"Gualalalala! Did he say that?"
When Whitebeard heard Luffy's dream, he started laughing. He laughed so hard that it created a shockwave through his ship.
"No wonder you sacrificed your arm for him. And looking at this newspaper, it seems like your bet has been paid off."
Whitebeard slowly calmed down and spoke.
"It's too early. The World is not ready for the change." Shanks spoke with a solemn expression.
Hearing his words, Whitebeard narrowed his eyes and asked.
"What do you want?"
"Stop, Ace! Tell him to return. I know how strong he is. He certainly has the strength of a commander, but he is not Teach's opponent."
Shanks spoke with a serious expression.
"Are you asking me to give up on Teach?" Whitebeard suddenly held his Naginata and shouted.
"Teach committed the worst crime that can be committed in a pirate ship. He must pay for his action."
"You know what this decision will lead to. The chaos caused by your decision will shake the world." Shanks growled as he chucked down the sake.
"So what? There is nothing I am afraid of." Whitebeard stood up and raised his Naginata.
"I'm Whitebeard."
"Then, nobody can stop this chaos." Shanks also unsheathed his sword. At this moment, their Conqueror Haki began to emerge.
They didn't collide but instead rushed toward the sky as Shank and Whitebeard's swords collided.
Crack!
The Conqueror Haki released by two of them caused the Heaven to split. Whitebeard didn't use his power, nor did Shanks.
After a single clash, they put down their weapons, and Shanks turned around.
"You can't bear the weight of your decision, Whitebeard," Shanks spoke before leaving the Whitebeard ship.
"You don't understand, Shanks."
Whitebeard slowly sat on his seat while closing his eyes. At this moment, he couldn't help but remember his battle with Rogers.
Those days when he could use his full strength, cause massive destruction, and still enjoy the battle.
He could no longer do the same. His time was coming, but he didn't want to go off so easily.
Roger had set up the world for One Piece, and he wanted to do the same.
He knew that Ace wouldn't be able to defeat Teach. But he couldn't just leave and fight Teach, someone who has no bounty whatsoever.
He wanted Teach to defeat Ace. As for Ace's death, he didn't think that was possible.
Those with the Will of D won't do so easily.
Roger proved it. His son will prove it as well.
"My time is coming soon." Whitebeard looked at the bright sky that was caused after their clash and murmured.
..........
Marineford,
At this moment, the Fleet Admiral's office was full. All three admirals were present. Aokiji and Kizaru had some bandages on their faces and bodies.
Except for those Vice Admirals who participated in the battle, every other Vice Admiral was also present in the room.
Some Rear Admirals, like Smoker and Hina, were also present in the room. At this moment, Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the Marine, stared at his people with a solemn look and spoke.
"The pattern that we worked so hard to maintain for years has been broken. The strength of Pirates has increased tremendously, and now, the new Fifth Emperor of the Sea has risen."
"This is not a scam, nor is it a false reputation. Those who have faced an Emperor know the true strength of the Straw Hat Pirates. They have the strength of an Emperor, but their strength is even more horrible."
"Now, the question is, should we use our forces to eliminate this threat or should we create a balance?"
Hearing his words, most of the marines showed a look of disbelief. The fact that marines would try to create a balance out of fear made their heart shake.
On the other hand, some experienced and knowledgeable marines showed a look of thoughtfulness.
"It is impossible to contain this chaos for long. But we can't be the ones to start this chaos. Otherwise, the chances of Marines falling will be higher."
Tsuru spoke with a serious tone.
"Then, let me contain the so-called Fifth Emperor." A purple-haired man spoke.
"No, if anything, I can't send you. Zephyr, you don't have the same strength as before. This is a real Emperor Crew we are talking about." Sengoku rejected the idea as soon as it was out.
"But we can't let them control Paradise," Akainu spoke with a lot of anger in his tone.
"Let me go! I will keep them at bay until we are ready to strike." He almost stood up until Tsuru spoke.
