Chapter 288: The Next Target: Whitebeard Pirates
The meeting with Aokiji didn't result in a fight. According to Aokiji, it was because Eric saved Zefa-sensei and the rookie sailors aboard that ship, and he owed Eric a favor. However, the next time they met, he wouldn't let them off so easily.
From the problems Eric presented, Aokiji felt a rekindled sense of justice within himself, and he wanted to address some long-standing issues within the Navy.
Unlike Akainu's strict sense of justice or Kizaru's ambiguous approach, even though Aokiji currently followed a lazy form of justice, he still had things he wanted to accomplish.
But trying to reform such a massive organization wasn't an easy task.
The World Government would press you, the intelligence agencies would watch you, and your colleagues in the Navy would keep an eye on you, with constant pressure bearing down on him.
But Eric couldn't help him—his path in the Navy could only be walked by himself.
Two days had passed since parting with Aokiji, and Eric , leading the Dawn Pirates, had left the island where he met Robin and was now sailing north.
"I should test how far my current strength is compared to the world's strongest," Eric gazed ahead towards the direction of the New World.
As for why he made this decision, it was because Eric had reached a bottleneck in his own power. Only by fighting strong opponents could he break through his limits and increase his strength quickly.
Moreover, he needed to take revenge for Robin by killing Donquixote Doflamingo, which would anger Doflamingo's biggest client—Kaido of the Beast Pirates. (Currently, weapons made in Wano, handled by the Seven Warlords, are sold to the World Government or other countries.)
If he wanted to establish himself in the New World, he could only rely on overwhelming strength. Otherwise, after establishing a country, he might be constantly attacked by others.
This battle with the Whitebeard Pirates would at least allow him to gauge the real difference in power between the Dawn Pirates and the old "Four Emperors" crews, so Eric could plan his next steps.
When Eric shared his plans, aside from Perona and Borci shouting "no," the rest of the crew respected the captain's decision, especially the combatants, whose eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Given that Big Mom despised Eric 's crew, the Red-Haired Pirates' real strength was unknown, and Kaido, the strongest creature, was tough to defeat, while other pirate crews lacked the strength, the Whitebeard Pirates were the best choice.
Well, the real reason was that the Whitebeard Pirates didn't normally kill their enemies outright—at least after three days of fierce battle with Roger's Pirates, they still shared drinks with them.
Also, when Ace challenged Whitebeard and failed, Ace's subordinates came to rescue him, and the Whitebeard Pirates didn't kill any of their opponents.
According to Whitebeard's preferences, the worst result for a defeat was that the members would end up with a new father.
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"Five Elders, Five Elders! Big trouble!"
"What happened?"
"Just now, several of the surveillance ships monitoring the Whitebeard Pirates were defeated by the Dawn Pirates!"
"What did you say?!"
"The Four Emperor 'Kui Long Eric ' Darren Eric has apparently come into contact with Whitebeard Edward Newgate!"
"…!" The Five Elders with golden hair had grim expressions.
The Five Elder with a mustache spoke, "Well, let Whitebeard handle this problem for us."
"The only point of concern is that after being crowned as one of the 'Four Emperors,' Eric took two years to challenge the world's strongest Whitebeard, which is completely unlike the reckless pirate behavior."
"Even if they are cautious, those pirates who roam the seas still desire the strongest throne."
"Send out the latest surveillance ships to the sea where the fleet was defeated, and search for the locations of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dawn Pirates!"
"Understood!" A young sailor immediately left to carry out the order.
On the Moby Dick, a massive whale-shaped ship, the lookout was holding a telescope, scanning the surroundings from the Karasu's nest.
Until a steel warship appeared in the center of the lens, its metallic gleam reflected a power that wooden sailing ships couldn't match, and the black thunder dragon flag on the mast signified the pirate crew—The Dawn Pirates!
"Captain! We found the Dawn Pirates' ship, and it's heading this way!"
In a corner, someone's eyes suddenly glowed with intensity.
"Buzz buzz..." The sounds of medical instruments mixed with the "glug glug" of drinking. Whitebeard put down his wine flask, "I thought this young guy would challenge me immediately after being crowned the Four Emperor, but he waited two years."
