After Rocks and his group had completely disappeared, Marco immediately pulled a Den Den Mushi with a crescent-shaped white mustache from his pocket and dialed out.
Almost instantly, the Den Den Mushi responded, its expression unusually animated.
"Marco? Is that you? How are you right now?"
The voice on the other end belonged to none other than Whitebeard himself. Marco had already left the crew several days ago. Because of what happened with Thatch, Marco had been weighed down emotionally and hadn't contacted Whitebeard during that time.
Though Whitebeard had seemed bold and heroic when he sent Marco off to hunt down Teach, he had started to regret the decision the moment Marco left.
And now, days had passed without a single word from him, sinking Whitebeard's heart lower and lower.
Whitebeard had many "sons," and he cherished them all deeply, but everyone has favorites—and Marco was his. He truly didn't want to lose the son he cared for most.
So he had been carrying Marco's Den Den Mushi with him this whole time, afraid to miss even the slightest bit of news.
Seeing the familiar and emotional expression on his old man's face, Marco—who had barely survived Rocks—was already choking up with tears. He tried to keep his voice steady as he said:
"I'm fine, Pops. I've been so focused on tracking down that bastard Teach these past few days that I didn't contact you. Sorry for making you worry!"
...
...
"Guralala! As long as you're okay!"
Hearing that familiar laugh come through the Den Den Mushi, Marco felt a profound sense of relief. His old man was the most important person in his life—he would never betray him, not even in death!
Wiping his tears, Marco continued.
"Pops, I found Teach. But... he's already dead!"
"Dead? You did it?"
"No, he was killed by Shikiryū."
"That guy moves fast. Looks like what Red-Hair said really came true."
"Red-Hair? What did he say?"
"After you left, he hyped up the Devil Fruit Teach got in the newspapers to bait Shikiryū into making a move."
"I see... Pops, you should be cautious of that Red-Hair guy. There's something about him I just can't read."
"Kuralala! No need to worry about that. That Red-Hair brat is still green!"
From Whitebeard's tone, it was clear he wasn't taking Marco's warning seriously.
In his eyes, Red-Hair would always just be that little punk who once sailed on Roger's ship.
Marco didn't press the issue. He had an even more explosive piece of news to share.
"Pops! Rocks... he's not dead. He's been revived!"
"Nani?!"
The name Rocks hit Whitebeard like a sledgehammer to the head, leaving his mind ringing.
As a former member of the Rocks Pirates, Whitebeard knew all too well what that name truly meant.
His expression grew tense, and he quickly asked,
"How did you learn this?"
Marco told Whitebeard everything he knew about Rocks' current situation—word for word—including the message Rocks had asked him to pass along.
The current state of Rocks was hard to believe, and the more Whitebeard listened, the more confused he became. But one thing was clear: Rocks had truly returned!
The God Valley Incident had long since been buried by the World Government. Only someone who could describe those events so vividly—and who held such bitter hatred toward Roger—could possibly be Rocks himself.
Back in the day, the Rocks Pirates were nothing but a loose alliance. Sure, they were all powerful, but each had their own agenda. Their internal fights were so over-the-top they made even a soap opera look subtle!
That's why most of them didn't hold any real hatred toward Roger, who had stood with the Marines that day. Whitebeard himself often drank and laughed with Roger.
Only Rocks—the greatest victim of the God Valley Incident—harbored a hatred so deep it could burn the world.
And then there was that iconic Dark-Dark Fruit. Even if Whitebeard wanted to deny Rocks' return, he couldn't.
(Note: This part contains a small inconsistency. During Marineford, Whitebeard didn't show much reaction when he saw Teach use the Dark-Dark Fruit. Just consider this part of the story's own setting.)
Right now, Whitebeard was just incredibly grateful that Marco was still alive. If his most beloved son had died at the hands of Rocks, he would've lost his mind.
As for Rocks asking Whitebeard to welcome him back as his former captain—that was something Whitebeard immediately tossed aside.
He hadn't liked Rocks back in the day. Even without the God Valley Incident, he would've eventually left the Rocks Pirates.
These days, Whitebeard was living well with all his sons. Why would he bother dealing with Rocks again?
And if he rejoined the Rocks Pirates, would the Marines just sit back and watch?
What, were they trying to help pad Shikiryū's list of accomplishments?
Still, Rocks' resurrection was no trivial matter. Whitebeard decided he needed to inform the other three Emperors.
He wasn't about to carry this headache alone.
As expected, Big Mom and Kaido reacted just as Whitebeard predicted.
Kaido's massive kanabo slackened in his grip. Big Mom suddenly found her cake tasted bland.
After snapping back to their senses, they came to a surprisingly similar conclusion:
Just pretend Rocks never came back and keep living their lives.
Old captain? Sorry, but in this new era, there's no ship left that can carry you!
...
Compared to the other three Emperors, Shanks had a much more intense reaction.
After hearing the news from Whitebeard, he returned to his own ship, walked alone to the bow, and stared out at the ocean in silence.
The empty sleeve of his missing arm flapped in the sea breeze, making his figure appear incredibly lonely.
Shanks had once sailed with Roger. Though he hadn't been there for the God Valley Incident, he'd heard plenty about Rocks from Roger himself.
That man was pure chaos—lawless, wild, and a D to the extreme.
In Shanks' eyes, among the D clan, if Luffy's "D" stood for Dream, then Rocks' "D" stood for Destruction.
It was as if Rocks existed solely to bring the world to ruin.
The only other person who gave Shanks the same feeling was Blackbeard—Teach.
And now he was dead.
In a way, Teach and Rocks were essentially the same man.
That explained why Shanks had always had a gut feeling that Teach was far from ordinary.
Shanks had placed all his hopes in Luffy. One Kaito was already more trouble than he could handle. Now there was also Rocks...
For the first time, the Shanks who had always believed in fate began to feel doubt creeping into his heart.
Looking back on all the years since Roger launched the "Great Pirate Era"—aside from endless tragedy for the common people—had anything really changed?
Expressionless, Shanks raised his head to the sky and muttered quietly,
"Captain Roger... was everything we did... really the right thing?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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