"I have fought countless battles and carry scars without number.
Only one still aches."
Shanks touched the claw mark on his face.
"The one who did this to me was your son, Blackbeard Teach.
I was not careless. You should know why I am here, Whitebeard."
His tone was grave.
Ace was the son of Roger of the Roger Pirates.
As someone who once sailed on Roger's ship, he was here to warn Whitebeard to protect Ace.
Whitebeard said nothing.
"A man who hides, who seeks neither fame nor position, is either content with mediocrity or possessed of a vast ambition.
Such an ambition can devour everyone.
Teach carries that ambition.
He has hidden in your shadow, waiting only until he gains power.
Then he will move toward his goal and overturn everything.
One day he will seize your place."
Shanks' voice hardened.
Whitebeard answered, still indifferent.
"What you want me to do is the point, isn't it."
"Stop Ace.
He is young to be a Second Division Commander and I admit he is strong.
But his reputation and the trust he commands will only make things worse.
Now is not the time to clash with Blackbeard."
The air around Shanks grew heavier; the sky seemed to turn with it.
"Did you know this," Whitebeard said.
"Someone already urged me to stop Ace, even told me I would die at a traitor's hand and that the Whitebeard Pirates would disband."
This was not the first time he had heard it.
"So who told you," Shanks asked, startled.
"Me," Satan said calmly.
Again Shanks was taken aback.
A young man who could see so far ahead.
"The first time I heard I would die and my crew would break apart, I was truly saddened," Whitebeard said.
"Satan even told me how to break the deadlock.
Part of it was the same as yours. Stop Ace.
Do you know how I replied."
Whitebeard raised the jug and drank deep.
"Hahaha.
That man committed an unforgivable crime and broke iron discipline.
Once you set foot on my ship, no matter how foolish you are, you are my son.
Where should the soul of a slain child go.
Debts of righteousness draw a line that cannot be crossed.
Teaching that bastard Teach this lesson is my responsibility.
Fool, if you would lecture me, you are a hundred years too early."
His presence swelled. He flung the jug at Shanks. Shanks shifted aside without effort and drained his cup, his face dark.
A terrible pressure rose from both men.
Above, the sky changed color and thunderheads rolled.
Their auras collided head on.
"Damn it, what did Red-Hair say to Pops."
"Looks like the talks have collapsed. Relax, he isn't a man who does foolish things."
"Pops is about to get angry."
"Look, the sky is tearing."
Cries rang across the deck. The force of both Emperors was overwhelming. If they fought, everything would be destroyed.
At that moment, a surge of Conqueror's Haki shot into the sky.
"Hahahaha.
So this is the power of two Emperors.
Terrifying.
The era is about to run wild.
But Red-Hair, why not act to stop it."
Satan unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki.
Even before Whitebeard and Red-Hair, he showed no fear.
In the tale, Red-Hair had warned Whitebeard and even tried to head off the final war.
So what had he actually done.
From beginning to end he had stood aside.
If he feared the world would run wild, why not personally take Ace away.
Or stop Blackbeard before his power fully formed.
The Red-Haired Pirates clearly had the strength.
"Another pressure in the air.
The brat dares to step into a dispute between Pops and Red-Hair.
Reckless beyond belief."
"Fall back, Satan.
You do not yet have the strength to vie with a Yonko."
Marco shouted.
Satan's potential was unmatched, but he had not yet grown. Even a division commander could still suppress him easily.
"Youngsters are getting bolder by the day," Yasopp said aboard the Red-Haired ship.
"A creature like a monster. Among recent rookies there's no one like him," Benn Beckman said, recalling the bounties.
"A rookie.
Looks like he will become a great pirate one day.
A genius of the era has arrived," Lucky Roux said.
"Damn it, the one who will become a great pirate is me.
I will defeat him," Rockstar growled.
"Then you had better work hard.
From the looks of it, he might already be stronger," the crew said, laughing.
Yet in their eyes there was respect and wariness.
To step between Whitebeard and Red-Hair required more than strength. It required an iron will.
Satan was no simple man.