Pseudo Fruit Power

Dragon, not one for drama, bit into the Devil Fruit and immediately contorted his face in disgust, clearly unable to escape the fate of eating something worse than crap, regardless of which type of Devil Fruit it was.

Watching Dragon's expression, the elders around him didn't show an ounce of sympathy; instead, they burst into laughter. It was evident that seeing the usually serious young man reveal such an expression was quite a rare sight.

"Now, besides this matter, there's another issue to discuss, and that's about the current chaos in the New World and how the Marines should respond," Kong said, looking at the group after the laughter died down.

"Dragon, why don't you share your thoughts?" Tsuru said, looking at Dragon, who was still recovering.

Upon hearing Tsuru's words, Dragon quickly adjusted his mood and tried to forget the taste of the Devil Fruit as much as possible.

"For us Marines, the current situation in the New World is clearly unfavorable. After the dissolution of the Rocks Pirates, figures like Whitebeard, Shiki, Charlotte Linlin, Nicholas, and even the rising star, Kaido, are not easy to deal with.

Apart from them, there are also pirate crews similar to the Roger Pirates, which have been roaming the New World for a long time.

These crews are now fighting fiercely for territory. Additionally, our Marine presence in the New World is too weak.

Even though the World Government has many affiliated countries there, they can only provide logistical support, which doesn't significantly enhance our naval power in the New World.

As the major pirate crews in the New World expand their influence, many affiliated and non-affiliated countries to some extent submit to these major pirates.

So, my suggestion is for the Marines to stabilize the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line while keeping a close watch on the New World.

The ambitious figures on the sea won't stop their conquests, and given the current strength displayed by all parties, this battle will last for at least several years, if not decades.

During this process, we just need to watch the pirates exhaust themselves," Dragon said.

Upon hearing Dragon's words, both Tsuru and Kong nodded.

"Right, your proposal is quite similar to what those annoying fellows suggested," Kong said with a smile.

Hearing this, Dragon's eyes flashed; he knew whom Kong referred to as those annoying fellows.

...

In the New World, aboard the Moby Dick.

"Dad, we've found out that it was members of the Big Mom Pirates who attacked."

[Authors note- Whitebeard is about 30- 40 years old at this time period so a teenager of age 16-20 calling him dad is not strange at all]

The crew member reporting the incident also expressed a hint of anger.

As an old crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he knew that Whitebeard had some acquaintance with Charlotte Linlin. But when did that woman start daring to challenge Whitebeard's authority?

"Oh, it's that crazy woman, Linlin's people?" Whitebeard asked in a low voice.

"Yes, but the response we received from Streusen is that the Big Mom Pirates did not specifically target our territory. It was the action of their subordinates acting on their own initiative, not at the behest of Big Mom."

"Gurarararara! That's strange. Don't they know that's my territory? The flag planted on that island bears the name Whitebeard," Whitebeard said with laughter, but the crew could sense his anger.

To become a force in the New World, one couldn't afford to be soft-hearted. Since those guys chose to submit to the Whitebeard Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates chose to accept them, any pirate daring to attack a flag bearing the Whitebeard Pirates' symbol was declaring war on the entire Whitebeard Pirates.

"It's probably a test from Charlotte Linlin, that crazy woman. After all, to create her so-called utopia, that woman has been raiding everywhere. I heard that not long ago, she personally led the destruction of a pirate crew under the Golden Lion's flag just to get her hands on a particular fruit they were transporting."

"Gurararara! That crazy woman really did it beautifully!" Whitebeard laughed loudly, obviously finding joy in the misfortune of Shiki.

"Dad! Let's go give the Big Mom Pirates a lesson so they know that in the New World, the authority of the Whitebeard Pirates is not to be trifled with!" a pirate couldn't help but speak up.

For them, the authority of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't be challenged. After all, the entire Whitebeard Pirates' strength relied solely on Whitebeard.

Once the Whitebeard Pirates' flag became useless, their situation would be very dangerous.

"Yeah! Dad!"

Another pirate spoke up, "If we don't retaliate, others will think we're afraid of Big Mom!"

"Of course, pirates don't forget revenge!" Whitebeard waved his hand vigorously. "Men! Target: Big Mom Pirates! Let those bastards know who really rules the New World!"

Sabaody Archipelago

One day Girlfriend, on Island 72.

Tony, known as the gambling god, was no longer the lively figure he used to be at the gambling table. He looked particularly haggard, while Nicholas wore a skeptical expression.

Since they started gambling, Tony had never won once; no matter the game, Tony lost.

"So, are you a Devil Fruit user?" Nicholas asked seriously, looking at the three and four cards on the table.

Nicholas couldn't think of anything else so outrageous, and it seemed that the lucky fruit ability of Baccarat, who worked for Tesoro, was as outrageous as this kid in front of him.

"Bro, I'm not a fruit user. This is just a natural talent. I've been lucky with gambling since I was a kid, but it's only limited to gambling. My luck isn't good in other things," Tony explained, adding silently in his heart, "Otherwise, how could I meet you?"

"Ah, okay. Give me your gun."

Nicholas nodded and then said to Tony.

"Cough, can I ask why you need the gun?" Tony asked cautiously, holding the gun in his hand.

"Don't ask so many questions."

Nicholas took the gun from Tony's hand and carefully checked it to make sure there were no problems. Then he raised the gun and pointed it at Tony. "Since your luck is so good, let's bet on whether you'll get shot."

Seeing the gun pointed at him and Nicholas's serious expression, Tony's mentality collapsed.

"I will!"

Tony replied affirmatively. In his opinion, if he bet that he would get shot, Nicholas would have no reason to fire.

Bang!

Just as Tony praised himself for his cleverness, the gun went off. Tony looked incredulously at his left arm.

"Damn, it went off accidentally."

Seeing Tony with a bullet wound in his left arm and the smoking barrel, Nicholas also felt speechless. This was really too outrageous.