"You can't. Akainu, your role in the New World is far more important. Besides, you have already taken the job of nipping out new buds."
Hearing her words, Akainu sat back with a speechless on his face. He couldn't argue with what she said, even though he wanted to.
"I can't continue here anymore. Not only do I need to recover, but I need to visit Vegapunk." Kizaru raised his head and shook his head.
Hearing that, Aokiji couldn't help but remember Liam's words. Although he highly doubted those words, he still showed some trust toward him.
So, when Kizaru mentioned Vegapunk, he raised his hand and spoke.
"Sorry, Borsalino, I have something to discuss with Vegapunk. So, I will take this month's quota to visit Vegapunk."
Hearing his words, many looked at him with strange expressions. Even Sengoku showed a look of confusion and asked.
"If I remember correctly, you don't have any connection with Vegapunk. So, why do you need to find him now?"
"Don't worry, I just have a small matter to talk to." Kuzan didn't reveal the information given to him by Liam.
In the eyes of the Marines, Liam was a pirate. Pirates' words can't be trusted. So, naturally, he couldn't give this information to Sengoku without verifying it.
"Sengoku, we can't deal with an Emperor without properly utilizing all of our military forces. Unless we ask for help from above." Tsuru, who had been racking her brain on Straw Hats, helplessly sighed and spoke.
"Is that so?" Sengoku also showed a look of helplessness and then turned toward the vice admirals and others.
"Most of you have people under your command who sail around the Grandline. Tell them to avoid Straw Hat Pirates at any cost."
"No matter what, we can't start a war with an Emperor right now. The members of SWORDs also must not start a war against an Emperor."
Saying so, Sengoku turned his head toward Tsuru and asked.
"By the way, have their bounties been confirmed and distributed?"
Tsuru took out a stack of Bounty Posters and nodded her head.
"We have carefully selected their bounties based on their performance. Since their battle was pretty much live for most people, we have selected the perfect amount for their bounties."
"Is that so?"
Sengoku looked at those bounty papers, and as he examined them, he nodded with satisfaction.
These bounties weren't too high nor were they too low. They were perfect for the Straw Hat Pirates.
"What about Straw Hat Fleet?" Sengoku asked.
"Their bounties also have been confirmed. Because we couldn't understand their positioning, we have put their bounties based on their performance on the War."
"One of the most notable performances was from Buggy the Clown. Originally, we thought he was a weak guy, but when watching him take down so many marines with such ease, we started suspecting his true power."
"Especially, when we couldn't even see how he took down those marines. Although it might be stretching it, we believe his strength is similar to Roronoa Zoro and Sanji of the Main Crew."
"So, after understanding his strength, I dug deeper into his background, and guess what I found?"
When Tsuru said that, she took out several papers and put them in front of Sengoku.
"Buggy the Clown was an apprentice at Roger Pirates."
As soon as those words came out of her mouth, the entire room shook with people shouting in shock.
"Not only that, he is also a close friend of Red Hair Shanks and was often seen fighting together. Although he might not have the strength similar to Shanks, it might be a lot higher than we think."
"At least, I estimate his strength to be somewhere between an Admiral and a Vice Admiral. This is a man who had been hiding his strength for two decades."
"I don't know the reason why he joined Straw Hat Pirates. But I am afraid it is a pretty big reason, and he must have joined them because only they could fulfill his goal."
"So, I have carefully selected his bounty. But, there has been a small mistake in the printing department."
After she finished speaking, she sat down and let Sengoku watch his bounty and inspect it.
She knew this bounty was perfect for someone like Buggy. But that mistake still bothered her. It felt like a divine intervention that she didn't understand.
Sengoku's mind registered her words, and as he watched the bounty poster, his jaw dropped to the ground with snot coming out of his nose.
[Buggy D Clown
Dead & Alive
B1,500,000,000]
"WHAT?"