Chapter 300: World Number One

A new world.

The Whitebeard Pirates' outpost.

All the division commanders had gathered aboard the Moby Dick.

Ace, bare-chested, stood in the center of the crowd, appearing both composed and confident.

An invisible aura of dominance permeated the air around him.

Whoosh—!

The sea wind howled, causing the pirate flag to flap wildly.

Beneath the flag.

Whitebeard slowly spoke:

"Since Ace's strength has gained your approval, the long-vacant position of Second Division Commander shall be given to Ace."

"Who agrees? Who objects?!"

His deep voice fell, yet no one stepped forward from the surroundings.

During this period, Ace had already proven himself with victory after victory.

His combat power might temporarily fall short of Marco, Diamond Jozu, or Flower Sword Vista, but compared to the other commanders under Whitebeard, he was only stronger, never weaker.

Moreover, in the battles prior, Ace had already revealed the qualities of a king.

This made him the first existence within the Whitebeard Pirates, aside from Whitebeard himself, to possess the qualifications to become a king; his worth needed no further elaboration.

"Isn't that obvious?!"

"This guy is a monster through and through!"

"Before he even boarded the ship, he could fight that guy Jinbe for days and nights without a clear winner."

"Now, his strength will only be greater!"

Amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Ace turned his head, looking at Blackbeard nearby, a hint of apology in his eyes:

"Sorry, Teach, this position was originally meant for you..."

"No!"

Blackbeard smiled honestly, appearing completely unconcerned:

"I don't have that kind of ambition."

"Zehahahaha...!"

"Hmph."

Ace let out a sigh of relief; the unease originally in his heart gradually settled, and soon he was surrounded by the celebrating crowd.

Whitebeard raised the wine bowl in his hand, laughing as he shouted loudly:

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone responded in unison.

Marco, Little Oars, Thatch, and others immediately turned their focus onto Ace, and within moments, they had drunk him until he was thoroughly intoxicated.

"Hahahaha~"

"Even after becoming a division commander, Ace's alcohol tolerance is still this poor; that won't do~"

"You need to train~!"

Amidst the crowd's mockery, Ace slept soundly, a slight smile curling the corners of his lips.

It was at this very moment.

A news bird flew across the sky, dropped a stack of newspapers, and then, not daring to even collect payment, flapped its wings and soared away.

"What is this..."

Diamond Jozu picked up the newspaper from the deck, but the information on the front-page headline made him freeze on the spot:

"Hey, hey, hey, is this for real?!"

"What's wrong?!"

Flower Sword Vista, half-drunk and half-sober, leaned in close; as his gaze landed on the newspaper, most of the alcoholic haze on his face instantly vanished.

"The title of World's Greatest Swordsman has changed hands; Knight Gao Wen steps over Hawk-Eye to take the throne?!"

He snatched the newspaper from Jozu's hand, and looking at the figure in the photo who appeared excessively young, he momentarily didn't know what to say.

Countless people cultivated the way of the sword across these seas.

Flower Sword Vista was confident he was one of the outstanding few among them, yet he also clearly understood that an insurmountable distance still lay between himself and Hawk-Eye.

But this did not hinder his determination to reach the summit and witness the peak of swordsmanship.

Yet before he even had the chance to cross blades with Hawk-Eye, the title of number one had already changed hands, and the one who ascended was merely a newcomer who had only debuted a few years ago.

"I really want to cross swords with him once!"

"To see just how sharp the blade that cut down Hawk-Eye truly is!"

"Wait!"

Vista's breath hitched:

"If I remember correctly, the man who defeated the Jin Shizi a few months ago was also Knight Gao Wen!"

"Does this mean that within just a few short months, he consecutively crushed a legend from the previous era and the number one swordsman of this era?!"

"This guy..."

He glanced up at Whitebeard, and seeing the latter's gaze drop upon him, he continued:

"There's even a possibility of becoming a King!"

"I have this intuition!"

As Bista's voice fell, the expressions on everyone's faces did not change in the slightest, filled only with confidence in Whitebeard.

"Old Man won't lose to anyone!"

"That's right!"

"As long as Old Man doesn't die, no one can get past us!"

Everyone spoke in turn, one after another, and simply skipped over the matter.

Blackbeard sat aside, the wine bottle in his hand frozen in mid-air, gripped very tightly, very tightly...

Boom!

The bottle burst, splashing wine all over Blackbeard.

The crowd around panicked and scattered, but turned back to see Blackbeard's apologetic face.

