"Gura ra ra ra!"
A hearty laugh echoed across the sea.
On the deck of the Moby Dick, Fenric sat beside Whitebeard, drinking with him as the Whitebeard Pirates welcomed him warmly.
Yet, despite the atmosphere, Fenric couldn't help but feel a little… uneasy.
It wasn't Whitebeard's overwhelming aura—nothing in this world could shake him anymore. Rather, it was the sheer size difference.
Fenric stood at a solid one meter eighty-five, broad-shouldered, muscular, with the kind of figure women would call godlike. But next to Whitebeard? He looked small. Laughably small.
From his estimate, Whitebeard had to be at least six meters tall, maybe more. Sitting down, the man was still towering. Beside such a giant, Fenric felt more like a "little brother" than a fellow pirate.
"Mundo, brat! Come on, drink with me!" Whitebeard roared, grinning as he lifted a massive sea-bowl—large enough to serve as a bathtub—and clinked it against Fenric's.
"…Cheers." Fenric managed, a bit embarrassed as his much smaller bowl knocked against Whitebeard's giant cup.
Fortunately, someone arrived to ease his awkwardness.
"Dad! Let me drink with Senior Mundo too!"
Ace, bare-chested and grinning, dropped beside Fenric. His eyes burned with admiration.
"Senior Mundo! Thank you for holding back the Navy. Without you, I wouldn't have been rescued so easily. Cheers!"
In terms of age and bounty, Fenric more than qualified as Ace's "senior." Ten years ago, his bounty had already surpassed two billion. But what Ace admired wasn't status—it was Fenric's impossible feat against the Navy.
"Cheers." Fenric chuckled, clinking cups with Ace. At last, someone of normal height.
Whitebeard's arrival here had only one purpose: to meet Fenric in person and express his gratitude. Fenric had indeed used him—asking Law to lure Admiral Aokiji away with Whitebeard's appearance—but the result benefited both sides.
With minimal loss, Ace was saved. A miracle compared to the bloody war Whitebeard had braced himself for.
"Mr. Mundo!" Marco, the First Division Captain, suddenly spoke up. "I heard you've been walking this sea alone. Are you interested in joining the Whitebeard Pirates? Many of us admire you greatly!"
Fenric froze for a moment. Join Whitebeard's crew?
Sorry. He had no interest in calling anyone "father."
"I appreciate it, Marco," Fenric said with a polite smile. "But I prefer roaming the seas freely on my own."
Disappointment flashed across Marco's face, echoed by several other captains. They had hoped Fenric would join, not just out of admiration but also because his power would make them the undisputed rulers of the seas.
But Whitebeard only laughed, as if he had expected this answer. "Gura ra ra! Fair enough. Mundo, remember this—you will always be a friend of the Whitebeard Pirates. Now, drink!"
"Cheers!" Fenric grinned, this time with ease.
—---
Meanwhile, in the Holy Land of Mariejois, the Five Elders sat in council, their expressions grim.
"It's been two days. Still no word of Akainu. It seems he really has fallen."
"For this man, Mundo… how should we respond?"
"Garp's report suggests he isn't a Devil Fruit user. His power is… unexplainable."
"Unexplainable, or unstoppable? Is there no one left who can deal with him?"
"If that one were to act, of course, Mundo could be crushed."
"Don't be absurd. A mere pirate isn't worth moving that man's hand."
"Then perhaps another way. Raise his bounty. Name him 'The Fifth Emperor.' Let him clash with the other four. A new balance of power."
"…Not bad."
"Agreed."
"Then, five billion Berries. That should reflect his crime—and his threat."
And so, under the secret manipulation of the Five Elders, the world's rumor mill began to churn. The name "Madman Mundo" spread like wildfire, carried on every ship and whispered in every port.
From this day forward, alongside the Four Emperors of the Sea, there was a fifth.
The Fifth Emperor: The Madman—Mundo!
And deep within the most hidden chambers of Mariejois, in the flowered halls no outsider had ever entered, a shadow stirred at the mention of his name.