The battlefield was silent. Marco, Jozu, Vista—these heroes renowned in the New World—now had no trace of their usual ferocity. Their untamed spirit had vanished, replaced by the blank stare of those whose faith had collapsed. They stood powerless, drowning in the immense grief of watching their father fall.
"Make your decision quickly," Takuro's voice broke the suffocating silence. He didn't speak with the swagger of a victor, but with an air of self-evident dominance. "Life or death?" He didn't elaborate, but his cold gaze and the faint, unsettling aura of Ki rising around him said it all. It was a simple choice: survival or total destruction.
"Surrender?! You're dreaming!" Diamond Jozu was the first to erupt. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like an enraged mammoth. "Pops was injured so badly by you! Even if all of us die in battle here, we will never bow to someone like you!"
"That's right! Avenge Pops!" another shouted.
"Let's fight him to the death!"
Grief and hatred instantly ignited the remaining commanders. They brandished their weapons and activated their Devil Fruit abilities. They knew full well they were outmatched, but the pride of the Whitebeard Pirates and their loyalty to their "father" demanded they choose the most tragic path—mutual destruction.
Looking at these men who, despite knowing it was a dead end, still burst forth with a desperate fighting spirit, a hint of surprise flashed in Takuro's eyes. It quickly turned into a strange sense of appreciation. He disliked spineless individuals, but he always held those with backbone and no fear of death in high regard.
"Oh?" Takuro raised an eyebrow, a playful smile reappearing on his face. "Quite spirited, aren't you? Is it worth sacrificing your lives for an old man who's about to die?"
"You're not allowed to insult Pops!" Marco sharply retorted. His blue regenerating flames burned fiercely, representing his turbulent emotions. As the First Division Commander, he still retained a shred of rationality and didn't immediately charge into a certain death.
"Insult?" Takuro sneered, as if the idea was ridiculous. He pointed toward the deep pit where Whitebeard's aura was growing weaker. "I'm stating a fact. His internal organs have been mostly corroded by my energy, and you know how many bones he has broken. His life force is draining away. With the medical standards of this world, even if that immortal phoenix uses all his flames, he won't be saved. He's as good as dead".
Takuro's words were like ice picks piercing the heart of every commander, shattering their last shred of hope. Marco's face turned pale. As the ship's doctor, he knew better than anyone how fatal those injuries were; they weren't just physical trauma, but carried a strange energy residue that continued to destroy Whitebeard's vitality. Despair, like the deepest ocean, submerged them all.
However, at the peak of this despair, Takuro's tone suddenly shifted. He threw out an option that caught everyone off guard. "However..." He drew out his words, watching their expressions freeze. "I can save him".
"What?!" Marco suddenly looked up, his blue eyes filled with extreme shock.
"You... what did you say?!" Jozu and the others were stunned, their fighting movements frozen in mid-air.
"I said, I can bring this old man Whitebeard back to life," Takuro repeated casually, as if he controlled the very threads of fate. "The condition is simple—all of you, every single one, surrender to me. Swear allegiance, and I will pull him back from the hands of Death".
A deathly silence followed. This condition exploded in the hearts of the Whitebeard Pirates like a thunderbolt. Surrendering to their father's killer was harder than dying. But if they could really save him, the weight of loyalty and salvation tore at their hearts. Everyone's gaze turned to Marco, their backbone in this moment of crisis.
Marco's body trembled. He looked at his father's ashen, dying face and remembered everything—the hearty laughter, the broad back, and the silent protection of his sons. Could he trust this man, or was this a cruel deception? Even so, it was the only hope they had.
Marco took a deep breath, meeting Takuro's gaze with desperate resolve. "You... can you really bring Pops back to life?"
"I, Takuro, never lie," the warrior answered decisively.
Marco closed his eyes, and when he opened them, there was only the stillness of determination. Slowly, he knelt on one knee. "If you can truly bring Pops back to life... I, Marco, am willing to lead the Whitebeard Pirates to pledge allegiance to you".
"Marco!" Jozu and the others cried out in surprise. Their faces were filled with struggle and pain. But looking at Marco's kneeling figure and their dying father, they eventually followed suit. One by one, they knelt down with a mixture of endless humiliation and a faint glimmer of hope.
Takuro looked at the kneeling powerhouses with a satisfied expression. He said no more, pulling an unremarkable, green-bean-like object from his pocket—a Senzu Bean. He flicked his finger, and the bean shot accurately into the pit, landing in Marco's hand.
"Give it to him to eat," Takuro commanded.
Marco looked at the small bean with doubt. Could this really save someone? He had no choice but to try. He carefully pried open Whitebeard's jaw and slipped the Senzu Bean inside. It melted instantly.
In the next moment, a miracle occurred. Whitebeard's shocking wounds and carbonized chest began to heal at a visible speed. Broken bones emitted faint crackling sounds as they rejoined themselves. His ashen face regained its color, and his vanished breath returned as a powerful torrent of life. In less than three seconds, he was completely healed.
"This... how is this possible?!" Jozu's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.
"Pops... his injuries are gone!" Vista's hand trembled.
On the deck of the Conqueror, Gion's heart was shaken. 'A Senzu Bean! This thing is even more terrifying than the rumors!'
Whitebeard's thick eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes slowly opened. He felt an unprecedented lightness and vitality. The old injuries that had plagued him for years and the fatal wounds from moments ago had simply vanished. He saw his sons surrounding him with tears of ecstasy.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the black-haired young man standing nearby. Takuro gave him a playful smile. "Awake? Old man Whitebeard. How do you feel? Your life, and the lives of your sons, are all mine now".
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