Meeting, Determination and Mourning

_________ POV Narration _________

Bonney's eyes widened a bit when seeing the strange island on the horizon.

Looking down at it from the clouds, she could see just how damaged it was.

"Was it supposed to be just one island? Looks more like two..." The De-aging pirate's bored voice broke the silence on the small floating ship.

She was dressed in her usual attire, smaller, revealing clothes, which could fit her during transformations. It was just part of her style.

"From the reports... Francisco may have had a hand in that..." By her side laid Enel, lazily sprawled on the railing of his floating ship, dressed in a pair of dark blue pants which were rolled up to his knee.

His torso was uncovered, but he did wear his usual white fur long-coat, which flopped down on the deck of his ship.

His earlobes were adorned with white gold earrings, and his golden hair was swept backwards, it was static despite the wind.

"... I'm not even surprised at this point..." Bonney just shook her head. She did remember Francisco sparring with Garp at some point, they had essentially completely wrecked the floating island they were on.

But seeing him alone able to split one in half was a bit unexpected...

'I guess both him and Garp were holding back... Not a shocker considering the fact that we're still allies now...'

"Francsico did a good job... Thanks to him one of our allies, Whitebeard, was able to pull through this mess..." Enel smiled a bit as he felt somewhat thankful for Francisco's timely assistance.

He was a bit sad that Whitebeard hadn't thought to contact him, but it couldn't be helped... Maybe the old man hadn't thought of it...

'Did I even give him a proper way to contact me?... Can't remember now that I think about it...'

Enel shook his head a bit.

'Doesn't matter anymore... I'll give him one now to make sure...'

"So... Whitebeard's also part of the army now, huh? How many more legendary figures do you feel the need to gather before we actually attack?..." Bonney looked at Enel with a bit of confusion.

She didn't really have much context into how the decisions were made in their Army. She was a crucial part of it, being a huge reason for their strength being as high as it currently was.

But she was neither interested in a leading position, nor was she feeling like she was strong enough for one.

"As many as possible Bonney... I don't want to take any chances. The World Government's capabilities are still mostly a mystery, despite them being in power for so long... We need to tread carefully, the more support we have the better..."

Enel narrowed his eyes as he felt that they were steadily approaching the island in front of them.

'If the three 'Gods' of the Void Century weren't able to take down the budding World Government, then I don't know how many chances we have right now... Nika is certainly a necessity for this...'

Silence stretched for a bit, as Bonney listened to his speech and pondered about it for a few seconds.

After a while, she just sighed and shrugged.

'I guess there's a reason why he's the leader... If it was me we would already be searching for and raiding whatever hideout the World Government still has... But he does have a point...'

"Soo... Whitebeard's still going to be sick, you know that right?" Bonney decided to just change the subject in the end. Talking instead about Newgate's known sickness.

"At least it won't be critical anymore... You should bring him back to the times he was clashing with Gol D. Roger..."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out..." Bonney sighed as their ship finally reached the skies above Sphinx Island.

The journey had taken them a bit less than a week. Enel had gone at full speed most of the journey, and Bonney has mostly glued to her seat thanks to that, but at least she got some good sleep along the way...

When they landed on the island, they were surrounded by quite a few pirates, but they weren't hostile, they recognized Enel's appearance and had even seen his ship from afar.

"Sky King Enel..." Ace stood there with a rather complicated expression. Looking up at the man that had saved his life and that of his father with both reverence and a hint of fear.

'Someone that even Francisco calls 'Captain'... He seems pretty composed.'

"How's Newgate?!" Enel landed on his feet, and Bonney jumped down beside him, as the ship contorted behind them and turned into a pair of gauntlets and greaves.

"... Pops isn't doing so good..." Ace was the one to speak up, looking at his saviour with that same complex expression.

Edward Newgate had been holding on for much longer than anyone would've expected. But it seemed his time was drawing to a close.

That was also the reason why Ace couldn't even bring himself to be happy about seeing his saviour...

"Understood... Take us to him." Enel's voice was calm, his tone clarified that his words were more of a command than a request.

Ace just nodded and gestured for the Lightning Emperor to follow him, with Bonney trailing right behind him, gazing around at the island with a curious expression.

The Pirates that had gathered around Enel's ship greeted the Sky King with smiles on their faces, but their eyes still looked pained.

It seemed that no one was really prepared to watch Whitebeard die...

'Everyone's so bummed out... I guess they're in for a surprise, huh?' Bonney smiled mischievously for a second as she trailed behind Enel.

Surprisingly, Ace didn't lead them to a warm bed, or an infirmary.

Instead, he led them to another part of the island. It was clear that a battle had taken place there, the ground was scarred and it still seemed to have a red hue to it.

There were no bodies in sight though... Just one grave. One carved out of white stone. Two hilts rested by it.

Two long sabres were stabbed into it, crossed together, and a dark blue top hat rested on the hilt of one of the sabres. Around them was dreaped a large black cape, held together by a thorny rose ornament.

Engraved into the stone was a name. 'Vista of the Flower Swords'...

