Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Whitebeard's fist landed heavily on Marco's pineapple-like hairstyle as he said irritably.

"Idiot, what are you looking at?"

Marco, the "Phoenix" who can almost infinitely heal his injuries, simply fell to the ground following Whitebeard's movements, rolling around and shouting.

"Ouch! That hurts..."

A series of cheerful laughs erupted aboard the Moby Dick.

Seeing this, Whitebeard looked helpless and said irritably, "Idiot, that's enough, get up now."

Marco, looking injured, said, "No, Father, I'm injured. I might need to rest for a while, or maybe I'll get a bigger share next time the treasure is distributed."

"Okay, no problem..."

Whitebeard put away the bounty poster in his hand and then spoke.

"Next time, I'll give you a larger share of my treasure, but you'll be in charge of procuring supplies for the next year."

Marco's expression froze instantly, and he quickly tried to say something.

However, Whitebeard spoke as if he had expected this, saying, "This is the captain's decision. Accept the treasure with gratitude."

At that moment, Marco's dead fish eyes seemed to have completely lost their vitality, and he answered weakly.

"Yes~"

As for the other cadres, they burst into laughter.

Procurement of supplies...

This might be considered a lucrative job for other pirate crews, who could often make a profit from it.

However, for the Whitebeard Pirates, a pirate crew that can be described as a family, procuring supplies was the most troublesome thing.

Almost every time someone goes out to buy things, they are surrounded by a large group of friends who ask them to bring back all sorts of odds and ends.

At this point, Marco was already instinctively considering how to pass this troublesome matter on to other cadres.

However, any officer who has been with the Whitebeard Pirates for more than a year will never be fooled again, and only newcomers will unknowingly accept such a mission.

'Speaking of which, that kid's name... wasn't it 'Portgas D. Ace'?'

As the laughter subsided and the meeting returned to normal, Whitebeard seemed completely unconcerned when the other officers raised the question of whether to expel the naval warships of Yann that were roaming the nearby waters.

What surprised all the officers was that Whitebeard suddenly suggested leaving the territory to explore other sea areas.

This is undoubtedly a major event for the Whitebeard Pirates, even one that could significantly impact the entire sea.

"The strongest man in the world!"

This is the name that Whitebeard is known to all the people in this sea!

Even though Whitebeard is known as one of the "Four Emperors" along with the other pirates, in terms of influence, Whitebeard's influence is enough to crush all the pirates in the sea today.

He was the last legend of the previous pirate era, and also the pirate king of this era!

This man, however, suddenly chose to leave his territory without any warning and for no apparent reason.

As many forces confirmed this intelligence, they couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.

Could it be that Whitebeard is trying to declare his presence across the entire sea in order to target the World Government and the Navy, who have achieved victory in Wano Country?

Or perhaps, the Navy's increasingly aggressive actions in the "New World" have angered this Emperor, but Whitebeard, who disdains to argue with juniors, has chosen other ways to retaliate.

For a moment, with Whitebeard's movement, the entire "New World" sea area and even Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, became somewhat tense.

The numerous pirates in the "New World" seas all adopted a turtling attitude, not daring to wander around at this time.

The waters of the "New World" are now...incomparably dangerous!

Not only "Sakura Dragon" Vice Admiral Yann, but even "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate has begun to wander in the sea.

Any pirate who understands even a little bit about the laws of survival on the high seas and the concept of strength and weakness would never choose to set sail rashly, lest they accidentally encounter those two monsters.

……

However, just as the pirates in the "New World" seas almost unanimously tucked their tails between their legs and chose to keep a low profile for the time being.

On a pirate ship flying a flag whose overall design resembles a spade but whose color is like flames.

A boy with black hair, freckles on his cheeks, and the word "ASCE" tattooed on his left arm looked at the newspaper in his hand, which reported that "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate had left his territory, and he revealed an incredibly bright and battle-ready smile.

"Friends, this is the perfect opportunity! If we can successfully defeat 'Whitebeard' Edward Newgate, we'll be one step closer to the throne of the Pirate King!"

"You bastard, just you wait and see! I, Portgas D. Ace, will defeat Whitebeard, whom you couldn't defeat before, and then claim the title of Pirate King."

Ace's eyes radiated unparalleled heat, and flames unconsciously rose from his body, making him resemble the rising sun.

Chapter 663 Portgas D. Ace

[Chapter 663. Chasing After Them]

When Yann, who was leisurely enjoying his fishing, saw the latest newspaper, his expression turned somewhat surprised.

Whitebeard... left his territory...

More importantly, the newspaper report even mentioned the reason why Whitebeard left his territory, which was likely due to Yann's warships deliberately intimidating him, thus provoking Whitebeard.

