Newgate's gaze swept over the remaining Silver and Dolum. "What about you two? What are your plans?"
Silver was silent for a moment. He polished his spear until it gleamed, then stood behind Newgate. "I owe the Head Chef a meal. Until I pay it back, I'm with him." His reason was simple and direct.
Dolum, clutching the fragment of the Azure Dragon's keel, said with a mournful face, "Where... where else can I go? My life's greatest dream was to build the world's strongest ship. Now the ship is gone, and I have no home..."
"Big Bro Whitebeard, if you're still planning to set sail, please take in this useless shipwright. I can do anything!"
Gatz scratched his head and also walked over to Newgate's side. "I'll follow Big Bro Whitebeard too! As long as there's a fight to be had and meat to eat!"
In the end, apart from the departed Linlin and Gloriosa, everyone chose to follow Newgate. Newgate looked at these few family members who, although battered, still had an unextinguished fire in their eyes. An unprecedented sense of responsibility welled up in his heart. He was no longer just Edward Newgate, who only knew how to drink and fight. He was now the pillar of a group of people, the head of a family.
He walked over to Ren, the child who had remained calm from beginning to end. "Ren," Newgate's voice was incredibly solemn. "Thank you."
"I only did what I was supposed to do," Ren replied calmly.
"Gurararara, you brat, you always talk like that," Newgate laughed heartily. "So what about you? What are your plans? Do you want to find a place to open a restaurant, or..."
Ren looked up at the man before him, this man who in the future would become the World's Strongest Man, shielding countless people with his back. A smile slowly formed on the corners of his lips. It was a smile that was both confident and profound. "Me?" Ren's gaze went past Newgate to the newly risen sun, which was full of infinite possibilities. "Of course, I'm following you all."
"Because the most top-tier ingredients of this era are still hidden in the most dangerous places." He paused, his eyes shining with the longing and ambition of a chef for his ultimate dream. "And besides, I promised the Captain that I would use my cooking to present him with a feast that would make even the gods tremble."
"Although the Captain is gone now, that promise is still valid."
"It's just that..." Ren's voice became lighter, even tinged with a rare humor. "The guest of honor for the feast has changed from one person to a group."
"I've already thought of the menu for the Whitebeard Pirates' first family dinner. Let's start with hunting a legendary Sea King, one big enough to fill all our stomachs."
An era had come to an end. But a new, more magnificent era, forged by food and family, was slowly beginning with this broken wreckage and the lingering warmth of that bowl of white porridge...
Drifting at sea for seven or eight consecutive days would be a despairing journey that could crush the will of ordinary people, but for the monsters on this wrecked black behemoth, it was more like a brief and oppressive vacation. However, the departure of Linlin and Gloriosa was like removing two pillars, making the already precarious wreckage seem even more desolate. They had taken with them not only top-tier combat power, but also the last bit of arrogance and paranoia of the Rocks era.
The remaining group—Newgate, Gatz, Silver, Dolum, and Ren—these five men of completely different styles, formed a somewhat awkward new group. The atmosphere was no longer tense, but was shrouded in something heavier: confusion. The captain was gone, the ship was gone. This group of monsters, who had gathered because of Rocks's ambition, were now like a group of chicks driven out of their nest, looking around blankly, not knowing where to fly.
Finally, at dusk on a certain day, this oppressive silence was broken by a heart-wrenching wail. "It's over... it's all over... this time, it's really going to fall apart..."
The shipwright Dolum, a man who was always worried, was now hugging a broken piece of the Azure Dragon's keel that he had fished out of the sea, crying like a 300-pound child. He pointed at the wreckage under his feet, which was groaning under the strain, and accused the others, "Look! All of you, look! This ship, my life's work, it's about to die!"
"The alloy armor plates on the port side have over three hundred fine cracks from the explosion at God Valley. Now every wave is worsening its metal fatigue!"
"The energy shield generator at the bottom of the ship was burned to scrap metal long ago. We don't even have the most basic defense now!"
"And most importantly, the keel! The keel is broken! A ship without a keel is like a person without a spine! One more big wave, and we'll all be fish food!"
Dolum's tearful complaint was like a bucket of cold water, waking everyone up from their fantasies about the future and forcing them to face the cruel reality of the present. They didn't even have a ship that could sail safely.
"Shut up," Newgate frowned and growled. Although he was also annoyed, as the default new leader of this group, he had to remain calm. He walked to the edge of the wreckage, stepped down, and felt the fragile tremor under his feet. His face darkened. Dolum was not exaggerating. This pile of scrap metal really wouldn't last much longer.
"So... so what do we do?" Gatz scratched his head, feeling the seriousness of the problem for the first time. He could be indifferent to treasure, indifferent to fame, but he could not be indifferent to a ship that could let him eat his fill and sleep soundly.
"Maybe... we can find a deserted island, and I can build a new one?" Dolum wiped his tears and suggested tentatively, but his tone was full of uncertainty. Shipbuilding required a large amount of wood, tools, time, and most importantly, a safe, undisturbed environment. And right now, they were the hottest targets in the eyes of the world's navies and bounty hunters.
"There's no time," Silver's voice came from the shadows, as calm as ever. "I found something in the sea just now. It's a Marine tracking mine. Although the model is very old, it means our position has been exposed."
This news was like a giant rock thrown into an already turbulent lake, creating a thousand waves. The Marines' encirclement had already quietly closed in.
"Dammit! These dogs of the Marines are really relentless!" Gatz angrily slammed his fist on the deck. The already fragile deck cracked with a loud snap, and he quickly pulled his hand back.
The atmosphere, at this moment, was at its most oppressive. Pursuers in front, no way back, and the ground under their feet was about to sink. This was a desperate situation.
"Gurararara..." Just then, Newgate's laughter broke the silence. His mountain-like body stood up. There was no despair in his eyes, but a burning fighting spirit.
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