Their mouths hung half-open as they stared at the shocking image in the newspaper, feeling their worldview shaken.
The World Government's prestige and the privilege that even a Marine Admiral would not ignore were crushed beneath the feet of that young man with one hand in his pocket.
"Gurararara..."
A low laugh interrupted everyone's discussion.
Whitebeard reached out with a massive hand large enough to cover the entire newspaper and took the thin sheet from Jozu.
His gaze swept over the photograph. There was little surprise in his eyes, but rather a trace of nostalgic mockery.
"That brat who never knew his limits... I only cut off one of his hands back then. Looks like he still hasn't learned his lesson."
Jinbe froze at those words, finally recalling an old story. Long ago, Crocodile had challenged the throne of the Four Emperors, but his journey had ended before Whitebeard.
So there was a story like that behind his Golden Hook.
"But to beat a Logia user into that state, this Marine brat named Lin Xuan..." Whitebeard casually tossed the newspaper onto the deck, picked up a bowl of liquor larger than a bucket, and drained it. "He's interesting. Has that old bastard Sengoku finally lost his patience and started taking a knife to the Shichibukai?"
Thought flickered through his clouded eyes. Had the Marine leadership authorized this, or was it the reckless behavior of a fearless newcomer?
Different answers would mean completely different futures for these seas.
Whitebeard turned his gaze to Jinbe, his previously boisterous tone growing grave. "Jinbe, you'll have to be careful too. With someone this unpredictable in the Marines, that Shichibukai title of yours probably isn't an infallible shield anymore."
It was a solemn warning from the World's Strongest Man.
No one knew who would be