Chapter 173: Bury it here, Roger, Aite·Wal Sea Battle!
"I just feel this guy is a bit strange."
Facing Whitebeard's inquiry, Renji shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and didn't look at Blackbeard anymore.
The current Blackbeard was not enough to attract Renji's attention, even the later him who obtained the Tremble-Tremble Fruit and Dark-Dark Fruit.
Rumors about Blackbeard were varied; some said he ate the Octopus Fruit, since his characteristics were the same as an octopus, some said he had a special constitution, with three souls in his body, so he didn't need to sleep.
But no matter how you look at it, Blackbeard's special constitution was no longer significant to Renji, after all, he had one himself.
And the moment Renji withdrew his gaze, the unease in Blackbeard's heart was slightly relieved.
That moment gave him the feeling that he seemed to be completely seen through by Renji.
He joined the Whitebeard Pirates with secrets, joining the crew just for that fruit. If he could find the Dark-Dark Fruit, he would leave the Whitebeard Pirates to realize his grand ambitions, if not, then he would stay in the Whitebeard Pirates for life.
Without that fruit, he would just be a pirate without ambition.
"Strange? Stop scheming about my son!"
Although he didn't know why Renji would notice Teach.
In Whitebeard's view, he would absolutely not allow Renji to take the person off the ship!
Since he was his son, there was no such thing as leaving the ship.
"Tch, acting as if he's some treasure."
Renji curled his lips, having no interest at all in Whitebeard's sons.
"Excessive doting will only prevent them from growing up, Whitebeard."
From his attitude, he was already treating these children as treasures and constantly protecting them.
Actually, among these people, Joz, Marco, and Vista were all very talented, including Ace who later joined the pirate crew.
In the end, weren't they just ruined by Whitebeard?
He was truly impeccable with his children, it could be said that even without comparison to Big Mom, he was the best father in the One Piece world.
What kind of father was the Pirate King?
After giving birth, under the pretext of adventure, saying no one could stop a man from going to sea, he directly abandoned his wife and children to run off to sea for adventure, not caring at all about his wife and children.
Whitebeard was very responsible, at least in his pirate crew, he was doing his best to protect them.
It's just that sometimes excessive protection would only cause the originally full-potential Whitebeard Pirates to be raised to waste.
Success because of Whitebeard, failure because of Whitebeard.
Marco's Mythical Zoan, Joz could still exchange a few moves with Aokiji at the summit, Flower Sword Vista could block Mihawk's slash, and Ace defeated a Warlord right after his debut.
It could be said that these four people could have grown much higher, but as a result, they were rarely seen using Haki, and their physical skills were a mess, perhaps because Whitebeard protected them too well.
"Tch, I don't need you to teach me!"
You damn single person teaching me?
Whitebeard would not listen to this, especially regarding children, Whitebeard had his own way.
"Whatever!"
It wasn't his son anyway, Renji wouldn't meddle in other people's business.
Taking the wine jar from Marco's hand, Renji placed Toki beside him, then raised his wine glass to clink against Whitebeard's giant wine glass.
As they drank, they also reminisced about past events. As they talked, a flash of sharpness appeared in Whitebeard's cloudy eyes as he asked: "Have you decided to participate in the struggle for hegemony this time?"
The struggle for hegemony in the New World had now reached a white-hot stage.
After Rocks fell, Golden Lion quickly recruited troops in the New World, while Roger took the elite route, and the two had been competing in the New World for a long time.
There was also the Big Mom Pirates, though they were much weaker compared to the other two, but recently Big Mom had been looking for an opportunity to marry into the giant clan. Once she married the giants of Elbaf, Big Mom would not take all current pirate crews seriously.
Wang Zhi had returned to Hachinosu, and along with Renji's disappearance were Kaido and John. Whitebeard was not clear about the specific movements of the two, just that after that incident, there was little news of them, though Kaido had been heard of before.
And Renji's appearance this time was exactly at the white-hot stage of the struggle between Golden Lion and Roger.
"You're not participating in the hegemony?"
Although he already knew Whitebeard wasn't interested in this.
Most people in the New World now wanted to follow Golden Lion, Whitebeard, or Roger.
However, the latter two for their own reasons didn't really need it, so most pirates followed Golden Lion, which also created Golden Lion's reputation as the pirate admiral.
