Marco spoke to Whitebeard with some concern.
Ever since Barn had forgiven him last time, Marco had realized that Barn was actually a pretty decent guy. Thanks to Fitz, the two had grown closer and closer, and now he was even starting to worry about Barn.
Whitebeard drained another large bowl of liquor and said,
"Let him do whatever he likes. It's not like he catches anything when he goes fishing anyway. Gurararara!"
Whitebeard had been mocking Barn for days over his love of fishing despite never catching a single fish. Even now, the thought still made him laugh.
"Mr. Barn throws out bits of scrap metal every day. It looks like he's making something."
Whitebeard poured himself another large bowl, glanced at Marco, and asked,
"So what?"
With that, he drained another large bowl of liquor.
"But Mr. Barn can't see. How is he supposed to make anything?"
Marco nudged his father's arm and spoke quietly.
Hearing that, Whitebeard set down his cup, rubbed his chin, and nodded.
But Whitebeard didn't dwell on it. He said to Marco,
"Ah, my son, let Barn do whatever he likes. He's finally found something he enjoys besides fishing, so leave him be. Come on! Have a drink with me!"
With that, he lifted a large bowl of liquor and poured it down Marco's throat.
"No! No, no, no... Pops, that's too much... gulp... too... gulp..."
"Gurararara! A son of Whitebeard should be able to hold his liquor!"
Meanwhile, Barn was in the storeroom, working on his Reinforcement Machine.
Ever since he had successfully unlocked his secondary profession with two hundred pieces of terrabreeze coal and five million Beli, he had shut himself away in the storeroom.
The system couldn't fully materialize the Reinforcement Machine. Only the internal combustion engine had appeared, so Barn had to make all the other components himself.
But he couldn't ask anyone else to help with something like this, so he had no choice but to build it himself in the storeroom.
As for how a blind man like Barn could machine the parts, it was simple: he put the metal sheets into his inventory and processed them through the system. That way, he could see them. For someone who had been blind for so many years, this had kept Barn delighted for quite some time.
I'm such a genius.
Barn laughed extravagantly to himself...
"Say, Sengoku, why did you bring me along to chase Whitebeard? Can't you handle him yourself?"
Aboard the lead ship of the distant Marine fleet, a muscular, bronze-skinned man with short purple hair spoke around a cigar to the bespectacled man with a long goatee beside him.
"No, Zephyr. As you know, I've been pursuing Whitebeard for three whole years. It's time to settle this!"
The muscular man in glasses spoke in a serious tone, unlike Zephyr's flippant one. As he spoke, his clenched fist tightened.
He looked like an extremely rigorous man-or perhaps meticulous was the word. Someone that meticulous was probably quite rigid, too.
"You don't need me to handle those division commanders, do you? Can't that kid Sakazuki do it?"
"You know perfectly well, Zephyr. Sakazuki hasn't learned even a tenth of what you can do. We can't afford to fail this time! Zephyr!"
The muscular, bespectacled man with the goatee tightened his fist again and spoke with absolute conviction.
"All right, all right. I'm here, aren't I, Sengoku?"
The man with short purple hair reluctantly lit another cigar as he spoke.
Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard was still leisurely drinking, while Marco was already sprawled drunkenly on the floor.
Suddenly, Vista's panicked voice rang out.
"P-Pops! There's... a whole fleet of Marine warships outside!"
Whitebeard's drinking arm paused, but only for an instant. After calmly swallowing his final large bowl of liquor, he spoke indifferently.
"What are you panicking for? Pull yourself together. Who's leading them?"
"It's Sengoku!"
After Whitebeard's rebuke, Vista immediately calmed down and answered steadily.
"Oh? Gurararara! Come on, let's go see an old friend! Vista, go wake Marco up!"
"Okay."
Whitebeard draped his coat over his shoulders, casually picked up the huge blade that had been resting beside him, and walked out of the cabin.
Whitebeard led the pirates to the bow of the Moby Dick. Vista came out as well, supporting Marco.
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Whitebeard's face when he saw the middle-aged man with short purple hair standing beside Sengoku, but it quickly vanished. He laughed heartily.
"Gurararara! Sengoku, my old friend! Why'd you bring someone I've never seen before? Where's that kid Sakazuki?"
A vein bulged on Sengoku's already stern face, and he roared,
"Whitebeard! I've been pursuing you for three whole years! It's time to settle this!"
"Gurararara! What's the rush, Sengoku? You haven't introduced our new friend yet!"
Whitebeard paid no mind to Sengoku's declaration and laughed it off instead.
The middle-aged man with short purple hair beside Sengoku merely smiled casually, stubbed out his cigar, and said,
"Zephyr."
At that name, a rare trace of gravity appeared on the normally exuberant Whitebeard's face.
"Gurararara! The 'Non-Killer' Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr! Sengoku, you really have made up your mind to settle things with me!"
"Enough talk! Whitebeard, today I'll uphold the Marines' justice! Surrender! Whitebeard!"
Sengoku roared with his fists tightly clenched.
"Is that so? Then let's see what this so-called justice of yours really amounts to!"
