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CHAPTER 3
"Pops, I want to tell you a secret I've been keeping to myself… haaah."
Ren shouted over Whitebeard's shoulder, startling the old man just as he dropped the sake jug in his hand.
"My real name… is Astro D. Ren… haaah."
Ren's voice slurred as the alcohol took hold. "The reason I buried my dream… was because of my old man. He caused too much trouble—got my mum killed, and left the government hunting me."
"When you found me on that island, Pops… before you made me part of your family… I'd just barely escaped the Marines. My old man was locked up in Impel Down for a crime so bad the world itself forgot his name. He's been rotting there, sulking in his regrets."
Ren tilted his head back, grinning through the haze of drink.
"One day, I'll go see him… and ask if chasing his dream was worth losing everything. But until then—"
He raised his sake cup high. "I'm founding the Whitebeard Information Broker Division! Hahahahahahahaha!"
Whitebeard couldn't help but laugh—a deep, rumbling sound that carried pride and pain alike. As he watched the young man sitting on his shoulder, a small smile tugged at his lips. Memories flashed: his first days as a pirate, the day he met Marco, and the faces of the sons who had filled the void in his heart.
But even amid the joy, one regret lingered… that he hadn't taught Teach (Blackbeard) well enough.
---
"Fufufufu… things are getting interesting," Doflamingo chuckled, a wicked grin spreading beneath his sunglasses.
Beside him, Bartholomew Kuma said calmly, "This development defies all Marine predictions. The hope that should've died with Whitebeard… is now burning again through that white-haired man."
The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, didn't speak—her eyes were locked on Luffy amid the chaos.
Gecko Moria cackled while Mihawk stayed silent, his sharp gaze following Ren—the man now wielding Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, the supreme-grade naginata.
---
Ren stood bloodied but unbowed.
"Hahahaha!" His laughter echoed across the battlefield as his weapon clashed with Shiliu's sword.
"Clank!"
Jumping back, Ren adjusted his stance and charged again, his movements a blur. Shiliu barely parried in time, sweat trickling down his temple—the naginata's edge had come within an inch of his eye.
"Swoosh!"
Catarina Devon appeared behind Ren, her blade flashing.
But before it could connect, a diamond-coated hand intercepted it, knocking the weapon aside.
Ren exhaled sharply. "Jozu! I owe you one!"
"No need," Jozu replied, smiling. "That's what comrades are for."
Marco, watching from above, breathed a sigh of relief. "Huff… that scared me."
"Zehahahahahaha! Let me join the chaos!" Blackbeard bellowed, his fists shrouded in black smoke as he crashed down toward Ren.
Steel clashed and haki flared. Ren met the blow head-on with Whitebeard's naginata, the force creating a shockwave that split the ground.
Pushed back, Ren gasped for air. His body had adapted to this madness, but his mind—his instincts—hadn't caught up. Still, beneath the exhaustion, he felt it: the thrill of battle, something intoxicating that made him forget pain and fear.
Suddenly—
"Slash!"
A sickle of energy from Doc Q's weapon caught him mid-air, sending him tumbling. He barely blocked in time, the naginata absorbing most of the impact.
As he fell, Ren's hand brushed Whitebeard's arm—just for a second—and then—
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
A glowing circle flashed in his mind's eye.
Ignoring it, Ren used his Observation Haki, scanning the battlefield:
—Shanks's ship wasn't far.
—Jinbe and Luffy were almost aboard Law's submarine.
—The Whitebeard remnants and Blackbeard pirates clashed evenly, but Marco's forces were tiring.
"Marcoooo!" Ren roared. "Fall back after this attack!"
His muscles tightened, veins glowing as haki began to surge through his body—uncontrolled, raw, yet pure. The naginata in his hand turned a dark, lustered black.
Whitebeard's voice echoed faintly in his mind: "A weapon only obeys a heart that burns brighter than steel."
And then—
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]:
Whitebeard's Buccaneers Body Defense has been absorbed.
Mythical Zoan Fruit stored in Subspace.
Think of the subspace to access it.
Ren's eyes widened.
"This… this is insane."
The true storm had only just begun.
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