team in removing this thing, I'll send you to Impel Down, how about it?"

Whitebeard looked surprised, clearly showing he was interested.

Having Marco perform surgery was a small price to pay for him, while Shiki's help was a huge asset to the Whitebeard Pirates.

Marco is a user of the Mythical Zoan-type Phoenix Fruit and also the doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The Phoenix Fruit's "healing fire" can heal others' wounds, a rare healing ability. Combined with Shiki's surgical team, the success rate of the surgery would obviously increase significantly.

"A word is settled!"

The two sides quickly reached an agreement without delay, and Marco immediately followed the Golden Lion's surgical team into the operating room.

"Whitebeard, my head is in your hands."

After leaving those words, the Golden Lion, still smiling, was wheeled into the operating room.

Even with Marco's help, this kind of craniotomy still carries risks.

Golden Lion's actions were a huge gamble; he had staked his life on himself and on Whitebeard.

.........

The surgery lasted three hours.

When the Golden Lion emerged from the operating room again, his face was pale from blood loss, his golden hair had been shaved off again, the ship's wheel on his forehead was gone, leaving only a shiny scalp and the stitched wound marks.

"Golden Lion, please refrain from drinking alcohol and from intense fighting for now. We can postpone the Impel Down matter for a few more days. This is my advice as the doctor."

Marco followed closely behind the Golden Lion as he emerged from the operating room, offering his instructions.

Shiki the Golden Lion, on the other hand, wore a lingering arrogant smile. He lit a cigar and put it in his mouth, but still couldn't control himself and let out a long laugh.

"Hehehehe... Now that I'm meeting Sig again, I don't need to worry about his strange abilities anymore!"

The golden lion's lips curled into a wild smile, and he was in a better mood than ever before.

He had surgery to remove the rudder, ultimately because of Sieg.

Previously, Sigurd possessed the abilities of "Soul Singer" and "Borrow and Never Return," making the ship's rudder a huge weakness.

That's why Golden Lion risked his life to make a deal with Whitebeard.

In retrospect, it was all worth it!

While the Golden Lion was happy, the Whitebeard beside him became serious again.

From the Golden Lion's mouth, he heard a name he could not ignore.

"Shiki! You just mentioned Sig, right?" Whitebeard asked in a deep voice.

The whole Angel-Angel Fruit thing started because of Higuma, a name Whitebeard couldn't ignore.

"Excellent!" the Golden Lion laughed, cigar dangling from his mouth.

"Next, I'll have a proper talk with you about Sig."

"Whitebeard, our deal has just been struck. I will grant your wish and use the power of the Float-Float Fruit to send you on your way to Impel Down."

"but."

"After we arrive at Impel Down, how about we go all out?" The Golden Lion grinned, as if he had thought of something interesting.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" The white-bearded man frowned, vaguely guessing what was going on.

The golden lion's lips curled into a smile, a hint of madness creeping into it:

"Let's join forces."

"Let's liberate those legends of the old era along with Teach!!"

Golden Lion looked directly into Whitebeard's eyes and said, word by word:

"The old era we live in is not over yet!"

"Let this warm era recall the fear brought by pirates of the old days!"

As they spoke, dark clouds had gathered over the pirate ship. As Shiki spoke, a blazing white bolt of lightning ripped through the heavy clouds, and thunder echoed between heaven and earth.

"A pirate alliance?"

"A pirate alliance between two pirate emperors? This is probably... the strongest pirate alliance in history, right?"

Before Whitebeard could answer, Marco and the other crew members were already deeply shaken and a considerable commotion arose.