"These guys don't come with good intentions," Marco rubbed his chin, "Either they're very confident in their strength."
"Hahaha, let me see how capable this newcomer is."
"Hm?"
In the distance, a flash of light passed, and an arrow shot thousands of meters, heading straight for Whitebeard. Whitebeard grabbed the flying arrow.
"Is this a show of force right away?"
"Old man, the arrow seems to have a letter attached."
"Hmph... A challenge letter? How boring." Whitebeard read the letter and immediately tore it up. "Are all these young pirates so arrogant now?"
"Whoosh!" Another arrow with a letter flew toward him.
It read: "Just this arrogant."
"Gulalala!" Whitebeard laughed loudly after reading, "This little guy is interesting!"
"Then I'll play with you as you wish!"
The two ships simultaneously turned and sailed toward a desolate island nearby.
◇
"Hey, little brat from Bilibili," Whitebeard stood opposite them, his overwhelming presence charging toward them, "Ready to die?"
"I won't die by your hands," Eric smiled back, flipping his fire spear.
"Gulalala, you're quite cocky for a young guy," Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Is this the world's strongest?" Esdeath observed Whitebeard, her gaze turning to the pineapple-headed man beside her, "This is my opponent? The Phoenix?"
The crew had already assigned their targets, and they just needed to find them and fight.
Though the Dawn Pirates weren't all participating, except for Da Vinci who didn't want to fight, and the logistical staff—Sweetheart Queen and Carlaca—the rest of the crew were ready to battle.
The youngest members, Wendy and Kuina, volunteered, despite Eric not wanting them to be involved in such a fierce battle, they insisted, "We're also part of the Dawn Pirates."
Whitebeard, with his black boots on, walked toward them, his sword, Cong Yun Qie, resting on the ground.
Tich, hiding in the crowd, widened his eyes, scanning the Dawn Pirates one by one.
"Well then—let's just greet each other first," Eric said, and with a "crack," the fire spear's blade wrapped in blue-black electricity.
"This guy has the same Conqueror's Haki as Old Man," Whitebeard's pirates were stunned.
"This is..." Whitebeard grinned, showing his white teeth, "Is this your reliance, Conqueror's Haki wrapped around your weapon?"
"Of course—not!" From his body, lightning burst out, forming a set of armor that became a thunderbolt, charging straight toward the man in front of him.
Whitebeard's hands gripped Cong Yun Qie, and an invisible shield formed, a perfect combination of the power of the Gura Gura no Mi and his slashes. Only a few people in the world could resist this kind of attack.
With a slash, the massive blade wrapped in shockwaves collided with the lightning-covered fire spear in midair.
"Crack!"
The air around them was instantly torn apart, violent vibrations spreading, dozens of cracks appearing around them, and the blue-black electric arcs ran wild.
Just this one exchange created a storm as fierce as a Category 3 hurricane. The violent winds hit everyone, and some of the new Whitebeard Pirates members were even blown away by the gusts.
This showed the crew that Eric 's strength wasn't just made up by newspapers.
Seeing the standoff between Whitebeard and Eric , Marco suddenly spoke, "It looks like Old Man is happy."
"Yeah." The older Jozu noticed too, "It seems Old Man really likes this young guy."
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh," several ice spikes shot across the battlefield, aiming at Marco.
"Hey, hey," Marco used his winged right hand to swat them away, "Sudden sneak attacks aren't cool, you know?"
"The fight between the captains has already started," Esdeath said, holding her military hat with one hand, her rapier in the other, as she walked toward Marco, "It's time for our battle to begin."
"This guy..." Marco squinted at her, his entire body igniting with blue flames, and in the blink of an eye, Marco transformed into his immortal bird form, spreading his wings engulfed in blue flames, and flew toward Esdeath.
The 5-meter-tall Jozu was diverted by Scáthach.
Akame clashed with Vista's sword, the blades clashing with a resounding sound.
Kurumi fought against Izo, bullets scattered between them.
Chiron was facing Kuro and El, arrows shooting through mid-air, exploding the projectiles.
