The Most Incomprehensible Reason for a Fight!

Peak Whitebeard then turned around to face Jozu, Vista, and the others who had hurried over. The smile on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by the impatience and domineering aura of one who reigned over the world.

"What are you all still standing around here for?"

His voice rolled like thunder, carrying an authority that brooked no argument.

"I want some peace and quiet. Get the hell back to the ship!"

"But, Pops..."

Jozu wanted to say more, but Peak Whitebeard silenced him with a cold glare.

The pressure in that gaze made even the young Third Division commander's heart tremble, and the rest of his words were forcibly choked back down his throat.

"Scram!"

One word, blunt and final.

The commanders did not dare hesitate any longer. Filled with confusion and concern, they swiftly withdrew from the devastated battlefield and returned to the Moby Dick.

Before long, only Peak Whitebeard remained on this shore that the two Whitebeards had battered into ruins.

Without turning around, he casually spoke to the empty space behind him.

"Come out."

"I've sent everyone away."

Just as Peak Whitebeard dismissed the others, a series of urgent System Prompt Sounds suddenly rang out in Chen Ye's mind, where he was concealed within a gap in space.

[Ding! Detected the host making close contact with a legendary Illustrated Handbook character. Gathering information...]

[Ding! Detected the host at special Space-Time Coordinates. Hidden mechanism "Echoes of the Era" activated!]

[Warning! Detected two super-specification presences that do not belong to this era. Forced analysis in progress...]

[Analysis failed! The targets' energy levels are too high, and they are too far away. Information unclear!]

[Simulating data based on residual auras... Simulation successful!]

[Obtained ???-level Illustration Fragment (1/3)—"Gol D. Roger (Peak Period)"!]

[Obtained ???-level Illustration Fragment (1/3)—"Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh (Peak Period)!]

For an instant, Chen Ye's breathing stopped!

They were actually the two of them!

Those two monsters who existed only in legends!

Even though he had only obtained Illustration Fragments, it was enough to make Chen Ye's heart surge with excitement!

"System, what are these Illustration Fragments for?"

[Ding! Collect three fragments with the same name to synthesize a complete Illustrated Handbook! The host may consume energy to summon them, or choose a one-time "Power Extraction" to permanently strengthen themselves!]

Chen Ye's heart began pounding wildly.

If he could obtain half the power Roger and Rayleigh possessed during their Peak Period...

Then his strength would probably qualify him to clash head-on with the Five Elders in an instant!

"Excellent!"

Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Chen Ye issued an order to the system.

"Archive all these Illustrated Handbooks. They'll definitely be of great use in the future!"

Only after finishing all that did he nod to Elderly Whitebeard and Marco.

"Pops, Marco, it's ready."

Buzz!

Ripples spread through space.

The three of them materialized out of thin air several meters behind Peak Whitebeard.

Peak Whitebeard slowly turned around. His golden eyes swept over the three of them before finally settling on his elderly self.

The two men, two witnesses of different peak eras, fell into a brief silence upon the land they had personally destroyed.

In the end, Elderly Whitebeard was the first to break the strange atmosphere.

He plopped down on a relatively flat boulder and rubbed his faintly aching lower back.

"Gurararara... It's been a long time since I've had such a satisfying workout."

Peak Whitebeard looked at his aged appearance and curled his lip. Then, imitating him, he found an even larger rock to sit on and casually pulled a massive Sake Gourd from his clothes.

"Hey, old man."

He tossed the Sake Gourd over.

Elderly Whitebeard caught it steadily, pulled out the stopper, and took a huge swig with his head tilted back.

The rich scent of alcohol instantly spread through the air.

"Gurara... Hah..."

He wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth and handed the Sake Gourd to the still-dazed Marco beside him.

"You have some too."

And so, four people who should never have met sat amid the ruins and began what was perhaps the strangest drinking session in the world.

After three rounds of drinks.

Peak Whitebeard finally spoke.

His eagle-sharp eyes stared fixedly at his elderly self as he said in a deep voice.

"Old bastard."

"You really are me."

"I felt it the moment our fists met."

That resonance from the soul, from the bloodline, from the deepest depths of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was something no ability could imitate.

Although Chen Ye had expected those words, hearing them with his own ears still made him and Marco breathe a complete sigh of relief.

However, the next question made both of them widen their eyes.

Chen Ye truly could not hold it in any longer.

He looked at the apocalyptic scene around them, then at the two utterly composed Whitebeards, and finally asked the question that had been bottled up inside him for so long.

"Um... young Pops."

He looked at them both.

"Since you noticed it so early, then why... why did you fight for so long?!"

Marco nodded furiously from the side.

Yeah!

They had almost sunk the island!

At that question, Elderly Whitebeard and Peak Whitebeard stopped drinking at the same time.

Slowly, both of them turned to look at Chen Ye with the exact same expression one would use to look at an idiot.

Their expressions, their angles—it was practically identical.

The next second.

Two voices, one aged and one sonorous, rang across the entire shore in perfect unison and with absolute righteousness.

"Because we wanted to see what it felt like to fight ourselves!"

"..."

"..."

The air instantly froze.

Chen Ye stood there with his mouth open, feeling like his brain processor had burned out.

The Sake Gourd in Marco's hand fell to the ground with a clatter, spilling liquor everywhere, yet he did not notice at all.

Huh?

What?

Just for that reason?

Just because of the kind of curiosity that sounded like something only a three-year-old would have, the two of you split an island in half and nearly shook all of us to death?!

What was this?

The most incomprehensible reason for a fight?