To the astonishment of the others, Lin Yuan and the Whitebeard Newgate were enveloped in smoke and dust, and not only that, the entire area within several miles was also covered.
A full ten minutes later, the smoke and dust finally dissipated, and Marco and the others hurriedly went to look.
Lin Yuan and the Whitebeard Newgate stared at each other for a full minute before bursting into laughter and sheathing their swords.
Erza and Emile rushed over immediately upon seeing this. When they saw the wound on Lin Yuan's shoulder that was more than 20 centimeters long, they began to bandage it for him with heartache, while also giving Whitebeard Newgate a fierce glare.
Marco and his two companions arrived as well, and upon seeing Lin Yuan injured, their faces lit up with joy.
Because they were standing behind Whitebeard Newgate, they didn't notice whether their Pops was injured.
"You three little brats, come over here and help me bandage up! Don't you have any sense of propriety?"
When Whitebeard Newgate saw his three silly sons laughing and joking, he immediately frowned and scolded them.
Marco and the other two were stunned. They quickly stepped forward and discovered that their Pops had a wound on his chest that was even larger than Lin Yuan's, and a lot of blood was gushing out.
Remembering that his Pops would never let him hurt his back, Marco finally understood and quickly used Healing Flame to heal Whitebeard Newgate.
"Hahaha, old man with the Whitebeard, see? They're far too blindly confident in you. They're laughing all the way to the bank while their own Pops is injured."
Upon hearing this, Whitebeard Newgate, immediately turned grim and said...
"Hmph, that's trust in me. You brat, there's no way you can defeat me!"
"Tch, I wasn't using my full strength then. Give me a few more years, and I'll crush you!"
"Hmph, you think you can defeat me? You'll have to wait until your next life!"
"You're being stubborn, aren't you? You're already in your forties, while I'm only in my early twenties. My skills can still improve further, haha!"
Whitebeard Newgate, though stubborn, had to admire the man before him. The man was right; he was getting old, and his strength would no longer improve.
The opponent, however, is different. He is only in his early twenties and his strength has not even reached its peak. If he doesn't perish along the way, he will really be no match for him in the future.
However, with Lin Yuan's current combat strength comparable to the Four Emperors, who could kill him? It's practically a foregone conclusion that he will become the world's strongest man in the future.
With that thought in mind, Whitebeard Newgate sighed and made up his mind.
" Lin Yuan, tell me, how can you agree? You should know that although my sons are not as good as you, their strength is not to be underestimated."
"I'll feel at ease if they follow you from now on!"
Lin Yuan watched as Erza and Emile finished bandaging him and even tied a bow on his arm, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
With its own healing ability, it should have already scabbed over by now. Why would it need to be bandaged like this?
However, Lin Yuan did not reject their advances; he would pamper his own women.
Lin Yuan pondered for a moment after hearing Whitebeard Newgate's words.
He remembered that after Whitebeard Newgate died, the entire Whitebeard Pirates were wiped out by Blackbeard.
Apart from Marco and others who waged guerrilla warfare, the fleets under his command either died, surrendered, or retreated, and were no match for Blackbeard.
Therefore, Lin Yuan still values Whitebeard Newgate, since Whitebeard Newgate alone is more powerful than the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates combined.
Seeing that Lin Yuan remained silent, the Whitebeard Newgate did not disturb him either, allowing Marco to continue the treatment.
A moment of silence fell, broken only by the occasional sounds of Marco bustling about.
"Ahem, well, old man with the Whitebeard, I can agree to your request, but it's on the condition that your sons start training right now."
" The New World is relatively stable now, and with the Four Emperors as a deterrent, there shouldn't be any major wars in the near future."
"So now is the time to let your sons get some more opportunities to advance, especially the three of them. Although they are getting on in years, they are only in their thirties, and they might be able to make further progress."
"Look at the Navy, they keep training their subordinates. The older generation, plus the Three Admirals, and dozens of Vice Admiral, and they still don't forget to train them."
"This is the difference between you and them. Honestly, if the entire Navy were to be mobilized, even the Four Emperors combined would be in trouble, not to mention the World Government."
On the field, not only Whitebeard Newgate silent, but Marco and the other two also looked ashamed. They knew that their Pops had carried too much on his shoulders.
Although they were known as great pirates and seemed powerful, they were still somewhat inferior to the top experts.
Especially the Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, who are about the same age as them, but are much stronger.
" Lin Yuan, can our strength be improved further?"
Marco was the one speaking, but Jozu and Vista were also looking at Lin Yuan with eager expressions.
"Hmph, of course. Let's talk about the three of you. Marco, Mythical Zoan Fruit Logia- type fruit. What have you done with it?"
"Flight, healing, immortality—aren't these the bare minimum? Why don't you develop them properly? The most important thing for Mythical Zoan is to enhance their physical strength."
"And then there's the ability to continuously improve skill attacks. Also, do you know how to use Ryuo Haki? Have you improved your Observation Haki to the point where you can Future Sight? Can't you properly train these things?"
Marco blushed slightly. Although Lin Yuan had scolded him, he didn't argue back but accepted it patiently, after all, this was someone who had fought to a draw with his Pops.
Seeing Marco's expression, Lin Yuan turned to Jozu.
Under Lin Yuan's gaze, Jozu immediately stood up straight, like a primary school student about to be reprimanded by a teacher.
Whitebeard Newgate glanced at his son but didn't say anything, instead showing his pleasure at Lin Yuan continuing.
"Your name is Jozu, right?"
When Lin Yuan called his name, Jozu simply nodded vigorously, not daring to utter a sound.
"You ate the Paramecia Glitter-Glitter Fruit, so you can turn yourself into diamonds, right!"
Jozu remained silent and nodded obediently once again.
"You idiot, all you know is how to form diamonds on your body and then crash into the other person. What good is that? You're just a brute!"
Similarly, wouldn't you develop some other methods, like trying to turn diamonds into weapons, whether swords, clubs, or anything else? Wouldn't that be more effective than just crashing into them directly?
"Besides, you seem to know Armament Haki too, right? Why don't you just cover your skills with Armament Haki? The damage output is still lacking!"
Not only was Jozu's eyes lit up, but even Whitebeard Newgate and Marco were greatly shocked.
Erza and Emile smiled at each other; they had already figured out the tricks of the trade.
Lin Yuan didn't give them any time to think, and continued.
"And haven't you noticed that your diamond is afraid of fire? I'm sure if you ran into Sakazuki, you'd be completely outmatched. With Armament Haki covering it, wouldn't your weakness be amplified considerably?"
"And in future battles, don't call out names directly; just silently say them in your mind. Don't act like you're afraid others won't know!"
Lin Yuan took the tea that Emile had somehow produced and drank it all in one gulp. Then, he pointed at the group and started cursing.
"Most importantly, you guys have the World's Strongest person by your side, why don't you go and ask them for advice on Armament Haki and Observation Haki! What a waste!"
"Is it that your Pops can't teach you, or are you just stupid!"
Okay, now we've dragged everyone into this mess!