The cyan flames surrounding Marco instantly expanded, covering a large area, and his flame wings spread out, growing incredibly huge.
In the next moment, Marco swiftly dashed down, no fancy moves, just pure speed.
Marco relied solely on his body, crashing heavily into the dark vortex with his massive flame form.
But as they collided, Marco's flames started to get absorbed by the dark vortex.
A powerful suction surged within the dark vortex, greedily devouring Marco's cyan flames.
They watched as Marco's flame body slowly diminished, but the impact he had made was clearly lasting.
As the undead flame regenerated, Marco kept delivering powerful impacts. Soon, the dark vortex couldn't keep up with the damage it was enduring.
In an instant, the dark vortex disintegrated and vanished. Marco reverted to his original form and smiled, saying, "Looks like it was just a stroke of luck."
"Great work, Marco," Whitebeard nodded in approval.
Then Whitebeard said to Benjamin: "Benjamin, Dark Fruit is very powerful. You must be careful when you control it. I hope you can master this power as soon as possible."
"Well, I'll definitely work hard!!"
Benjamin replied, panting from the earlier exertion. Despite staying still, controlling the Dark Vortex drained a great deal of his stamina. He made up his mind to improve his performance within a month.
The Noah ship has been stationed here ever since, serving as the gathering place for the Whitebeard Pirate
This area is completely under Whitebeard's control, and no one else can approach it casually.
Therefore, Whitebeard wasn't concerned about any incidents involving Noah ship. Additionally, he placed the hard shell tower on the Noah for Shirahoshi to live in.
As for the five Marine battleships, Whitebeard instructed Benjamin to train some pirates to operate them. He want to eventually replace these Marines with his own people, but he knew it would take time.
Upon Whitebeard's return, the crew resumed their regular drills, and he personally oversaw the training of the commanders.
.........
On that day, Whitebeard carried out his usual patrols and drills when he suddenly received a call from Big Mom.
"Newgate, my old friend, you really don't give me any face!"
Big Mom said in her first sentence with heavy tone
"Guurarara, Linlin, everything's been good lately,"
Whitebeard just laughed after hearing Big Mom voice
"Alright, you old ghost, the Fishman Island matter isn't over yet. You owe me an explanation," Big Mom demanded.
"What? Hold on, let me explain. From now on, Fishman Island will be under my protection. Keep your people away from there," Whitebeard declared.
"Damn it, Whitebeard!"
Big Mom suddenly erupted in fury. She believed if Whitebeard would just apologize, they could still discuss this matter.
But Whitebeard's attitude only made Big Mom angrier, feeling he was looking down on her in general.
"Do you dare disrespect me like this? Are you asking for a war?" Big Mom asked angrily.
Her words carried a threat - if she didn't get her way, Big Mom would indeed go to war.
But Whitebeard clearly wasn't bothered. He responded immediately, "Go to war? If that's what you want, I'll be ready to face you anytime."
"Whitebeard, it looks like we need to have a face-to-face discussion. Are you brave enough to meet me in person?" Big Mom challenged.
"Of course"
Whitebeard replied confidently.
"Good!"
Big Mom responded quickly. She quickly provided a location and agreed on a time to meet for negotiations.
After hanging up the Den-den mushi, Whitebeard informed Marco and the other commanders about the situation and prepared to leave for the negotiations.
"Oyaji, considering the Fishman Island incident, Big Mom must be unhappy. We need to be prepared this time. We should bring more people"
Marco suggested after hearing the situation
Whitebeard understood that this negotiation wouldn't likely end well, but it didn't intimidate him. It was more about displaying strength than anything else.
Therefore, Whitebeard didn't bring any division commanders, only Sanjuan Wolf, Edward Weevil, Benjamin, and other 50 crew members.
With just this small group, Whitebeard set sail on the Moby Dick, heading towards the agreed meeting place.
The sea was very calm. When the sun was in the middle, two ships came from two directions on the sea.
On one side stood the Moby Dick, with Whitebeard standing calmly on the bow. Sanjuan Wolf and Edward Weevil appeared relaxed, while Benjamin stood beside Whitebeard, his expression slightly solemn.
Bringing Benjamin along was mainly to expose him to the aura of the powerful people, which would undoubtedly benefit his growth.
On the other side was the Queen Mama Chanter, slightly inferior to Whitebeard's Moby Dick in size, but better in numbers of the crew.
Big Mom stood at the forefront of the bow, flanked by her four Sweet Commanders. Behind them stood ten ministers, all arranged neatly, their gaze fixed on Whitebeard's direction.
"Whitebeard, you damn bastard!"
Big Mom started cursing as soon as she laid eyes on Whitebeard.
"Hmm, so that's Whitebeard, the man known as the strongest in the world. Now I can finally see him for myself"
Charlotte Katakuri said, excitement in his voice.
"Yeah, we've been wanting to see just how good this guy really is, and if he's any better than us,"
Charlotte Oven also said in an arrogant tone.
For Whitebeard, a world-famous man, who doesn't want to see his figure with their own eyes, but they all have bad intentions in their trip.
As Big Mom's sons, Katakuri and the others weren't afraid of Whitebeard; instead, they harbored a competitive spirit and didn't hold too much reverence for him.
"You'd better shut up for me, it's not that simple to deal with Whitebeard."
Hearing their chatter, Big Mom had a black line on her face. Because only she knows how powerful Whitebeard in his peak, and listening to rumour, Whitebeard indeed returning to his peak
If Whitebeard were truly strong, he wouldn't have been taken out as an old man in his later years. Instead, he'd still be shining brightly even now.
Big Mom is quite ambitious about this negotiation. Her goal is to intimidate Whitebeard and gain some benefits from him.
Because if there's a war, she'll be the one who suffers the most. That's why Big Mom has brought so many elites with her this time.
"Mom, don't worry. Look, Whitebeard doesn't seem to have many people on board. He seems quite careless. This time, we obviously have the advantage"
Cracker, one of the Four Sweet Commanders said in a confidence voice
"Hmph, indeed. I doubt he expected Mother to be so well-prepared. I believe this negotiation should force Whitebeard to compromise under this pressure,"
Charlotte Katakuri added, smiling confidently.
Listening to these people's reckless words, Jinbei on the side felt increasingly anxious.
Seeing that Whitebeard had only brought such a small group, Jinbei grew increasingly worried for him.
.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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