"Hmph!" Garp gave an angry snort.
Although he stopped arguing, his eyes remained fixed on Ace in the distance.
Sengoku turned and calmly headed back toward the stern, with Garp following close behind.
Everyone watched as the two men disappeared into the darkness, though neither of them immediately left the ship.
Whitebeard stared after them, his expression impossible to read.
"What's wrong? If you're still hanging around, are you planning to join my banquet after all?"
His voice carried a faint trace of mockery.
Sengoku's face could not be seen in the darkness. Only a small glimmer of moonlight reflected from the frame of his glasses.
After a short pause, he spoke.
"Whitebeard... you really have grown old."
His voice was cold and calm.
Whitebeard fell silent.
Whoosh!
A sharp rush of wind cut through the night as Sengoku and Garp vanished from the ship.
The Moby Dick became strangely quiet.
Sengoku's final words left everyone with different thoughts, but the silence did not last long.
Whitebeard suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it against the table before throwing back his head and roaring with laughter.
Under the moonlight, he looked like a conqueror challenging the entire world.
"Gurararara! Sengoku, you're wrong! I am Whitebeard!"
For once, his words were perfectly clear. His voice rang across the sea like a great bell.
Whitebeard drove his fist forward.
Cracks spread through the air like shattered glass, and an overwhelming force exploded outward.
The sea trembled violently.
The quake rushed in the direction Sengoku and Garp had gone, turning Whitebeard's punch into both a warning and a declaration.
He was still Whitebeard, the Emperor who looked down upon the sea without fear.
Nothing standing in his way would remain untouched.
Sengoku and Garp had already traveled far from the Moby Dick. Using Geppo to move through the air, they looked down at the ocean beneath them.
The sea churned wildly, as if an enormous hand had stirred it.
Towering waves rose one after another, making it impossible for ships or living creatures to remain in the area.
The black ocean looked like a bottomless abyss. As the water twisted and rolled, it seemed as though countless demons were struggling beneath the surface.
All of it had been caused by a single punch from Whitebeard.
Sengoku and Garp remained calm.
They had seen this power before.
This was the strength of the world's strongest man.
"Looks like that last sentence of yours really pissed Whitebeard off."
Garp laughed loudly.
Sengoku did not answer.
He slowly closed his eyes and raised his face toward the moon.
He could no longer remember how long it had been since he last sailed across the open sea.
It had certainly been many years since he had looked at the moon shining over the ocean like this.
'Whitebeard... you've grown old.'
'But haven't I grown old too?'
...
Several hundred nautical miles away from the Moby Dick, an extremely luxurious ship was sailing toward it.
...
Whitebeard's punch immediately brought the excitement back to the banquet.
Shouts and cheers rose from every direction.
Hatsune and the other idols looked especially shocked.
They might have performed before enormous crowds and become famous around the world, but nothing they had ever seen could compare to the raw power Whitebeard had just displayed.
The others were far less surprised.
Whitebeard's sons merely smiled, having seen their father use his power before. Shanks and his crew reacted much the same way.
Yuuka and Yukari only looked toward the distant sea for a moment before losing interest.
As for Ainz and Rimuru, one was a skeleton and the other a slime, so no one could read their expressions anyway.
Whitebeard began sending away the sons gathered around him.
Sengoku and Garp were already gone, so there was no reason for everyone to remain crowded around him.
Besides, this was still a banquet, and Whitebeard had no intention of letting the celebration end.
Marco and the other division commanders gradually returned to the lower deck, followed by the members of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Before long, the rear deck had returned to its earlier state.
Just as Ace was about to carry Luffy away on his back, Yuto called out to him.
Ace turned around in confusion.
"Kamisaka-san, is something wrong?"
Yuto smiled helplessly.
"You thanked the wrong person earlier."
Ace froze and stared at him.
"Rimuru was the one who made those potions. He's the person you should really thank."
Yuto gestured toward Rimuru.
Ace followed his gaze and saw the soft, round slime chatting with Shanks, while Ainz occasionally joined their conversation.
Embarrassment appeared on Ace's face. When he looked back at Yuto, he seemed to have forgotten how to speak.
"Go on."
Yuto waved him away with an amused smile.
Ace gave him a small bow before walking toward Rimuru.
No one knew exactly what he said, but Rimuru looked somewhat embarrassed by the end of their conversation.
Even so, Ace returned to Yuto afterward.
"Whatever the case, I still need to thank you, Kamisaka-san. Without you, Pops would never have received Rimuru's medicine. Please accept my gratitude."
Ace bowed deeply and sincerely before lifting Luffy onto his back and returning to the lower deck.
Yuto shook his head with a faint smile but did not say anything more.
At that moment, Hatsune and the other girls suddenly stood, drawing everyone's attention.
With Luka leading them, the idols gave a small bow to the crowd before bowing separately toward Yuto and Whitebeard.
Yuto had seen the gesture during their concert.
As idols, each movement and formal bow they used carried a specific meaning. This one was meant to express gratitude.
The others did not understand that, so they watched the girls with puzzled expressions.
"It's an honor for us to attend this banquet," Luka said gracefully. "We prepared a special song in advance, and we hope everyone will enjoy it."
She then smiled toward Yuto and Whitebeard.
"We'd also like to thank Boss and Mr. Whitebeard. Thank you, Boss, for bringing us here, and thank you, Mr. Whitebeard, for welcoming us."
As the eldest among them, Luka was also the most mature.
She disliked receiving kindness without offering anything in return, so whenever she attended a celebration like this, she preferred to repay her hosts by doing what she did best.
It was a rare and admirable quality, and one of the reasons her younger sisters respected her so much.
There was a truly bright light within Luka.
Although Yuto and Whitebeard both told her that it was unnecessary, Luka insisted.
