The next morning.
Patri Vic sat up and stretched, then woke Whitebeard, who was sleeping beside him.
They hadn't forgotten why they'd come to the first half of the Grand Line. Their entire goal was Byrnndi World.
Patri Vic glanced at Rayleigh and the others, who were still asleep. Then he grabbed a few bottles of fine wine and left with Whitebeard.
Roger was still fast asleep, and Patri Vic didn't want to wake him.
The two left the tavern and headed for the shore where their ship was moored on the Sabaody Archipelago.
At that moment, the navigator sat on the ship with bloodshot eyes. Whitebeard had ordered him not to leave.
So he hadn't eaten for a day and a night. He didn't dare leave the ship, or even go to sleep.
"Here." Whitebeard tossed a bottle of fine wine to the navigator.
The navigator, who hadn't eaten or drunk in a day and a night, caught the bottle with trembling hands. "Th-thank you..."
Then he drank it in great gulps.
"Set sail for the North Blue," Patri Vic instructed as he climbed back aboard.
They trusted Roger not to give them false information, so Byrnndi World should be in the North Blue by now.
"Y-yes." Once he'd finished the wine, the navigator set sail for the North Blue.
To get there, they would have to cross the Calm Belt. So even though they were still in the first half of the Grand Line, a place with few powerful fighters,
Patri Vic remained on his guard. The Calm Belt was home to large numbers of Sea Kings, and if their ship was destroyed, they'd be in serious trouble.
Patri Vic and the others hadn't yet reached the Calm Belt, but they spotted a figure out on the sea.
"Wait... is that Byrnndi World?" Patri Vic suddenly sat up.
He'd spotted a familiar figure on the sea: Byrnndi World. But hadn't World been heading for the North Blue?
How had he not even crossed the Calm Belt yet?
A huge wooden plank was floating beneath Byrnndi World in the distance. It looked like his ship had been destroyed.
"Whitebeard?"
In the distance, Byrnndi World had also noticed the figure on the ship ahead. It was Whitebeard, a commander of the Rocks Pirates!
"Damn it, did they chase me all the way to the first half of the Grand Line?" Byrnndi World cursed.
He'd offended the Rocks Pirates, and afterward they'd hunted him relentlessly in the New World.
It had gone on for months.
To escape them, he'd even fled to the first half of the Grand Line. But the Rocks Pirates still wouldn't leave him alone. They'd chased him all the way here!
He'd meant to head for the North Blue, but on the way, he'd run into a huge number of Sea Kings, which had destroyed his ship.
All he had left was a massive plank. He'd planned to return to the Sabaody Archipelago and have another ship built.
But he hadn't expected trouble to find him so soon.
"Well, this really is a case of running into each other on a narrow road."
Whitebeard was briefly taken aback when he saw Byrnndi World, then smiled.
He hadn't expected to run into World so soon, either.
"Two commanders?"
As the ship drew closer, Byrnndi World realized there were two Rocks Pirates commanders aboard the little vessel.
If it had only been Whitebeard, he might have fought him. But with two of them, there was no chance.
He couldn't win.
"Moa Moa Fiftyfold Speed!"
Byrnndi World used his ability on the plank beneath him, increasing its speed fiftyfold. Then he used his hands as oars and started paddling,
hoping to escape as quickly as possible.
"Do you think we'd let you go?" Whitebeard sneered.
Crack!
Whitebeard grabbed the space before him with both hands. Several cracks appeared at once, and the air warped.
The surrounding sea changed in an instant. The calm waters surged into waves dozens of yards high.
The waves came rushing toward them.
Byrnndi World had been paddling away, but now he found dozens-of-yards-high waves blocking his path.
He was a Devil Fruit user. If the seawater swallowed him, he'd die without a doubt.
"Damn you, Whitebeard!" Byrnndi World cursed, veins bulging on his forehead.
He changed direction, paddling toward Whitebeard.
He'd been driven into a corner. If the waves swallowed him and dragged him into the depths, he was as good as dead.
But if he made it to the ship behind him and fought Patri Vic and Whitebeard, he'd at least have a chance of survival.
Thud!
As the plank drew alongside the ship, Byrnndi World leaped onto the deck without hesitation, smashing a hole in it.
Crack!
The waves were about to swallow their ship. Veins bulging in his arm, Whitebeard used his Devil Fruit power again and forcibly reversed their direction.
Boom!
The waves, dozens of yards high, didn't swallow their ship. Instead, they changed course and crashed into another stretch of sea.
Whitebeard looked at Byrnndi World, who'd leaped aboard, and smiled confidently.
"You bastard!" Byrnndi World cursed, his face dark with anger.
"You're the bastard," Whitebeard replied coldly, gripping Murakumogiri.
"Do you think your odds of surviving a fight with us are better than your odds of surviving those waves?" Patri Vic asked with interest as he stood up.
"I won't know unless I try. I'm Byrnndi World!"
Byrnndi World tore open his shirt with a savage look.
His sharply defined muscles were covered in countless scars, proof of the many brutal battles he'd endured at sea over the years.
"Let's take him together, Edward. We should finish the job quickly and return to the New World," Patri Vic said calmly as he took off his shirt.
"Isn't that a bit unfair to him?" Whitebeard said with a laugh as he removed his robe.
"Don't underestimate me, you two bastards!" Byrnndi World roared.
"Moa Moa Tenfold Speed!"
Byrnndi World's movement speed increased tenfold. He moved like a shadow, terrifyingly fast, and in an instant appeared behind Whitebeard.
"Die, Edward!"
His arm was coated in Armament Haki as he swung a powerful punch at Whitebeard's head.
Thud!
But before his fist could reach Whitebeard, his body was sent flying and crashed onto the deck.
Patri Vic, his whole body wreathed in purple steam, had appeared in midair behind Whitebeard and punched Byrnndi World away.
Whoosh!
A bullet coated in Armament Haki shot toward Whitebeard. Halfway there, it suddenly grew fifty times larger.
Swish!
Veins bulging in his arm, Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri and cleaved the enormous bullet in two.
Boom!
The broken pieces continued flying forward before finally plunging into the deep sea.
Before you continue