In the territory of one of the Four Emperors of the New World—the domain of Whitebeard—
The massive hull of the Moby Dick loomed across the sea.
Along the way, anyone who saw the flag flying atop that enormous pirate ship immediately kept their distance.
Because—
That was the ship of the man known as the strongest in the world—
Whitebeard!
"Whoosh—!"
A streak of azure flames cut across the sky, bringing with it waves of heat that distorted the surrounding air.
Then—
Wrapped in blue flames, a figure descended straight onto the deck of the Moby Dick.
As the flames dissipated, a man with pineapple-shaped hair and the Whitebeard Pirates' tattoo emblazoned on his chest revealed himself.
"Pops!"
"Big news! This time it's really big news!"
Clutching a freshly printed newspaper, the man hurried forward, running toward the towering figure reclining on the deck like a giant.
Even before he appeared overhead—
Whitebeard and several division commanders had already noticed him.
Now—
Seeing his excitement, Whitebeard spoke in mild surprise:
"What kind of news has you so worked up, Marco?"
Marco!
The man who had descended in flames was none other than Marco, the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!
Arriving before Whitebeard, Marco handed him the newspaper.
"Pops!"
"Have you ever heard of the King of Heroes?"
"This article says the King of Heroes killed Crocodile!"
"And that his weapon—the king's treasure—has even slain gods…"
"Have you ever heard of such a treasure?"
A barrage of questions poured out one after another, leaving Whitebeard and the surrounding commanders momentarily stunned.
After a moment, Whitebeard shook his head as he skimmed the contents of the paper.
"The King of Heroes? Never heard of such a figure on the seas…"
"As for the king's treasure… I've never heard of it either."
As he spoke, his gaze caught something in the article. The corners of his lips curled upward, and he burst into loud laughter.
"Gurarararara!"
"This King of Heroes… is supposed to be stronger than the Four Emperors?"
"That Morgans… he's got some nerve making claims like that!"
The Four Emperors—
Stood at the absolute pinnacle of power in the current era of the seas!
To claim someone surpassed them?
There was no such person!
Otherwise, he, Whitebeard, would not be known as the strongest man in the world.
Clearly—
This so-called King of Heroes surpassing the Four Emperors…
Was nothing more than Morgans exaggerating for effect.
Still—
Someone capable of killing a Warlord like Crocodile, and then being hyped as surpassing the Four Emperors—
This King of Heroes must have some real strength.
"Hahaha! That's hilarious!"
"This so-called King of Heroes—never even heard of him! How could he possibly be stronger than Pops?"
"Exactly! Pops is the strongest man in the world! Some nobody dares compare?"
"Pops, I'll go and test him myself!"
The division commanders, having read the newspaper, reacted immediately—
Mockery, disdain, anger filled their voices.
Some hot-headed ones—
Like the Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace—
Were already itching for a fight.
In their eyes—
Their "Pops," Whitebeard, was the greatest man in the world.
And without question—
The strongest!
Not even the other Emperors could compare—
So how could this unknown King of Heroes possibly match him?
"Gurarara!"
"My sons! Let the world talk all it wants…"
Whitebeard rose to his feet, stretching lazily as he laughed, completely unconcerned.
He had never been one to care about reputation.
In his life—
The only things that truly mattered to him were the sons before him.
"And besides…"
"He killed Crocodile… the Marines are probably the ones with a headache now!"
"In a way, that makes him one of us pirates!"
With a grin, Whitebeard patted Ace on the shoulder, dispersing the small flames he had gathered.
"And don't forget…"
"I'm not the only Emperor out there…"
"Among the other three… two of them aren't exactly easy to deal with."
In the New World, there were four Emperors.
Among them, Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks were relatively moderate.
But the other two—
Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts—
Were far more aggressive and reckless!
Especially Kaido—
A battle-crazed monster.
Once he saw this news, he might not hesitate to charge straight out of the New World in search of this so-called King of Heroes…
And when that happened—
It would surely make for quite an interesting spectacle…
At that thought—
The smile on Whitebeard's face grew even wider.