Chapter 226: Wood Catches Whitebeard's Eye

Who would have thought that despite being in his fifties, Whitebeard not only hadn't developed presbyopia but could still read a tiny newspaper with ease?

But that wasn't what the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were concerned about.

The Whitebeard Pirates had been founded over a decade ago and had once clashed with the Pirate King Roger's crew on an island ten years ago. After three days and nights of fierce fighting, the battle ended in a stalemate.

It was also after that battle that Whitebeard's second division captain, Kozuki Oden, was lured away by Roger's crew.

Whitebeard had always considered Roger his greatest rival, and after the Pirate King's death, Whitebeard became the undisputed strongest man on the seas.

With Roger's death, the Great Pirate Era began, and a multitude of new pirates sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. However, Whitebeard didn't pay much attention to these new pirates. But this marine deserter named Wood—Marco and the others had heard their old man mention him several times.

As one of the veteran members of the Whitebeard Pirates and one of Whitebeard's first adopted sons, Marco, along with Jozu, had a rough idea of what their father was thinking. So, when they heard Whitebeard mention Wood again, Marco immediately asked, "Pops, do you want us to go and rescue this marine deserter?"

Currently, on the seas, although Kaido's Beasts Pirates and Big Mom's Big Mom Pirates were powerful crews in the New World, they still didn't quite match the influence and prestige of the Whitebeard Pirates.

As for Shanks' Red Hair Pirates, they didn't even come close. Roger had only died a few years ago, and his original crew had disbanded not long after. Although Shanks had enough experience as a pirate, his crew was still considered newcomers, not much better off than Wood. People weren't exactly giving him much respect yet.

Marco's words weren't just empty talk. After the death of the Pirate King Roger, the Whitebeard Pirates had become the unofficial rulers of the seas. While the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates had the strength to challenge them, in a one-on-one fight, neither was a match for the Whitebeard Pirates.

If the Whitebeard Pirates decided to protect Wood or even claimed him as one of Whitebeard's sons, those who had targeted Wood would have to think twice about whether they could afford to provoke such a powerful crew.

Neither Big Mom nor the Beasts Pirates would start a war with the Whitebeard Pirates over a mere few billion Berries. After all, Whitebeard was notorious for protecting his own. If someone dared to harm one of his "sons," Whitebeard might very well lead his crew to seek retribution the next day.

And with Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates out of the picture, no other pirate crew would dare to offend a behemoth like the Whitebeard Pirates.

It could be said that if the Whitebeard Pirates spread the word, Wood's pirate crew would sail smoothly from then on.

However, in response to Marco's inquiry, Whitebeard set down his sake and wiped his sake-dampened crescent mustache before saying, "There's no need for that. From what I've seen of this brat's actions, he's a very proud person. If we suddenly extend an olive branch to him, he might not appreciate it."

"The sea is harsh, and I don't think he's truly experienced that yet. Letting other pirate crews give him a hard time now might not be such a bad thing."

Whitebeard had been keeping an eye on Wood ever since the young man had released prisoners from Impel Down.

Wood's first major action led many to believe that he had merely ridden on the coattails of Golden Lion Shiki, and while that was partially true, Whitebeard had noticed other things in the reports that followed, despite the navy's efforts to keep much of it under wraps.

Initially, Wood had merely caught Whitebeard's interest as an amusing kid. But after the incident at Enies Lobby, where Wood displayed his ability to kill CP0 agents and escape unscathed from a battle with Marine hero Garp, Whitebeard began to take him seriously.

CP0's strength aside, Whitebeard knew Garp's power well, as they had once been old rivals.

Considering that Wood had once been a Marine, it was possible that Garp had held back. But even so, the fact that someone of Wood's age could hold his own against Garp was enough to put him ahead of 99% of the pirates on the seas.

Whitebeard had indeed considered making Wood one of his sons, but he also believed that with Wood's personality, things wouldn't go so smoothly.

Breaking into Impel Down, attacking a Marine branch single-handedly, destroying Enies Lobby, and robbing the World Government of fifty billion Berries—these were all actions Wood had taken in less than two years.

In such a short time, Wood had risen to fame like a comet streaking across the sea.

Looking closely at Wood's actions, one could see that while he had accomplished great things, everything had gone almost too smoothly.

A young and talented super rookie who had gained immense fame without facing any setbacks and who had always had things go his way—how would someone like that react if an old man suddenly appeared and said, "Kid, I'm impressed with you. Come and be my son!"?

Young, talented, and already making a name for himself on the seas, such individuals were often the proudest of the lot. They believed they could become the true Pirate King and would never choose to serve under someone else.

Whitebeard was convinced that as one of the most promising figures of this era, Wood suffered from the same pride.

However, what Whitebeard didn't know was that if any other pirate crew had tried to recruit Wood, he might have hesitated. But if it was the Whitebeard Pirates extending the invitation, he would have accepted without a second thought.

Pride? Wood didn't consider himself to have such a thing.

He had been brooding over the fact that his bounty had suddenly skyrocketed to ten billion Berries, and with his low sense of security, he constantly worried about someone trying to take his head in his sleep.

To address this concern, Wood had considered the best course of action: find a powerful crew to latch onto as soon as possible.

And when it came to powerful pirate crews, the best options were the future Yonko.

Among these four, the most ideal crew, in Wood's opinion, was the Whitebeard Pirates.

As for Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates, they were less desirable options. And as for the Red Hair Pirates, Wood decided to pass—they didn't seem to be doing any better than he was at the moment…

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 350+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a