“Of course, it’s Whitebeard. What’s the matter, old man? Are you interested too?”
Tiger and Mihawk’s conversation caught Ace’s attention. The events earlier hadn’t taught him enough of a lesson, and he was still treating Whitebeard as his imaginary rival.
Ever since the battle between Whitebeard and Kaido, the question of who was truly the strongest—the strongest creature or the strongest man in the world—gradually became a hot topic across the seas.
This matter has never been definitively settled, but everyone understood one thing: with time, Kaido would eventually be the victor.
They didn’t know the details, but Kaido was younger and had more time—that was his greatest asset.
For Ace, the desire to challenge Whitebeard was partially connected to Roger.
He didn’t hold any fond feelings toward the father he had never met, which is why he wanted to challenge Whitebeard, someone from Roger’s era. During their prime, Kaido was just an apprentice with no reputation to his name.
But only a select few knew the real reason behind Ace’s actions. Most people didn’t know that his biological father was Roger, and this wasn’t exactly a glorious matter either. At least on Fishman Island, Roger’s reputation could only be described as average.
Though Neptune had peaceful interactions with Roger, and Tom had built his ship, many of Fishman Island’s residents despised the Pirate King. They were grateful for Whitebeard’s protection, appreciated the development brought by the Beasts Pirates, but hated Roger for starting the Great Pirate Era.
For centuries, apart from the period of the previous Mermaid Princess, Fishman Island had never known lasting stability, and the start of the Great Pirate Era only made things more chaotic.
Many Fish-Men and Merfolk believed that without Roger, Fishman Island would have been far more peaceful. Even with pirates, it wouldn’t have developed into this endless state of turmoil.
“I’m not interested. That’s your business.”
Tiger was different from Jinbe. Even when he heard that Ace was going to challenge Whitebeard, he didn’t have the intention to stop him. Even if Ace wanted to challenge Kaido, he wouldn’t stop him.
Unlike Sasaki, Sasaki personally idolizes Kaido and joined the Beasts Pirates purely out of admiration for Kaido. Tiger, on the other hand, is merely a believer of the Arceus Cult and would not intervene unless Ace says something strange or performs a peculiar action.
“If things go well for you, your future should be quite good.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I just think you have a real talent for mining.”
“?”
Hearing this, Ace was once again baffled. He couldn’t quite understand the New World. The people here seemed to place a lot of importance on mining skills. However, Tiger didn’t linger, taking his notebook and walking off to one side.
Ace didn’t dwell on the odd remark either. He had no intention of earning money using this method in the future.
After a few days’ delay, the Spade Pirates managed to accumulate initial capital through mining, regaining their starting funds, then they waited for other pirate crews.
They were the losers from the New World, trying to plunder one last time before retreating to the first half of the Grand Line, but then they ran into Ace and his crew. After their ship was stolen, they took over the mining work.
On this point, Otohime, who disliked killing, learned from Beasts Pirates’ reform policy—mining. The prisoners would mine until they sincerely repented.
And if they didn’t repent? Well, after a few hundred years of digging, they’d probably gain their freedom anyway.
As for how to determine whether someone had truly repented, Otohime had her own unique methods.
…
“Boss Tai, are we really just letting them leave like that?”
“There’s no need to interfere. There are too many reckless people like them—you can’t manage them all. It’s the same for the Beasts Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates.”
Watching the departing Spade Pirates, Jinbe seemed a little hesitant, as if he wanted to step in and stop them. In the end, however, he followed Tiger’s advice. According to Tiger, whether they could even reach their destination was already uncertain.
Tiger’s status among the Fish-Men is like that of the legendary heroes among the Giants, holding an extraordinary level of influence. Most of his suggestions are almost always followed.
“Don’t overthink it. That kid is a Super Rookie, and he’ll probably end up being recruited by someone. But with that personality… Jinbe, what do you think? Will he end up mining for the Beasts Pirates, or will Whitebeard take him in?”
“Maybe he’ll become Big Mom’s son-in-law? Or maybe, Big Mom might even take a liking to him.”
“Haha, now that would be interesting, but it seems unlikely. By the way, Jinbe, I’ll leave this place to you. I plan to go on a trip for a while. Sister has invited me.”
During their earlier conversations, Ace and his crew had made no effort to hide their intentions, clearly stating that they wanted to challenge the top powerhouses. In Tiger’s view, there was absolutely no possibility of them succeeding; it was just a matter of where they would fall.
The New World is not short of ambitious people, but what there are even more are the corpses of those ambitious people. The dangerous seas are buried with countless corpses.
If Ace really intended to challenge the strongest according to his plan, surviving even one encounter would be a stroke of incredible luck. In the current New World, no one had ever offended two Emperors of the Sea simultaneously and lived to tell the tale.
The Lone Hero who managed to accomplish that feat had now disappeared. Causing trouble in Whitebeard’s territory, offending an officer of the Beasts Pirates, and then stealing Big Mom’s food, it can be said that there has never been anyone like him before or since.
However, now there was a possibility of that record being broken. With Red-Haired Shanks having risen to the rank of one of the Four Emperors, there was yet another target to challenge. Perhaps someday in the future, an even stronger hero would emerge.
“Understood. I’ll protect this place.”
…
Tiger intended to observe how Sister Misu spread the faith, while she herself hoped to have more powerful people among her missionaries to deal with heretics. Thus, a unique missionary operation was set into motion.
But before that, Onigashima was hosting a peculiar birthday celebration—for someone who was quite advanced in years.
Pop! Pop!
Several paper fireworks went off, showering Acier in streamers. Since Acier was not a combatant but rather a researcher, not many people attended his 250th birthday party; most were family members of the officer.
Though the gathering was small, the combined age of those present was astounding.
There was 75-year-old Nightin, 250-year-old Acier, and 201-year-old Olga—all undeniably people who have lived for a long time.
“Hey, Dad, aren’t you going to make a move? Nightin even showed up for your birthday party.”
“That’s your elder. Shouldn’t you address her properly?”
“Let’s talk about that once you’ve achieved something. Besides, if we’re really going to count, don’t you think she should be calling me great-grandma?
“…!”
Olga’s remark left Acier speechless. The father and daughter often ignored the nearly two centuries they had spent inside a Sea King’s stomach, but sometimes Olga would bring it up again. When it came to seniority, the two of them were virtually unmatched.
“Alright, enough joking. Good luck, Dad, I believe in you.”
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