The Flame Devoured by Darkness

"Boom!"

As Shanks's Conqueror's Haki erupted—powerful enough to easily interfere with reality itself—it halted before Whitebeard with an imposing force no weaker than Whitebeard's own.

What surprised Shanks was that Whitebeard's physical condition seemed nowhere near as poor as he had imagined. The rumors from several years ago, claiming that Whitebeard's health had begun to deteriorate and that he needed frequent infusions, appeared to have been nothing more than gossip.

No, it's also possible that Whitebeard deliberately maintains this appearance in front of outsiders.

Shanks silently arrived at a reasonable conclusion.

After all, based on Shanks's understanding and estimation of Whitebeard's condition, Whitebeard at this point in time should not have had more than a few years left in him.

At Shanks's arrival, Whitebeard's half-lidded eyes opened slightly. He asked calmly yet imposingly,

"Brat, what do you want?"

Shanks set the enormous wine jar in his hand beside him. Then, after filling a man-sized bowl with wine, he tossed the jar straight toward Whitebeard and said,

"This is the finest wine from my hometown. I brought it especially for you to taste."

Whitebeard took an imposing gulp, then looked at Shanks's empty left arm and asked, "I heard you lost an arm in the East Blue?"

A smile appeared on Shanks's face, and he replied indifferently, "Yeah. I wagered it on the New Era."

"Is that so? Then what brings you here this time?" Whitebeard asked.

Shanks then said, "I want you to call Ace back. Teach is extremely dangerous. If Ace continues coming into contact with Teach, it could very likely push this sea toward the brink of an uncontrollable rampage!"

Although Shanks did not state it outright, Whitebeard understood that Shanks knew Ace's true identity. He was also hinting that should anything happen to Ace, it might trigger