"Teach!"
Whitebeard slowly opened his eyes and spoke calmly, "The person Roger was waiting for is definitely not you!"
"What do you mean?"
But unfortunately, Whitebeard had no intention of responding to him, instead turning his gaze to the distant sky.
"Roger's will shall be inherited, until someone appears who can bear the weight of centuries of history and challenge this world!!"
After speaking, Whitebeard shifted his gaze to Sengoku and continued, "Sengoku... the day your World Government has always feared will eventually come."
"When that time comes, this entire world will be swept into that massive war!"
"Though I have no interest in it myself... when someone finds that treasure, this world will be overturned!"
"Someone will definitely find it... that day will surely come!"
Hearing Whitebeard's words, veins bulged on Sengoku's face.
"This bastard!!"
"Gurararara~"
Ignoring Sengoku's unpleasant expression, Whitebeard grinned widely.
Then, he took a deep breath and roared: "One Piece!"
"Is real!!"
As these words echoed, the entire battlefield fell into deathly silence.
"You bastard!!" Sengoku shouted in shock and anger. "Why did you have to say something like that?!"
As someone who had lived through an era, Sengoku understood perfectly the weight of Whitebeard's statement.
This era... is about to go wild!!
It's over... completely over...
"Fufufufu~"
"That's truly a declaration enough to shock the world." Doflamingo laughed excitedly.
After today, countless more ambitious individuals would surely enter the seas to compete for the so-called One Piece!
One could say... this era is about to go completely wild!
However...
As an Underground King, Doflamingo greatly looked forward to witnessing that scene.
After all... the more wars there were, the better his business would be!
Hah!
Meanwhile, Crocodile watched Whitebeard's back with a complex expression, murmuring: "One Piece, huh...
It seems this guy Whitebeard truly knows something, but unfortunately, there's no chance to ask him now."
Thinking this, Crocodile closed his eyes and sighed quietly.
"Hey, Captain Buggy, did you hear that?" Buggy's crewmates said. "One Piece is real!"
"Of course I knew that." Buggy said. Although he hadn't gone to Laugh Tale with the captain and the others, as a crew member of the Pirate King, he naturally knew a thing or two. "Ah, that's right!"
"Our Captain Buggy was a crew member of the Pirate King, so it's only natural he'd know about this thing's existence, right!"
"Well said!"
"Whoo!!"
Listening to his crew's cheers, Mr.3 furrowed his brow.
"Does this guy really know?" Mr.3 muttered to himself.
Why did he feel so unreliable?
"Hey, Captain Buggy, let's go take Whitebeard's head!" the underlings shouted excitedly. "This is the perfect opportunity!"
"That's right, Captain Buggy, please make your move!"
"Woo!!"
Hearing his crew's words, Buggy fell silent for a moment before turning his gaze toward that majestic figure.
"Attack Whitebeard?"
Don't be ridiculous!
Even on death's doorstep, this old man wasn't someone he could provoke—after all, even that Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea member nearly got killed!
Recalling the scene of Blackbeard being brutally beaten by Whitebeard moments ago, Buggy was so terrified that tears streamed down his face.
"Captain Buggy?"
"Why are you crying?"
"Think whatever you want," Buggy said. "Let's part ways here, you bastards!"
With that, the man ran off into the distance, weeping loudly, leaving his stunned crew behind.
"Why is Captain Buggy crying?"
"I get it!" one underling exclaimed with sudden realization. "Yesterday's enemy is today's friend! Captain Buggy is grieving for Whitebeard!"
"He actually formed a manly bond of friendship with his enemy, Whitebeard?!"
"Because of this friendship, Captain Buggy gave up on taking Whitebeard's head..."
"Dammit, Captain Buggy, you've shown us something even more precious than claiming Whitebeard's head!"
"Captain Buggy, you truly are the man we admire most!"
"Captain Buggy, wait for us! We're willing to follow you for life!"
"After Captain Buggy!"
"Woo!!"
The crew roared and chased after Buggy's retreating figure.
"Ah..." Mr.3 sighed quietly as he watched from behind.
Though he didn't understand how these guys had reached such a bizarre misunderstanding again... overall, it wasn't a bad outcome.
Glancing at the Visual Den Den Mushi left behind by the group, Mr.3 murmured, "It's time to leave now."
Shaking his head, Mr.3 quickly hurried after Buggy.
"Hey, you heard that, right?" The reporters on Sabaody Archipelago stared in shock at Whitebeard's back on the screen. "He just said that One Piece truly exists..."
"Yeah, I heard it."
"This is huge news that will shake the world!!"
"Hurry, record it and send it to headquarters! We need to break this story first!"
"Woo!!!"
The reporters went wild with excitement.
"No... what's going to happen to the world?" a local resident of Sabaody Archipelago said with a grim expression. "What should we do?"
"It's over... completely over..."
"Dammit, why did Whitebeard have to say something like that?!" a man grabbed his head in frustration. "Does this mean an even more terrifying era is about to begin?!"
If pirates keep increasing in numbers, what will become of ordinary people like them?
It's over. They're doomed.
"To think that old man would reveal such news!" Capone Bege said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
It seemed his belief had been right all along—the Pirate King's One Piece truly existed!
'I must get that!' Capone Bege inwardly roared. This way... the whole world would know the name Capone Bege!
Thinking this, Capone Bege laughed wildly in his heart.
"One Piece, huh," Urouge said excitedly. "How thrilling."
Though Whitebeard's words would mean more competitors... to become the Pirate King, one cannot fear this!
'Let me defeat all competitors and become the one and only King!' Urouge roared inwardly.
He... would definitely become the Pirate King!
"Captain!"
Bepo looked excitedly at Law. "One Piece really exists!"
"Yeah, I heard."
