Calm Seas

"Among the Four Emperors, Whitebeard is the strongest, without a doubt. Kaido the weakest, but he is the most difficult to deal with. Before losing his arm, Red Hair should be a notch stronger than Big Mom, but after losing his arm, he is a little weaker. However, you can't be sure. After all, the only one among the Four Emperors that I can't see through is Red Hair. Maybe he is a very cunning old fox like Blackbeard."

Roy thought to himself, then quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea. "It's probably impossible. If he can hide his strength under these circumstances, then his power is too terrifying. Whitebeard at his peak might not have been able to do that. The sense of mystery he gives me probably comes from his identity."

"My current strength is probably similar to Big Mom and Red Hair. If I want to truly surpass them and reach Whitebeard's level, I'll have to wait until I develop any one of my abilities to the maximum level." Roy roughly estimated his own strength, and his usually calm mind was stirred. "After so many years in this world, am I finally just one step away from becoming the World's Strongest?"

"Old Man, Nightmare is too arrogant. He doesn't take our Whitebeard Pirates seriously at all. Let's just grant his wish and start the war!" Jozu is usually quite calm, but he can't stay calm when it comes to things related to his Old Man.

"That's right, Old Man, let's start the battle and show that newbie what we're made of." Izo and the others also had burning fighting spirit in their eyes, and they didn't consider Roy's Phantom Sword Pirates to be opponents of the same level at all.

"Nonsense, I don't want people to say that Whitebeard is a sore loser." Whitebeard waved his hand to stop him.

"Can't accept defeat?" Jozu and the others were stunned, their pupils contracting sharply as they said in disbelief, "How is this possible? Old Man, aren't you the World's Strongest? How could you possibly lose?"

"Kurarara, there is no one in the world who is invincible, and I am no exception." The Whitebeard pointed to a horrific scar on his abdomen and said without any hesitation, "That brat left a mark on me, but I didn't leave a mark on him. So, in a way, I did lose!"

"How is this possible?" Izo and the others looked dazed, as if their faith had collapsed.

While using the Rebirth Flame to heal Whitebeard's abdominal wound, Marco shook his head and said, "Old Man, what you said is biased. If Kaido hadn't tied you down so much, and if that Mad Woman Charlotte Linlin hadn't been acting so recklessly, Nightmare would never have been able to hurt you."

Upon hearing this, Jozu and the others all seemed to Ohm; that made sense.

"A loss is a loss, no matter how many excuses you make." Whitebeard didn't care about his defeat. "That kid's ability to seize the opportunity is his own skill."

"Hahaha, my daughters, you have all witnessed Nightmare's immense power. Has any of you been tempted?"

The Big Mom's conciliatory tone made her daughters widen their eyes in disbelief. Their mother was always independent and domineering, and no one dared to disobey her orders, not even her children.

Now they're letting them make their own choices? This is like the sun rising in the west!

Or perhaps, Nightmare really holds such an important place in her mother's heart that she can remain rational when it comes to matters concerning him, and doesn't even intend to resort to coercive measures.

The women, already experiencing stirrings of romantic feelings, were now lost in thought, their gazes becoming wary and guarded as if each of them were a rival in love.

"Weren't you going to stop their fight? How did you end up fighting yourself?" Beckman looked speechlessly at the smiling, unassuming captain in front of him.

"Haha..." the Red Hair laughed freely, "I was just testing their strength!"

Beckman's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't expose him. "So, did you find out anything?"

Upon hearing this, Red Hair's expression turned serious. "The others are still the same as before. Nightmare's strength is about the same as mine, but he hasn't reached his peak yet. In a few years, the outcome of the battle will be hard to say."

"Moreover, I really can't see through him. He already has such great strength, yet he is still unwilling to leave the Shichibukai. There must be a shocking plan behind this. In short, he is an extremely dangerous man."

"Do I need you to tell me all this?" Beckman's face darkened. "A man who stands at the pinnacle of this ocean before he's even twenty years old—who doesn't know he's an extremely dangerous person?"

"I'm telling you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, could you please send someone else on these dangerous missions in the future?" Kizaru's monkey-like face was full of frustration. "If I hadn't been alert this time, I really wouldn't be coming back."

Sengoku looked embarrassed, knowing that the Five Elders had acted dishonestly this time. If it were just two Four Emperors going to war, Kizaru wouldn't be afraid with his abilities, but once the number was increased to five, no one dared to confidently say they were completely unafraid.

"Ahem..." Sengoku forcibly changed the subject, saying, "Did you get any important information from watching this battle, such as how strong Nightmare Roy really is, and whether he truly has the fighting power to rival the Four Emperors?"

"Nightmare's strength is even more terrifying than the rumors suggest. Not only is he as troublesome as Kaido, but he also possesses unimaginable power."

Kizaru forced himself to say, "However, Nightmare hasn't shown any signs of leaving the Shichibukai yet. At least for now, he's still on our side, so it can't be considered bad news."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. They all seem quite wary of Nightmare's weapons. Unfortunately, I'm not a pure swordsman, and I don't dare get too close, so I can't find out why." Kizaru suddenly remembered this scene that puzzled him.

"Afraid of his weapon? Could it be because Nightmare's weapon has reached the level of Supreme Grade Sword?" Sengoku stroked his goatee and pondered for a moment, then quickly shook his head in denial. "Impossible. Red Hair and Hawkeye have fought more than once. Supreme Grade Sword shouldn't be too rare for him. Could it be that Nightmare's weapon has some special ability?"

Sengoku never even considered the possibility of it Above Supreme Grade Sword, since such sensational news had never appeared in the history of the Pirate World.

"Forget it, let's skip this for now. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever; they won't be able to keep this news a secret for long," Sengoku said, shaking his head.

"Besides that, I also noticed that Whitebeard seems to have retained most of his peak fighting strength, unlike what we speculated about, which was hampered by injuries," Kizaru said with a serious expression.

"What?" Compared to Roy, Sengoku clearly valued information about his old rival, Whitebeard, more. "Could it be that this old guy's sickly appearance has been an act for us all along?"

"Impossible. With Whitebeard's pride, he would never stoop to doing such a thing." Sengoku quickly dismissed his own conjecture. "The most likely explanation is that Whitebeard just happened to find a way to cure his injuries and return to his peak condition."

"What a turbulent time. It seems that the plan to destroy the Whitebeard Pirates will have to be postponed indefinitely."