Chapter 122

Surprise!! Take my weekend gift for y'all: Anotha chapta!!

Next chapter is the end of the Marineford arc… oh boy, that was such a wild ride.

Coming up: Sabaody Archipelago… and Supernovas!

With that said, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and have a great day!

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Teach watched with disbelief as his right hand was flying up in the air, brutally ripped off of his arm.

The gallon of blood from his arm sprayed out wildly, and all that Teach could see with his one functioning eye, was nothing but red.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Teach screamed in unbearable pain. His incredibly loud shriek boomed across the whole area, earning many's attention.

"""Captain!!""" Van Augur, Jesus Burgess, and Doc Q shouted in panic.

"Ace, we have to go!!!" Marco shouted urgently as he saw that Kuzan joined the battlefield once again.

"If only I wasn't out of time," Ace snarled, "I would've had a pleasure in taking my time to kill you. But alas, lucky for you that that isn't the possibility."

With his right hand still clenching onto Teach's neck, Ace, with all might, threw Teach into the sea below.

*SPLASH*

Teach was helplessly thrown into the sea, and the particular region that he was within, became painted with bloody red.

Seeing Teach's trouble, Van Augur, without any hesitation, jumped off of Wolf's head to the sea in an attempt to save Teach, however,

"Bluebird!!" Marco, who formed a dense swirl of phoenix feathers in front of his index and middle finger, blasted it to Van Augur who was airborne,

*BOOOM*

causing Van Augur to take the full blunt of the attack and crash back to the frozen bay of the Marineford.

Using that gap of time as a chance, Ace quickly jumped up and grabbed Marco's leg,

"Haa... let's go, Marco." Ace took a deep breath as he gazed at Newgate's dead body, which Marco was holding.

Marco, as he flapped his huge flame wings to carry them back to the paddle ship carrying the Whitebeard pirates, looked back at the part of the sea where Teach fell into.

'If he survives that... whatever.' Marco thought before turning back, 'Focus on escaping for now.'

But he did have his sense tingling with regard to Teach—that they will fight again in the future.

"Not good..." Shiryu, in a cold sweat, thought as he parried Momonga's sword once more as he checked what happened at the back, "So what now?"

"Toputoputopu! I love this crew already!!" Vasco Shot laughed boisterously as he gazed at the sea where Teach fell, "Does this mean that I'm the captain now?! Toputopu—"

While looking around in delight, Vasco Shot came to freeze as he saw Rowan, who was leaning on the rail of the Prominence and gazing at him impassively.

Subconsciously, his body trembled in fear as his laugh ceased and he turned his gaze back to his front, where the Vice Admiral Yamakaji's giant sword was heading toward him.

In contrast to the dangerous situation he was within, Vasco Shot's expression loosened in relief,

"Toputopu... I'd rather face thousands of these blades than that Grimheart." Comically jumping to the side to dodge the slash, Vasco Shot spun the pistols in his hands before grasping them skillfully and shooting the bullets to Yamakaji, who used his giant sword as a leverage to rotate and dodge them.

*Splash*

"*Huff*... *Huff*..." Then, from the depth of water, Laffitte revealed himself as he carried the unconscious Teach by his arm. Watching their re-emergence, Sanjuan Wolf reached his hand out and allowed them to make their way back onto his head.

Simultaneously, Van Augur, who was bruised on the chest and had his glasses broken, too made his way back to the group swiftly.

"*Huff*... Wolf, *Huff*... flip that Marine warship. We're... *Huff*... escaping by using that." Laffitte gave out an order in Teach's stead, to which Wolf nodded slowly and complied.

As the Blackbeard pirates found themselves in a tough situation,

"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!!"

Kuzan's huge ice pheasant came into the existence and began to fly toward the Whitebeard pirates. However,

"Undying Thistle!!" Marco quickly intervened Kuzan's attack before it could destroy the ship.

*BOOOOOOOM*

"""Marco!!!"""

Jozu, with teary eyes, grinned as he saw Newgate's dead body with Marco and Ace.

Kuzan, who saw the ships of the Whitebeard fleet drifting by, decided not to chase any further.

"It's been... a tiring war, eh?" Marco, landing on the deck, said with a vivid fatigue in his tone, "Seems like we're all out finally... let's retreat."

With his order, the Whitebeard pirates' paddle ship, along with the remaining ships of the subordinate crews, all began to sail to the opposite direction from the Marineford; leaving the marines, World Government agents, and Blackbeard pirates on their own.