Whitebeard lowered himself into a half crouch. The muscles in his left arm swelled rapidly, veins bulging as he perfectly concentrated the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his left hand. Then he swung!
The space across the sea shattered. Marine warships tossed amid the surging waves, and several were swallowed by the sea in an instant!
"Aaaah! What did he do? He caused a tsunami!"
"It's the Tremor-Tremor Fruit! Its power can destroy the world!"
"Ah! Help!"
Sengoku stood aboard the pitching warship with his arms folded, his expression thunderous. He didn't budge.
In a low voice, he said to Zephyr beside him,
"Zephyr, move!"
Zephyr said nothing. He simply nodded, then leaped off the warship alongside Sengoku, landing before Whitebeard.
"Gurararara! My sons! Grab your weapons and get to it!"
"Yeah!"
Facing Zephyr and Sengoku as they charged toward him, Whitebeard showed not a trace of fear. He swung his massive blade, laughed heartily, and met Sengoku's fist head-on!
"If you want to fight Pops, you'll have to get through me first!"
Jozu!
Half of Jozu's body turned to diamond as he drove the hardest fist in the world toward Zephyr!
Seeing Jozu charge, Zephyr frowned slightly. His left hand instantly turned pitch-black, and he struck back.
But it was Jozu who went flying. After knocking him away, Zephyr landed steadily aboard the Moby Dick.
He clasped his hands together, loosened his wrists, and said,
"Diamond, huh? Hard enough, but you're still short on power. Go run a hundred laps around the training field!"
Hearing Zephyr's words as he fought Whitebeard, Sengoku immediately bared sharp teeth and shouted at him,
"Hey! You idiot, Zephyr! You're not training Marines here! Stop holding back!"
"All right, all right, all right!"
Zephyr picked his ear with his little finger and answered impatiently.
"Should you really be so relaxed in the middle of a fight, Admiral Zephyr?"
Seizing his chance, Vista drew both swords and slashed at the arm Zephyr was using to pick his ear.
Clang!
To Vista's surprise, his blades made the sound of clashing metal when they struck Zephyr's arm.
At that instant, Zephyr's entire arm had turned pitch-black.
"Armament. What was that you said, kid?"
Zephyr glanced at Vista out of the corner of his eye, then swept his arm out and knocked him into the sea.
"Vista!"
"Oh? Another one?"
Zephyr turned toward the voice and saw Curiel holding a gun.
"Soru! Armament!"
Once again, his pitch-black fist struck a division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Pirates had slaughtered Zephyr's family, so he had no affection whatsoever for them. In fact, he hated them. The only reason he was the "Non-Killer" was that he didn't want to become like those pirates.
"Ah!"
The blow sent Curiel straight to his knees.
"Curiel!"
Having just climbed out of the sea, Vista saw Curiel's miserable state and couldn't help shouting.
"Go get Barn, now! You're no match for him!"
"O-okay..."
After witnessing Zephyr's strength, Marco had long since sobered up. Hearing his father's order, he immediately scrambled toward the storeroom.
Locked in a stalemate with Whitebeard, Sengoku had already activated his Devil Fruit power and transformed into a gigantic golden Buddha.
He asked,
"Whitebeard, who's this Barn you're talking about?"
"Gurararara! You'll find out soon enough. You think you can afford to get distracted while fighting me?"
Whitebeard tightened his grip on his massive blade and gave a powerful shove, driving Sengoku back several steps.
"Mr. Barn! Hurry! Vista and the others can't hold out much longer!"
Marco's panicked voice reached Barn's ears.
"What's going on? It's been noisy out there for a while now!"
Barn put down the metal sheet in his hands and spoke to Marco.
"It's Zephyr! Admiral Zephyr! He came with Sengoku to pursue Pops! Mr. Barn, get out there, quick! Vista and the others are no match for Zephyr!"
Hearing Marco's words, Barn realized how serious the situation was.
He picked up the Nidai Kitetsu beside him, then took Fitz, who had been sleeping on his head, and handed Fitz to Marco. In a very low voice, he said,
"Marco, take good care of Fitz for me."
"O-okay..."
"Mind's Eye, activate!"
With a thought, Barn activated his Mind's Eye, took up the Nidai Kitetsu, and left the cabin.
Just then, Zephyr sent Vista flying yet again.
"Ah!"
Barn frowned. Through his Mind's Eye, he saw three figures glowing red. One familiar figure was Whitebeard; the other two had to be Sengoku and Zephyr. The one who had just knocked Vista away must be Zephyr!
Barn swiftly drew the Nidai Kitetsu. Its red, flame-patterned blade flashed through the air as he intercepted Zephyr, who was throwing a punch at Jozu!
Clang!
The Nidai Kitetsu crashed against Zephyr's fist, hardened with Armament Haki.
Bracing his sword with all his strength, Barn slid backward some distance before stopping.
"Mr. Barn!"
Jozu cried out joyfully at Barn's arrival.
Feeling a force against his hand on an entirely different level from before, Zephyr frowned.
He looked at Barn and asked in a low voice,
"Who are you?"
"Heh heh, my name's Barn. I'm a pirate. I'll be fighting you now!"
Zephyr's frown deepened. He was turning the name Barn over in his mind.