The Den Den Mushi, while convenient, could be wiretapped and had limited communication range. It was impossible to call from the East Blue all the way to the second half of the Grand Line like a phone call on Earth.
The news birds under Morgans' command, those albatrosses, certainly couldn't spread news as fast as the internet.
However, ever since the last gathering of the Su Yues, every night when they fell asleep, they would appear in that dark space.
Thanks to Imu-version Su Yue, he used his Devil Fruit ability to create torches, a round table, and sofas, giving the Su Yues a place to sit.
From Doflamingo-version Su Yue, the other Su Yues learned that he had defeated Jack and, on behalf of himself and his Donquixote Family, had formally declared war on Kaido and the Beasts Pirates.
Katakuri-version Su Yue looked at Doflamingo-version Su Yue with envy.
"I still need at least six days to sail back to Whole Cake Island and overthrow Charlotte Linlin's rule. And you beat me to the first big headline among us."
"I just got lucky."
Doflamingo-version Su Yue smiled nonchalantly, pretending not to care.
But they were all Su Yues—who didn't know he was secretly gloating inside right now?
"It just so happened that that dried-up fish was nearby, otherwise I wouldn't have beaten him so quickly. Besides, who knows how long it'll take for Kaido to get the news and come to Dressrosa."
Among the group, Chef-version Su Yue lowered his head, drawing circles in the air in speechless frustration.
"You guys have it so good. I got assigned under Grandpa Garp, and I don't even know when I'll next get to set sail! And Conqueror's Haki and Devil Fruit abilities are one thing, but how am I supposed to explain suddenly having top-tier Armament Haki and Observation Haki?"
"That's for you to figure out yourself. Worst case, you defect from the Marines and go to the second half of the Grand Line to become the Fifth Emperor. I think the title 'Young Emperor' has a nice ring to it."
After three nights of adjustment, Imu-version Su Yue had finally shed that arrogant demeanor carved into his bones, and he laughed at Chef-version Su Yue with schadenfreude.
Chef-version Su Yue shot him an annoyed glare.
"Pirate world profanity!"
"But at this rate, Luffy's background as the protagonist is getting more and more terrifying."
Doflamingo-version Su Yue brought up Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece.
"His grandfather is a Marine hero, his father is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, his mentor on the pirate path, Shanks, is a Four Emperor, and now his brother is also a Four Emperor. If he just wanted to be a spoiled second-generation heir, he'd already be living the high life!"
"But the problem is, thanks to Shanks' brainwashing, that idiot wants to be the Pirate King."
Ace-version Su Yue scratched his head, looking a bit helpless.
"That position's already reserved for us. We'll take turns sitting on it, each for a few years. By the time Luffy can fulfill his dream, the head of the Pirate Age will have been chopped off, and the ashes probably scattered to the wind."
"I don't think that's a problem."
Chef-version Su Yue raised his hand to speak.
"Our appearance is bound to send the wheels of history rolling in an unknowable direction. Luffy almost certainly won't be able to follow his original path and become the Fifth Emperor. Not to mention anything else, at least Robin and Nami are already in our hands."
"Besides, I'm right by Grandpa Garp's side now. When the time comes, I'll persuade him a bit and have him forcibly shove Luffy into the Marine ranks as my subordinate. Done deal."
Chef-version Su Yue raised an eyebrow smugly.
The other Su Yues: …
"Navy Luffy, huh, that's quite something."
Ace's version of Su Yue nodded with a look of utter exasperation, while Katakuri's version of Su Yue laughed with undisguised glee.
"I'm just afraid that when the time comes, Shanks will be so angry he'll be jumping up and down!"
As the main pillar of the Big Mom Pirates, in the memories he had inherited from the original body, he had clashed with Shanks several times during the process of the Red Hair Pirates becoming one of the Four Emperors.
The relationship between the two could be said to be anything but good.
…
After waking up from a night's sleep, Ace washed up and walked out of his room.
The moment he looked up, he saw old man Whitebeard sitting on the deck drinking again.
Beside him, two delicate little nurses were frantically trying to stop him.
However, Whitebeard stood a full seven meters tall. Even if he merely stood up normally, those two little nurses couldn't reach his bottle even if they jumped. All they could do was watch with tearful eyes as he gulped down an entire large bottle of rum.
"Gurararara, Ace, you're up. Come have a drink with me!"
After downing a whole cup in one hearty swig, Whitebeard, who still had IV tubes stuck in his body, let out his signature booming laugh.
"Old man."
Ace looked at Whitebeard, who was muttering things like "A pirate who doesn't drink isn't a pirate" and "This little bit of alcohol is nothing," and pulled out a red gemstone.
"This is a special medicine I got from a friend. Old man, give it a try."
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Whitebeard looked down at the ruby in Ace's hand. It was a perfect diamond shape with twelve brilliant facets, radiating a gorgeous luster under the sunlight that made the two little nurses' eyes sparkle.
No matter how he looked at it, he didn't think this was medicine.
This was a Devil Fruit product, named the Ruby of Recovery.
This ruby was directly created by the person who had eaten the Devil Fruit. Others who consumed it could fully recover from injuries, and even regenerate lost limbs.
This kind of ruby could only be used once in a person's lifetime. A second use would have no effect.
Likewise, it was produced by Imu's version of Su Yue.
He didn't have many of these on hand either. Over the course of eight hundred long years, he had only managed to collect five of them sporadically.
