The great battle ended, and the victor had been decided.
Garen had won Akainu's life and claimed from Whitebeard the title of the world's strongest man.
This battle had not harmed the friendship between the two sides.
Although Whitebeard was somewhat displeased that Garen insisted on saving Akainu, he accepted his loss and, remembering how Garen had saved him in the past, handed Akainu over to Garen without hesitation. He also released all the Marine soldiers he had captured.
Garen's subordinates gathered up the scattered remnants, treated the wounded, and temporarily took over the badly shattered Marine fleet.
By the time they finished handling the aftermath, night had fallen deep, and dinner time had long passed.
Everyone was hungry after the prolonged battle, so Whitebeard simply laid out a feast aboard the flagship Moby Dick and specifically invited Garen to attend.
Whitebeard sat high in the seat of honor, while Garen's seat had been arranged separately beside him, placing him on equal footing with Whitebeard.
The division commanders sat on either side, their expressions a mixture of surprise, shock, and emotion, their moods complicated and conflicted.
They had yet to recover from the shock of seeing their old man defeated and concede, so the atmosphere at the banquet was somewhat cold and quiet.
However, throwing banquets was what pirates did best.
Once the wine and food were served, the commanders began drinking, laughing, and chatting boisterously.
Even Marco and Thatch, who had been grievously wounded by Akainu earlier that day, had wrapped themselves in some magical bandages made with who knew what kind of black technology. Full of health and energy, they sat at the table eating and drinking with gusto.
"This time, I was just unlucky."
As Thatch drank, he told his brothers about what had happened to him