Setting Out Again

"That life force is terrifying. I feel like I’ve become more than ten years younger."

Rubbing his wound, Whitebeard looked somewhat astonished. There were plenty of monsters in the Pirate World with astonishing physical strength, but aside from Devil Fruit abilities, he had never seen anyone recover instantly from injuries like this.

Although the strong of the Pirate World also had powerful recovery abilities, they still needed some time. Instant recovery was not something one could train for.

"Mm… my recovery ability is indeed quite strong." Looking at Whitebeard’s expression, Yota felt that the old man now firmly believed his nonsense about being an Alien.

"Alright, Yota. It seems my worries were completely unnecessary. With your current strength, even going to Navy Headquarters Marineford would probably be no different from walking into your own courtyard."

Whitebeard waved his hand somewhat listlessly. The old man had been proud his entire life, yet in the end, he had been knocked down with one punch by a youngster young enough to be his grandson. No matter how broad-minded he was, he could not have felt good about it.

Seeing Yota’s hesitant expression, Whitebeard waved his hand. "Enough. I’m not some sore loser. Stop putting on that little-girl act here. You’re getting on my nerves!"

Hearing that, Yota did not stay to be an eyesore any longer. No matter what he said now, it would sound like mockery to the old man, so he hurriedly used Kamui to slip away.

"Alas, I truly am old. If I were young, I should be fired up and preparing to train until I surpassed that brat Yota… Unfortunately, I no longer have that drive."

Gripping Murakumogiri in his hand, Whitebeard felt both disappointed and gratified. "In the end, my era is coming to an end…"

"Hmm!? No, wait, where is this deserted island!? Yota, come take me back!"

It was not until the next morning, when Yota realized something was off, that he brought the fuming Whitebeard back.

Fortunately, most of the Whitebeard Pirates had drunk themselves senseless, and no one realized that their Captain Pops had spent an entire night on a deserted island in the cold wind.

"So why does Yota get to travel by himself!?"

At the farewell banquet, a pretty face filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment viciously tore into a chunk of meat on the bone, washing it down with gulps of alcohol now and then.

"If you can beat your father in a one-on-one fight, then you can go too!"

Ace, who had been snoring just moments ago, suddenly woke up and spoke to Yamato.

"Fine… In another couple of years, I’ll set sail on my own too!" Yamato shouted unwillingly.

Unlike Ace, who was now happily living among the Whitebeard Pirates, Yamato had always been confined in Wano Country. After finally setting sail, she had only traveled through the New World for a short time before being absorbed into the Whitebeard Pirates, so she still longed for the sea.

"Actually, if you want, you can come travel with me," Yota said after taking a sip of fruit juice.

"Uh, forget it. Let’s wait until we’re stronger. I don’t want to be dead weight," Ace said after thinking for a moment.

Yamato nodded as well. "That’s right. My goal isn’t that bastard old man anymore. One day, I’ll become as strong as you."

"Alright, then I’ll wait for you elsewhere on the seas." Yota nodded, knowing that Yamato and Ace both still cared about their pride.

He had no expectation that the two would ever grow strong enough to contend with him. Yamato and Ace both possessed first-rate talent, and it was entirely possible that they would one day reach the level of the Four Emperors.

But to reach his level, what they needed was not hard work, but cheats!

After the farewell banquet ended, Ace, Yamato, and the others watched Yota transform into an Azure Dragon and fly into the sky, and they could not help feeling somewhat lost.

"Huh, did Yota leave this behind?"

Thatch, the Fourth Division Captain who was also on good terms with Yota, looked at the small sack on the ground and lifted it in surprise. Several oddly shaped fruits rolled out from inside.

"Devil Fruits? So many!"

"And quite a few Ancient Zoans too… They must be Yota’s spoils of war!"

Aside from the Mythical Zoans he had kept and the rather unusual Mantis Shrimp Fruit, Yota had left all the remaining Ancient Zoans and ordinary Zoan-type Fruits aboard Whitebeard’s pirate ship. After all, those things would not be much help to him.

"First, I’ll go find those unreliable subordinates of mine… Hopefully, they haven’t scattered like birds and beasts."

The subordinates Yota was referring to were naturally the three people he had poached from the Beasts Pirates: Queen and the siblings Page One and Ulti.

To be honest, Yota did not have much hope for the three of them. Even if all three had run away, he would not have cared much. At worst, he would just kill them if he ran into them later.

However, Yota was actually underestimating himself. He was someone who had easily beaten Kaido one-on-one. To the members of a Four Emperors Crew, his deterrent power was far greater than he imagined.

Thus, when he arrived at the island where he had initially arranged to meet the three of them, he found that they had already prepared a ship and were obediently waiting there.

Well, they did not seem to be getting along very harmoniously. Ulti was clutching Page One by the neck and shaking him back and forth, and her poor little brother was practically about to foam at the mouth.

The Azure Dragon in the sky descended and transformed into Yota. He asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

When Ulti saw Yota descend from the sky, she froze slightly before releasing her grip. Only then did Page One finally take great gulps of air and recover.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." Ulti hid her hands behind her back and said with a grin.

Yota gave her a strange look but did not ask further. "Which of you is a navigator?"

Page One, who was still sprawled on the ground, slowly raised his hand. "I… I’ve studied navigation."

"Then you’ll command the ship." Yota nodded. "Let’s go to Punk Hazard first. Do you know that island?"

Page One nodded. "I do. Back when the Beasts Pirates traded with Doflamingo, we went there before."

"That’ll do. We’ll head there first this time. I need to pick up some things."

After saying that, Yota walked into the cabin. Only then did Ulti on the deck let out a sigh of relief.

Page One shook his head. "Good thing we didn’t listen to you, Sis, and run away. Otherwise, we’d really have been in deep trouble this time."

"What? He ignored us for so long, I thought he’d forgotten all about us already." Ulti rolled her eyes.