Clearly, his old wounds and hidden injuries had been aggravated.
"Pops!!!"
Marco and the others could only watch helplessly as Pops, whom they had believed invincible, was overpowered. There was nothing they could do, and that helplessness left them in agony.
"Huh, old man, you said the wrong thing," Naruto said, scratching his head.
"Sasuke's actual big brother is a real monster, you know. You want to be his dad too? You're lucky he isn't here. Otherwise, every last one of you would die! He'd sink your ship to the bottom of the sea and use it to plug a sea hole."
Hearing Naruto's words, Whitebeard instantly understood why they had erupted.
"My apologies. That wasn't what I meant. It was merely a careless remark. I hope you won't take offense."
Whitebeard watched everything unfolding before him with a grave gaze, his heart filled with pain and helplessness.
He knew he had been somewhat careless this time.
It wasn't as though he didn't understand that careless words could bring disaster.
It was just that, after so many years of smooth sailing, he had lost some of the caution he had possessed when he first set out to sea.
Whitebeard watched his sons being pinned to the deck, unable to move. Blood even seeped from the mouths of some of his smaller, weaker sons. Clearly, their internal organs had suffered severe damage, leaving them with serious internal injuries.
Faced with such an unfavorable situation, Whitebeard understood that he no longer had the strength to contend with the enemies before him. He had to find a way to protect his children now.
And so, he resolutely chose to apologize to them.
Whitebeard wasn't the sort of ruthless leader who stubbornly clung to his views and would rather die than bow his head