Duel with Whitebeard

Then you may be disappointed, Yota thought to himself. He vaguely remembered one particularly interesting cover story: Enel’s Moon Adventure.

The Space Aliens there… how should he put it? They were simply pathetic. The seemingly advanced Space Pirate Crew had been wiped out by Enel in barely two moves.

Though that Space Pirate Crew certainly could not represent the highest level of the entire universe, it at least showed that the average strength of space pirates was not as terrifying as imagined. Great Pirates on the level of the Four Emperors might not be the very strongest in the universe, but they could still be considered overlords in their own right.

Naturally, Yota would not tell old Whitebeard such things. Besides, Whitebeard had struggled his whole life in his youth, and now that he was old, he only wanted to live peacefully with his sons. He likely would never have the chance to venture into space, so there was no point in saying anything.

Yota had not come here to make up nonsense about his origins in front of Whitebeard. He said to him, "Pops, I’m planning to leave the Whitebeard Pirates and look around elsewhere."

Whitebeard set down his sake bowl and glanced at Yota. "Makes sense. You’ve always been calm and cautious, but now that you possess this kind of strength, you surely don’t want to stay cooped up here in the New World."

Most of the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates were veteran pirates who had followed Whitebeard for twenty or thirty years. Forget the New World—aside from Laugh Tale, they had been to most places in the Pirate World. Naturally, they no longer had much desire for adventure.

But Yota and the other two were different. Though they had sailed all the way here as well, they had only traveled along one route. They still possessed a strong curiosity and thirst for adventure toward the entire Pirate World.

However, as members of the Whitebeard Pirates, they had also become thorns in the Navy’s side. Under normal circumstances, unless something important happened, they would not wander around freely.

Something like Ace hunting down Blackbeard had a reason behind it. Otherwise, it was nearly impossible for important members of the Whitebeard Pirates to appear in the first half of the Grand Line.

But Yota was different from before. Setting aside everything else, defeating Kaido of the Beasts alone was enough to prove his strength. A powerhouse of this level would have no trouble even traveling the seas alone.

Even if the Navy’s upper ranks mobilized in full force, while he might not defeat them, escaping would not be difficult.

The only question was, just how strong was Yota now?

As he thought this, Whitebeard had already clenched his fist.

"I understand that young people yearn for the sea and freedom… but if a fledgling wants to spread its wings and soar, it must first let the old bird see the strength of its bones and muscles!"

"This is not as simple as becoming a Squad Commander. The Whitebeard Pirates may offer tremendous protection, but they are also an exceedingly conspicuous target. If you want to sail freely across every sea, then show me your strength! Let me see whether you have what it takes!"

Yota curled his lip. He knew that after saying so much, Whitebeard was really just itching for a fight.

Otherwise, Whitebeard, who had already witnessed Kamui, should know that unless Yota encountered a Devil Fruit user capable of countering Kamui, he would never be in danger no matter where he went.

Yota stood up, his gaze shifting as he opened the gateway to the Kamui dimension. "Since Pops wants to test me, I naturally cannot refuse. Let’s find a suitable place."

Whitebeard smiled faintly and stepped through without hesitation. Yota followed close behind, and the spatial rift leading to the Kamui dimension then closed.

A cool night breeze swept by. Beneath the starlight, a spatial rift suddenly opened on an ordinary deserted island, and Yota and Whitebeard stepped out one after the other.

"What an impressive ability. It reminds me of that Mirror Girl from Charlotte Linlin’s family."

Whitebeard, having arrived on the deserted island, spoke with some emotion.

Though none of Charlotte Linlin’s Devil Fruit users could truly be called formidable in combat, she had quite a few Paramecia abilities with almost absurdly powerful support effects.

The Memory Fruit, the Book-Book Fruit, and the Mirror-Mirror Fruit—once the support capabilities of any one of them were brought into play, they could produce remarkable results. Even Charlotte Linlin’s own Soul-Soul Fruit could be considered half a support-type fruit.

This was something neither the Whitebeard Pirates nor the Kaido Pirates could compare with.

"The power of these eyes isn’t meant for support," Yota said. "But this ability is too dangerous. I won’t use it when fighting Pops."

"Gurarararara! Yota, are you looking down on Pops? You seem to have become much more arrogant than before."

"I’m only stating the truth." Yota looked up at Whitebeard. "Right now, even I don’t know just how strong I am!"

Hearing this, Whitebeard’s expression turned slightly serious, because he could tell that Yota was completely serious.

After speaking, Yota clenched his fists. Powerful Armament Haki instantly wrapped around both hands as he threw a punch!

Feeling the gale and piercing howl generated by the moving fist, Whitebeard faced the powerful shockwave head-on, and for a moment, it seemed as if he saw several of his old friends again.

Steadying his breath and focusing his mind, he likewise wrapped his fist in Armament Haki and struck out at full force without hesitation. With a thunderous boom, the large and small fists remained locked against each other for a moment before finally separating.

"Gurarararara! Little Yota, your strength is no weaker than mine, and your physique is even better. You can probably compare to that brute Kaido."

"But… you’re still missing one thing!"

As Whitebeard’s words fell, a fist wrapped in fine black lightning smashed down, instantly knocking Yota back.

"Conqueror’s Haki!" Yota said with a frown.

Even though his Armament Haki had reached perfection, his Observation Haki was no weaker, his physique surpassed Whitebeard’s, and he possessed the Dark-Dark Fruit, leaving him unafraid of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit’s power—

There was one thing Yota could never match Whitebeard and the other Four Emperors in: he did not possess Conqueror’s Haki!

Normally, given Yota’s current physical condition and mastery of the two forms of Haki, if he did not have the Chakra system and could only use one Devil Fruit, he would be roughly at the level of an ordinary Naval Admiral.

That meant he could fight a Four Emperor, but his chances of winning were basically low—at best, a forty-sixty or thirty-seventy matchup.

Yota had paid with one life, and under Teacher Kaido’s guidance, made all-around progress. Only then had his Haki crossed that threshold.