"My dream isn't about such things, by the way, is your purpose for coming out to fight for this?"
Whitebeard was somewhat surprised, previously he thought Renji didn't care about these things at all.
The personality Renji showed back in the Rocks Pirates, he didn't care about being the Pirate King at all.
Now as the voice of the Pirate King became more hyped, the four Red Poneglyphs and the Great Treasure had also become what pirates today chased after, and becoming the Pirate King was what basically ninety-nine percent of pirates currently wanted.
"I'm not that bored, the so-called Pirate King is just a false reputation, released by the World Government!"
Renji curled his lips, said with some disdain.
What's so good about being the Pirate King?
In Renji's view, it was just a title.
And this matter appeared some time after Renji massacred the Celestial Dragons.
After the World Government cleared out many unfavorable remarks, the Pirate King, the four Red Poneglyphs, and the Great Treasure appeared.
Although they also existed in the anime, no matter how you look at it, this seemed to be deliberately released by the World Government.
And from the anime's perspective, this was most likely the World Government's conspiracy.
They released the news of the Pirate King, then let the pirates slaughter each other, thereby weakening the pirates' strength.
At the same time, because of the pirates' slaughter, it would definitely lead to world chaos, so at this time, wouldn't they need to join the World Government affiliate nations?
Isn't this just collecting money for the Celestial Dragons?
No money?
Then sorry!
We won't protect you, solve it yourself!
It might also be the impact of God Valley that made the World Government realize that the pirates were too strong and needed to be weakened.
So, with all these combinations, the Pirate King appeared under the guidance of the World Government.
To the World Government, it was just a false reputation. When a Pirate King appeared, they would just pursue him with all their might, after all, they didn't care about the Pirate King at all. In this historical occasion, there had actually been a Pirate King before.
They allowed the Pirate King, but they absolutely would not allow Nika to appear!
As long as it wasn't Nika, the World Government wasn't afraid at all.
And what followed was just that they themselves messed up.
They initially planned to weaken the pirates, but didn't expect that after Roger surrendered, he directly used his life to start the Great Pirate Age, the era running wild made them somewhat unable to suppress it for a while.
Who could have imagined that Roger, who had just become Pirate King, would choose to end his life in this way?
It could only be said that Roger concealed his terminal illness very well; otherwise, the World Government would never have given Roger this opportunity.
Originally intending to use Roger's death to strike against pirates, they unexpectedly ended up elevating Roger instead.
"It seems you know something!"
Whitebeard took a large gulp of wine, somewhat surprised in his heart that Renji even knew this.
Any great pirate who had reached this level knew the World Government was secretly instigating things.
Back when their Rocks Pirates still existed, there was no such thing as a Pirate King.
At that time, Rocks was the de facto Pirate King!
Now, those vying for supremacy were either his former crew members or people he had driven out of the New World.
"Pops, is there some secret here?"
Marco asked curiously. Though he felt interrupting their conversation wasn't ideal, his curiosity was overwhelming.
Did they know some unknown secret?
"It's nothing much about the Pirate King."
"..."
So it seemed nothing substantial was said at all. Marco felt speechless inside.
"By the way, let me tell you something—those two are about to have their final showdown. If you want to go watch, you can join the excitement!"
Whitebeard looked in a certain direction and spoke lightly. Now, everyone in the New World knew Golden Lion was preparing to invite Roger to join his pirate crew one last time.
And this time was truly the last. If Roger refused, he would launch an attack against Roger.
Currently, the only one competing with him for the Pirate King title was Roger. Since Whitebeard wasn't participating, Golden Lion naturally set his sights on Roger. If Roger chose to cooperate, that would be ideal.
He wanted to replicate the Rocks Pirates of the past, and Roger was essential for that.
"Whichever of them wins should produce a Pirate King."
Whitebeard remarked with emotion. Right now, only two people in the New World had a chance. Since Renji wasn't interested, it had to be one of them.
"Then who do you hope becomes Pirate King?"
Renji posed a loaded question—one was an old crewmate, the other a good friend. Whitebeard was momentarily stumped by the question.
He quickly reacted, laughing and cursing: "You bastard really loves stirring up trouble! But if I had to choose, it'd be that bastard Roger. If it were Shiki, he'd probably turn the whole world upside down."
