Chapter 165 The White Beard Who Explains the Funeral Arrangements

The huge bow shaped like a white whale broke through the waves blocking the road. The magnificent fleet crushed the turbulent waves and rushed out of the storm.

"The storm is so annoying! I'm all wet!"

"Stop blabbering and get to work quickly!"

"It's coming, it's coming, don't rush it!"

The pirates on the deck were noisy and started cleaning the deck with mops and buckets.

In the captain's cabin.

"Gula la la -"

The old man sitting on the chair laughed happily, making the two captains standing in the room look helpless.

"That brat Elus sneaked into Waterwheel Island...is he going to start a war?" The owner of the boat stroked his white beard, "But there are only three boats, so the number of people is a bit small!"

"Dad, this is not a joke!"

The man with the nickname of 'Phoenix' spoke.

"The Black Prince sneaked into our territory secretly, and it happened to be Shuiche Island, which is also our next destination... Although there is no clear evidence to prove that the Black Prince has malicious intentions, this behavior itself It’s already a provocation, I have to..."

"Ace, what do you think we should do?"

Whitebeard interrupted Marco's rambling nonsense and looked at the young man with freckles on his face.

"Eh? Me? Well, let me tell you...rather than guessing here, why not just go to the Black Prince and ask for clarification?" The youngest person, but his popularity has vaguely surpassed that of Immortal The captain of the second division, several veteran captains such as Bird, Diamond, and Foil, spoke with a smile.

Marco, the 'Phoenix' next to him, rolled his eyes and sighed silently.

"Marco, how long will it take to get to Waterwheel Island?"

Whitebeard asked.

"It will take about an hour if we go at the fastest speed."

"Dad, let me go! My Zodiac can get there in half an hour." Ace said excitedly, "I was taken good care of by the Black Prince in the Chambord Islands. I won't repay him. I can’t live with it.”

"Ace, stop making trouble, you are still very young! You are no match for the Black Prince now." Marco spoke unceremoniously to teach this brother who was always a little irritable.

They are brothers.

As Whitebeard's son, their relationship is naturally not just as simple as companions, but more intimate brothers.

As the second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates and the eldest brother of everyone, Marco has basically taught him a lesson, including all the captains.

only--

"Then let's do it!"

Whitebeard agreed to Ace's offer.

"Dad?"

Marco glared.

"Gu la la la! Marco, don't underestimate Ace. He is already very strong, and Ace won't go alone. Let Joz go with him, and bring a few people from the second team. That assault boat of yours You should be able to fit it in, right?" Whitebeard avoided Marco's sight.

"My assault boat is modified. Without supplies, it can carry six people, including myself."

Ace's smile became boundlessly bright.

"That's good. Go and call Jozi. You're going to pick four people from your team and go to Waterwheel Island to find Elus. Ask that kid what he wants to do?"

"Yeah, dad, I understand."

"Then go! Pay attention to safety on the road. If you get into a fight with that kid from Elus, remember to try to delay it as long as possible."

"Dad, just leave it to me!"

The two men sang along and settled the matter in a few moments without giving Marco a chance to interrupt. When Ace left the captain's room, Marco sighed deeply and started complaining to Whitebeard, " Dad, it's too dangerous to do this. Ace's potential and talent are very powerful, but he is too young compared to the monster Black Prince. If the Black Prince really comes with malicious intentions, Ace... ···”

"Marco!"

"I'm already old."

"Dad, what did you say?" Marco showed a rare look of panic.

"This is a fact. The time you sleep at night is getting shorter and shorter, and the amount of food is gradually decreasing. If you don't take medicine, your body will hurt... you all know these!" There was a calm look on the white beard's face. He smiled fearlessly, as if he was not talking about himself. There was no fear of aging and death on his face.

"The medicines I take are all prescribed by you. Maybe you know better than me that my health is getting worse day by day. I am already relying on medicines to die...but sooner or later I will die. Death is nothing to be afraid of for me, but I am worried about you!"

"Dad!"

Marco was completely panicked.

This tone...isn't right!

Why do you feel like you are explaining the aftermath?

"Just hear me out."

Whitebeard waved his hand, "If I'm lucky, I might be able to live for another five or six years. If I'm not lucky, one, two, or three years will probably be my limit. I might even fall asleep tonight and tomorrow. I won’t be able to get up, I will be born, old, sick, and die... These are inevitable consequences.”

"So recently, no, I should say a few years ago, I was thinking about what you silly boys would do if I died? The best result is that one of you will stand up for me, but before Ace comes, I didn’t find the right person.”

At this point, he stopped to take a breath.

Looking at the panicked Marco, he couldn't help but laugh, "Gula la la! Marco, fortunately Jozi, Bista, and Sachi are not here now. If they see you like this , I’m sure my eyes will pop out of my head.”

As the second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco is also the only one among the first group of people who followed Whitebeard to survive to this day. In front of other crew members, Mr. 'Phoenix' always looks like he is awake. But it also gives people a calm image that everything is under control. It is really rare to be in a panic like this!

After being laughed at by Whitebeard, Marco was temporarily relieved.

so far so good!

Although my father was almost really announcing his funeral arrangements, he didn't seem to be ready to lay down immediately after saying his last words... The biggest fear in his heart was temporarily suppressed, and his rationality, which had been offline due to panic, started to function again. got up.

"Dad, do you mean to let Ace take over?"

"That's right, what do you think?"

"What Ace said... I think it's good." Although Marco didn't want to think about the future without his father, as a ship's doctor, he also understood that what his father just said was not a joke. If you blindly avoid this topic, you will really disappoint your father.

"You! Marco...you are too courageous!"