Law's eyes also shone with excitement—a feeling of having one's long-held beliefs confirmed.
Then Law said: "Prepare to set sail. Once this war ends, we head straight for the New World!"
"Roger!!"
"So many people want to become the Pirate King," Apoo grinned. "How exciting."
As if struck by a thought, Apoo's eyes flickered before he turned to Hawkins. "Hey Hawkins, why aren't you using your Cards to calculate things this time?"
"Unnecessary," Hawkins said flatly.
"Why?"
"Because I also believe One Piece truly exists," Hawkins stated.
Using his Cards would mean doubting whether One Piece existed... which would be equivalent to doubting his own dream.
So he didn't want to do it, nor would he ever.
"Is that so," Apoo grinned. "Seems we think alike."
Yes, even he believed in One Piece's existence.
After all... those without dreams could never have come this far!
"Captain, there are so many ambitious people here," Absalom remarked.
In just this short time, he'd heard no less than ten voices declaring they would claim One Piece.
"Gehihihihihi~"
"Isn't that better?" Moria laughed loudly. "This makes it more fun!"
Moria, having regained his confidence, didn't fear more opponents—after all... this would temper his strength and make him stronger!
'Just wait, Kaido!' Moria thought coldly. 'I'll come back for you eventually.'
Once he regained his peak strength, he would go and slaughter that damned bastard!
"Never thought Whitebeard would say such things before dying," Shakky said with a complicated expression.
Was this him passing on Pirate King Roger's will?
'It seems their bond was deeper than imagined,' Shakky murmured inwardly.
"Newgate..."
Rayleigh's eyes showed a flicker of sorrow as he watched the motionless Whitebeard. "So you've finally departed too."
After speaking, he removed his glasses, lowered his head to rub his eyes, and said nothing more.
Seeing this, Shakky sighed quietly.
'So few from our era remain now,' Shakky sighed inwardly.
Then she fixed her gaze on Whitebeard's back, her expression growing complex again.
Whitebeard's legendary life... had finally drawn to a close.
"Wororororo~"
"One Piece truly exists!" Kaido laughed heartily.
But after laughing for a while, Kaido suddenly began to cry.
"Damn it!"
"Damn it!!!"
"Whitebeard, how could you fall like this!" Kaido covered his face and wept loudly: "Now I've lost another rival!"
After saying this, Kaido picked up the enormous wine gourd from the ground and started drinking, appearing as if he wanted to drown himself in alcohol.
"Gulp gulp~"
After chugging down all the wine in large gulps, the man violently threw the gourd to the ground, shattering it to pieces!
Then, his body gradually began to transform, eventually turning into a massive dragon that burst out through the roof!
"BOOM!!"
Jack: ...
Watching Kaido smash through the building and fly away, Jack was utterly speechless.
What was with all the crying, laughing, and transforming?
"It seems Big Brother Kaido is really in a bad mood," Queen remarked.
"Big Brothers, is Kaido alright now...?"
"Don't worry, Big Brother Kaido will be fine once he sobers up," King said calmly.
Hearing this, Jack didn't press further.
"Heh, never thought the old man would say those words at the end," Queen glanced at Whitebeard's fading image. "Was he trying to make these seas more chaotic?"
"Perhaps," King replied. "But after today, these seas will never be calm again."
"Doesn't matter."
Jack stated: "It won't threaten us anyway."
As one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates, Jack was well aware of his crew's strength, so he wasn't concerned about the upcoming challenges.
"Alright, let's discuss taking over Whitebeard's territories now," Queen grinned.
"We should wait until Big Brother Kaido sobers up before deciding on that," King said.
"True enough."
Queen nodded, then smirked coldly at the image of the Whitebeard Pirates.
With Whitebeard dead, these guys would no longer be their match!
After all... they had Big Brother Kaido!
The BIG MOM Pirates shared similar thoughts with the Beasts Pirates.
"Excellent, that guy is finally dead!" Oven exclaimed excitedly. "Can we start planning to seize Whitebeard's territories now?"
"I think we can~" Perospero said eagerly.
Without that old man Whitebeard, the Whitebeard Pirates posed little threat.
"Quick, identify which islands under the Whitebeard Pirates have delicious food," Mont-d'Or commanded. "We need to occupy those places!"
"Absolutely, especially places with delicious cakes!"
Hearing this, the chess soldiers immediately rushed out to gather the relevant intelligence.
After watching them leave, Oven commented: "That guy Whitebeard said One Piece truly exists. Does that mean Roger told him something?"
"Maybe," Smoothie replied.
Given the rumors about his numerous battles with Roger, it was possible he knew something.
"But he's dead now," Daifuku interjected.
With Whitebeard gone, there was no way to obtain any information from him anymore.
The others showed resigned expressions upon hearing this.
At that moment, Katakuri spoke up: "Actually, whether we know this or not is meaningless."
After seeing everyone look at him, Katakuri continued: "After all, Mama has always believed that One Piece truly exists, hasn't she?"
"That's true."
Their Mama firmly believed that One Piece was real, so there was no need for them to dwell on this. They just needed to follow Mama forward. Thinking this, everyone grinned.
Meanwhile, BIG MOM, whom they were talking about, was watching Whitebeard's figure with a complicated expression.
"You've finally died, Whitebeard..."
Although she had always hoped this guy would die sooner, now that she actually saw him dead... her feelings were rather complicated.
"There are fewer and fewer people from the same era..." BIG MOM sighed silently in her heart.
Seeing BIG MOM's complicated expression, Zeus cautiously said: "Mama?"
"You..."
"I'm fine." BIG MOM shook her head, then her eyes turned cold: "Tell Katakuri and the others to go seize the Gourmet Island under Whitebeard's command for me!"
"Yes, Mama!"
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