Chapter 383: The Oriole? A Clown!

Whoosh—!

The sea wind howled.

Blowing over the chill from the glaciers.

The scalding magma surrounding Akainu slowly solidified; looking at Whitebeard, who still stood, his eyes held nothing but a sense of powerlessness:

"This fellow..."

"Never intended to leave alive from the very start."

"We thought ourselves the hunters, yet every move we made fell within Whitebeard's expectations."

"Perhaps the moment he stood alone to block us, he had already calculated that Fleet Admiral Sengoku would abandon Portgas D. Ace and instead turn his spearhead toward him."

"He even calculated that the Navy, having failed to achieve its strategic objectives, would choose to use his own head to consecrate their flag!"

"He even turned the tables on us, causing the situation to rot completely."

"Ah~"

Kizaru nodded; that lazy, unreliable air on his face vanished entirely, leaving only an indescribable solemnity in his eyes:

"In terms of sheer power..."

Kizaru turned his head, exchanged a glance with Gao Wen standing in the distance, then withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and continued:

"Whitebeard is no match for that monster."

He paused, then added another sentence:

"Not even close."

"In terms of strategic vision alone, Whitebeard is one of the few pirates on these seas capable of clashing with Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and even gaining the upper hand."

Aokiji fell silent, directly skipping over the topic of a certain someone, his face serious as he said:

"Yare yare~"

"Things have become extremely troublesome now."

"The pirates of the entire world will no longer be able to hold themselves back."

"The Navy has already suffered heavy losses previously; with only our strength, we may no longer be able to suppress this restless era."

"Perhaps..."

"Even those few in Mary Geoia will no longer be able to sit still."

None of the three responded; each harbored their own thoughts, intentionally ignoring the topics of the World Government and Mary Geoia.

Silence fell around them for a time, with only the sea wind blowing across the glaciers and magma, bringing a sensation of alternating cold and heat that felt incredibly contradictory.

With Whitebeard dead and his massive fleet leaving countless corpses behind, they had already broken through the Navy's encirclement and fled far away.

The sea waves churned.

Lei Li and Gab stood shoulder to shoulder at the stern, looking back at Marineford and at Whitebeard, who still stood there.

Thump—!

Lei Li took a wine flask from his bosom, removed the wooden stopper, and took a small sip, only for Gab to snatch it away and gulp it down in one go.

"You fellow..."

Lei Li shook his head helplessly; looking at Whitebeard's towering figure, he could not help but feel a touch of sorrow:

"After Luo Jie and Shi Ji, has Whitebeard also reached his end?!"

"The stories of us old fellows are drawing to a close one by one; the next to end might very well be you and me."

"What kind of depressing talk is that?!"

Gab paid it no mind whatsoever:

"If I could have such a grand funeral, I'd die with a smile on my face!"

"Can't you feel it?!"

"The satisfaction and pride on Whitebeard's face!"

"Compared to us, perhaps he is the one who best understood Luo Jie."

"After all, at the very last moment of their lives, they both made the same decision, wagering their lives to push the Great Pirate Era to its climax!"

"Waiting for the one and only person that era would birth..."

As he spoke,

Gab could not help but look toward the battlefield at Marineford.

The pirate ships were gradually moving away; even with his eyesight, he could only vaguely see the endless glaciers and the warships standing in the harbor.

The human figures had already become blurry.

Yet only a spirit soaring straight to the clouds remained, dazzling like a star within his perception!

"Whitebeard ah, Whitebeard at the peak of his combat power! To think there would be a day when he was suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe."

"Heh..."

Even now, Gab still felt somewhat dazed.

He had lived in the same era as Whitebeard, and had even fought against Whitebeard in his prime.

That kind of spirit, like mountains shouting and seas surging, as if heaven and earth were pressing down upon you—even recalling it now, his heart could not remain calm.

That kind of power had approached that of Rocks at God Valley.

Yet such a person could not even shake Gao Wen.

"Is he truly not the person Luo Jie was waiting for?!"

Lei Li shook his head:

"The person Lei Li waits for is not him; at the very least, it will not be a user of the Red Dragon Fruit."

"He's a Devil Fruit user too?"

Gaban's mouth twitched, and his estimation of Gao Wen rose yet another notch.

Rocks...

I'm afraid it still requires some more effort.

Recalling Luo Jie's final instructions before the Luo Jie Pirates disbanded, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt:

"With such immense power, does it even matter anymore whether he is the person Luo Jie was waiting for?!"

"Or to put it another way: even if the person Luo Jie awaited were to appear, would they stand a chance against him?!"

"This fellow..."

"... is a terrifying monster with no precedent in all of history!"

"I even suspect that, were it not for fear of the Ancient Weapon Uranus held by the World Government, he could single-handedly bring ruin to Mary Geoise."

"Even if the Five Elders joined forces, they might not be his match!"

"Gaban, you must know this, don't you?!"

Lei Li cut Gaban off, saying:

"Mere strength alone cannot save this world destined to sink beneath the sea."

"Even if he could replace the World Government and reshape heaven and earth, what meaning would any of it hold if the silent future remains unchanged?!"

Gaban opened his mouth, then fell silent as he gazed at Gao Wen in the distance; after a long pause, he withdrew his gaze.

"This truly is..."

"... a damn world!"

Marineford.

Upon the glaciers, corpses lay scattered everywhere.

Gao Wen stood at the center, sheathed his blade, glanced at the retreating Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines organizing a pursuit, then lost all further interest.

Crocodile and his crew had also taken advantage of the chaos to hijack a warship; they had already withdrawn from Marineford, moving even faster than the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Gao Wen made no move to stop them.

Rather than detaining Crocodile and his crew here, he looked forward more to the moment Crocodile would appear before him again.

This man had already proven his potential and had rediscovered his true self.

Barring any unforeseen events, his flag should one day sail these seas.

Gao Wen scanned the surroundings.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea, their battles concluded, chose to stand aside and quietly watch the Marines handle the battlefield.

Figures like Doflamingo even wore expressions of pure amusement, as though enjoying a show.

"Fufufufufu—!"

"So the Marines are the victors in the end, are they?!"