The Whitebeard Pirates now had only forty-odd islands left in their territory.
They were practically back to square one.
A heavy gloom hung over the entire crew, and even Newgate was wrapped in bandages.
Neither John nor Silver Axe was an opponent who could be dealt with easily.
Although he had driven them back, he had paid a price.
For the Whitebeard Pirates, the war had been brutal, and the losses devastating.
Their powerful enemies had beaten them awake with sheer strength.
They were not yet qualified to take part in the struggle for supremacy over the seas.
In a war, Whitebeard's overwhelming strength alone was useless.
Newgate had not lost, but they had. They had barely been able to resist.
Without Whitebeard, they were like fledglings left at anyone's mercy.
Their losses had been horrific. So many once-familiar comrades had perished at sea or died in the war, and some of their bodies could not even be recovered.
They needed time to regroup.
This battle had also proved that even among the top pirate crews, there were differences in strength.
The Flying Pirates and the Roger Pirates stood in the first tier.
The John Pirates, the Ochoku Pirates, and the Silver Axe Pirates stood in the second tier.
As for the Overlord Dragon Pirates, the Demon King Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates, they stood in the third tier.
Perhaps the gap in their overall strength was not that great, but ultimately, results spoke for themselves.
The Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, who had not taken part in the war, were left out of the rankings.
The Beasts Pirates had not intervened in this war. Having occupied the Mozartel Kingdom, they had already entered a period of rapid growth.
The Big Mom Pirates, meanwhile, had kept a low