Rayleigh sheathed his sword, then took out his flask and had a drink. "I really can't compare with you youngsters anymore. I'm old. I can't keep fighting. I concede."
Ace: "!"
Everyone: "?"
Lin Mo: "..."
Marco asked in surprise, "Hey, hey, Rayleigh, are you serious?"
Rayleigh waved a hand and smiled. "Of course. I'm tired. These old bones won't hold up if we keep going. I concede. This kid wins."
"No," Ace said unhappily. "I won't accept this ending. Let's fight again!"
"That's not up to you," Rayleigh said with a smile. "The rules were very clear. Aside from one side becoming unable to fight, conceding is also allowed. So, kid, you won."
"You..."
"Hahaha! If you still want to fight me, come find me once you've beaten that Marco kid," Rayleigh said with a smile. "When that happens, I promise I won't go easy on you again."
With that, he turned and walked toward Whitebeard.
Ace clenched his fists and stood in silence for a long while.
A few worried members of the Whitebeard Pirates gathered around him.
"Ace, are you okay?"
"That Rayleigh... We'll have to get Pops to give him a good scolding later."
"Ace, it's fine. There'll be plenty of chances to fight him later. Oh, right, we weren't done drinking yet. Come on, let's go have more booze and meat."
"Exactly. A win's a win. Let's get back to celebrating Pops's birthday."
Everyone did their best to ease the tension.
Ace took a deep breath, then raised his head and broke into a broad grin. "Hahaha! Right, a win's a win. Come on, let's get back to eating and drinking!"
Over by Lin Mo.
After hearing Rayleigh concede, Lin Mo maintained his usual expressionless face.
But Kaku and Enel instinctively edged away, afraid Lin