388. Before Starting

Their overwhelming defeat from Enel makes the Legend Pirates down for a while. Alan & co knew they still couldn't win, but they are still frustrated because they couldn't hit Enel even once. Enel is indeed fast, but it's still unbelievable that they couldn't touch him at all.

The Clown Pirates let the youngsters on their own and just do their business. They need to take care of a few things and prepare for their next journey. The Clown Pirates won't take a break now because they've just done it.

So they will start their Calm Belt exploration as soon as possible. But before going to Calm Belt, there is an agenda that Buggy needs to do. He wants to fight Whitebeard before starting his new journey.

Whitebeard is still healthy enough and his power is still great. He is 65 years old now, which is even younger than the Big Mom that Straw Hats fight in the series. Whitebeard is still in his prime now and his illness hasn't appeared, so it's a good time for Buggy to challenge him.

In One Piece world, the age system is different from Earth. While people on Earth reach their peaks of physical power at 20-40, the people in this world reach their peaks at 50-70. The best examples are Kaido, Big Mom, and the Admirals in the series who are in their 50's & 60's when Straw Hats meet them.

This world's people also can live longer than Earth's people, after all. An example is Dr. Kureha who has passed 130 in the series. It's uncommon, but there must be more people like her in this world.

Whitebeard could still have most of his power or even still on his peak in the series if not for his illness. The main reason for Whitebeard's power decline is his illness, not age. That's why right now, Buggy wants to fight peak Whitebeard before it's too late.

"Is everything ready?" asks Buggy while looking at his ship in the port.

"Yes, Milord," says Dela while bowing.

Buggy is used to being called Lord and his crew is also used to calling him that. So he ignores it and just nods before ordering his crew to prepare to sail right away. The Legend Pirates watch as Clown Pirates just treat this as another day after defeating them so easily.

"Are they really going on a war with Whitebeard Pirates?" asks Raden, a narcissistic guy with a 69 million bounty.

"Not really a war, but yeah. The Lord will duel against Whitebeard, but a battle of 2 crews' Captains is the same as a war. If something happens, then it can lead to a full-scale war," says Elen.

"A war of 2 Pirate Crews at that level, just how big and destructive it will be?" asks William, a real tap dancer who fights with his legs.

"It's something beyond our imagination," says Alan.

"Haven't you witnessed it when you guys were still apprentices on their ship?" asks Alison, a very big & muscular guy, even bigger than Jack.

"Well, we have never seen the Lord fight Whitebeard in a real war. So we don't know how it will turn out," says Yamato.

"We'll find it in the news soon, so there's no need to ponder it too much now. Let's just enjoy our time here before resuming our journey too. We need to get stronger if we want to stand on the same ground as those monsters," says Alan.

His crewmates agree because now they know that they are still weak in this world. They need to get stronger and the best way they know is by fighting against stronger people. So they'll target veteran pirates again.

The Clown Pirates leave Clownland after talking with the youngsters for a while. They go to Whitebeard Pirates' location by following a Vivre Card. Buggy pluck a strand of Whitebeard's hair in their last meeting when they were drunk and he made a Vivre Card with it.

They arrive in 2 days and Moby Dick is just floating on the sea right now. Whitebeard Pirates often just stay on the sea like this, making them quite difficult to find. That's why Buggy made a Vivre Card to find Whitebeard despite the old man's annoyance.

"Tsk, you are disturbing my relaxing time," says Whitebeard annoyedly while drinking alcohol on his seat as he sees Buggy just get on his ship without permission.

Whitebeard Pirates tried to stop him, but their Captain stopped them.

"You are relaxing too much," says Buggy while throwing a barrel of alcohol at Whitebeard.

The old man catches it and asks, "What do you want, kid?"

"Let's fight, old man," says Buggy blatantly.

"This again? I told you I'm not interested," says Whitebeard.

"It doesn't matter. You don't have any choice, after all," says Buggy while unsheathing his swords.

All Whitebeard Pirates' members flinch and their Captain also frowns while looking at Buggy. Now they all know that Buggy is serious about his challenge. In the past, he would always agree to not fight if Whitebeard refused, but it's different now.

"What's the rush, kid?" asks Whitebeard.

"Well, I've finished exploring Grandline and will start a new expedition. So it's the best time to fight you because I won't have time after this," says Buggy.

Whitebeard is surprised and he asks, "You've finished? Even Laugh Tale?"

"Nope, not Laugh Tale. I still haven't planned to go there yet. The best food needs to be eaten last. Besides, someone needs to go there first, and I'm more interested in unexplored places rather than Laugh Tale," says Buggy.

"Still, it means you haven't finished exploring Grandline," says Whitebeard.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter either way. I've decided that it's enough exploring Grandline now, so it's finished already. Stop asking and just fight me, Whitebeard! This might be our last chance to fight properly," says Buggy while pointing his sword at Whitebeard.

"What do you mean by that?" asks Whitebeard while raising an eyebrow.

"You are getting older and you will get weaker fast when the time comes. I can even see some white strands of your hair. So this might be my last chance fighting the prime Whitebeard," says Buggy.

Whitebeard seems pissed by that and says, "Weakening? So that's your reason? It seems you have forgotten who I am."

Whitebeard grabs his Bisento and stands up before slamming his Bisento's handle on the floor strongly.

*BAM*

"I AM WHITEBEARD," shouts Whitebeard as he swings his Bisento toward Buggy with a hand.

Buggy also swings his left sword and blocks Whitebeard's attack. Both of their attacks clash and everyone there flinches as they feel the power of the clash. A silent shockwave spreads all over the place and they all see the cloud gets split like when Whitebeard clashes against Shanks.

Both of them don't continue their fight though. They just stay still while pushing each other before deciding to stop. Whitebeard puts his Bisento down and Buggy sheaths his sword in their scabbards again.

"Marco, let's go to an empty island. I will give this kid a lesson," says Whitebeard.

Buggy grins and turns around. He walks away while saying, "That lesson, I will gladly take it, if you can really give it to me. Let's see if it's me or you who will be taught something."

"Hmph, just prepare your crew well, kid. This will be a real war," says Whitebeard.

Buggy is quite surprised, but then he grins even wider. "Those bastards will be very happy by this."

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