Whitebeard lit up

Doflamingo had no choice. His gift had failed, and it looked like Su Yu was determined to kill him!

Ever since Diamante returned, Doflamingo had lived in constant dread, terrified that Su Yu would suddenly descend from the sky like Kaido had that day and take his miserable life.

Although Doflamingo didn't understand why Su Yu still hadn't come, he knew he would eventually.

So he had to find something to defend himself with. As a former Celestial Dragon, even though he had been stripped of that status at a very young age, he still knew a few things, such as the existence of the ancient weapons.

He didn't know how powerful the ancient weapons truly were, but the World Government's relentless desire for the Pluton Battleship alone told him its power was far greater than anyone might imagine.

So Doflamingo pinned all his hopes on Pluton. He had no choice. Whether Pluton could stand against Su Yu or not, it was the greatest power he could think of right now.

Somewhere in the New World, the Moby Dick drifted across the sea.

Just then, a pirate stationed in the crow's nest suddenly spotted a point of light in the distance. He hurriedly raised his spyglass and saw that it was actually a bird covered in dazzling flames.

The pirate relaxed at the sight of the fiery bird. Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates knew it all too well.

A moment later, the fiery bird landed on the deck. Its brilliant plumage of flames slowly receded, finally revealing a bare-chested, middle-aged man with pineapple-shaped hair.

He greeted the people around him, then approached Whitebeard.

"Pops, I'm back!"

"Mm."

Whitebeard said nothing else, but he felt relieved. Even knowing that very few people could threaten Marco, he still couldn't help worrying. Perhaps that was simply what it meant to be a father.

At that moment, Marco took out the unremarkable apple and offered it to Whitebeard.

"Pops, have an apple!"

"Hahaha! Marco, don't tell me the errand you went out on was just buying an apple!"

Before Whitebeard could speak, Diamond Jozu teased Marco from beside him. Hearing his words, the surrounding pirates all burst into laughter, whether because they genuinely found it funny or simply wanted to humor Jozu. For a while, the deck was filled with merriment.

Indeed, Marco had said he was heading out on an errand, only to return with an apple he'd specifically bought-and just one at that. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed a little strange.

Even Whitebeard was amused.

"Gurararara! One apple isn't even enough to fill a gap between my teeth! Eat it yourself, Marco!"

"Pops, this is specifically for you. Please eat it first. I'll explain afterward."

Hearing that, Jozu quickly said, "What weird thing have you found this time, Marco? Pops, don't eat it yet. Let me try it first and see if there's anything wrong with it."

As he spoke, he reached to snatch the apple, but Marco sidestepped his hand.

Try it, my ass! One bite from that huge mouth of yours, and there wouldn't even be any peel left!

Whitebeard looked at Marco, then ignored Jozu's advice and took the apple. His own son had given it to him, after all. He trusted that Marco would never hurt him.

In Whitebeard's hand, the apple looked like an oversized cherry. He opened his huge mouth and tossed the whole thing inside, crunching it up, core and all, before swallowing it.

Seeing Whitebeard eat the apple, Jozu and the others watched him nervously. Marco watched too, wanting to see what would change. But Whitebeard seemed to have no reaction at all. He didn't even burp.

Jozu breathed a sigh of relief and silently chided himself for overreacting. That had looked like an ordinary apple no matter how he examined it. Marco was puzzled too. He had clearly sensed that pure vitality, so why wasn't there any reaction?

Just then, Whitebeard let out a surprised "Huh?" Then his entire body lit up.

It was as though countless points of crystalline light were coursing through Whitebeard's body. He even looked somewhat transparent, revealing the texture of his muscles, his blood vessels, and the blood surging through them.

Then every part of Whitebeard turned a golden green: his eyes, skin, organs, muscles, blood, hair... no, wait, Whitebeard had no hair. At that moment, he looked like a statue carved from green glass.

"Pops!"

The bizarre sight left Jozu and the others, who had no idea what was happening, worried sick.

The hotheaded Jozu immediately tried to rush forward, but Marco reacted swiftly and stopped him.

"Marco, you bastard! What the hell did you feed Pops?!"

"Calm down first, Jozu!"

Even Marco, who knew what it was, had been startled, let alone Jozu. Still, he kept his reason. He knew that if Su Yu wanted to hurt Whitebeard, he wouldn't need to go to all this trouble. Besides, there was no way Marco had mistaken that pure vitality. Whatever was happening to Whitebeard now should be part of the normal process.

Sure enough, Whitebeard spoke a moment later. "Calm down! I'm fine!"

Seeing that Whitebeard could still speak, everyone calmed down a little, though they continued to watch him anxiously as green light shone from his body.

In truth, Whitebeard's mind was in turmoil. He was utterly astounded.

To the others, he merely seemed to be glowing green, with nothing else changing. But Whitebeard's experience was completely different. His whole body felt warm, as though he were enveloped in soothing spring water. That warmth seemed alive, constantly seeping into his body. As the process continued, Whitebeard discovered to his astonishment that his condition seemed to be improving!

He knew his own body best. His Devil Fruit possessed tremendous destructive power, but it also placed an enormous burden on his body. Whenever he made space quake, his body and internal organs were affected as well. The various lingering injuries he had suffered over the years were even harder to endure. Only his extraordinarily powerful physique had allowed him to hold on and stay alive this long. Anyone else would probably have had grass growing several meters high over their grave by now.

But now, as that warmth soaked into him, a tingling sensation spread throughout Whitebeard's body. To his astonishment, those stubborn old injuries were slowly healing. Even his aching organs felt cool and incredibly comfortable.

It wasn't just his injuries healing. Whitebeard could feel his physical condition improving noticeably as well. The sensation of his entire body brimming with strength felt both familiar and foreign. This was how he had felt when he was young! This was himself in his prime!