Whitebeard had already given Ryu the cold shoulder, and the division commanders all looked at him with disdain. Ryu had no choice but to turn to Marco and say, "Alright, since I can't convince you, Marco, could you personally escort me back to my ship?"
Marco glanced at Whitebeard, and after receiving a nod from him, he responded, "Fine. For Ace's sake, I'll personally see you off."
Once Ryu returned to the Huaxia, he sighed as he watched Marco silently depart. "Let's go, back to Marineford," Ryu ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Lena, relieved to see Ryu return safely, seemed to finally relax. The pressure from the two Emperors had been overwhelming.
Ryu was in a foul mood. He felt the power of the plot closing in on him. In the past, he had always thought he understood the story, believing he could easily alter events before they occurred. So, he never put much effort into changing the plot.
Of course, there was also a part of him that didn't want to change things because doing so would mean losing his prophetic abilities. However, after starting the mission to save Ace, he realized just how powerful the inertia of the story was—something he couldn't easily change. This realization made Ryu feel a sense of regret and fear.
"Sir, what did you discuss with Whitebeard? Once we return to headquarters, the Admiral will definitely want to know," Lena asked quietly, noticing Ryu deep in thought.
"Nothing much. I just wanted him to recall Ace. Blackbeard is a very dangerous man," Ryu shook his head and replied.
"Ace? Is Blackbeard really that strong?" Lena asked in surprise.
Having followed Ryu closely, Lena knew Ace's capabilities. When Ryu had been searching for Ace, Lena hadn't thought it was because of concern for his safety. After all, Ace was already a famous pirate in the New World, even being invited to join the Seven Warlords, though he had declined.
Now, this so-called Blackbeard was just a pirate trying to seize power by taking advantage of Crocodile's fall. Lena had never heard of him before and didn't think Blackbeard could pose a threat to Ace.
"This world has underestimated Blackbeard. In my opinion, his danger level surpasses even Whitebeard's," Ryu said in a deep tone.
(TL: Nah bro)
"What? That's impossible!" Lena exclaimed, stunned.
Whitebeard was known as the strongest man in the world, and his forces were some of the most powerful in the New World. He was considered the closest to becoming the Pirate King.
"Forget it, now is not the time to talk about this. Let's head back to headquarters first," Ryu shook his head. The things he worried about were probably unavoidable, so he needed to prepare for the worst. Now, he had to find someone—someone who was crucial to his plans. Even if it wasn't for Ace, he would need this person's approval for his own strategy.
Although this trip had its own purpose, Ryu had also captured many pirates, and there were quite a few from the New World in the Huaxia's prison. Even if his rank didn't increase, his connections would grow, and his strength would definitely improve once he returned to headquarters.
While Ryu was heading back, Luffy and his crew had finally defeated Enel in the sky and rung the bell that represented Skypiea.
Meanwhile, back at Marine Headquarters, a rather unsettling event occurred. The Admiral Aokiji (Kuzan) had disappeared, causing a stir even among the Five Elders. However, they had no choice but to accept the situation, knowing Aokiji was a laid-back man who followed a "Lazy Justice." Fortunately, they decided to just let him be.
After completing their adventure on Skypiea, Luffy and the crew, with a ship full of gold, finally returned to the sea. There, they encountered Foxy on Long Ring Long Island and accepted his Davy Back Fight challenge.
Foxy was a master of Davy Back Fight, holding an undefeated record of 920 matches. Although most of those victories were won through cheating, it still caused Luffy, with his single-mindedness, quite a lot of trouble.
At Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Ryu, is this why you appeared in the New World and came into contact with Whitebeard and Shanks?" Sengoku glared at Ryu, his anger barely contained as he asked.
"Ah, ah, I didn't know Shanks would be there too. Two of the Four Emperors, it really scared me. Luckily, they didn't plan to keep me there, or I might not have made it back!" Ryu casually replied.
However, as he said this, he recalled the moment on his way back when Shanks blocked his path. At the time, he had thought Shanks might be intending to clash with him. But instead, after a brief conversation, Shanks simply left. Ryu found this Four Emperor to be the hardest to understand. It seemed like Shanks was carrying out some orders from Pirate King Gol D. Roger, or perhaps had some unknown mission of his own. In any case, Ryu was very cautious around him.
"Did you forget? The order you were given was to train at headquarters. Instead, you secretly sailed out and went to the New World to meet with the Four Emperors. Do you even have any discipline?" Sengoku was furious at Ryu's attitude, slamming his hand on the table as he shouted.
"Ah, ah, sorry, sorry! Sengoku, don't be angry. When people get older, they tend to fall asleep easily. What were we talking about?" Garp, who had been quietly listening on the side, suddenly became confused, looking around before addressing the still-angry Sengoku. His apology lacked sincerity, much like Ryu's, and it seemed as if he hadn't been paying attention at all.
It turned out that Garp had fallen asleep while listening and had been woken up by Sengoku's angry shout, thinking that Sengoku was angry with him.
"Go, go, go! You two are going to be the death of me!" Sengoku, known for his calm and scholarly demeanor, lost his usual poise and waved his hand irritably, signaling for Garp and Ryu to leave.
"Let's go, teacher, if we don't leave now, the Admiral might transform!" Ryu grabbed Garp, who still seemed to want to argue, and quickly escorted him out of Sengoku's office.
"What's the big deal? I just fell asleep! Does he have to get so mad about it? By the way, Little Leaf, didn't you bring anything useful back this time?" Garp grumbled, walking away as he spoke.
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