After Tiger and the others left, the Whitebeard Pirates came aboard the Soaring Dragon and brought Whitebeard back to the Moby Dick.
"Pops, how are you feeling?" Marco asked with concern as he looked at Whitebeard, who had completely changed. Whitebeard had once been unrivaled, his Haki second to none. But now? His sunken eye sockets held only a tired, murky gaze. His skin was deeply wrinkled, and he looked like a decrepit old man at the end of his life.
As he spoke, a cluster of Blue Flames appeared in Marco's hand and spread over Whitebeard's body. Phoenix flames were sacred healing flames. As long as someone was not dead, no matter how severe the injury, Phoenix flames would have some effect.
Sure enough, when the Phoenix Blue Flames touched Whitebeard's body, his pale complexion immediately improved somewhat. But that was all; there were no further changes.
"Impossible!" Marco refused to believe it. The Phoenix Blue Flames in his hand flared even brighter, making him grunt in pain. Already seriously injured, he coughed up a trace of crimson blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't waste your strength, Marco!" Whitebeard raised a hand to stop him. "It's useless. What I've lost is vitality!"
Marco and the others were shaken by those words.
Loss of vitality. No wonder Pops looked as if he had aged several decades.
"Pops! You can't die!" Teach suddenly shouted, tears actually streaming from the corners of his eyes. They did not look fake at all.
He had shed tears because Whitebeard was about to die. Once Whitebeard died, no one knew where the Tremor-Tremor Fruit would go. Most importantly, he still had no news of the Dark-Dark Fruit!
Without the Dark-Dark Fruit's assistance, it would be difficult for him to obtain the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.