Compared to Golden Lion, he actually hoped it would be Roger.
That guy Golden Lion hadn't even become Pirate King yet, and the world was already in chaos.
He dared not imagine what would happen if Golden Lion became Pirate King—it would likely be even more catastrophic.
"But it seems the old lion has a better chance of winning!"
In naval battles, Golden Lion actually had a high probability of defeating Roger.
If not for that freak weather, Roger would have died at the Edd War.
"Yeah, Roger would basically lose for sure against that bastard Golden Lion!"
Whitebeard quite agreed on this point, even though he hoped Roger would win.
Come to think of it, this guy really had a blind loyalty toward Roger.
Renji mused inwardly, but then again, the pirate world was just like that. Speaking of which, didn't Roger only stir up the entire world after becoming Pirate King?
"You're not going?"
Renji asked curiously. It seemed Whitebeard wasn't planning to go. Glancing at Marco and the others, Renji suddenly understood—he was protecting this group!
"Hey, what's with that look?"
"What an interesting choice. Missing a legendary pirate battle like this would truly be a pity!"
Renji shook his head and withdrew his gaze. Hearing Renji's words, Whitebeard was indeed tempted.
He wasn't old yet. The current him wasn't actually the old Whitebeard who liked staying in his territory and rarely moved. What he cared about most was his children, but that didn't mean he didn't want to go.
It was precisely because he understood the dangers this time that he was unwilling to go. He could withstand it, but his sons might not.
"You're going?"
"I'll go. It's been a long time since I saw that old lion."
Renji naturally intended to go. This place would change Golden Lion's entire life, after all.
Wasn't this a perfect opportunity to gain rewards?
"How could I be left out? Marco, get these guys ready, then set sail!"
Hearing Whitebeard's words, Renji's eyes flashed with amusement. Actually, he had no idea where exactly Golden Lion and the others were fighting.
Without a log pose, he wouldn't know the direction at all. If Whitebeard didn't go, he'd need to spend time searching everywhere. But if Whitebeard went, there'd be no need for such trouble!
"Yes, Pops!!!"
Marco was also excited. Missing a major event like this would truly be a shame.
Even Blackbeard struggled to maintain composure. He was still just a child. Though he had ambitions, for this war—one that could change the pirate landscape—even without participating, not witnessing it firsthand would be a regret.
"Roger, now give me your answer: choose to join me or... die here!!"
Edd War waters.
Golden Lion's fleet had surrounded the Roger Pirates. The gloomy weather oppressed everyone's hearts.
"What a nuisance!"
A trace of annoyance flashed across Roger's face. Golden Lion was like a dog-skin plaster—impossible to shake off!
Hadn't he already refused before?
"Captain, this time it really can't be avoided!"
A smile touched Rayleigh's lips. It seemed Golden Lion couldn't wait any longer.
Then again, they were now one of the strongest forces in the New World. To become Pirate King, they had to resolve this—whether through assimilation or annihilation.
"No choice, it's the Pirate King after all!"
Jabra shrugged. Which pirate didn't desire the title of Pirate King now?
"Roger, join me as my right-hand man, and we shall rule the world together!!"
Golden Lion's current thoughts were simple: rule the world. With Roger's joining, he would have no rivals in the New World. He wouldn't even fear that bastard Whitebeard!
Flying in the air, Golden Lion held a cigar in his mouth, his eyes full of disdain. At this moment, he exuded unparalleled confidence.
Pirate Admiral, one of the three legendary pirates of the New World, commander of the currently largest pirate crew—the Flying Pirates. With so many titles, some newspapers had already reserved the Pirate King title for him.
In Golden Lion's view, this invitation for Roger to join his crew was bound to succeed.
He had already prepared everything for it.
Unless Roger wanted to die, he thought he could escape?
Sorry!
With his Devil Fruit ability, encountering him at sea meant Roger would have no chance to escape!
"I refuse!"
Roger grinned. For Golden Lion's invitation, he refused once again.
This made Golden Lion lose his last patience. Staring at Roger, Golden Lion snorted coldly, then waved his large hand, commanding: "Attack! Wipe out the Roger Pirates!"
Since Roger chose not to join him, he would show no mercy!
He, Shiki, was not a soft-hearted pirate!
Bury it here in these waters, Roger
(End of Chapter)
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