"Sorry, everyone."

Seeing Blackbeard still wearing that same honest smile, everyone could only helplessly shake their heads.

After all, Blackbeard was a veteran on the ship and famously a good-natured man, so no one was willing to argue the point with him.

Just.

What no one noticed was.

Blackbeard's palms were seeping with thin streams of fresh blood, and his eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.

Then when exactly will my era come!?"

Pretending to be foolish and obedient for over twenty years, I've almost forgotten my original purpose for boarding this ship!

Hiss—!

Blackbeard took a deep breath to calm his inner emotions, turned back, and saw Whitebeard's gaze as if it saw through everything.

He shivered, immediately restoring his usual honest appearance, withdrawing his claws and ambitions entirely, and smiled:

"Old Man~"

"Mm."

Whitebeard nodded, then returned his gaze to Ace.

He naturally knew that Blackbeard had always been plotting something, concealing his own ambitions.

But to Whitebeard, no matter what ambitions Blackbeard had, they were no different from anyone else on the ship.

He was his son.

The one iron law on this ship was that one must not strike a comrade; as long as Blackbeard didn't touch that point, it was enough.

Just.

Hearing Gao Wen's name again, Whitebeard still couldn't help but pay a bit more attention.

The last time he heard that title was a few months ago when Jin Shizi met his end.

At that time, he only thought he was a fairly decent young man who gave Jin Shizi a peaceful end.

But only a few months passed, and Gao Wen claimed the title of the world's greatest swordsman; the speed of his rise was unmatched even in the era of Rocks.

Whitebeard suddenly became interested.

He raised his hand and took the newspaper from Bista, glanced at it briefly, and saw a familiar figure in the photograph on the paper.

"This face... Rayleigh!?"

The Rayleigh in the photo looked much older, his attire different from twenty years ago, blending into the crowd as just another background figure.

Yet Whitebeard still recognized at a glance the man who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Roger:

"So you've been hiding in the Sabaody Archipelago all along!?"

"So..."

Whitebeard turned his gaze to look at Gao Wen in the photograph.

Holding a blade in one hand, expression indifferent, posture relaxed, yet carrying a pressure that made one's heart race inexplicably.

"So this is the person you are waiting for?"

A smile curled at the corner of Whitebeard's mouth.

Having already identified Gao Wen as the person Rayleigh was waiting for, he couldn't help but look forward to seeing how far Gao Wen could go.

Would he be like a meteor, shining brightly then falling quickly, just like Moria and Crocodile once did?

Or would he truly become the supreme power that turns the tide of an era?

"A new era? Truly something to look forward to!"

"However..."

Whitebeard turned to look at Ace, his eyes filled with an indescribable expectation:

"The future stands on my side."

"Gurararararara—!"

At the same time.

Inside the World Government, within the CP organization.

Spandam looked at the newspaper he had just obtained and couldn't help but make a constipated expression.

"Even that Hawkeye..."

His face turned deathly pale, and he even began to regret why he had acted on impulse back then, wagering everything he had.

Ending up in this current predicament where mounting a tiger makes it hard to dismount.

He had never experienced the legendary era, so regarding the threat of the Jin Shizi, he did not possess the same strong sense of reality as his father, Spandam.

But Hawkeye was different; this guy's title before becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was Marine Hunter. Yet, he targeted not merely the Marines, but all forces under the World Government.

The head of the previous generation's CP organization was slain by Hawkeye, to the point that even now, the CP organization speaks of Hawkeye with terror.

And now you tell me that monster-like Hawkeye was defeated by Knight Gao Wen, and my mission is to snatch someone from under Knight Gao Wen's nose?

Isn't this just tired of living?!

"It's over now; if I can't capture Demon Gin, how am I supposed to report back?!"

"If I do capture Demon Gin and Knight Gao Wen finds out, a hundred lives wouldn't be enough to die..."

"I'm going to die~ I'm going to die~ I'm going to die~"

Spandam paced back and forth in his office like an ant on a hot pan.

Seeing this, Roubo Luqi spoke up at the right moment:

"This matter actually isn't without other solutions."

Spandam's eyes lit up:

"What solution?!"

"The deed must be done, but you can choose to do it poorly; after all, those above also know that with our strength, there is a high probability we won't succeed."

"If he still has use for you, the people behind him won't make things difficult for you because of this."

"It's useless."

