You should call me Uncle Austin, Teach?

(I'm seriously speechless, you old thief Oda. The pacing was already dragging this badly, and now there's even this kind of backstabbing? The Age of Gods, huh...)

"Ember?"

Austin's words clearly caught Whitebeard off guard.

"Yeah~"

Austin lifted the bowl before him, nearly as large as his own body, and gulped it all down. Then he replied with a hearty laugh, "Maybe this is your era now, but it can't be your era forever, Newgate~"

He certainly didn't mince words.

Sure enough, the instant his words fell, a massive blast of air swept over them.

Austin's long black hair was blown straight back, revealing a handsome yet composed face.

"I can't just pretend I didn't hear that, Austin!!!"

Whitebeard, who still had a head of golden hair, remained one of the absolute strongest figures on the seas at the height of his power.

Even Garp, that monster who used Haki as naturally as breathing, might not be guaranteed a win against Whitebeard.

After all, this was the man who could go toe-to-toe with a demonized Rocks using just one elbow—the Pro Max version of an evenly matched fighter.

"Even if we're friends, you're not entirely that Austin anymore..."

The Whitebeard Pirates' crew members beside him were also readying themselves for battle. They would not allow anyone to speak of their beloved Old Man that way—the Old Man invincible upon the seas.

Whitebeard himself looked less than pleased, gritting his teeth as he glared fixedly at Austin.

Yet they saw no change whatsoever in his expression.

Facing an entire Emperor crew—

A peak-strength Emperor crew capable of severely crippling even Marine Headquarters—Austin slowly raised his head, wearing a calm, Shanks-like smile.

"I acknowledge your dream of cherishing your family, Newgate. But you should also understand that nothing in this world stays