Upon seeing this, Yann's lips twitched slightly.

In the navy, Yann left almost all military affairs to Hope, and he didn't even bother to worry about the ship's sailing route. However, he was completely unaware that the ship was actually in the vicinity of Whitebeard's territory.

As for intelligence on the Revolutionary Army, they haven't been reporting this matter to Yann recently.

'but……'

Yann frowned slightly, clearly sensing the abnormality in Whitebeard's actions.

'Given Whitebeard's personality, if it were due to his own actions, he would either choose not to hold a grudge against a junior or directly expel himself. It seems unlikely he would leave his own territory and then seemingly intend to retaliate against the World Government and the Navy through other means.'

Almost instantly, Yann realized that Whitebeard's departure from his territory was definitely not due to his own actions.

"Whitebeard, what are you planning to do? Leaving your territory at this time, if you do something outrageous, it will be seen as provocation..."

Yaen murmured to himself, his mind filled with doubts.

As a legend of the previous era and the emperor of the current era, Whitebeard's weight and influence among pirates are extremely terrifying.

If Kaido gives the impression of being a lawless madman, then Whitebeard is a true emperor who has stood on the sea for decades.

Even though Whitebeard was extremely old, no one dared to underestimate him.

Previously, during the war waged by the Navy against Shanks and Kaido, in order to prevent Whitebeard from participating in the war, Vice Admiral Garp, known as the "strongest marine," was specially dispatched to obstruct and restrain him.

After much deliberation, several guesses flashed through Yan's mind, but he still felt uneasy.

Especially now, at this crucial juncture when Wano Country is about to begin real reforms, changes in the situation at sea could very well trigger a chain reaction, causing a series of unforeseen changes.

"No, we can't just let it go unchecked."

Ya'en put down his fishing rod and, while Xiao Jin packed his things, hurriedly headed towards the warship's command room.

……

Meanwhile, in the command room of the naval warship, all the naval officers except for Aon were gathered there, and were being questioned by the naval high command from the Den Den Mushi.

"Who gave you permission to be so close to Whitebeard's territory? What a foolish choice!"

"Now, who can tell me how to handle this?"

"Why wasn't the sailing route reported in advance? Do you even realize the consequences of such a dangerous act without authorization?"

……

Faced with a barrage of questions from the naval high command, the naval officers present remained silent and silently endured the criticism, without shifting the blame to Vice Admiral Yann, their superior.

Even though these naval officers did not answer, the naval high command was well aware that this matter was definitely related to Yann.

Even if it ultimately leads to extremely serious consequences, the Navy's high command will not attribute the responsibility and stain to Arn.

The impact on the navy's reputation from the accidents caused by the mistakes of several naval officers is vastly different from the serious consequences of the wrong choices made by Yone, a "naval hero."

Moreover, these naval officers never reported to the Navy Headquarters in advance during this series of naval operations, thus bearing an inescapable responsibility.

Finally, as the accountability call from Naval Headquarters ended, a deathly silence fell over the command room.

These naval officers, who had originally prepared to follow Yann to meet the Whitebeard Pirates' counterattack and even die in battle, were now filled with confusion.

Instead of targeting them, the Whitebeard Pirates left the territory with unclear objectives.

"Major General Hope, what do we do now?"

"Did Vice Admiral Yann really mean to intimidate the Whitebeard Pirates? Or could it be that you've misunderstood?"

"How about we ask Lieutenant General Yarne again?"

"The problem is that the Whitebeard Pirates have left the territory without any clear purpose. What should we do?"

Just as the naval officers in the command room were discussing in hushed tones, the door to the command room was suddenly pushed open.

"Oh!"

Immediately, Yann strode into the command room, startling the naval officers present, who then quickly stood at attention and saluted him.

"Lieutenant General Yann."

"Ah."

Yarn nodded, not paying much attention to the expressions of the naval officers, and strode towards the nautical chart placed in the middle of the command room, asking Hope, who was standing next to him.

"Where exactly is the warship located now? And roughly in which sea area is Whitebeard?"

Upon hearing this, Major General Hope quickly and in detail gave a reply.

Yaen paused for a moment, then spoke. "Chase after them."

"what?"

Major General Hope was slightly taken aback and failed to react.

Yone pointed at the sea chart and said decisively, "Target Whitebeard's flagship, the 'Modepick,' and pursue it."

Immediately, the naval officers in the command room were startled, and then they all subconsciously felt goosebumps.

That's Edward Newgate, the "strongest man in the world," and Whitebeard would certainly be accompanied by many incredibly powerful subordinates.

However, even under these circumstances, Lieutenant General Yann did not hesitate to order them to give chase.