Becoming the Vice-Captain's Blade Slave—There's Nothing Luckier!
Roya cleared his throat lightly, bringing Whitebeard's focus back.
"About increasing your vitality—that part will have to wait."
"Right now, the top priority for this crew is rescuing our Second Division Commander."
Inside and outside the cabin, everyone nodded in agreement.
In the Whitebeard Pirates, comrades came above all else.
Even Whitebeard himself would never place healing his body ahead of saving Ace.
Roya continued:
"So for now, the most effective approach… is reducing consumption."
"And the first thing you need to master, old man—
is a technique called Life Return."
---
At the mention of "Life Return," Whitebeard's pupils shrank.
He'd heard of that technique before.
"A secret among secrets… one of CP9's top classified skills, never to be leaked!"
"How does he even know about it?!"
"Don't tell me… Roya's Observation Domain can even read that deep?!"
---
Through his Domain, Roya had already read Whitebeard's entire thought process.
But he couldn't be bothered to explain—he simply smiled and said:
"Life Return is a technique where, through focused training,
you gain complete control over every part of your body—
even the hair on your toes."
"With your level of cultivation, you'd only need a few days of training to pick it up."
Whitebeard shuddered, beginning to understand the brilliance of the idea.
Precision control over one's body…
"If I can shut down unnecessary energy drain, I could extend my stamina dramatically."
---
But Roya wasn't done.
"And if that's all you do…
you might as well go back to pretending to be dead in bed."
"What I want you to do, old man, is this—
once you've mastered precise control…
begin actively removing the parts of your body that are too far gone."
---
"What? Actively remove?!"
Whitebeard froze.
How could that even make sense?
Cutting off parts of his body like pruning branches?
It was insane!
"You're not fixing a wooden puppet—you're dealing with a living human!"
But then, Roya pointed to his lower right abdomen:
"Your liver has already hardened by about a third."
"That one portion uses more energy than all your other internal organs combined."
"Cut it out."
---
Whitebeard's lips twitched.
Just imagining a third of his liver being removed made his side hurt.
But then—he paused.
"Wait… if I get rid of the damaged part, the rest might work even better?"
"For a normal person, cutting it out would be devastating…"
"But with Life Return—I could break it down internally,
and force it out through my pores."
"No pain. No blood. Just gone."
Brilliant.
His eyes lit up with undeniable excitement.
---
He leaned in.
"Vice-Captain! Use your Observation Domain—
tell me what other parts I need to cut out! I'll make a list right now!"
---
Roya chuckled.
"Old man, once you learn Life Return, you'll be able to sense all that yourself."
"Why bother making me do it?"
Whitebeard burst into hearty laughter.
"You're right, huh!"
"This 'reduce consumption' strategy of yours…
is as ruthless as it is effective!"
"Removing anything that burns too much fuel? I like it!"
---
Roya grinned:
"Once you're done with this 'first phase,' you might shed a good 50 pounds."
Whitebeard laughed harder.
"Even better! Let me look like I'm on my deathbed—
then when that old bastard Sengoku lets his guard down…"
"BAM! I give him the surprise of his life!"
---
Roya chuckled along.
"Don't rush it, old man. This is just treatment one."
"Once you finish it, I've got phase two ready for you."
"At that point, Sengoku won't even be enough.
You'll need all three Admirals just to put up a fight!"
---
Whitebeard's grin began to fade.
But not from doubt.
No—something else was stirring inside him.
A flood of energy he hadn't felt in years.
That youthful, invincible spirit he thought had long faded…
had suddenly, fiercely returned.
He thought back—
"When did I start accepting defeat?"
"When did I decide that my only role was to die to save Ace?"
"Just because of this broken body…
I really believed I couldn't face Sengoku one-on-one anymore?"
"Hell no."
---
"Marineford? One hundred thousand elite soldiers? Seven Warlords?
So what?!"
"If I can fix this body—
even if I only get back half my peak power…"
"I'll smash Marineford to pieces!"
---
Whitebeard took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with fierce gratitude.
He looked at Roya with reverence.
It was this young man—who didn't look particularly remarkable at first glance—
who had reignited the fire in his heart.
He had pulled him back from the edge of despair.
He had made him believe again.
---
Whitebeard gave one last glance to Roya, who met it with a confident, knowing smile.
Then he stood.
"Vice-Captain… I'll return to my cabin immediately and start training Life Return."
"As for that bunch of brats outside—
I leave them to you. Teach them well."
---
Then, without another word, Whitebeard bowed deeply to Roya.
A moment of solemn, unshakable respect.
---
In Whitebeard's heart, Roya was no longer a potential successor.
He had become something far greater.
---
Outside, the fifteen commanders went pale.
Even through the wall and closed door, their Observation Haki had perfectly captured Whitebeard's actions.
The man who had ruled the seas for forty years—
had just bowed to a young Vice-Captain.
To Roger, to Rocks—Whitebeard had only ever stood as an equal.
And now… he had lowered himself.
There was only one explanation:
> Roya's strength had surpassed all imagination.
Whitebeard understood this—and that's why he had bowed.
---
Meanwhile, Squard straightened his spine, face beaming with pride.
> "Becoming Vice-Captain Roya's blade slave…
is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me."
---
With a swoosh, the cabin door opened.
Whitebeard stepped out.
He swept his gaze across the assembled commanders with a gleam of vigor not seen in ages—
—and with his head high, strode back to his captain's quarters.
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