Chapter 146: Selling Out to the Navy with a Smile

Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates was watching Jinbei's actions, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Wasn't Jinbei the one who said he would only ever follow Pops for the rest of his life?

What was he trying to do now? Betray the Whitebeard Pirates?

"From today onward, I, Jinbei, am leaving the Whitebeard Pirates. I ask for Pops' permission."

Jinbei held out a bowl of sake, but the hand holding the bowl was trembling constantly.

Some sake spilled out, but at that moment, no one cared.

"Pops gives you permission!"

Whitebeard silently closed his eyes and spoke.

Suddenly, the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew erupted into an uproar. They never expected that Jinbei would actually take the initiative to leave the Whitebeard Pirates.

This had never happened before in the history of the Whitebeard Pirates; no one had ever dared to leave.

Jinbei was the first, but they believed he would also be the last.

"Thank you, Pops. I hope that when we meet again, I can still call you Pops."

Tears welled up in Jinbei's eyes as he suddenly knelt on the ground and bowed to Whitebeard.

He knew that what Whitebeard had done for Fishman Island and all the sacrifices he had made couldn't be repaid with just a bow.

But this was all Jinbei could do.

"It looks like Dressrosa is gaining another ally."

"But Jinbei, you must apologize for the sins you’ve committed against Fishman Island."

"But let's talk about that once we get to Dressrosa."

Raijin smiled as he spoke.

Jinbei turning to him for help was something Raijin hadn't expected.

If Raijin had truly wanted this outcome, why would he have invited Charlotte Linlin to fight against Whitebeard?

Raijin glanced at Whitebeard with a bit of regret, realizing that his real goal was to take down the Whitebeard Pirates.

Just conquering Fishman Island wouldn't satisfy him.

Oh well, maybe there will be another chance in the future.

"I understand," Jinbei replied with a slight pause, realizing what Raijin was implying.

What Raijin was suggesting was undoubtedly kneeling in the palace to apologize.

While it might seem humiliating to others, Jinbei was carrying the fate of Fishman Island on his shoulders.

He would not refuse such an extreme demand from Raijin.

"Let's go!"

Raijin turned to head back to the ship.

Whitebeard had too many concerns, but Raijin was flawless.

As for the Uchiha clan, with the East Blue and Skypiea as fallback options, even if Raijin couldn’t win against the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World, he could rise to power elsewhere.

But Whitebeard didn’t have that option. The sons on his ship were collected over thirty years.

Even if he wanted to run, he had no capital to do so.

Neither the pirates of the New World nor the Navy would allow Whitebeard to run away.

The Whitebeard Pirates' ship fell silent as they watched Raijin and his crew leave.

Bang!

At that moment!

A loud rumble shook the Moby Dick.

It was like an earthquake, and everyone on the ship almost fell onto the deck.

They looked toward the source of the shaking and saw that towering man suddenly raise a smile.

"Gurararara! Kid, since you’ve taken Jinbei from me, does that mean I can take back my son from you?"

"There’s only been one case of someone leaving the Whitebeard Pirates..."

"And I won't allow a second!"

Whitebeard burst out laughing, his sharp eyes filled with a stinging intensity.

His unexpected words were entirely in line with his character.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"Hahahahaha, of course, that’s no problem."

"Whitebeard, I’m really looking forward to facing you in the New World."

"If the sea were without someone as strong as you, it would be so boring."

"I’ll do a little screening of your shrimp soldiers and crab generals on your ship."

Raijin looked at Whitebeard and laughed out loud, not expecting him to say something like that.

But since he planned to take Fishman Island from him, Raijin had no objections.

He was just wondering how he’d fight Whitebeard in the New World.

And now Whitebeard had thrown down the gauntlet!

"Kid, you can have the strong ones from Fishman Island! But you should know that I am the strongest man in the world."

"Don’t think that just because you defeated Linlin, you can be arrogant in front of me!"

"That level of strength isn't enough!"

Whitebeard sneered.

His words completely reassured the members of the Whitebeard Pirates.

They originally thought Pops had abandoned Jinbei, but now they realized he was planning to take him back from Raijin.

With that, the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates would not hesitate.

"Ohhh, Pops, I knew you wouldn’t give up on Jinbei."

"Hahahaha, we’re pirates, after all. If someone steals our brothers and sisters, we should steal them back."

"Damn, I was really worried we’d never see Jinbei again. Now I feel relieved."

"Hahahaha, what’s so great about a mere member nation of the World Government? Watch as we Whitebeard Pirates break through and take back Fishman Island."

"Jinbei, wait for us! Some wet-behind-the-ears kid dares to declare war on the Whitebeard Pirates. This is a first! Let's show him what real strength looks like."

Suddenly, the Whitebeard Pirates erupted in excited roars.

They were thrilled by Pops’ sudden declaration of war.

They had already been prepared to strike at Dressrosa at any moment.

But Pops hadn’t shown his intent, leading them to wonder if something was holding him back.

They were wrong.

Pops was still Pops.

There was no way he would submit to some kid.

This kid wasn’t even worthy to lick Pops’ boots.

There was no way the Whitebeard Pirates would bow down.

---

The waves of shouting caused Raijin to curl his lips into a cruel smile.

He turned his head and committed to memory all those who had just spoken arrogantly to him.

When he gets back, he'll go through the wanted posters and sentence them to death.

Whether others live or die doesn't matter, but these people must die.

"Good! Whitebeard, it seems you didn’t take my words to heart earlier!"

"I hope by then you won’t be on your knees begging me to spare your son."

Raijin sneered coldly!

He hated being called a kid!

He knew it was meant to belittle him.