Staring at the dead body of Newgate, which was now lied down on the deck, Ace suddenly bowed down with his head touching the deck,

"Pops... thank you for everything!!! Please rest in peace... for if there is someone who will carry on Roger's will... we will be the ones to carry your will!!!"

Following Ace's suit, all other members of the Whitebeard pirates all bowed out of respect and gratitude.

"""Thank you, pops!!!"""

Now, having stood back up and with white cloth covering Newgate's corpse, Vista, with his swords finally sheathed, asked,

"What shall our next course of action be... captain?"

Marco's eyes widened upon hearing Vista's words. Turning to his left and right, he saw the fellow crew members smiling in approval.

"Marco...captain..." Jozu grinned, "Tell us what to do, in pop's stead."

Marco felt his fists tightening. Calming himself down, he spoke up in shaky tone, "Two things. First, we protect pop's territories. Second... we hunt for pop's fruit, before anyone else can get it."

"""Aye aye, captain!!!"""

The crew members scattered into their respective positions, leaving no one but Marco and Ace.

As Marco, with trembling hands, was holding onto the captain's hat that Newgate once wore, Ace asked to Marco,

"Marco... is this war... our victory?"

Marco, with tired smile on his face, shook his head in negative as he pointed up.

"No, it's their's."

Following Marco's finger, Ace was met with the domineering body of Prominence, which flew above the Whitebeard fleet with ferocity.

"After all," Marco chuckled, "Not only did they successfully showcase the world of their strength, but won us a huge, huge favour... something that we won't be able to pay back by a small help."

As Prominence passed by them, Ace saw Rowan, who was gazing at him with a grin as he leaned on the rail.

"Rowan..." Ace felt a smile forming on his face, "Thank you."

"Grimheart pirates!!! Thank you!!!"

"We owe you our lives!!!"

"Call us when you need our help!!!"

On one side of the paddle ship, Jinbe was seen to be standing as he bowed toward the Prominence in gratitude,

"I thank you wish my utmost sincerity, Rowan-san, and you Grimheart pirates!!!"

Rowan, hearing the words of thanks, laughed lightly,

"Bohaha! Anytime, you folks!!"

Jinbe, momentarily closing his eyes, whispered, "...And when you come to Fish-man island... I will have a confession to make."

Call it a cowardice, but Jinbe didn't want to ruin the atmosphere by bringing up the matter of Arlong.

Now, on the deck of the Prominence, Carina asked, "Are we really just going to part here?"

Rowan nodded as he stared up at the sky, "Staying clustered together would easily reveal our location to the World Government. While I don't mind them coming after us, you know, I want to relax for a little."

*Creak*

Subsequently, the door leading into the inner section of Prominence opened, revealing Carmen, who was holding a basket full of bread.

"Who's hungry?" Carmen, with a smirk, wiggled the basket, to which everyone within the ship immediately ran toward with a delight,

"""ME!!!!!!!"""

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"Ugh..." Garp, lying powerlessly on top of a white bed, opened his eyes and frowned in pain.

"You've finally woken up."

Upon hearing a very familiar voice, Garp muttered with hazy vision, "Sengoku?"

"Yes, it's me. Relax, don't try to lift your body up." Sengoku stated calmly as he pushed Garp's body down.

"What... happened?" Garp, as his consciousness began to fully return, asked with widened eyes, "I punched, and then—"

Sengoku sighed, before handing the newspaper on his right to Garp,

"That damn Morgan!! It seems that prior to the war, he planted the reporters all around discretely. Before it was too late, we managed to negotiate few information to be concealed, however, as for the rest... I suppose that you should read it for yourself."

Listening to Sengoku, Garp grabbed the newspaper and began to read.

<The Death of the Strongest Man of the World, and the Rise of the New Era!>

"Nice title." Garp bickered as he continued to read,

<Three days ago, the Marine announced the public execution of Portgus D. Ace the 'Iron Fist,' who was revealed to be the son of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King! However, Iron Fist, at the same time, was the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard pirates, and hence, the whole Whitebeard fleet arrived upon the Marineford, in order to rescue Iron Fist! Unfortunately, the Marine seemed to hold a vast advantage, and pressured the Whitebeard fleet.

