Chapter 231: First Meeting with Whitebeard
Clearly, Whitebeard was changing the subject; he didn't want to dwell on Zephyr's lost arm.
Zephyr, likewise, felt the same way. Having his arm severed was a lifelong disgrace, so he responded at the right moment: "My students were taken by your sons. I've come to get them back."
Whitebeard was a bit surprised and asked Ace, "You captured his students?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Ace said, adjusting his cowboy hat, his eyes gleaming. "It's a ninja! How rare! I'll show you later, old man!"
It had to be said, what Whitebeard enjoyed most was probably Ace's expression like this. Not just him—if any of his sons showed him that look of seeking praise, it would lift his spirits immensely.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed heartily. "Good son, well done!"
Marco heard this and couldn't help but chuckle along. He'd always had a good impression of Ace, feeling that Ace possessed a kind of innocence that others lacked.
Only Zephyr, upon hearing Whitebeard's words, felt a surge of anger. "Whitebeard, are you going to join this brat in his nonsense? Give me back my students!"
Whitebeard glared down at him and said, "Zephyr, I respect your character, but don't forget—right now, we're enemies! If it were you, and you'd caught my sons, would you let them go so easily?"
Zephyr fell silent. He understood Whitebeard's meaning: he wasn't going to release them.
Just as Zephyr was considering whether to fight Whitebeard to reclaim his students, Whitebeard spoke again: "Zephyr, you know that even if you fight, you can't beat me. So you'd better drop that idea. The king of the Salamis Duchy is an old friend of mine. The damage the Marines caused here this time must be accounted for. Your students will be held here temporarily, but don't worry—I won't lay a finger on them!"
Zephyr thought it over and was about to say something more when he noticed the other ships of the Whitebeard Pirates gradually approaching the harbor.
He glanced at the remaining Marine guerrilla soldiers around him and finally relented, saying to Whitebeard, "Fine, Whitebeard, I'll trust you this once. You must ensure my students aren't harmed!"
Edward Newgate snorted. "I am Whitebeard!"
Though reluctant, Zephyr had no choice but to withdraw with his men. Marco stood on the ship, watching Zephyr leave, and asked Whitebeard, "Old man, was it wise to let them go?"
"If that brat Kizaru were here, I might have had a go at him," Whitebeard said, leaning on his bisento. "But he ran off fast enough. Zephyr's an old man now—fighting him would be boring."
Marco smiled slightly. He knew Whitebeard's temperament well. If he liked someone, anything was negotiable, but if he didn't, the old man had a fierce temper.
This time, the Whitebeard Pirates had brought nearly everyone, prepared for a clash with the Marines. But since Kizaru had already retreated with the Marines, Whitebeard saw no need to make things difficult for Zephyr. Everyone knew the Marines were constantly scheming to weaken the Four Emperors, and the Emperors were equally wary of the Marines. Capturing Zephyr might have been easy for Whitebeard, but the consequences were unpredictable. Both sides understood it wasn't yet time for an all-out confrontation—neither the Marines nor the Four Emperors were ready.
In recent years, the Whitebeard Pirates had been steadily expanding their power in preparation for this. Fire Fist Ace's addition had indeed elevated the Whitebeard Pirates' strength to a new level, which was why Whitebeard valued him so highly—not just because he was Roger's son.
As for Ian, who had moved Ace to plead with Whitebeard, Whitebeard was now quite curious about him. So after Zephyr left, he said, "Let's go ashore and see that audacious little brat from the Dragon Hunter Pirates."
This was Whitebeard's honest opinion. Ian truly deserved the title of audacious. Even the Four Emperors generally avoided provoking the Celestial Dragons if they could help it. Yet this kid named Ian had dared to kill a Celestial Dragon! Whitebeard wanted to see what kind of person he was.
When Whitebeard, Marco, and Ace disembarked, Baby-5 on the ship finally dared to breathe a sigh of relief. Though Whitebeard hadn't even glanced at her, she had been trembling in fear.
But before she could calm down, a figure suddenly jumped onto the ship. Baby-5 looked up and saw a rough-looking man with a hairy chest.