But as a Uchiha, how could he not have pride?

He had always been called a kid—being called that over and over.

It really annoyed Raijin to the point where he wanted to gouge out the eyes of those who looked down on him.

There had been a collision between the Whitebeard Pirates and Dressrosa ships.

Yet, nothing seemed to have been reported on the sea!

Instead, one piece of news completely squeezed out the story of their battle.

It was that Fish-Man Island had become a subsidiary of Dressrosa, and even Jinbei of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was willing to withdraw and become a lackey of Dressrosa.

The news agency even captured a photo of Jinbei kneeling below Dressrosa's royal palace.

Instantly, the sea was in turmoil. No one knew what had happened.

This time!

Even Sengoku started to get anxious.

They had almost recruited five of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Uchiha Raijin, Crocodile, Boa Hancock, Gecko Moria, and Jinbei.

As for the others, there wasn't a trace of them!

Now, instead of adding another, they lost one. What does that mean?

Although Jinbei had joined Dressrosa, nothing much changed.

But this didn’t look good for their Seven Warlords of the Sea title!

Was the Seven Warlords something anyone could join or leave as they pleased?

It was a slap in the face for both the World Government and the Navy.

"Raijin, can't you reconsider this matter? I won’t meddle in the small issue of Fish-Man Island, but Jinbei can't leave the Seven Warlords of the Sea position."

"The Seven Warlords already aren’t fully gathered, and now losing another one would cause a big uproar."

"Besides, the reputation you’ve built up with much effort might go to waste."

Sengoku asked while sitting in the conference room and looking at the Den Den Mushi in the middle.

The World Government hadn't said anything yet, so he planned to see if Raijin could release him first.

If Raijin could release him, that would be the best.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Jinbei decided to quit on his own; I didn't make him do it."

"I don’t mind being on equal footing with him, but it seems like he is under a lot of pressure, so he decided to step down."

Raijin shook his head and spoke to Sengoku.

"You should talk to Jinbei. The position of the Seven Warlords isn't something you can take and leave at will."

"This sea isn’t child’s play. If he doesn't want to stay, he should wait until we’ve filled the position, and then he can step down."

Sengoku gritted his teeth and said. He hadn’t expected that it was Jinbei who wanted to drop the burden and not do it anymore.

That guy really had no sense of vision.

If Dressrosa were bullying him, he could have come to the Navy for help.

Sengoku could completely protect him, as the Navy wanted him to draw a line between himself and Whitebeard.

As long as he handed Fish-Man Island over to Raijin, all troubles would be solved.

But instead, he ran off without saying a word. How does that make sense?

Their previous investment in Jinbei—what does that count for now?

Did they just suffer this loss for nothing?

"Actually, I know someone who could replace Jinbei!"

Raijin spoke up.

The Navy executives in the conference room frowned.

They could guess that it was probably someone from Dressrosa.

But the Navy absolutely did not intend to recruit people from Dressrosa.

"Are you talking about Tsunade?" Sengoku squinted his eyes and asked.

But Tsunade is already a candidate for Navy admiral.

No matter how you look at it, she isn't suitable to be a Seven Warlord of the Sea.

The Navy wouldn’t want to send her away either.

They had no idea how many resources they had spent on the Mori Mori Fruit.

Just the investment in that Logia fruit alone had already caused a loss for the Navy.

Sengoku would never agree to hand over Tsunade.

"Of course not! As far as I know, there is someone whose strength is comparable to a Navy admiral and who holds a sense of Navy justice in his heart."

"It’s just that because of the Navy's current darkness and its ugly alliance with pirates, he didn’t join the Navy."

"This guy is extremely powerful, with a Paramecia-type fruit ability and exceptional Kenbunshoku Haki."

"If it were him, he would definitely be willing to take on the task of the Seven Warlords and help cleanse the sea."

Raijin thought for a moment and suddenly smiled.

He had sent Tsunade into the Navy; there was no way he’d let her come out and act independently.

The Mori Mori Fruit alone wasn’t enough—Tsunade's value was far greater than that.

But when Sengoku mentioned the Seven Warlords' position, he suddenly remembered the future Navy admiral Fujitora.

That guy definitely qualified to be one of the Seven Warlords, and his strength went far beyond that.

"The Navy's darkness and ugliness..."

Sengoku's face darkened slightly, and his eyes swept across the conference room.

Immediately, everyone instinctively looked away, not daring to meet Sengoku's gaze.

They were afraid their acknowledgment might be noticed by Sengoku and get them into trouble.

However, Kuzan seemed intrigued. He adjusted his visor and looked at the Den Den Mushi in surprise.

There was actually someone like that on the sea!

A person with justice in their heart but who refused to join because of the Navy’s corruption.

What an interesting person!

"We can't have such people in the Navy," Sengoku quickly collected himself and said to the Den Den Mushi.

"Raijin, tell us who that guy is. We'll have the Navy go find him."

He was eager to see who this person was.

Someone who could be praised so highly by Uchiha Raijin.

He must be quite capable.

"Two Zoan-type fruits and one Paramecia-type fruit; this is a deal, not compensation."

"After all, Jinbei’s departure from the Seven Warlords wasn’t because of my demand, so this information isn't free."

Raijin chuckled.

To profit greatly from just a piece of information—now that wouldn't be a bad deal at all.

After all, for someone like Fujitora, Raijin was only interested in his fruit.

As for the person himself, he couldn’t care less.

This guy had excellent strength, but he was a bit too righteous.

Dressrosa was not a place for the righteous.

Inviting Fujitora to join Dressrosa was unlikely to happen.

Selling this information to the Navy was the best option.

"Deal!" Sengoku nodded without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)

---