Coveting

Whitebeard Jr. stood on the deck of the pirate ship, shouting, "Mom, Mom, there are people up ahead! Should we go up and kill them?"

He then muttered to himself, "No, no, what if they find out about Pops? If they kill him, we won't be able to get any information out of him!"

"Silly child!"

Miss Bakkin was deeply troubled and dissatisfied with Weevil's insistence on searching for the already deceased Whitebeard, but she didn't show it on her face. She only feigned kindness and helplessness. Rather than saying that she still had familial affection for Weevil, it would be more accurate to say that Weevil's usefulness made her unable to let go. She was no longer the woman who was obsessed with Whitebeard. Weevil, who was not her blood relative, was just a weapon to her that she could use at will. In her heart, the only thing that could truly bring her comfort was glittering gold and silver treasures!

"The insignia on that pirate ship... it's actually the Shichibukai, the Buggy Pirates."

Miss Bakkin, holding her binoculars, recognized the Buggy Pirates. She immediately abandoned her plundering intentions. Regardless of whether Buggy was on board, from a strategic standpoint, they were now under the protection of the World Government and had to abide by its rules. The Shichibukai fighting amongst themselves would inevitably result in injury and would draw the World Government's displeasure and warnings. Miss Bakkin wouldn't invite trouble; at least for now, she felt it was unnecessary.

She said to Weevil, "Son, that's the ship of Shichibukai. The pirates on that ship are on the same side as us. We can get close, but don't hurt them."

Weevil nodded, but didn't really listen to Miss Bakkin's words. He didn't care whether the other party was Shichibukai or not; he just wanted to capture the pirates on the opposite ship and ask if they had seen his Pops, Whitebeard, here. If the guys on that ship didn't cooperate, he would teach them a lesson.

The Pale White did not give way, and the two ships sailed closer and closer. Under Weevil's deliberate urging, the two ships came to a stop.

Miss Bakkin, leaning on her cane, looked at the Pale White, her face wrinkled like a dried plum. She read the newspaper almost every day, so she naturally recognized the man on the deck, Buggy the Star Clown. He was actually there too.

This is the man who assisted Whitebeard during the Marineford War... By the way, could it be that he received a share of the Whitebeard Pirates' inheritance because he helped them?

The moment Miss Bakkin saw Buggy, a thought suddenly popped into her head, and this thought quickly took shape.

She originally didn't want to provoke Buggy, but when she thought about how famous he was in that war and the news reports she saw in the days after the war, greed welled up in her heart. How could such a guy help the Whitebeard Pirates for free? He must be acting for Whitebeard's inheritance... He must have succeeded now!

Miss Bakkin thought to herself, "That inheritance should belong to me!"

Weevil, gripping his naginata, shouted accusingly at the men on the deck of the Pale White, "You bunch of bastards, have you ever seen my Pops?!"

Buggy glanced at the pirate ship that had specifically intercepted the Pale White, then turned to Weevil with a puzzled look. Everyone in the world knew that Whitebeard had died during the Marineford War, so why would this guy suddenly ask such a question?

He glanced at Weevil and asked, knowing the answer already, "Who's your Pops?"

"My Pops has Whitebeard!"

When Weevil said this, there was a hint of cautious pride in his tone, like a fine work of art, beautiful and pleasing to the eye, but easily knocked off the display case and shattered with the slightest push. He would not allow anyone to deny his identity; he was the son of the Whitebeard!

Buggy didn't refute Weevil's self-proclaimed identity, but simply raised his head slightly, saying, "It's a pity, Whitebeard is already dead."

Buggy's nonchalant tone infuriated Weevil, who, like a hot-tempered child, blushed and argued, "My Pops might not be dead... no, he must still be alive, which is why he created the tsunami to let me know where he is!"

Feeling that his imposing manner wasn't quite enough, he added, "You're not allowed to say my Pops is dead, or I'll beat you to death!"

Buggy thought to himself, "So that's it. The tsunami it triggered made him mistakenly believe that Whitebeard had been resurrected..."

He ignored Weevil's threat and pointed in a direction, saying, "Oh, I remember someone saw Whitebeard in that direction."

Upon hearing the information provided by Buggy, Weevil's face immediately lit up with a mixture of surprise and joy. "Mom, Pops, did you hear that? Whitebeard isn't dead! We're sure we'll find him if we go in that direction!"

Miss Bakkin thought to herself, "Whitebeard long dead, and this stupid son actually believed such a ridiculous lie..."

Her eyes, hidden behind her sunglasses, darted around the Pale White. More concerned than Weevil's reaction was whether Buggy's ship held a vast treasure—an inheritance from the Whitebeard Pirates.

Seeing the sailors on the Pale White preparing to leave at Buggy's instruction, Bakin forcefully tapped the deck with his cane, "Wait!"

Buggy ignored him, but Miss Bakkin was convinced that a portion of Whitebeard's legacy had definitely been embezzled by Buggy, otherwise why would he be so flustered and guilty as to want to leave!

After thinking it over, he immediately gave the order, "Son, stop that guy!"

Weevil was confused, but he obeyed his mother's words without asking any questions. He held the naginata with both hands, pressed it flat against his waist, and suddenly swung it forward in a fan-shaped arc!

A ripple suddenly spread out, creating a slashing air current nearly twenty meters long in the air. It was sharp and swift as it rushed towards the scene, arriving like a bird in an instant, as if it would split the Pale White in two!

Buggy was prepared. The instant Weevil made his move, he pushed his hands outwards. Wherever he grasped, space cracked open, and a bright green light shone through. He stopped the slashing airflow at the front, like a gaping maw ready to devour its prey, swallowing it whole into the dimensional rift!

Then the spatial rift closed on its own, as if it had never existed.

"Kindness?"

Weevil was somewhat confused as to why his attack hadn't worked, but he was more concerned about Miss Bakkin's order to stop Buggy. He leaped onto the Pale White and looked at Buggy aggressively, saying, "If Mom doesn't let you go, you're not going anywhere!"

"How incredibly arrogant..."

Buggy frowned, clenched his right fist, and suddenly punched forward. Space cracked open, and a whirlwind swept out, catching Weevil off guard. Like an overinflated balloon, he was suddenly blown back!

Immediately, Buggy leaped up, hovering briefly above Weevil's ship, and delivered a powerful downward kick. The space beneath his feet shattered like tempered glass after being hit by a bullet, riddled with cracks. Two beams of spatial energy, each over a meter thick, intertwined and swirled, plunging downwards to pierce through Weevil's pirate ship!