"Zehahaha!" the man laughed loudly. "I didn't expect the Dragon Hunter Pirates to have such a pretty little lady!"
"Who are you?" Baby-5 felt uneasy facing this man and asked warily.
"Me?" The man grinned, revealing a gap-toothed mouth. "I'm Teach. Little lady, how about becoming my woman?"
It was Blackbeard himself who had jumped onto the ship.
If it had been her usual self, Baby-5 might have felt a sense of being needed and agreed on the spot. But for some reason, facing Blackbeard, she instinctively sensed danger and had no desire to accept.
Fortunately, another figure jumped onto the ship to her rescue. It was the Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Sachi, dressed in white with a pompadour hairstyle. He said to Blackbeard, "Teach, don't mess around. This girl seems to be with the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Just help guard the prisoners!"
"Zehaha, I was just joking!" Blackbeard said, rubbing the back of his head with a naive grin.
Seeing him like this, Sachi couldn't help but shake his head with a smile...
The Whitebeard Pirates' ships landed, and the Salamis Duchy's guards were greatly encouraged, immediately lining up to welcome Whitebeard. When Whitebeard, Ace, and Marco stepped ashore, a palace guard captain came to greet him, bowing. "Whitebeard Old Man, King Carlos is waiting for you at the palace."
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed heartily. "My old friend, is he well?"
The guard captain smiled and replied, "His Majesty is in good health. He's very happy to hear of your arrival!"
"Tell him to rest easy!" Whitebeard said. "I'll handle this matter with the Marines for Salamis. I have something to do now, but I'll visit the palace later."
"Understood!" The guard captain bowed and withdrew with his men.
Once the Salamis soldiers had moved away, Whitebeard spotted the Dragon Hunter Pirates not far away. Strangely, everyone was gathered around Ian.
Ace's heart tightened, and he rushed ahead of Whitebeard to check on Ian.
Ian saw Ace and Whitebeard approaching. Honestly, he always felt that Whitebeard might have giant blood in him—he wasn't much shorter than Sardine, and his natural aura of authority made him impossible to miss.
He wanted to step forward and greet the Four Emperors, but unfortunately, after his initial release faded, he found himself unable to move.
His muscles were throbbing with intense pain, a symptom similar to when he had overused his Nen abilities in the past. He realized this was the aftermath of the full-attribute boost from his initial release.
Though Fujitora had helped him train his physique with gravity fields, Ian's training time had been short. His physical conditioning was still at an advanced level, so this aftermath was to be expected. Over time, as his training progressed, these side effects would likely disappear.
In this state, he couldn't stand to greet Whitebeard.
Seeing Ace's anxious expression, Ian felt a warmth in his heart. No matter what, Ace had proven to be a true brother. Ian knew that Ace must have begged Whitebeard to intervene, which was why the Whitebeard Pirates had shown up. If not for him, even the Whitebeard Pirates would have hesitated to face two Marine Admirals and ten warships head-on.
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ian said to Ace. In fact, he had already switched to Orihime Inoue's card to begin healing himself.
"Hehe, good to hear!" Ace grinned. "I caught a ninja! I'll show you later!"
Ian knew he must have captured Binz and couldn't help but find it amusing.
Just then, a towering figure blocked Ian's view. Looking up, he saw Whitebeard standing before him.
"So you're just a brat who can't even move?" Whitebeard snorted. "How disappointing."
Ian looked at Whitebeard's expression and smiled faintly. "So you're Whitebeard? That mustache is pretty flashy, huh?"
"Flashy?" Whitebeard had never heard that term before. After a moment of confusion, he burst out laughing. "Gurararara! You little brat, are you sucking up to me?"
"It's not sucking up," Ian shook his head. What he really wanted to say was that normal people couldn't grow such a perky mustache, but he held back. Instead, he said, "Anyway, thank you."
Ian understood clearly that while the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't actually fought the Marines, their presence alone had forced the Marines to retreat. Otherwise, given Kizaru's state at the time, the fight would have continued, and the Dragon Hunter Pirates' fate would have been uncertain. So Ian had to acknowledge Whitebeard's favor.