New World. The once-dangerous waters were now utterly still, without even the slightest ripple, as though even the weather had been suppressed by the overwhelming presence gathered here. As for the massive Sea Kings that happened to pass by, they did not even dare make the slightest sound.
Countless ships of every size had gathered here. They flew all kinds of flags, but all shared skulls as their central motif. Clearly, a vast number of pirate ships had assembled here.
At the forefront of those pirate ships was a massive vessel shaped like a whale. The flag flying from its bow bore a skull with a crescent-shaped mustache. This was the Moby Dick, the ship of Whitebeard, the world's strongest man!
"Is everyone here?" Marco, the First Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, stood at the front of the deck. Even his eyes, which always seemed unable to open, had widened considerably.
"Captain Marco, don't worry. Everyone is here!"
"It's been a long time since all of us gathered together like this!"
"Of course! When we gather together, even Marine Headquarters trembles in fear!"
There were forty-three pirate crews here in total. Their captains were all major figures of the New World. They were normally scattered across the seas, only gathering when summoned to form the strongest pirate force in the world—the Whitebeard Pirates!
In truth, given Whitebeard's reputation across the seas, if he had opened his ranks and recruited freely, let alone forty-three pirate crews, he could have gathered a hundred and forty-three.
But the affiliated pirate crews recruited that way likely would not have had the courage to stand against Marine Headquarters for him.
Only pirates who understood "honor and loyalty" were qualified to bear Whitebeard's name. Only such unity could forge the world's strongest pirate crew!
"Gurararara!