Finally Meeting Whitebeard

Hearing that, Yota rolled his eyes. Jinbe really had some nerve.

He probably could not even beat the current, upgraded Ace, let alone the even stronger Yamato. Yet he actually wanted to take on both of them? Who gave him that kind of courage?

Jinbe's words left both Ace and Yamato looking displeased. Yamato complained, "Who said we were teaming up on you? You're really full of yourself!"

Ace's reaction was even more direct. A Fire Fist blasted toward him. Yamato could not help crying out, "Ace, that's so underhanded! You actually attacked out of nowhere."

"Hahaha, leave this guy to me!" Ace laughed as he charged forward.

Seeing that Ace had already made his move, Yamato could only stand to one side reluctantly, leaning on her iron club as she watched their battle intently.

Knight of the Sea Jinbe was a battle-hardened veteran, so Ace's Fire Fist naturally could not hurt him. With his entire body coated in Armament Haki, he unleashed a Fish-Man Karate Water Shot, shattering Ace's Fire Fist.

Fish-Man Karate drew power from water and was strongest in the sea. Though they were currently on ice, Ace's Fire Fist had still produced a great deal of water and steam. The abundant moisture gave Jinbe a slight advantage.

However, the current Ace was far stronger than in the original story. In particular, after fighting Yamato for so long, he had learned many advanced applications of Haki, raising his combat strength by more than a level. Even with the abundant moisture giving Jinbe a slight edge over his original-story counterpart, he was still gradually forced into a disadvantage by Ace.

Yota gently stroked his chin. "At this rate, it won't take five days and five nights. Ace will probably win in a day or two."

And indeed, it did not go beyond Yota's expectations. This time, Ace fought for only about a day before defeating Knight of the Sea Jinbe.

After defeating Jinbe, Ace did not make things difficult for him. He even had Yota treat his injuries.

"A Fish-Man's physique... it's not all that useful. At most, it gives me the ability to breathe underwater."

After treating Jinbe, Yota sensed the Fish-Man body structure in his mind and muttered to himself. If this had been before, Jinbe's body structure might have been useful to Yota. But after undergoing two rounds of modification, the potential of a body at this level could no longer help Yota optimize himself.

At most, it would let him be like Ship-Landing King Jack—unable to drown even if he fell into the sea, though he would be unable to move.

After Yota finished treating him, Jinbe said nothing. He jumped into the sea and left.

However, before leaving, perhaps to repay Ace for not harming him and for having Yota treat his wounds, he frankly told Ace, "Although you are already very strong, strong enough to stand alone among all the Supernovas."

"You are still a long way from reaching the level of the Four Emperors. Challenging Pops now is not a wise move."

Of course, Ace did not take his words to heart. Or rather, he had already understood what Jinbe meant.

In fact, after arriving in the New World and experiencing so many battles, Ace probably knew very well that he was still lacking compared to the Four Emperors.

But in the Pirate World, endless hard training could never compare to fierce combat. Besides, in the environment of the New World, the Spade Pirates had long since lost any path of retreat.

Three days later, on the island where they had been recuperating, the Spade Pirates finally saw that enormous pirate ship sailing in from the distant horizon—a ship like a white whale upon the sea, the Moby Dick.

"What a huge pirate ship. Is that our opponent?" Yamato swung her iron club. "I never thought that one day, I'd be fighting Whitebeard Pops himself."

Back in Wano Country, Yamato's favorite pastime had been reading Kozuki Oden's voyage journal. Kozuki Oden had once sailed aboard the Whitebeard Pirates, so Yamato naturally knew the Moby Dick and the Whitebeard Pirates well. That was why she directly called Whitebeard Pops.

But since she had joined the Spade Pirates, she would work hard for Ace's dream. Therefore, even if Ace wanted to challenge Whitebeard, she joined him without hesitation.

"Is that brat Ace?" Holding the Supreme Grade Sword Murakumogiri, Whitebeard stood at the prow of his pirate ship and asked with a smile.

Standing beside him was Jinbe, who had been defeated by Ace only a few days earlier.

"That's him." Jinbe nodded. "Also, aside from Ace, the horned girl and the young man leaning against the railing are no pushovers either. The girl possesses a Devil Fruit ability related to freezing, while the young man has powerful healing abilities."

"Compared to ordinary Supernovas, the Spade Pirates are much stronger."

In fact, given time, they might have had a chance to become a Four Emperors Crew. Jinbe swallowed the latter half of that thought.

Yet Whitebeard did not pay much attention to Jinbe's words. His bright eyes remained fixed on Ace, and there seemed to be a hint of reminiscence in his gaze.

A moment later, as though he had come back to himself, Whitebeard still wore a faint smile. "All right, let me greet these brats first!"

Marco, standing beside Whitebeard, was startled and hurriedly said, "Pops, why do you need to make a move? Your health is important. We sons should be the ones—"

Whitebeard ignored Marco entirely. His fist, shrouded in white light, had already smashed downward. The sea first fell briefly still, then the earth shook amid a thunderous roar. Towering tsunamis and terrifying gales swept toward them.

"Gurarararara! What nonsense are you talking about, Marco? I'm not so old that I can't walk yet!"

Marco wore a bitter smile, but Whitebeard had done more than enough outrageous things in the past, so he did not think much of it.

In truth, Whitebeard was worried that one of his sons would fight Ace in earnest, making things difficult to settle afterward. He really wanted to take Ace in as his son!

With Whitebeard's personality, as long as no one harmed his family, nothing could truly be considered a major issue. As for the remaining conflicts, things like burning his pirate flag, he could resolve them with a single sentence.

That was how old people were. While Roger was alive, Whitebeard had competed with him for a lifetime. After Roger died, Whitebeard began to feel lonely and miss him, and much of that sentiment had shifted onto Ace.

Of course, the Spade Pirates could not sense Whitebeard's appreciation for talent right now. Looking at the disaster-like scene before them, their hearts had already turned cold.