…
"This thing is medicine?"
Whitebeard took the ruby, which was smaller than his fingertip, and examined it with some curiosity right in front of his eyes.
At this point in time, Ace had only recently joined the Whitebeard Pirates and had just become the commander of the Second Division not long ago.
However, Whitebeard trusted Ace's sincerity. He didn't believe that someone who had already called him "Old man" would harm him, so he casually tossed the ruby into his mouth.
The next moment, he felt the ruby dissolve in his mouth, forming a warm current that rapidly surged through his internal organs and limbs.
"Hmph!"
Whitebeard let out a light grunt and reached up to pull out the IV tubes from his body.
His actions, amid the nurses' startled cries, drew the attention of the other Whitebeard Pirates members on the deck.
"Old man, you… Old man!"
"Old man!!"
Jozu, the commander of the Third Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, had just started to speak when he saw Whitebeard's face flush red, and he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.
"Ugh!"
To his horror, he discovered that among the blood, there were actually quite a few fragments of internal organs.
Jozu's cry, as if the sky itself were falling, immediately startled the rest of the sleeping Whitebeard Pirates members awake.
They rushed out of their rooms one by one onto the deck, only to see Whitebeard, bent over, spitting out a large pool of blood onto the ground. He wiped his mouth and slowly straightened up.
"Pops?!"
"Pops, are you alright?!"
"Pops, who injured you?!"
"Everyone, on full alert!"
Amidst the flurry of panic and commotion, Whitebeard's face turned stern, and he shouted at his sons, who were running around like headless flies.
"Brats, all of you, quiet down!"
He rubbed his chest, which felt much more comfortable now—because of the side effects of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, every time he unleashed a tremor, his body would also experience small-scale vibrations internally.
The stronger the shockwave he produced, the more violent the internal vibrations, and the greater the backlash on his body.
Once or twice was fine. But over the long term, even a body as powerful as Whitebeard's, giant-like as it was, had suffered considerable internal injuries.
His organs, limbs, and bones—his entire body bore damage of varying degrees, not to mention the hidden wounds left behind after countless great battles, further tormenting his body.
After all, Whitebeard was already a man approaching seventy, and his physical condition was declining across the board.
Now, even breathing caused him pain.
Marco looked at the blood on the ground, his entire thuggish face beneath his punk hairstyle turning grim.
"Pops, what's going on here?"
"Thanks to the special medicine Ace brought me."
Whitebeard clenched his arm, feeling it light and powerful. Thick bundles of muscle fibers bulged and tensed, no longer feeling as heavy as before.
It was just like when he was young.
"My injuries… they're all completely healed!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily, his crescent-shaped mustache trembling with the laughter.
"Ace's special medicine?"
Marco, unaware of the full context, was utterly confused.
But at that moment, Ace spoke up to Whitebeard.
"Come on, Pops."
He took off his cowboy hat, revealing a very sly smile on his freckled cheeks.
"I, Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Gol D. Ace, hope that Pops will stake the name of Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and face me in battle!"
"Gol?"
"So Ace's full name is Gol D. Ace!"
"Wasn't Ace's name Portgas D. Ace?"
"Isn't that Roger's surname?!"
Some of the older members of the Whitebeard Pirates, who had boarded long ago and had crossed paths with Roger many times, turned their gazes toward Ace, their eyes suddenly filled with shock and uncertainty.
"Could it be… that Ace is actually Roger's son?"
Jozu said in shock, stroking his beard.
Looking closely, the two really did bear some resemblance!
"Ace… is the son of the Pirate King?!"
The other younger members of the Whitebeard Pirates also began to look at Ace differently.
Though Whitebeard was the strongest man in the world and one of the Four Emperors, Roger was the Pirate King, after all!
On the other side, just from Ace's self-introduction this time, Whitebeard understood his intentions.
So Ace had healed him, hoping to defeat him at his peak, and with the highest difficulty, legitimately take over the position of Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates?
"I see, I see! Brat, so this is what you're thinking! But didn't you just suffer a crushing defeat at my hands not long ago?"
Feeling that his body, now at least ten years younger after the removal of his hidden injuries, Whitebeard gently stroked his white mustache that curved upward like a crescent moon, grinning broadly with a proud, confident, and arrogantly disdainful smile.
"Bring me my blade! Gura la la la la! Gura la la la la! Alright, since you want it, then come! I am Whitebeard! As the captain of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, I accept your challenge!"
…
The great naginata in Whitebeard's hand, its length matching his height, was named 'Kumo Kirigane,' one of the twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
Holding this old companion that had followed him for decades, Whitebeard stood face to face with Ace on a deserted island nearby that the Whitebeard Pirate Crew used as a training ground.
His cells were leaping with joy, his bones reviving, his muscles surging. His strong and powerful body was now itching all over, howling with eagerness, impatient for a great battle!
Several hundred meters away from the two, a group of Whitebeard Pirate Crew members gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Among them, Blackbeard's expression was the most complicated.
"Pops, who has drifted across the seas for decades, had so many hidden injuries left by countless great and small battles—and Ace's medicine actually healed them all? And Ace even dares to challenge Pops, whose injuries have now fully recovered?"
He knew that even he, Blackbeard, facing the Pops who had hidden injuries before, felt absolutely certain he couldn't win!
If it were him, he definitely wouldn't do this!
Marco, Jozu, and the others shared the same thought as Blackbeard, all gloatingly waiting to see Ace get beaten up.