The True Celestial Dragons

Whitebeard's imposing gaze moved from his "eldest son," Phoenix Marco, to each person in turn, only shifting to the next after receiving a nod.

So, no matter how unwilling they were, they could only accept the fact that they had somehow gained an "uncle" far younger than themselves.

Zhu Mang was rather speechless. "Hey, hey, I never agreed to be their uncle."

He had no interest in acting like an elder to a group of bizarre-looking people so much older than himself.

"Gurararara, did you come here because you wanted them to contribute in the battle against the World Government?" Whitebeard skipped over the subject. He had only brought it up because, before he died, he wanted to find his children something to rely on.

It was an old father's concern for his children.

"For that, I'm afraid you'll have to ask Sengoku." Zhu Mang spread his hands.

"No, we're pirates. We only respect the strong. As for Sengoku, he isn't strong enough to make me bow my head, gurararara... Cough, cough, cough—" Whitebeard tried to laugh, but coughed twice instead. His mouth filled with blood, and the blood he spat out even stained his chest red.

"Pops!"

"Pops! Stop talking!!"

Marco and the others hurriedly gathered around him, only to be shoved away by Whitebeard again.

"I know my own body. All of you, stand to the side!" Whitebeard casually wiped the blood from his mouth. A trace of reminiscence flashed through his eyes. "My homeland was a member nation that couldn't afford the Heavenly Tribute. So the king split the country in two and exiled all the poor people to the other side, thereby reducing the amount of Heavenly Tribute owed..."

His burning gaze fixed on Zhu Mang. "Then let me ask you this: what are you doing all this for? To rule the world?"

"What for?" Zhu Mang froze for a moment, then scratched his head. "Probably because I can't stand the existence of trash like the Celestial Dragons. Um... perhaps you could say I'm a traveler driven by interest."

He had originally wanted to imitate some Caped Baldy and say, "A hero driven by interest."

But on second thought, he was neither bald nor a hero.

To this world, he was perhaps more like a passerby.

"Traveler" suited him better.

"Gurararara, a traveler driven by interest?" Whitebeard laughed several times. One hand braced against the deck as he gripped the hilt of [Murakumogiri], struggling somewhat as he rose to his feet.

At this moment, his aura actually began to rise bit by bit once more.

"Come, let me see the spirit of a traveler!" Tremendous power surged across Whitebeard's body, all of it gathering within the [Murakumogiri] in his hand. At last, a white sphere of light condensed along the blade.

"Fine." With a light tap of his toes, Zhu Mang lifted off from the deck and slowly flew into the air, finally stopping roughly fifty meters away from Whitebeard.

"Then I'll fight you using one-fifth of my strength."

Zhu Mang held out five fingers, then folded them down until only one remained.

"Damn it, he's looking down on Pops too much!"

"He actually dares to say he'll only use one-fifth of his strength!"

"Pops's body..."

"Shut up!" Marco turned and roared. He clenched his fists and stared fixedly at Whitebeard's towering back, then at the monkey-tailed man in the sky, his tail swaying casually. "This is Pops's final swan song."

Elsewhere.

Watching Zhu Mang leave with Ace and head toward the Whitebeard Pirates, the people present wore varying expressions.

But for the most part, they were indignant.

Only Garp had a trace of concealed delight in his expression, and inwardly let out a breath of relief.

But then they considered the Marines' current predicament.

After Gebinz's stunt, coupled with the Marines and pirates shouting at each other before the Visual Den Den Mushi was cut off, it was like mud splattered on their pants—shit or not, it looked like shit.

Those lofty Celestial Dragons probably would not listen to any explanation from them.

Besides, apart from Kizaru, that corporate slave, the others all harbored at least some dissatisfaction toward the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

After thinking for a moment, Sengoku said, "Do you think every Celestial Dragon is like the ones you've seen? Wearing idiotic fishbowls on their heads, fat and ugly, with snot bubbles hanging from their noses, spending their days bullying men and women?"

"Oh? Looks like you know exactly what the Celestial Dragons are like, Sengoku! Hahahaha! Yet you've never done anything about it," Garp laughed loudly.

"Hmph. If all Celestial Dragons were trash like that, there would have been no need for you to say anything. The moment I became Fleet Admiral, I would have led the Marines to overthrow their rule!" Sengoku snorted coldly.

His creed was "Justice Reigns Supreme." If he had not truly been powerless, how could he have tolerated the Celestial Dragons, such an evil race, continuing to linger on while shitting and pissing all over his head?

Still, it was clear that he had adopted a somewhat reckless, nothing-left-to-lose attitude.

He had actually called the Celestial Dragons trash in front of so many people.

"Among the Celestial Dragons, there are two different types."

"One type likes to wear fishbowl helmets. These people are usually full of themselves, believing that as World Nobles, they are inherently superior to us 'lowborns.' They even disdain breathing the same air as us."

"Huh? Can wearing a fishbowl make them breathe different air?" Aokiji asked in confusion.

"I don't know about that, but their fishbowl helmets should be some kind of special item that filters the air." Sengoku shook his head.

"Those idiotic Celestial Dragons naturally aren't worth paying attention to."

"But the other kind..."

His gaze flicked toward Doflamingo, who was kicking stones in place in the distance.

"The true Celestial Dragons!"

"Why do you think the Celestial Dragons are called the 'royal family'?"

"Because eight hundred years ago, twenty kings saved the world from terrible suffering and formed the World Government, while the descendants of the Twenty Kings became the Celestial Dragons, so they were called the 'royal family'..." As Aokiji spoke, his voice gradually lowered.

There did not seem to be much logic in that.

"That is because these Celestial Dragons possess powerful bloodlines! For ordinary people of the seas, becoming strong requires immense effort, reliance on Devil Fruits, and so on. Even Marine Vice Admirals are exceedingly rare across the entire world."

"However, for Celestial Dragons, as long as they put in some effort, they can become strong like that!"

"Even... Conqueror's Haki, the so-called 'qualities of a king' that might only appear once among a million people on the seas, has an extremely high awakening rate among true Celestial Dragons!"

"It can be said that every Celestial Dragon has the potential to become a king!"

"This is the true reason they are called the 'royal family'!"

"And the real reason they have been able to suppress the seas for centuries!"

Sengoku's words left everyone present deeply shocked.