The moment Lin Yuan approached Naguri, he unleashed a terrifying Conqueror's Haki coating, leaving the previously indifferent Naguri completely stunned.
Fortunately, he was no ordinary person. At the critical moment, he covered his entire body with Armament Haki and quickly retreated backward.
It was already too late. Lin Yuan wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. He'd let the old man put on a show earlier; his punch had looked like it was going to kill Naguri.
"Boom..."
Their fists collided violently. Naguri felt as if a mountain had crashed into him, his face turning bright red. In just an instant, he was sent flying.
"Puff..."
He crashed through everything in his path until he flew a hundred meters before stopping, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Just as he was about to say something, a deathly aura emanated from him once more.
After the initial strike, Lin Yuan paused for a moment before charging forward again, giving his opponent no chance whatsoever.
Without a second thought, Naguri pushed off with both legs and flew out almost parallel to the ground.
At that moment, Lin Yuan's fist also slammed in, creating a crater dozens of meters wide, and countless flying rocks pierced through the surrounding trees.
Under this terrifying aura, countless wild beasts and birds took flight in frantic flight, fleeing for their lives in the distance. Within a kilometer, most animals froze, their bodies stiff with fear, and some even died of fright.
Seeing that his attack had failed, Lin Yuan's body disappeared from the spot again, like a phantom, and bit Naguri tightly, giving him no chance at all.
Moreover, he showed no intention of retracting the Conqueror's Haki Coating, seemingly determined to kill this pretentious old man.
"Ouch, damn it, stop, stop, stop right now, I give up!"
At this moment, Naguri's Observation Haki, with its constant death warnings, almost made his head explode, so he quickly shouted loudly.
Lin Yuan seemed not to hear him, and blasted him away again before stopping, though with less force.
After flying several dozen meters again, Naguri crashed headfirst into the ground, his body seemingly twitching twice, and his hat and pipe had fallen off somewhere!
Lin Yuan flashed and appeared not far from Naguri, smiling as he spoke.
"Oh dear, you're not doing well either! I was all prepared to see you unleash your full power, so I went all out. What's wrong with you? Get up and fight!"
Seemingly angered by Lin Yuan's words, Naguri's aged body twitched again, then he rolled over and jumped up from the ground.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
"Hey kid, how can you be so uncivilized and pretend to be weak while actually being strong? Aren't you the son of that old bastard Whitebeard Newgate?"
Naguri spat out the dirt from his mouth, then subtly swallowed the taste of blood before angrily asking the question.
Lin Yuan smiled, and his aura returned to its unassuming state, just like that of an ordinary person.
"Hmph, which eye of yours saw that I'm Whitebeard Newgate's son? I even beat him black in the eye the other day, want to try?"
Lin Yuan smiled and raised his huge fist, gesturing towards Naguri.
"Damn it, forget it. You're too monstrous and too cunning. You actually tried to outsmart me, and you don't know your own strength. You wouldn't be satisfied unless you killed someone!"
Naguri rubbed the spot where Lin Yuan had hit him hard, feeling as if his bones were shattered.
"Alas, I never expected to suffer such a defeat today, to encounter someone like you who lacks the demeanor of a true strongman."
"Hahaha, magnanimity? I may show mercy to the weak, but to the strong like you, I have no choice but to strike hard. That's my magnanimity."
"What, Naguri, you're not going back on your word, are you?"
Although he couldn't see Lin Yuan's expression, Naguri finally understood that this guy's target this time was him, and it seemed that he wasn't even from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Naguri inwardly cursed himself for being an idiot. He had lived in seclusion in the East Blue for so many years, rarely meeting strangers other than Ace and Luffy.
Sensing the aura of a powerful figure today, he couldn't help but go over to investigate. Not only did he see Whitebeard Newgate and Garp, but he was also directly injured by a stranger.
"Sigh, curiosity killed the cat. I brought this on myself. I shouldn't have come. I should have run as far away as possible."
"Tell me, what do you want?"
Naguri, after all, was once a great pirate, so he didn't go back on his bet. However, he was also curious about what conditions the other party wanted to ask for, since he had nothing to offer.
Seeing that Naguri showed no sign of backing out, Lin Yuan couldn't help but smile.
"Haha, it's nothing really, I just wanted to suggest you move to a different place to retire. There are countless delicious foods there, much better than this place!"
Naguri paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile.
"I never expected that someone would still care about my old bones. I don't even know how many more years I have left to live, and I can't be of any help to you!"
"Don't worry, as long as you agree, I will find you the best therapist to help you improve your health and hopefully live a few more years."
Naguri remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought, while Lin Yuan waited patiently for Naguri to finish his reflection.
After the probing, Lin Yuan had roughly figured out the opponent's strength. Although the opponent was old, he did not boast and was indeed very strong.
Lin Yuan estimated that his opponent was roughly at the level of Admiral, since he hadn't held back much of his strength, yet his opponent had still managed to withstand all of it.
However, given his age, if the opponent were one of Kuzan's three Admiral, Lin Yuan estimated that Naguri might not be able to defeat him, at least not in terms of physical strength.
"Can I know how old you are? And why are you here with Whitebeard Newgate to capture Ace?"
Lin Yuan smiled indifferently.
"That's an answer to you. I'm twenty-three this year. As for Whitebeard, he's kind of cooperating with me, and he has to help me three times, with all his might!"
A complex expression flashed across Naguri's face as he patted the dirt off his clothes.
"Alright, I don't have many years left to live anyway, it's good to go see what you're up to!"
Despite saying that, Naguri's Observation Haki kept giving him warnings, making him curse Lin Yuan inwardly, thinking that if he didn't agree, the other party would probably beat him to death.
"Haha, welcome to the team! Don't worry, I'll give you a chance to take down some of the Five Elders!"
"Holy shit..."
Naguri stared at Lin Yuan in shock, thinking he had misheard. But when he saw the other man carrying him away, he quickly chased after him, retrieving his hat and pipe in the process.
"Are you serious? You want me to be one of the Five Elders in the future?"
"Um!"
"Real?"
"Um?!"
"Ahem, alright then, it's a deal. You have to treat me well, give me physical therapy, give me food, I'll enjoy myself for two years first!"
"Good!"
"Um, please let me be one of the Five Elders!"
Lin Yuan stopped talking and quickened his pace again, prompting Naguri to hurry after him.
"Hey, wait a minute, old man, tell me, when are you going to join the Five Elders?"