Whitebeard… That’s the only man who could stand toe-to-toe with Roger, King of the Pirates. He’s a legendary monster!
He’s the most powerful man in the world, without a doubt!
The man closest to the One Piece!
The bits of information that Skull gathered about Edward “Whitebeard” Newgate came from many sources, but all said the same thing.
Whatever you do, don’t mess with Whitebeard.
“The strongest in the world,” Ace murmured.
It was hard to say what made you the strongest. This wasn’t some kids’ competition, like footraces or arm wrestling or test grades.
According to Skull, the pirate-obsessed nerd, in terms of sheer battle power in a one-on-one fight, Kaido was likely the strongest. If you were sitting around drinking, telling stories and debating the merits, you might conclude that Kaido was the invincible “strongest creature alive,” while Big Mom had the “strongest family in the world,” and Edward Newgate’s very life was that of the “strongest pirate alive.”
“Whitebeard’s terrifying if you break the code. In the pirating world, that means the bond of ceremonial cups. Whitebeard would never rest if his progeny—those followers with whom he’s shared cups—were killed. Never,” Skull warned Ace emphatically.
“Well, yeah. Who wouldn’t be upset if his pals got hurt? Same goes for the other Emperors—and for me, of course.”
“That’s true,” admitted Deuce, “but there are levels to this sort of thing. When those in your group are harmed, do you feel anger for their sake, or anger that your own honor was attacked, or do you make a show of anger to strengthen the connections within your family?”
“Which do you think is true in Whitebeard’s case, Deuce?”
“Based on what Skull’s saying, Kaido’s the dangerous combative type, and Big Mom’s more business-oriented… Red-Hair was difficult to pin down, based on what I saw of him, but I bet Whitebeard’s more like your classic pirate type.”
“The pirate crews under his operation are expanding big-time. If there’s an unaffiliated pirate who wanders into his territory, he sends one of his division leaders to them. If they obey, great. If they don’t, there’s a simple answer for that,” Skull said, clenching an iron fist to demonstrate.
The New World was split between the Four Emperors, but there were pirates, including prominent young rookies like Ace, who weren’t happy with that arrangement. Ultimately, they would have to make a choice: either join one of the Emperors for protection, be destroyed, or carve out their own little slice of territory. That’s how things worked on this sea.
“So let’s get down to business here. There’s been a bit of chaos lately in Whitebeard’s territory,” Skull explained, opening up a map and putting chess pieces on top of it. The white king was Whitebeard, with the other white pieces, representing his division leaders, arranged around him.
“Bohemian Knight Doma, the A.O. Pirates, and a couple more pirate crews are trying to barge in on Whitebeard’s territory. They’re not aligned with one another, but they’ve all started fighting back at the same time. If you dig into the backstory, it seems like there’s some sabotage afoot from the other Emperors. At any rate, Whitebeard’s division leaders are marshaling their forces and heading out to neutralize these threats.”
Black chess pieces headed into Whitebeard’s space. Behind them was the black king. Then the white pieces pushed forward in the direction of black.
“And that means the white king has few defenses now.”
“Four ships in Whitebeard’s main fleet are out on assignment. The Moby Dick, his mothership, might as well be defenseless.”
“This sounds like the perfect opportunity to take a shot at the world’s strongest man,” said Ace, reaching for the white king.
Down in the water, directly below the Piece of Spadille, swam a humanoid figure. It was trailing Ace’s ship—and had been doing so ever since the ship entered the New World, in fact.
The fish-man kicked above the surface and then sank deep beneath the waves, leaving the ship’s side in search of some distant destination.