:My home base?"
Whitebeard was momentarily stunned when he heard that voice.
Then he reacted, but instead of getting angry, he narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"An interesting way to put it…"
Speaking of which, a hint of reminiscence suddenly appeared in Whitebeard's eyes.
"Sometimes, you always say some very interesting things."
"However…"
Whitebeard composed himself, his gaze once again fixed on Kenji in the distance, and he said firmly, "This time, I really want to know."
"How big is the gap between us?"
Kenji smiled at the words.
If it had been before this year, the gap in strength between Whitebeard and him would have been very, very large.
And now, the gap between him and Whitebeard is still very large.
It's just that this time, Kenji is the one looking down.
Actually, many years ago, Kenji had also looked down on Whitebeard, back when Whitebeard was a youth, so-called 'kicking North Blue kindergarten'.
However, after Whitebeard went to sea, his reputation soared, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds…
Kenji basically never directly fought him again.
Until this battle in Wano Country.
"There's no need to be so fixated on this." Kenji frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of a lecture.
Who knew that Whitebeard on the opposite side, upon hearing this, immediately glared, his face full of anger.
"Heh heh, that attitude again… It's truly annoying!" Whitebeard bared his teeth, revealing a chilling smile.
"A long time ago, I thought about punching your detestable face."
The moment Whitebeard's emotions flared, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit within him spread, and cracks suddenly appeared in the air inside and outside the battlefield—these were the traces of vibration.
Rumble!
The powerful vibrational force caused the ground to shake violently, and for a time, countless deep cracks appeared in the earth.
The vibration waves erupted around Whitebeard, and as time went on, not only the battlefield but also the distant Flower Capital town began to shake violently, causing many wooden houses to collapse.
"Eh? Fighting again?"
At the edge of the battlefield, Oden was originally preparing to move towards the coastal area to confront Shiki.
As for this battlefield, because it had been quiet for a long time, he subconsciously felt that the two had probably finished fighting.
But now, it looked like the conflict between the two was about to start again, and Whitebeard, just by getting angry, caused large-scale, high-intensity vibrations.
"Hmm, if they keep fighting, Flower Capital won't be saved."
Oden's gaze swept across, watching helplessly as the countless cracks and fissures in the ground snaked their way towards Flower Capital.
If all these fissures spread, even if Flower Capital's buildings could withstand the vibrations, they couldn't withstand the ground's collapse.
After all, if the very foundation of the ground was almost vibrated empty, the upper structures would simply have to fall down.
And Flower Capital, sunken into the ground, would probably become a legend in future historical years, similar to cities submerged by the sea.
Understanding these things, Oden immediately felt like 'the sky was falling'.
"Without Flower Capital, can Wano Country still be called Wano Country?"
Flower Capital held special significance for Wano Country, like cherry blossoms.
The next moment, Oden, seizing the opportunity before the two distant figures truly engaged, shouted.
"Hey! I say, you two, if you want to test the gap, why don't you go fight that Golden Lion Shiki?"
As if afraid the two wouldn't understand his words, Oden continued without pause to explain, "You two, whoever can defeat that Golden Lion Shiki, wouldn't that prove who is stronger?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard kept a straight face and didn't bother to respond, while Kenji couldn't help but chuckle.
"Goodness, the way you're calculating, they probably can hear it all the way at Marine Headquarters Base."
Kenji let out a "puff" of laughter.
Trying to play tricks in front of him? A bit too green!
Go back and train for another one or two hundred years before you're qualified to sit at the table. Kenji, after all, is a transmigrator, with at least a hundred years of life experience combined.
However, Kenji, like Whitebeard, also didn't bother to respond verbally.
This, however, increased Oden's confidence.
Because from his perspective, the silence of the two top powerhouses meant acquiescence, at least a certain degree of approval for his words.
A single speech, almost able to persuade two individuals standing at the pinnacle of the world—isn't that enough to make one proud? Anyone would feel a massive surge of confidence!
Not inflating into a balloon on the spot, Oden felt he was already humble enough.
However, all the above pride and confidence were built on the imagined fact of 'persuading the strong'.
Or rather, it was purely built on fantasy, a result of Oden over-dramatizing himself to the point of believing it.
"Hmm, so you're finally willing to quiet down and listen to me."
Oden decided to strike while the iron was hot and quickly advised, "That suggestion I just made wasn't just random talk."
"Think about it, with your two strengths, you might fight for days and nights and still not determine a winner."
"But, if you change your target and take that Golden Lion Shiki as your opponent, whoever defeats him first will be the winner. If you both attack together, I believe the final result will come out very quickly."
Oden phrased his words very tactfully.
In essence, it all boiled down to one meaning. He wanted Kenji and Whitebeard to team up against Golden Lion Shiki.
Even if Golden Lion Shiki was a Legendary Pirate, there were two even fiercer ones here, and two against one would indeed make it very easy to determine a winner.
It's just that both of them were among the world's few top powerhouses, asking them to team up? This was practically slapping them in the face!
Oden was no longer the hot-headed youth he once was. He knew that powerful individuals had tempers.
Being so cautious, going through twists and turns to say this, was mostly because…
He was afraid of angering those two on the other side, who could each unleash a single move and send him flying, disoriented.
Fortunately, judging by their attitudes, there seemed to be no sign of anger, which greatly reassured Oden.
Once reassured, Oden's heart inevitably began to swell again. They weren't angry, so they must have agreed with his statement, right?
Just as Oden was feeling smug and about to signal the two to move towards the coast together.
In the distance, Whitebeard suddenly moved.
Rumble!!
The air suddenly vibrated.
Whitebeard, with his towering six-meter-six frame, stepped forward. This time, he didn't sprint wildly. His steps were steady, appearing calm and unhurried.
This posture, no matter how one looked at it, didn't seem like he was about to fight.
At this moment, Kenji smiled and shook his head, also getting up and walking towards Whitebeard.
"Hey, are you going to make peace?" Oden nodded repeatedly, subconsciously getting up and walking towards the two.
After all, he was the biggest contributor to getting the two to 'make up', so he had to see the process through, and perhaps even lead the way next…