Then, they've come: the Grimheart pirates, who are the dark horses of this war. Through shrewd means, they managed to turn the tide and aid in Iron Fist's successful excape, bringing the war to the Whitebeard Fleet's favour!>

"I see... you hid the specific details that me, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan all lost by his hands." Garp said in realization as he continued reading,

<As the war was close to the end, and the Fleet Admiral Sengoku brought Whitebeard to his knees, another force entered the war: the Blackbeard pirates! Initially, they were supposed to stand on the Marine's side, but betrayed without a second thought and freed the prisoners in the Impel Down! However, in the end, this crew suffered a drastic loss, with their captain, Marshall D. Teach the 'Blackbeard,' having lost an eye and right hand, along with the death of one of his crew member, Doc Q.>

Garp turned to Sengoku, who was reading along. Sengoku nodded, "It's true."

"...How?"

Sengoku grinned, "You think I was standing still? Even though I wasn't at the best condition due to fighting Whitebeard, I still had a strength to spare. Additionally, the Blackbeard pirates were surrounded by us; they had to make a sacrifice, and Doc Q, by wrapping around his whole body with the bombs, sacrificed his life to blast the whole sea and provide an opening for the rest of the Blackbeard pirates to escape."

Nodding in understanding, Garp turned back to the paper.

<At the end of the war, Edward Newgate the 'Whitebeard,' died as he stood, although his corpse was took by the Whitebeard pirates in the end. At the same time, the appearances of two new pirates: the Grimheart pirates and the Blackbeard pirates, showcased the message that the new generation... are ready to take over the world—signalling the beginning of a new era!!!

Reassessing their danger levels, the Government raised the bounties of the following individuals.>

"Haa..." Garp felt like getting a headache, "Let's see..."

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[Sabaody Archipelago]

"Haha," Ace chuckled as he gazed at the updated bounty posters, "My bounty is 840 million, eh?"

<'Iron fist' Portagus D. Ace. Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 840,000,000 Beli.>

And it seems that the bounties of the rest of the Whitebeard fleet didn't really receive any change.

However,

"Holy s***, dude..." Ace exclaimed in shock as he gazed the other set of bounties, before falling asleep abruptly.

"Ace!!"

All of a sudden, one member of the neo Whitebeard pirates, also known as the Phoenix pirates now, entered the ship,

"A-ah, what?! I totally wasn't sleeping at all!" Ace jolted up with his eyes opened as wide as possible.

"Captain says that we're leaving to the Fish-man island now!"

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[Fish-man Island]

"Grimheart..." A ferocious-looking man with muscular physique, Douglas Bullet, muttered with a grin, "...soon enough, we will meet again. And when we do, this time for real,

let's settle who's stronger."

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[In the Middle of Nowhere]

"So here is the Eternal Pose for the Water 7." Carina said as she placed the Eternal Pose on top of the round table, "Try to relax! With Prominence's speed, we can reach there anytime we want; no need to worry about supplies."

"Wow... really?" Mob said in monotone as he clapped, earning a sweatdrop from Carina,

"I feel like you aren't impressed at all."

On the other hand,

"What are you three doing?" Robin tilted her head in confusion as Carmen, Dan, and Cavendish gathered at one side of the deck, with pile of money in the middle.

"""Betting that my bounty will be higher than these two.""" All three of them said simultaneously, causing Robin to chuckle in amusement.

*Bang*

*Thud*

From the crow's nest, Job leisurely shot down a flying bird with ease, before yelling below to Carmen,

"Oi Carmen, cook me something!"

Carmen grabbed the dead bird and threw it toward Job and lashed out comically, "Can't you see that I'm busy?!!!"

And within Prominence, in the training room, Sob was seen to be teaching Nami how to use the bo-staff.

"Bring your hip out! Uh huh, just like that! Now, twerk!!"

"L-like this?"

"Hmm... I give B+! Try it again!"

Nami squinted her eyes toward Sob in suspicion, but nonetheless, continued.

In the craft room,

"Please stay like that for a little longer... done!" Alfred backed off of Farul, who was now covered by a steel armour, "Do you like it, monsieur Farul?"

"Neigh~!!!"

Farul lifted his chin up in pride and huffed. Like? forget it. He loved it.

And finally, on the wolf figurehead, Rowan and Urouge were seen to be sitting solemnly.

"So your crew... by Baten, huh." Rowan momentarily closed his eyes with stoic expression, "My condolences."

Urouge nodded as he gazed down as the white clouds, "Thank you. I'm sure that they appreciate your kind words."

Two of them stood silently for a little, before Urouge spoke up,

"Rowan.

Will let me join your crew?"