Willing to Become Brothers

Shi Tianwu and Lu Bian watched Pops' first practice.

No one had explained or instructed Edward Newgate, yet he quickly grasped the essence of the fist style and the key points of its moves.

Pops slowly completed a set of Ultimate Arhat Fist. His movements weren't entirely precise, but there were no major mistakes.

Edward Newgate was a man who truly understood combat, with incredibly rich battle experience.

Mastery of Ultimate Boundless Qigong didn't just grant someone tremendous strength on par with Magnetic Rotation's five hundred thousand horsepower. It also endowed them with formidable combat ability.

"My whole body feels warm," Pops said.

"What an amazing martial art."

He said that he felt warm, but in Shi Tianwu and Lu Bian's eyes, a white vapor was rising from Edward Newgate's bare upper body.

"Pops is a genius," Shi Tianwu said.

"A genius? A martial arts prodigy?!" Lu Bian asked.

"Yep."

"Pops, you've already begun learning Ultimate Boundless Qigong," Shi Tianwu said.

"What? I've already begun?" Edward Newgate was a little surprised.

"I just felt my body gradually getting warmer as I practiced."

"Yeah, now I can feel a warm current flowing all around inside my body."

"That's qigong," Shi Tianwu said.

"Now that you've begun learning qigong, if you keep practicing Ultimate Boundless Qigong, this energy will transform into another form and stop wandering around inside you," Shi Tianwu said.

"This must be something very precious, right?"

"Sorry, I accidentally downloaded it into my head."

Pops said this as he spoke.

He realized that Ultimate Boundless Qigong was even more valuable than many Devil Fruits.

"That's okay. I still have lots of things even better than Ultimate Boundless Qigong that I haven't shared," Shi Tianwu said.

"Pops, your health isn't very good, is it?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Then practicing Ultimate Boundless Qigong will be good for you, too. I'm sure your health will improve tremendously in a few months," Shi Tianwu said.

"Then I have even more reason to thank you."

"I just don't know how to thank you."

"Do you need treasure? I can send you a red packet."

"I don't need anything at all," Shi Tianwu declined.

"I don't need thanks, either. I'm just happy I could help you."

He was the Ultimate Shi Tianwu, who possessed everything.

But did he really possess "everything"?

Even loneliness was a kind of "possession."

Something Pops had said to them earlier had struck a deep chord with him.

—Any world where people existed was a cruel world.

Here, he was the only "person" who existed.

A world where only he existed was a cruel world for him, its "only person."

After gaining absolute power, Shi Tianwu had wanted to use it to do something.

He thought about it. He was always thinking about it.

The Chat Group's appearance had made Shi Tianwu feel that he didn't have to keep brooding over everything alone.

"Hey, Lu Bian, I know you've studied the Book of Supreme World Ordering, right?" Shi Tianwu asked.

"Huh? How did you know?"

"I know a little about it, too."

"Actually, the Book of Supreme World Ordering isn't just about calculating people's fates and predicting the future. It can also be practiced, just like Ultimate Boundless Qigong," Shi Tianwu said.

"What!!" Lu Bian was shocked.

[Shi Tianwu uploaded Supreme World Shocking Era]

With the change of just one character, the Book of Supreme World Ordering had transformed into a magnetic field martial arts technique.

"Now our Chat Group has two martial arts techniques," Shi Tianwu said with a faint smile.

"And Supreme World Shocking Era places even greater emphasis on a person's martial talent and intellectual insight. Only the greatest geniuses can master it."

"Then I probably won't be able to learn it," Lu Bian said.

"I'll give it a try."

As he spoke, Pops tapped [Download] again.

"..."

Confusion. Bewilderment.

Although he could understand every character in Supreme World Shocking Era, he couldn't make sense of them when they were put together.

Unlike Ultimate Boundless Qigong, it had no illustrations to guide him through its many moves and fist techniques. Supreme World Shocking Era consisted entirely of text, with no fixed sequences of moves for someone to learn.

"Alright."

"The parts about observing celestial phenomena are pretty useful, at least."

As a man of the sea who had lived on the ocean for many years, Edward Newgate knew a little about reading the stars. He quickly learned these rather mystical astrological principles.

"Gurarara~!!"

"I have a suggestion. How about we become brothers?"

Edward Newgate said.

"Huh? Why become brothers all of a sudden?"

"Group leader Lu Bian and I already call each other brothers," Shi Tianwu added.

"Brother Tianwu, this isn't the same as me calling you brother. He wants us to become family. Pops has always taken in adopted sons, not sworn elder brothers," Lu Bian explained to Shi Tianwu.

"Pops is a great pirate. Someone once asked him what he wanted most in all the seas. His answer wasn't treasure, power, or fame. It was [family]."

Shi Tianwu: "Family..."

"Sure. Let's become brothers."

Sworn brothers?

He'd once had two older brothers, too.

And they had both died saving the world...

"Then Pops will be the eldest, Shi Tianwu the second eldest, and I'll be the youngest," Lu Bian said.

"Good! I'll go get the sake~!!" Edward Newgate went to the cabin of the Mozambique and brought out his treasured liquor himself.

On deck, Edward Newgate sat cross-legged, his expression solemn as he poured sake into three small cups and said something to the "air."

"I'll drink on your behalf!"

Whitebeard boldly downed all three cups in one go.

"Hah~~!!"

Edward Newgate let out a long breath.

His heart felt wonderfully carefree.

"My sons, let's have a banquet~!!!"

Whitebeard stood and shouted to his adopted sons aboard the ship.

"What's wrong with Pops? Why's he suddenly holding a banquet?"

"Who knows? As long as Pops is happy, we're happy, too!!"

"Don't think too much about it!! Just enjoy the banquet!!"

"Yeah~! Pops, we love you!!"

The Moby Dick put in near a nearby island, where they held a grand banquet.

Lu Bian and Shi Tianwu watched the lively feast on Whitebeard's side from beside a mountain in another world. Whitebeard had his adopted sons come out one by one to perform their specialties for his two brothers, Shi Tianwu and Lu Bian, while introducing each son by name and telling them who he was.

Whitebeard Edward Newgate didn't understand the idea of "emotional value," but this was what he could offer Shi Tianwu and Lu Bian.

He hoped they would be happy, too.