"Damn it! Damn it! That old bastard Whitebeard has lost every shred of his pride. All he does is play house with those sons of his in the New World," Shiki cursed, his face flushed with indignation.
"Captain, not everyone is still as ambitious as you. Why bother getting so worked up over an old man with one foot in the grave?" the Blond Pirate said with a grin, handing him a cup of liquor.
Shiki took the cup from the Blond Pirate in frustration and gulped it down.
He had gone to seek out Whitebeard, hoping they could join forces while the World Government had its hands full and deal it a crushing blow, dragging its reputation through the mud once again. He had set out brimming with confidence, only for that old bastard Whitebeard to refuse even to see him. Instead, Whitebeard had simply ordered those grown sons of his to drive away the men Shiki had sent.
"Captain, calm down. What should we do now?" the Blond Pirate asked timidly.
"What should we do?" Shiki pondered for a moment. "Head to the East Blue!"
"What?!" The Blond Pirate was shocked. "Captain, you need to think this through! The East Blue isn't somewhere we can mess with!" he urged anxiously.
"I know it isn't. The New World has already been completely carved up. Attacking any faction would bring fierce retaliation. Since the old era has no room for us, we'll enter the new era ahead of everyone else."
"But Captain, the Holy Church seems even harder to mess with!" the Blond Pirate said fearfully.
"Hmph. As long as we don't confront the Holy Church head-on and fly quietly through the sky, how would they ever find us?" Shiki looked confidently at his subordinate.
Hearing this, the Blond Pirate