Whitebeard smiled and sighed.

"If you were more courageous, you wouldn't have to let Ace take on this responsibility."

Yes,

responsibility.

In Whitebeard's view, in addition to power, the identity of the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates is more important than responsibility. The responsibility of protecting the family. Everyone in the pirate group is a family member, and the captain is the head of the family. As a parent, Protecting your family is a natural and unshirkable responsibility.

Especially the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard can suppress all dissent, but for the successor, it will be an extremely heavy responsibility.

"Dad, Ace will definitely be more promising than me in the future. This is already very good for me! And compared to fighting and killing, I now prefer to study herbal medicine." Marco also laughed, even though his heart was It was still heavy, but in front of his father, he still tried his best to show a natural smile.

"You also know that Ace will be more promising than you in the future, so in order to make this happen earlier in the future, you have to train him!"

"······"

Marco couldn't laugh or cry.

Good guy, you went around in such a circle just to give Ace an excuse to act in advance?

"Don't think I'm making excuses for what happened this time. These things... I've been looking for an opportunity to talk to you recently. I just happened to come across it today, so I might as well tell you! Those words just now It’s not a lie.”

After Whitebeard finished speaking, his face showed a hint of tiredness.

His health was so bad that he would feel low on energy after thinking and talking for a long time.

Seeing Whitebeard's tired expression, all the distracting thoughts in Marco's mind were swept away, leaving only unspeakable heaviness and sadness... Dad's health is really getting worse. The prescription has been changed several times, but it can only alleviate some of Dad's pain as much as possible, but cannot fundamentally reverse the process of death.

"Marco, let the fleet move forward at full speed. Although I don't think that boy Elus is here to cause trouble for me, Waterwheel Island... is my territory. If you cause trouble on my territory, It’s okay if you don’t give me an explanation!”

Whitebeard lay on his back on the chair, his eyes closed, his voice and breath were so weak.

Marco stood in the room for a while.

Watching Whitebeard just fall asleep, he walked out of the room with silent steps, even closing the door without making a sound. The whole process was as quiet as a ghost in action.

······

Marco came out of the cabin.

Standing on the deck that had been cleaned, his eyes flew to the No. 2 ship following Moby Dick to the left. It was the ship of the second team. Ace stood on the deck waving his arms and looked at the people gathered there. The members of the Second Division on the deck were talking about something.

"Are you trying to pick someone?" Marco muttered to himself as he looked at the members of the second division who raised their hands enthusiastically.

Preparations went well.

Under the command of Ace, the Second Division, which was once severely hit by the loss of its former captain, is now the most energetic team of the Whitebeard Pirates. When they hear that there is a mission, almost everyone is scrambling for it. But he didn't lose his temper because of it.

"As expected, Ace is a born leader!"

Marco didn't feel even the slightest bit disappointed.

Compared with the power and responsibility represented by the captain, he cares more about his identity as his father's son. His wish from beginning to end is to follow his father until the end of his life... just in case, what if he really waits until then One day, with Ace here, dad can leave without any worries...

He shook his head, shaking off the suffocating future.

Spreading his wings burning with green flames, Marco flew to the second ship and landed in front of Ace and Jozi, "Are you ready?"

"Well, everything is ready and we can set off soon."

Ace nodded.

The captain of the third division, the man nicknamed 'Diamond' stood next to Ace. His burly and majestic body gave people a sense of stability like a centering pin, like a rock that remained unmoving despite the weather. As the pirate group's strongest defensive player, Jozi and Ace act together. Although it is not possible to say that they can go head-to-head with the Black Prince, it can make people feel more at ease.

"Jozi, watch Ace! Don't let him get too far."

Marco patted Jozy on the arm.

"Leave it to me! I will keep an eye on Ace." Jozi promised seriously.

"Hey, don't treat me like a child! Marco." Ace called Marco, who was much older than him, by his first name.

"If you want me to stop treating you like a child, wait until you stop being so irritable before you say this to me." Marco raised his hand and knocked Ace on the head unceremoniously, "Just remember this. Now, calm down when you get to Waterwheel Island. Don’t attack the Black Prince as soon as you see him. Try to investigate the Black Prince’s purpose first. Fighting is the last option. Do you understand?”

"Eh!!!!"

Ace agreed listlessly, and the mischievous look made Marco's hands itch, which meant that the time was not right now, but... I will definitely teach this brat a lesson when I get a chance in the future!

"Captain Ace, why don't you leave yet?"

The call from below interrupted the communication between the two.

They stood on the side of the ship, stretched out their heads and saw the assault boat that had been put into the sea. The four members of the second team were already in place. The one who shouted was Tiqi from the second team, a man with a strange temper and good strength. This guy, because he often breaks the tableware in the cafeteria, is considered a celebrity in the pirate group.

"Marco, let's go!"

Ace said goodbye to Marco with a smile.

He and Jozi turned over and jumped out at the same time, landing firmly on the assault boat. Jozi and the four crew members of the second division crowded together and gave up the driving seat to Ace. The ship passed by the Whitebeard Pirates. The assault boat was specially modified by skilled craftsmen and was tailor-made for Ace.

A special vehicle built with Ace's burning fruit as the driving force.

No one except Ace can control this assault boat, and when Ace stands on it, the boat can fly forward at twice the speed of Moby Dick.

Ace waved his hand.

Then,

Flames spurted from the rear of the assault boat.

The assault boat rushed out with a "whoosh". Even though he had been told to stand still in advance, Jozi's body still swayed, and the members of the second team were almost thrown out, but it was still not enough. After a while, no one fell into the water, and the assault boat just galloped away towards the front.

Heading towards the direction of Waterwheel Island.