A small passage was carved underneath that name.

'Here lies a steadfast and determined swordsman, a man of principle, a good leader, a protector. And the greatest son one could ever ask for.'

Enel scowled a bit when noticing it. He hadn't received any reports about Vista losing his life...

'... Shame... He was a powerful man... He even clashed with the strongest swordsman in the past...'

The Sky King shook his head, somewhat disappointed that such a good man had to die.

Bonney didn't have much of a reaction, she did remember some things about Vista, but it was mostly that he was the 5th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates...

She didn't know him as a person in any way. So she wasn't all that invested.

But to the ones that knew him... To people like Ace... Passing by his grave was a painful experience.

Ace didn't spend a lot of time near the grave, he only glanced at it, before his head hung down. The young pirate led the Emperor and Bonney further towards the edge of the island.

And on the sandy shore was resting the figure of a giant man. Covered head to toe in bandages, wearing only a pair of black pants and boots. By his side stood a Naginata to match his size, with a white coat tied around it.

Enel didn't need any introduction, he knew who he was looking at instantly, Newgate's most recognizable feature was still intact... His white moustache.

It was so large that Enel could see it even from behind. The old man was facing the sea, looking at the waves hitting the shore with a melancholic expression.

By his side were barrels on top of barrels worth of Sake.

Francisco was sprawled on top of them, snoring like a pig.

The view made Bonney snicker a bit.

'I knew he was a drunkard... I wasn't expecting to see him like this... He always acts refined an all that...'

The De-aging pirate smiled a bit as she took another look at the old man, who was now turning around and looking towards them.

"Ace... You brought visitors it seems." The old man smiled as he slowly got up, grabbing his white coat and draping it over his wide shoulders.

Ace quickly rushed to his side, helping him get up as the old man shakily stood straight.

The movement seemed to also wake up Francisco, which Enel could feel.

The swordsman sobered up instantly, jumping down from the barrels and greeting his captain with a slight bow, and Bonney with a nod.

Enel and Bonney both nodded at him, no words were really needed between them, at least not for now.

They had more important things to handle first.

"I guess Francisco filled you in with the details, of how this will work, right?" Enel crossed his gauntletted arms and looked at the 'Strongest Man' with a wide smile.

A smile which Whitebeard returned. Their exchange seemed to confuse Ace slightly. The Young Pirate looked between the two emperors with a bemused expression before his gaze settled on his old man.

Before he had the chance to ask anything, Whitebeard himself responded.

"That he did! I didn't tell any of my crewmates about it though... We weren't even sure you'd make it in time, didn't want to get their hopes up..." Newgate looked over to Bonney, who just smiled slightly at him.

She wasn't intimidated by the old man's presence one bit. Hell, she was already used to begin around outrageous people like Francisco and Garp.

Enel also turned his head and looked towards her, seemingly giving her the go-ahead.

"Soo... How young do you wanna be?"

At that point, Ace's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. He just uttered a confused 'Huh?', before it finally seemed to click for him.

'That's right... So she is the one that made Francisco younger... Then!'

Immediately, his eyes filled with hope, shining in a way that Enel had rarely seen in a person.

'Huh... I guess he really cares about Whitebeard... Family indeed...' The Lightning Emperor could only sigh, wondering if he could ever have something like that in his life...

'Maybe after I'm done with the Government... If I live to see it through...' The Sky King just shook his head and continued observing the exchange.

Whitebeard rubbed his chin for a few seconds, seemingly pondering over Bonney's request.

"Hmm, I did really like my thirties... My back didn't hurt at all back then."

Bonney nodded at the man's request before she took another step forward. The old pirate brought one of his hands forward, extending it to her gently and allowing her to touch it.

And touch she did. A white light enveloped him for a second, as Ace watched on with amazement in his eyes.

In a split second, Whitebeard's body started changing, his muscles bulging up as the bandages covering his torso ripped open.

The scars on his chest disappeared alongside his injuries, as his previously bald head sprouted a mane of golden hair, flowing all the way to his upper back.

His moustache remained the same, but his gaze... His gaze changed completely.

Enel couldn't help but smile, he felt the tremors in the air. The world itself quaked at Whitebeard's very presence... And then it happened.

"GURARARARARAR!" A burst of laughter shook the seas itself.

The skies rolled and quaked with thunder, the sandy beach rose into a cloud of dust as Bonney was forced to jump backwards a bit.

Waves were forming around the island becoming bigger and bigger as the revitalized Whitebeard laughed.

Ace was also forced to jump back, though he still was forced to eat a mouthful of beach sand in the process.

Enel narrowed his eyes, his smile becoming a bit strained under the pressure that the man exuded...

That laughter... Although only released from excitement at the strength that was filling him...

It was also an announcement. One so loud that reality itself was forced to bend...

'The Strongest Man is back... And he is back stronger than ever before...'

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Hope you liked the chapter!

Whitebeard's here to stay my bois!

This was a long time coming, and yes, he would've been able to cook Kaido in a stew if they fought rn :))

If u want to support me look up VeganMaster(Vegan Cult) on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)