The Holy Land.
Mary Geoise.
"What did you say? A sea battle broke out between the Marine and the Sky Pirates? The Marine lost four warships and over a thousand elites, and Zephyr was beaten to near death by Carlo??"
Sitting in the Hall of Power, Saturn and the others couldn't help but be furious after hearing the report.
In uncontrollable rage, Saturn raised his dragon-head cane and slammed it against the table with a series of loud bangs.
But he wasn't angry about Carlo's actions.
He was annoyed by the Marine's conduct.
"Who gave Zephyr permission to act on his own and attack the Sky Pirates?"
"Didn't we previously notify the Marine to temporarily refrain from moving against the remnants of the Rocks Pirates, like Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Heavenly King Carlo?"
"We were supposed to let them fight among themselves for Rocks' legacy first. When they've fought to the point of mutual exhaustion, that's when the Marine should move in to reap the rewards!"
"Don't they understand the current state of the Marine's military strength? They only have one Admiral; how do they expect to fight those vicious characters in the New World?"
"They're truly more of a hindrance than a help!!"
The agent who came to report the situation was trembling with fear under the aura emitted by the enraged Gorosei, not even daring to lift his head.
Saturn vented his anger for a while.
He then turned his gaze toward the others, his eyes filled with inquiry.
"What do you all think of this? Do we need to have the Marine deploy troops for a grand manhunt before the Sky Pirates enter the New World?"
Nasujuroh Saint, who was performing his daily maintenance on his long blade, sneered without looking up.
"A manhunt? With what? The Marine currently can't produce any decent high-level combat power. It was one thing for Garp to be injured, but now Zephyr is hurt too, and severely at that. Who are we going to send? Are we supposed to send Kong? Or should we step onto the field ourselves?"
"Then we just let it go? What about the face we've lost..."
Saturn was interrupted by Saint V. Nusjuro before he could finish.
"It's not our face that was lost, it's the Marine's! They brought this on themselves!"
After saying that, he let out a frustrated breath of murky air.
"Heavenly King Carlo... Hmph, that brat has completely grown up now. I didn't expect him to be able to defeat Zephyr single-handedly."
"To take him down now with minimal losses, we'd need to deploy at least two of our highest combat powers."
"We have to admit the fact that we currently lack sufficient power to deal with him."
"Let him enter the New World! Let the pirates fight it out among themselves first."
Suddenly, Saint Piterr, who had been silent, interjected: "Actually, we could have Harald take action. If he's willing to help, taking down Carlo shouldn't be difficult. His power is not inferior to Rocks'."
"Harald..."
Hearing the name from Saint Piterr's mouth,
the other four fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
However, they weren't doubting Harald's combat capabilities.
Rather, they were considering whether Harald would agree to move against Carlo.
After all, not long ago, Harald had taken the initiative to go to Marineford, severing his own horns as a humble apology and pleading for the World Government's forgiveness in hopes of making Elbaf an Affiliated Nations.
After pondering for a while, Saturn and the others exchanged glances and eventually shook their heads.
Saturn said, "Let's forget it for now. Harald is indeed a top-tier combatant, but his current situation is still unstable. We need to gain further control over him. Regarding his deployment, everything will wait until The Master signs the Shallow Sea Contract with him."
"And Carlo...?"
"Have Kong issue a bounty! Let the world know how dangerous he is! There's no need to hide Zephyr's failure either! We can use this to let the Marine turn their shame into courage!"
A few days later.
The New World.
A certain sea area.
"Hahaha, come, come! Big brother Newgate! Let me introduce you, this is my precious son, Marco! Bolo Marco!"
Having returned home to bring his son, who had been staying behind, onto the pirate ship, Bologram enthusiastically introduced his son to Whitebeard.
It was a small boy, only seven years old, with a sturdy build and lively eyes.
Whitebeard looked down at the pineapple hairstyle on top of Gram's head, then at the pineapple hairstyle on top of Marco's head.
He shrugged.
"Yeah, I can see that. You two father and son are indeed carved from the same mold."
Gram burst into laughter upon hearing this, patting Marco's head. "Hahaha, right? My son really is as handsome as I am!"
"Come, son, greet your Uncle Newgate."
He picked up his son and brought him close to the somewhat exasperated Whitebeard, pointing at Whitebeard's face and instructing him:
"You must remember this face, you hear? This is the Great Pirate Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, the man who will sooner or later become number one in the world. He's currently my sworn brother and my Captain. If your old man happens to kick the bucket early, you follow him. He'll definitely protect you."
"Who curses themselves like that? Are you an idiot?" Whitebeard's mouth twitched as he listened.
Marco looked Whitebeard up and down with curiosity, marveling at Whitebeard's tall and imposing stature.
"He's so big... Is he from the Giant Race?"
"Big your head! Watch your manners! Call him Uncle!"
Marco took a light swat from his father and quickly called out obediently, "Greetings, Uncle Newgate."
After greeting him,
he stared expectantly at Whitebeard as if waiting for something, making Whitebeard feel quite awkward.
It was only then that Whitebeard realized.
As this 'cheap' uncle, he hadn't prepared a gift in advance.
It had been a long time since he had truly felt this kind of family atmosphere.
He had forgotten that his current status was already the most senior in this fledgling family.
Everyone below him was a junior.
As an elder, meeting a junior for the first time and being respectfully greeted, he really should produce some kind of meeting gift.
Thinking of this, Whitebeard became increasingly embarrassed.
He looked around, trying to find something to serve as a temporary gift.
He had already decided to buy a proper gift to make up for it when they reached the next town.
Just then, Gram grinned and pulled a strange-looking fruit from the pouch at his waist, handing it to Marco.
"Marco, this is a gift from your Uncle Newgate. Aren't you going to say thank you?"
Looking at the peculiar fruit in his hand, which resembled a pineapple but had flame-shaped leaves,
both Marco and Whitebeard were stunned.
Marco curiously took the fruit. "Dad, what kind of fruit is this?"
"This isn't just fruit; it's a Devil Fruit, and a very rare Mythical Zoan at that. The Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Phoenix Model! By eating this, you'll possess endless vitality. Didn't you want to be a doctor? I think this will be very helpful to you."