Whitebeard, standing on the bow of the ship, immediately revealed a warm and hearty smile. "I was wondering why that Golden Emperor would pay such a high price to send me here! But that guy... Gu ra ra ra ra, he thinks too highly of me!"
Ian and Zephyr: "..."
Hearing this undisguised voice, Ian and Zephyr understood what was going on.
After seeing that the Umbrella Corporation was involved in this matter, the Golden Emperor chose to hire the Whitebeard Pirates!
Thinking of this, Ian smiled and looked at Whitebeard, "So, you're here to steal my things?"
"Gu ra ra ra ra, this isn't funny, Ian the God of Sun."
Hearing Ian's words, Whitebeard didn't seem to care, instead revealing a helpless smile. "If it were those two, Linlin and Kaido, I might actually try to take them. If I were twenty years younger, I wouldn't mind fighting you. But now... Please spare me!"
"Don't you want to know what I obtained?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know. Don't tell me, or I might not be able to control myself. I don't want to die like this."
Whitebeard laughed heartily, his face full of pride, and he made no attempt to hide his true feelings. "I want to spend more time with these kids!"
"Pops!"
These words immediately moved all his sons behind him to look at him with emotion.
"Alright, children, prepare the feast!"
Whitebeard shouted with a laugh, then looked at Ian, "Ian, the king of the West Blue, come and have a drink! I've always regretted not having a drink with you back in Dressrosa! I didn't expect to survive this time either; you can't refuse again!"
"Good!"
This time, Ian did not refuse Whitebeard's invitation.
After exchanging a glance with Zephyr, countless figures suddenly emerged from Zephyr's body.
This surprised everyone on the Whitebeard Pirates' side, but they quickly remembered that during the public execution, the former Chief Instructor of the Marine Headquarters had also suddenly summoned his subordinates, and they immediately realized this must be the former Chief Instructor's ability.
Especially after seeing Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates no longer paid attention to Zephyr's Devil Fruit abilities and all laughed happily.
"Ace, it's Ace! Ace is here too!"
"Come here quickly, Ace, let's have a drink together!"
"It's a pity Luffy and Teach aren't here, otherwise we could all have a drink together!"
The scene instantly became even more lively.
Seeing so many people suddenly appear, Whitebeard couldn't stop his face from twitching. But as Emperor of the Sea, he wasn't stingy and waved his hand, "Looks like tonight's going to be a very lively banquet. What are you all standing around for? Bring out the wine! Let's all drink to our hearts' content tonight!"
As Whitebeard finished speaking, all the crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates cheered. They seemed surprised that their usually frugal father would be so generous today.
Without hesitation, they immediately ordered people to go down and bring out all the wine stored on the ship.
At the same time, worried about not having enough wine, he also sent a small fleet to nearby islands to buy some.
Only Marco's face was filled with helplessness. Although he was worried about Whitebeard's health, he did not want to disturb his father's mood.
He knew that Whitebeard's health had deteriorated since the public execution.
So after thinking about it, he decided to keep an eye on Whitebeard for a while longer.
Soon, at Whitebeard's invitation, the banquet began.
Ian did not spoil the mood either. He led his people to join the Whitebeard Pirates' banquet and even clinked large bowls with Whitebeard.
Ace and his friends quickly became engrossed in the banquet, which was filled with laughter and joy.
Olga and her father, who had been trapped for over 200 years, were especially happy to enjoy this banquet, which they hadn't attended in two centuries.
As for Olga's illness, it was cured after Marco gave her an injection.
Two hundred years ago, the incurable disease had long been conquered in this era, bringing tears to the eyes of Myskina Acier, the once-genius scientist. He was moved by the recovery of his daughter and also lamented the changes of the times, leaving the Whitebeard Pirates completely bewildered.
Why did he start crying while drinking? Was the wine just too delicious?
But after a while, seeing that Myskina Acier, having vented his emotion, was happily drinking again, everyone stopped paying attention and immersed themselves in the banquet once more, drinking heartily as well.
Only Ian and Whitebeard... After drinking a large cup, the two stopped drinking together and instead sipped slowly.
However, just as Ian was leisurely drinking with Whitebeard…
Suddenly, Whitebeard downed his drink in one gulp, startling Marco, who was standing nearby, whose face instantly paled. "Pops!"
"Gu ra ra ra ra, I'm alright, don't worry, cough cough cough…"
Although he said he was fine, Whitebeard still coughed violently.
After comforting Marco, he took a deep breath, smiled, and looked down at Ian, saying in a calm tone, "Ian, I'm going to die soon."
…
The next day, as dawn broke, Ian also prepared to leave.
As for Whitebeard... He was still energetic last night, but today he's sitting on his throne receiving an IV drip.
Of course, he still insisted on bringing his sons to see them off.
Without any unnecessary words, farewells, or even any lingering sentimentality, the leaders of the two organizations simply nodded indifferently, and then Ian led his men away on the morning sea breeze.
Whitebeard, while receiving an IV drip, kept watching Ian and the others sail into the distance. Only after a long time had passed did he finally let out a loud laugh, "Gu ra ra ra ra!"
Then, gazing at the vast ocean and the rapidly disappearing Umbrella Corporation fleet with a complex mix of emotions, he murmured to himself, "What will this new era be like? Will the person Roger spoke of appear? I really wonder!"
But after saying that, his eyes quickly regained their composure, and he looked down at Marco beside him, smiling as he said, "Let's go back too!"
"Understood, pops."
Hearing Whitebeard's words, Marco didn't hesitate.
Although he was also curious about what Whitebeard and Ian had talked about last night, since Whitebeard hadn't said anything, he didn't ask. He simply kept his curiosity to himself and shouted down, "Let's sail back!"
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