In the end, the idol girls set up near the edge of the upper deck, surrounded by instruments and microphones.
The raised position gave them a perfect view of the crowd, while everyone below could also see them clearly.
Yuto watched them from the table with a helpless smile.
He had not expected them to prepare anything like this.
Still, there was something he did not understand.
Where had Yuezheng Ling stored all those instruments and microphones?
Did she also have some kind of spatial storage ability?
The pirates on the middle deck began talking among themselves as they watched Hatsune's group.
Before their guesses could become too loud, Whitebeard walked to the edge of the deck.
The moment he appeared, the entire crowd fell silent.
That was the authority and unity he commanded.
"Listen up! These pretty young ladies are going to sing for you idiots. Open your ears and listen properly! No one is allowed to interrupt them! Understood?!"
"OOOOH! Don't worry, Pops!"
"Oh, so they're going to sing."
"Ahahaha! Of course! What kind of banquet doesn't have music?"
"Those girls are wearing such beautiful clothes..."
"I want clothes that pretty too..."
The pirates reacted loudly and enthusiastically.
The men and women were clearly paying attention to different things, making the deck wonderfully noisy again.
Boom!
Whitebeard struck the railing, and the heavy sound immediately silenced everyone.
"That's enough! Quiet down!"
The pirates obediently closed their mouths.
Only then did Whitebeard turn and nod toward Hatsune and the others before returning to his seat.
He also intended to relax and enjoy their performance.
Under the crowd's expectant gazes, a drumbeat broke the silence.
The guitar and bass followed immediately, and their lively rhythm spread across the dark ocean.
Then Hatsune began to sing.
Her bright voice burned like the summer sun, filled with enough energy to make people want to dance and shout along.
It was perfect for a banquet.
'Beneath the light of the brightest star,
Come, let us dance together.
The pulse of the solar system shines brilliantly...'
...
The pirates quickly became excited.
They could not understand the words, but the music had already captured their hearts.
That was the charm of Hatsune's voice.
It could easily reach people, even when they did not understand the language.
Yuto and the others listened with smiles from the upper deck.
Even the usually cold Yuuka had the faintest curve on her lips, which was already extremely rare.
Yuto watched the girls perform.
They had been born for the stage, naturally drawing every gaze toward them.
There were no bright concert lights here, but under the dim moonlight and warm orange flames, they still shone brightly enough to light up the night.
The sound of the waves rolled through the black ocean and blended with their music, touching something deep inside everyone who listened.
When the song ended, the pirates erupted into cheers.
Receiving the approval of an audience from another world made the girls genuinely happy.
They had been nervous before performing because this was nothing like an ordinary concert.
Their usual audiences were ordinary people.
Tonight, the crowd below them was made up entirely of pirates.
If the pirates had hated the song, the situation would have become extremely awkward.
Fortunately, everyone had loved it.
Then a voice rose from among the pirates, and countless others immediately agreed.
"Hey, everyone! Let's sing too! Let's sing a pirate song!"
Cheers flooded the deck.
Whitebeard and Shanks smiled faintly from the upper deck.
Hatsune and the others remained where they were, unsure how to react.
The pirates had changed the subject so quickly that the girls could not keep up.
They had never dealt with an audience like this before.
"Gurararara! Thank you, girls. Now it's time for you to hear one of our songs."
Whitebeard walked toward the edge of the deck and faced the pirates below with a wide grin.
"Hatsune, come back and sit down."
Yuto smiled and waved the girls over.
By the time they returned, Whitebeard had already called out the ship's musicians.
They looked nothing like refined performers.
Every one of them appeared rougher and more dangerous than the last, as though they might throw their instruments at someone if a fight started.
"Come on! Show our guests the music of pirates!"
At Whitebeard's command, the musicians laughed and began playing.
Notes from the piano and violin spread across the deck.
The pirates' song had begun.
Even those who were too drunk to stand forced themselves back onto their feet and threw their arms around their companions' shoulders.
Every face was filled with laughter.
They swayed and danced together.
Their movements were clumsy and ugly, and most of them were drunk enough to look completely insane, but no one cared.
Luffy ignored the pain in his swollen face and hooked one arm around Ace's shoulder.
Marco joined the other division commanders.
Then the pirates began to sing together, their voices carrying the rough freedom of people who belonged to the sea.
"Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho.
Carry Binks' sake and bring it to your friends,
Ride the wild sea breeze wherever it may bend.
Far beyond the ocean,
The sunset makes its sound,
While the singing seabirds
Draw their circles all around.
Farewell to the harbor and the silken hometown,
Raise a song of sailing as the anchor leaves the ground.
Golden waves and silver tides explode in shining spray,
We leave it all behind us, for the sea has called away.
Carry Binks' sake and bring it to your friends,
We are pirates cutting through the waves.
The waves are our pillows, and the ship is our home,
The skull upon our sail flies proudly in the wind.
Beneath the endless sky, the wild winds roar,
The waves begin to dance as the drums thunder on.
Give in to fear, and that will be your end,
But tomorrow's morning sun will still rise again.
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho..."
...
Yuto had never heard a chorus like it before.
Not one of them could stay on key, yet somehow, it sounded incredible.
As he listened, his thoughts drifted toward the sea.
Setting sail beneath a bright blue sky must be an incredibly joyful feeling.
Hatsune's songs were beautiful, but in the end, they did not belong to the sea quite like this one did.
Before Yuto realized it, he had already begun humming along.
"Yo-ho-ho-ho... Yo-ho-ho-ho... Carry Binks' sake and bring it to your friends..."
...
More than a hundred nautical miles from the Moby Dick, the luxurious ship was holding a banquet of its own.
However, the celebration taking place there was far less pleasant.
Several people wearing transparent bubbles over their heads sat at the center of it all.