Spandam shook his head:

"They only look at results, not the process; to that person, the CP organization is nothing more than a tool to be used, and once the mission fails, everyone who knows will be erased."

"After all, this matter cannot see the light of day, and there is no safer retreat than a dead man."

"In the end, it's still a dead end."

Spandam slumped down dejectedly, his face deathly pale, his body trembling continuously, clearly terrified to the extreme.

Roubo Luqi was not surprised by this in the least and said with full confidence:

"Under normal circumstances, if a Celestial Dragon from Mary Geoise wants something, they would absolutely not contact you secretly in this manner; they would simply issue an order, and the entire World Government would start moving for it."

"The fact that they found you under those circumstances indicates that someone does not wish to see him succeed, and this person must be an existence of equal or even higher status."

"I, however, think..."

"Since this matter cannot see the light of day, why not let it see some light?"

"You mean... I understand!"

Spandam immediately jumped up excitedly, looking at Roubo Luqi with an indescribable sense of awe in his eyes.

Originally, in his eyes...

Roubo Luqi was a nearly perfect tool, yet lacking slightly in this aspect, but seeing him today, that was not the case.

This man excelled not only in power but also in intellect!

"From today onward, you are the leader of CP9!"

"I say it!"

Finding life in a desperate situation, Spandam was so excited he jumped up on the spot, completely failing to notice Roubo Luqi's gaze, which looked upon him as if he were already a dead man.

These words were naturally not thought up by Roubo Luqi himself, but were arguments prepared for him by Xiang Keluo, which now served their purpose perfectly, shifting the CP organization's attention elsewhere.

After all, a threat that can be strangled in the bud is best strangled.

Seeing that Spandam had taken the bait, Roubo Luqi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, while also silently praising the precision of Xiang Keluo's calculations.

He had calculated almost every one of Spandam's reactions.

It was just that...

For Roubo Luqi now, what was more important was to find out exactly who had taken an interest in Gin's abilities and for what purpose...

He could feel that he was already very close to the truth.

Roubo Luqi murmured in a low voice, his gaze falling upon the newspaper Spandam had placed on the desk.

He looked at the words "World's Greatest Swordsman" marked in bold, heavy ink on the newspaper, and the young face beneath those words.

A look of shared pride inevitably appeared on his face.

"Since the Captain has advanced another step, I must also hurry up on my end."

"Being the leader of CP9 is not enough; I must at least become part of the core decision-making layer within CP0, or even the captain of CP0!"

Gran Tesoro.

Lord Tai Zuo sat on the sofa.

His deputy, Baccara, who also served as his secretary, stood beside him, orally reporting on recent developments.

It was just that...

With every sentence Baccara spoke, Lord Tai Zuo's brows furrowed a little deeper, until...

Bang!

Lord Tai Zuo set down the wine glass in his hand and reached up to rub the center of his brow.

"In other words, according to the intelligence we've gathered, the partners for the Martial Arts Tournament are two emperors of the underworld? The Queen of Pleasure Street and the Loan Shark King, D-Field?!"

Bakara nodded:

"That's right."

"With our strength, we can handle those two families, but the cost of forcing them out would be enormous."

"Not only would it not be worth the loss, but it might also provoke action from Knight Gao Wen."

"That is what worries me."

"Tsk—!"

Tai Zuo Luo curled his lips.

As for Gao Wen, he felt an inexplicable surge of irritability in his heart.

"Is there any other way to handle this?!"

Bakara shook her head and couldn't help but advise:

"Lord Tai Zuo, the best approach now is still to approach them with sincerity and seek cooperation, rather than following our previous method of swallowing them whole, bones and flesh."

"Moreover, I wonder if you've seen the recent news?"

"What news?"

"That Hawk Eyes was defeated, beaten by Knight Gao Wen!"

Tai Zuo Luo's whole body trembled; he slowly sat up, his expression gloomy.

"That Hawk Eyes..."

"Ah."

Bakara nodded, her expression utterly Solemn:

"If the previous Jin Shizi could be excused as old and frail, his strength greatly diminished, with a Navy Admiral present..."

"Then defeating Hawk Eyes proves that man already possesses the power to rival the Four Emperors; the only gap remaining between him and the Emperor of the Seas is his sphere of influence."

"Expanding his sphere of influence, building a fleet, enlarging his own impact..."

"All of these point to one thing..."

"Money!"

"Investing in a Four Emperor, especially one known as the most righteous man of the East Sea, is a profit-guaranteed business no matter how you look at it!"

(End of Chapter)