A few days later—
The world trembled as the news spread: the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki had been utterly defeated by Souta Kiryuu and the Dragon Pirates.
Thanks to the relentless reporting of Big News Morgans, the story swept across every sea and island, igniting shockwaves through both pirate and government factions.
For years, the Dragon Pirates had focused their fury solely on the World Government—destroying Navy fleets, raiding Celestial Dragon assets, and dismantling Cipher Pol outposts. But now, they had turned their claws upon other pirates.
This was more than a victory. It was a message.
The age of piracy was changing—and Souta Kiryuu was the one rewriting the rules.
After the disbandment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, even the most arrogant pirates began to panic.
If Shiki the Golden Lion, a living legend who had once shaken the world alongside Roger and Whitebeard, could fall… who could possibly stand against Kiryuu next?
Even the might of Whitebeard's crew, the strongest of the Four Emperors, was said to be powerless against the full force of the Dragon Pirates.
And that was only what they showed in public.
No one knew how many Seraphim Kiryuu truly controlled—those godlike weapons that could rival Admirals.
Nor how many powerful prisoners from Impel Down he had secretly recruited.
No one knew the full strength of the Dragon Pirates. That mystery terrified the seas.
Far across the New World, aboard the massive flagship shaped like a white whale—Moby Dick—
Whitebeard Edward Newgate sat upon his throne, gazing down at the latest newspaper in silence.
"Shiki…"
His deep voice trembled faintly as he read the headline declaring the Golden Lion's fall.
Another giant of their era—gone.
First it had been Figarland Garling, one of the last relics of the God Valley generation.
Now Shiki, a man who once soared through the skies and waged wars against the World Government, had been struck down.
Whitebeard's weathered hand, veins bulging, rested beside an IV tube that dripped steadily into his arm.
He exhaled slowly, a trace of sadness flickering in his eyes.
"So… it's our turn next, huh…"
Even in his prime, Whitebeard had never feared death. But this—seeing his comrades of old crumble, one by one—felt like the sea itself was erasing their generation.
Still, he couldn't die yet.
Not while Ace still needed him.
Until his sons could stand tall beneath their own flag, he would hold the skies open for them—no matter what it cost.
"Old man… that lightning guy's gotten stronger," said Portgas D. Ace, his expression hard as he read the article about Enel, the so-called "Thunder God" who now fought alongside Kiryuu.
He didn't realize it, but his thoughts had already narrowed—not toward Souta Kiryuu, the leader of the Dragon Pirates, but toward Enel, the man whose power mirrored his own.
He wasn't ready to face the storm yet.
As long as Whitebeard stood before Kiryuu, Ace only had to think about his own rivals—the Thunder God, Bartholomew Kuma, the Pirate Empress.
Enemies within his reach.
At his side, Marco the Phoenix, Whitebeard's first division commander and ship's doctor, silently folded the paper.
He knew what Ace didn't.
Whitebeard's body was failing. No medicine could heal the decades of battle scars or undo the damage of years spent holding back the tides of the world.
Marco had once dreamed of taking up Whitebeard's mantle—but he had long accepted the truth.
He wasn't a king.
Ace was.
And so Marco devoted himself to helping Ace grow—to preparing him to inherit the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates.
But the sea had no mercy.
Between the World Government tightening its grip and the Dragon Pirates expanding their dominion, Marco feared they no longer had the time.
If the storms came before Ace was ready… the Whitebeard Pirates might not survive at all.
Just then, several intelligence officers rushed aboard the Moby Dick, breathless.
"Bad news, Pops! Hive Island's ruler, Wang Zhi, refuses to pay this year's tribute!"
"Old man, Camellio says he's leaving the Whitebeard Pirates altogether!"
A tense silence followed.
The air around the ship grew heavy as the division commanders gathered.
Ever since the world had learned that Ace was the son of the Pirate King, trouble had been brewing.
The first to defect was Squard, the Great Whirlpool Spider—a longtime subordinate who had once called Whitebeard his father.
Squard had never forgiven Roger. His original crew had been slaughtered by the Roger Pirates, and he alone survived.
When he learned that Ace was Roger's blood, the hatred consumed him.
Whitebeard had let him go. He understood that kind of pain—some wounds were too deep to heal with words.
But after Squard's departure, others began to waver.
Kiryuu's meteoric rise had cast a shadow over the entire New World.
Whitebeard's dominance seemed to fade like a dying tide, and his "sons" began whispering among themselves.
Camellio—known as the Chameleon, with a bounty of 300 million Berries—was next to leave.
A Copy-Copy Fruit user, he could mimic another person's appearance, skills, even Devil Fruit powers.
An opportunist by nature, he saw the writing on the wall and abandoned ship before the storm came.
And now Wang Zhi, one of Whitebeard's oldest allies and a former comrade from the Rocks Pirates, was testing the Emperor's patience.
Hive Island, his fortress, lay deep within Whitebeard's territory.
It was a violent, lawless haven Whitebeard had tolerated out of pragmatism.
But if Wang Zhi refused tribute… the cracks would widen.
If Whitebeard didn't act, every ambitious pirate under his flag would do the same.
The seas would smell blood.
Whitebeard set the paper down, his massive frame shaking with barely restrained anger.
"So… Wang Zhi's really decided to bare his fangs."
He exhaled, his voice low and dangerous.
Camellio, Squard, Wang Zhi—they had all called him "Father."
And now they betrayed him, one by one.
"Do they think I can't still swing my blade?"
His hand reached for the massive bisento resting beside his throne, the air around it humming with power.
If he wanted, he could still sink Hive Island beneath the waves in a single strike.
But that wasn't the way he wanted his sons to remember him.
No. This wasn't about revenge. It was about balance.
He couldn't let the world believe that Edward Newgate had grown too weak to defend his own family.
For Ace—for all of them—he would stand tall one last time.
"Prepare the ship," he rumbled. "We're going to Hive Island. It's time that fool remembered… why they call me Whitebeard."
...
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