Edward Newgate

"Tianwu, do you see this? The blood on the wound has clotted! That was fast!"

"Whenever I accidentally cut myself before, the bleeding was always so hard to stop!"

Fascinated by this miraculous event, Lu Bian focused entirely on studying his own foot, temporarily pushing the new member of the Chat Group to the back of his mind.

[Shi Tianwu has requested a video chat with Edward Newgate...]

[Edward Newgate has accepted Shi Tianwu's request.]

Edward Newgate: "Oh? So this is the young lad? What are you doing?"

"Ah?" Hearing the booming, heroic voice, Lu Bian realized that Shi Tianwu had started a live stream.

"At this very moment, something incredible is happening within this body," Shi Tianwu's voice chimed in, sounding like a narrator.

"Hm? And who else is speaking there?" Old Man Whitebeard asked, looking at the screen with a puzzled expression.

"Hi-hi~! It's me! There are two people in this body right now," Lu Bian explained to the curious Old Man Whitebeard.

Lu Bian lowered his foot, propping it up on his heel so it wouldn't touch the ground.

It must be the special energy in this world's nature that accelerated the healing of my wound, Lu Bian thought.

"Edward Newgate?"

Lu Bian looked at the name of the new group member, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Combined with the face of Whitebeard on the video chat—the iconic, crescent-shaped white mustache curving upward—it triggered a memory of the man known to the entire world.

"Is that... the 'Strongest Man in the World,' Old Man Whitebeard, Edward Newgate?!" Lu Bian asked, somewhat shocked.

"Oh!? Has my reputation reached other worlds as well? Gurararara~!!"

Edward Newgate, with an oxygen tube still hanging beneath his nose, burst into hearty laughter.

There was a unique aura within that heroic laughter, and a sense of closeness to Old Man Whitebeard welled up in Lu Bian's heart.

Edward Newgate's expression was relaxed, and his body was at ease.

He accidentally adjusted the camera for the video chat, bringing his entire frame into the view.

With an IV drip hanging from his arm, his massive, valiant, and sturdy physique leaned imposingly against a wide chair.

A beautiful nurse in white stood beside Old Man Whitebeard, not even reaching his knees as he sat.

"So big~!!" Lu Bian exclaimed.

"So big!!" Lu Bian looked at the scene on Old Man Whitebeard's side, his eyes shifting as he let out another exclamation.

The first exclamation was in praise of the stunning bosom of the nurse caring for Edward Newgate; the second was triggered by the stark contrast between the beautiful nurse and the sheer, massive scale of Old Man Whitebeard.

Even Shi Tianwu had never seen such an exceptionally tall human being.

Whitebeard Edward Newgate stood at six hundred and sixty-six centimeters tall.

However, it wasn't the massive, towering physique of Edward Newgate that concerned Shi Tianwu; he was focused on what Lu Bian had just said—that he was called the "Strongest Man in the World."

"Uhm-hehe~!!"

As someone who had seen it all, Old Man Whitebeard immediately understood the meaning behind Lu Bian's two exclamations.

"?"

The curvaceous nurse in white looked up at Old Man Whitebeard, who was suddenly talking to himself and laughing heartily, her eyes widening in surprise.

As a core member of the medical team, one had to be bold enough to make professional judgments about a patient's condition.

Old Man is sixty-nine this year, and his body is already riddled with injuries and illnesses...

Could it be that senility has finally caught up with him?

Has Old Man Whitebeard started to go senile!?

The curvaceous nurse clutched her medical chart, worriedly heading off to find the First Division Commander and ship doctor, Marco the Phoenix.

"Why did she leave?" the Old Man muttered.

"Mr. Edward Newgate..." Shi Tianwu began.

"Mr.?! Are you trying to make me laugh? Gurararara~! Call me Whitebeard, Old Man Whitebeard, or just Old Man—any of those will do! But don't call me Mr."

"It doesn't sound right," Edward Newgate said.

"Then, Old Man Whitebeard, I heard from Brother Lu Bian that you are the strongest man in the world."

"Gurararara~!"

"Strongest in the world? I'm just an ordinary man with only one heart!"

"Look, I'm even hooked up to an IV drip today."

Old Man Whitebeard possessed an incredibly cheerful personality; a smile never left his face as he kindly interacted with the polite young man.

"What's wrong with your body? Are you sick, too?" Whitebeard asked, eyeing Lu Bian's frail frame.

His skin-and-bones physique reminded Whitebeard of a friend from his hometown during his childhood.

"Being this thin won't do. Does this Chat Group have any abilities that would allow me to help you?"

"I don't have any money, but I can certainly get you some meat and milk to help you recover," Old Man Edward said.

"It's a pity, but the only thing the Chat Group can send across worlds is money, and money is the most useless thing to me right now," Lu Bian replied.

[Lu Bian sent a Red Packet to Edward Newgate]

[Edward Newgate claimed the Red Packet]

"Oh?"

Of the three gold coins Shi Tianwu had sent to Lu Bian, Lu Bian now gifted one to Old Man Whitebeard.

The three-centimeter-diameter gold coin appeared in Old Man Whitebeard's massive palm, looking pitifully small.

"So that's what a Red Packet means?" Edward Newgate said.

"In my hometown, sending a Red Packet to others is a silent blessing," Lu Bian explained once more.

"Then I accept your blessing."

Old Man Whitebeard clenched the tiny gold coin in his hand.

Through their brief exchange, Edward Newgate could sense across the screen that the two young men on the other side were decent people.

"Pops, who are you talking to?"

A young man wreathed in blue flames descended from the sky, asking Whitebeard with a grin.

"Oh? Marco, are you looking for me?"

"I'm just chatting with two new friends from another world," Whitebeard answered truthfully.

"Nani?! People from another world!"

Marco's eyes widened, his pupils trembling.

The Whitebeard Pirates had been to many places in the world and had heard many legends passed down through the ages.

It was a fact that Old Man Whitebeard was getting on in years, and in the folklore they had heard, elderly people who communicated with beings from other worlds were not long for this world.

A wave of sorrow instantly surged into Marco's heart.

Pops was finally going to...

He couldn't accept it!

"Marco, what are you doing?"

"Pops!"

Tears welled up in Marco's eyes.

Having eaten the Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit, Marco ignited with the blue flames that represented life force.

He spread his "Flames of Regeneration" onto his father, attempting to prevent "death."

"Foolish son."

"Reach out your hand," Edward Newgate demanded, his face darkening.

"Pops, you can't be in trouble..."

Marco obediently reached out his hand.

Whitebeard opened his palm, letting the gold coin Lu Bian had sent him fall.

"Pops?" Marco caught the coin.

"Keep it safe for me," Whitebeard said.

"What are you thinking? I'm not going to die at a time like this."