"Hey, Marshall D. Teach, your opponent is me." Artoria, fully armored in black, confronted Blackbeard who was hiding among the crowd. This was the task Eric gave her—keep an eye on this dangerous guy.
"Hey, you're pretty strong, you should go fight with the captain and the others," Teach grinned, showing his chipped teeth, putting on an innocent smile. "I don't even have a bounty, just a nameless guy from the Whitebeard Pirates."
"I don't have a bounty either, just a nameless one from the Dawn Pirates," Artoria cut him off.
"Yeah, Teach. The young lady specifically asked for a one-on-one with you. As a man, you can't back down!" The crew clapped Teach on the shoulder, laughing as they pushed him forward.
"..." Teach concealed the malicious intent in his eyes, then asked, "Why specifically me?"
"You look strong." Since the black mask hid Artoria's expression, Teach couldn't see her face.
"Of course, there are no weaklings in the Whitebeard Pirates!" A pirate behind him laughed loudly.
"No, you're weak." Artoria's words caused the man's expression to freeze. "Marshall D. Teach's strength is far stronger than yours."
"Hey, Teach, make sure to teach this woman a lesson!" A man angered by Artoria's words cheered Teach on.
"Hmph..." Artoria thrust the black holy sword into the ground, gripping the hilt tightly.
"Boom—!"
Purple-black magic surged from Artoria's body, red arcs of electricity swirling around her. The ground cracked beneath the immense magical power, and even if they couldn't feel the raging power, the Whitebeard Pirates members were left wide-eyed, swallowing in disbelief.
"What is this..." Teach's eyes widened, confused by the unknown energy, but his instincts told him that this petite woman was incredibly strong!
"Let me teach you properly." Artoria drew her holy sword, its tip glowing with red magical light.
"!" Teach gritted his remaining teeth, his steel claws enveloped in Armament Haki.
"Head-on, die," Artoria thrust the black holy sword forward, turning her magic into a light attack, a red-black rainbow light shot at Blackbeard!
The red light reflected off Blackbeard's twisted face like the breath of a dragon, crashing into Marshall D. Teach, burning his body with magical energy. Teach screamed in agony and was blasted away, crashing into the distant forest.
The Whitebeard Pirates members watching this were stunned by Artoria's power, frozen in place.
"Teach!" The fourth division commander, Sachi, cried out the name of his friend, drawing his twin swords and pointing them at Artoria.
The sixth division commander, Blamank, also pulled a large wooden mallet from his neck pocket, ready to face Artoria with Sachi. "This woman is strong, be careful!"
"Ah..." Sachi looked down at the large trench Artoria had created with her attack, sweat beading on his forehead. "Such a terrifying slash."
"I don't understand why you're in such a hurry." Artoria calmly explained, "That guy hasn't died, and the injuries he sustained aren't even considered serious."
"What?" The two commanders exchanged glances, realizing that if that attack had hit them, they'd be severely injured. But according to her, Teach seemed to be stronger than them?
In the forest, Teach, who had been thrown far away, was rolling on the ground. "It hurts! Damn... Where did this monster woman come from...!"
His clothes were torn, and his body was covered in numerous wounds. As he rolled, blood mixed with dirt and burnt marks, making Teach appear even more pitiful.
"Teach!" Some Whitebeard Pirates members rushed into the forest to find the injured Teach.
'I have to act like I'm seriously hurt…' Teach thought, 'That way I can rest for now and avoid exposing my true strength in front of them…'
"I-I'm here..." Teach weakly responded.
"Great!" His comrades cheered, "Teach is okay, can you get up?"
"Looks like... no..." Teach pretended to try.
"Alright, hold on." A few of his comrades helped lift the bulky Teach and slowly made their way out of the forest.
"Well done, you young brat." Whitebeard's sword handle slammed heavily into the ground as he laughed. "Such strength at such a young age. Are you here to take my head?"
"Take your head?" Eric on the other side responded, "What's the point?"
Whitebeard paused, then laughed heartily. "You're the first one to come challenge me without wanting my head. So, what's your purpose?"
"I just came to measure the distance between myself and the world's strongest."
"Gulalala... Then let me show you the power of the world's strongest."
(END CHAPTER)
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