The fight between Whitebeard and Whitebeard II didn't last very long.
But from beginning to end, Whitebeard thoroughly tested his "son's" talent.
Judging from the smile hanging on the corner of Whitebeard's mouth when the fight ended, he seemed quite satisfied with Whitebeard II.
After all, aside from Michael, it was rare for him to meet anyone whose raw strength could even be compared to his own.
The only flaw was that this big dumb kid was purely relying on instinct to drive his overwhelming power.
"Ku la la la la! That was exhilarating! You really are my son!"
Hearing Whitebeard's hearty laughter echo through the air, Michael gave Marco a small nod and descended.
"How is it? Satisfied with your own lineage factor?"
"Aside from relying too much on instinct, not bad!" Whitebeard gave Whitebeard II a very high evaluation — second only to Michael. "Michael, this time, I owe you one!"
The moment those words left Whitebeard's mouth, Michael and Marco's expressions couldn't have been more different.
Marco glanced at Whitebeard, then at Michael, then finally sighed and held his tongue.
Michael, on the other hand, grinned brightly at Whitebeard.
"No worries, no worries. You don't need to owe me. You can pay me back right now."
"What do you mean?" Whitebeard froze, looking at Michael with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
"What kind of bad idea are you bringing this time?"
"Bad idea? How can you look at me like that?" Michael pouted. "I'm purely here to lead you all toward a happy life, you know?"
"No. Usually, when you smile like that, someone's about to suffer."
"You really do know me well…" Michael muttered, then continued, "But you said it yourself — 'you owe me.'"
"...Can I take it back?"
"You're the strongest man in the world! Take it back my ass!" Michael crossed his arms, leaned closer to Whitebeard's ear, and said, "Trust me, this time it's just like when we worked with the Marines back then. It's something that'll definitely benefit you guys."
"Old man, Michael already told me just now," Marco stepped in with a helpless expression. "He said he wants the Whitebeard Pirates… to found a country."
"Found a country!?"
Even Whitebeard was stunned speechless by Michael's wild idea.
The unfamiliar word crashed into his mind, leaving him unable to react for a moment.
Him, Whitebeard, founding a country?
Though under his protection there were indeed many territories, a considerable civilian population, and forty-two allied pirate crews — those children of his who hadn't joined the main Whitebeard Pirates but sailed on their own —
Come to think of it, he really did have the makings of a king, citizens, and an army.
And judging by their numbers and strength, only Totto Land could really compare…
But there was one problem…
Most of the territories under his protection were poor regions. He had taken them in out of kindness.
They had no real resources to sustain national development. On top of that, he even converted the dividends from Fishman Island into grain to feed them.
To be honest, founding a country wasn't impossible…
But first, they'd need a stable and wealthy heartland.
That was something the Whitebeard Pirates didn't have.
"Michael, I understand what you mean, and I get your idea," Whitebeard eventually shook his head and said, "But the civilians in my territories are already poor. Even with my aid, they can barely fill their stomachs. Founding a country is still a long way off."
"I'm not saying you have to build it right now." Michael patted Whitebeard's arm. "What I mean is, as long as you have the intention, I'll help you without hesitation. Poor? Then I'll help them become rich."
"Are you saying you can make barren land fertile again?"
"That… is that supposed to be hard?"
"Is that supposed to be easy!?" Whitebeard laughed bitterly. "Even I, a pirate who only knows how to fight, know farming depends on the weather!"
Michael shook his head.
Too limited.
But understandable — after all, this was the world of a hot-blooded shonen series. Of course pirates wouldn't have a deep understanding of agriculture.
But as someone who had crossed worlds, Michael knew exactly what to do. He had two people under him who could directly improve soil fertility.
Stella with the Cloud-Cloud Fruit, and Enel with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
One could bring rain, and the other could use precise lightning strikes on the soil.
Lightning strikes produce nitrogen oxides that convert into nitrogen fertilizer — a favorite of plants. The oxygen generated during the strike improves soil respiration and microbial activity, increasing fertility.
Any experienced transmigrator would know this!
Michael had already tested it in East Blue, the world's granary.
Even though some physical laws in this world differed from reality, the principles still applied.
And beyond that, the basic knowledge of soil enrichment wasn't exactly high-level science for modern people.
Add in the outrageous fauna and flora of this world to help things along…
So—
"If that's what worries you, then let me tell you this: I can turn barren fields into fertile plains stretching for thousands of miles! Under those conditions, do you think founding a country would still be hard?"
Michael said this with a smile.
Whitebeard had always thought Michael's smile was the very image of a demon.
But today, for the first time, he truly saw another side of Michael…
He seemed…
Like an angel.
...
The same talk about founding a country took place on Totto Land's Cake Island as well.
But unlike Whitebeard's hesitation and concerns, Charlotte Linlin agreed immediately without the slightest doubt.
She even declared that her original plan had always been to develop Totto Land into a complete nation.
Michael completely agreed with that.
What surprised him wasn't her ambition — but the fact that after curing Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder, the woman had actually started showing signs of reverse aging!
If this were the original timeline, she'd already have started fully turning into the "Big Mom" everyone knew.
But now, the woman with the strongest body in the world showed no signs of aging at all — in fact, she was looking more radiant than ever.
Unfortunately, all that radiance was instantly crushed when she once again invited Michael to have a child with her.
Nope. Not touching that.
---
read +200 chapters on Patreon tambeerg