Marco and Jozu were not weak. Even if all the strong fighters across the world were counted, they would still rank among the very top.
However, even the two of them, despite using advanced Armament Haki coating, still could not force Edward Newgate to become serious.
"Commander Marco, Commander Jozu, don't feel discouraged. After all, your opponent is the strongest man in the world!"
"That's right! Your opponent was Pops, so there's no need to feel upset."
For a moment, everyone began comforting Marco and Jozu.
Under normal circumstances, Whitebeard would also say a few comforting words.
But things were different now.
After Marshall D. Teach killed a crewmate, stole the Devil Fruit, and betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, and with Whitebeard himself sensing that his time might not be long, he now hoped even more that someone like Marco or Jozu could push him to fight seriously.
If someone could even defeat him one day, that would be the best outcome.
After calming himself for a moment, Whitebeard returned to his usual confident smile. No matter what thoughts were in his heart, he had no intention of letting his family worry.
"Alright."
Whitebeard spoke, and everyone immediately fell silent. All eyes turned toward him.
"A traitor has appeared among us. This matter will definitely affect the reputation of the Whitebeard Pirates, and it may encourage others to attack us."
"What everyone must do now is train harder and keep every enemy outside the territory protected by the Whitebeard Pirates. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
At the area where the Fourth Division was stationed, Renji stood in front of one hundred crew members.
Although he usually trained them already, this was the first time he did so with the authority of a division commander.
"You all know about Captain Thatch, right?"
"We know!"
Thatch had been ambushed by Blackbeard on the Fourth Division's ship, and many of them had even seen Thatch's collapsed body.
Hearing their voices, Renji nodded.
"Then you all know what to do."
"Train harder and kill the traitor Blackbeard Teach!"
Renji nodded with satisfaction.
"Then we'll follow the same method as before. Pair up with opponents of similar strength and begin combat training."
"Yes!"
The response thundered across the deck.
Soon the members of the Fourth Division found their sparring partners. Everyone chose opponents close to their own strength, and combat training quickly began.
Because of Thatch's injury, everyone trained with even greater determination.
[You picked up 1 Strength!]
"Remember your fundamentals. How many times have I told you that?"
[You picked up 1 Agility!]
"Strike steadily. If you can't even hold your blade properly, how can you call yourself a pirate?"
[You picked up 1 Defense!]
"Yes, that's right. Control your strength properly so your opponent can't break your stance easily."
Renji moved constantly among the sparring crew members, correcting mistakes and giving advice.
On the deck of the Moby Dick, Marco and Jozu happened to see Renji training the Fourth Division.
Marco's expression showed both admiration and a trace of sadness.
"He's even training together with the crew while acting as a division commander."
"No."
Jozu shook his head.
"This didn't start after Thatch was injured."
"Oh?"
Marco looked at him with confusion.
He suddenly remembered that earlier, when Whitebeard proposed letting Renji temporarily take over the Fourth Division, Jozu had been the first to support the idea.
"When Pops suggested Renji take over the Fourth Division, you were the first to agree. Don't tell me you two have some kind of secret deal."
"What secret deal?"
Jozu looked speechless at Marco's joking.
"I'm the commander of the Third Division. When we're not out on missions, our ship usually docks next to the Fourth Division."
"This is how Renji has always trained his crew."
"That's why I supported him becoming the division commander. He truly works for the Whitebeard Pirates and genuinely thinks about the crew."
"I see."
Marco nodded thoughtfully.
"No wonder he reached division commander level strength after only three years of training. Hard work really is the best path to becoming stronger."
Within a Yonko crew, the standard for the strongest fighters was the Yonko commander level.
However, fighters at that level were already among the strongest in the entire world, and a Yonko had too many people to manage to fill every position with such powerhouses.
For example, the Big Mom Pirates only had the Sweet Commanders at that level, and the Beasts Pirates only had the Three Calamities.
Even within the Whitebeard Pirates, only the first three division commanders truly reached that level. Most of the other commanders were roughly around elite Vice Admiral strength.
In Marco's understanding, Renji was around elite Vice Admiral level, which was already strong enough to serve as a division commander.
"Maybe you're still underestimating him."
Jozu watched Renji training the crew and shook his head slightly.
Marco looked surprised.
"What do you mean?"
Jozu nodded.
"Even if he can't match you or me yet, he's probably not that far behind."
Marco inhaled sharply.
Jozu had no reason to lie.
Marco's eyes turned thoughtfully before he suddenly stood up.
"I'm tired. I'm going back to the First Division ship to rest."
As he spoke, he transformed into a phoenix and flew toward the First Division ship.
Jozu smiled slightly.
"If you want to do extra training, just say it. Why hide it?"
While saying this, Jozu also walked toward the Third Division's ship.
Clearly, Renji's training had motivated him as well.
When the crew members of the other divisions saw how hard Renji and the Fourth Division were training, they felt inspired.
"Vice-Captain Renji is already so strong and he's still training this hard. How can we slack off?"
"As expected of our vice-captain. Truly reliable!"
Within moments, all sixteen hundred pirates aboard the ship began moving.
They voluntarily joined Renji's training.