*Chapter 143: The Whitebeard Pirates' Tough Talk*

The massive ship in front of him left Kakashi stunned. He could already guess who these people were just by looking at the ship.

There aren’t many people on the sea who have a ship like this, especially with that pirate flag on top.

"I never expected this... It's the Whitebeard Pirates, isn't it?"

Kakashi put the book he was holding back into his ninja pouch.

He hadn't expected the Whitebeard Pirates to come all this way to find him.

And to intercept them halfway, too—aren't pirates supposed to care about their reputation?

He originally thought the journey would be smooth without any issues.

Now, a curveball had been thrown his way!

"Go inform Raijin; it’s not time for his break yet."

Kakashi spoke to a nearby Uchiha ninja on the ship.

There’s no way Raijin can continue sleeping now.

"Yes!"

The Uchiha ninja quickly turned and ran into the cabin.

They were also a bit shocked by the huge ship in front of them.

"Hey, you’re the ship from Dressrosa, right?"

At that moment, a head popped out from the Moby Dick, shouting at Kakashi.

This was clearly a low-ranking crew member, not even one of the officers.

"Uh! No, I think they headed in that direction."

Kakashi instinctively pointed in a random direction.

It’s said that people at sea aren’t that smart.

Maybe he could fool them this way.

“Hey, Pops, it seems the Dressrosa guys slipped away.”

The low-ranking crew member turned around and shouted.

Marco’s face twitched slightly—his underling seemed a bit dumb.

How could he say something like that? They had clearly seen that this ship was from Dressrosa.

How could it not be? This guy was obviously lying.

"Stop lying. You haven’t even taken down your Dressrosa flag."

"And you’re a ninja, right? Looking all strange like that, how could you not be from Dressrosa?"

Marco walked to the railing and shouted down at Kakashi.

These guys were really quick to lie, almost instinctively.

“I didn’t expect you to recognize us. That’s strange.”

“What brings the Whitebeard Pirates to look for the King of Dressrosa?”

“Are you here to deliver Jinbei to confess? If so, His Majesty the King has already said that he must kneel at the gate of the Dressrosa palace to confess.”

Kakashi sighed inwardly, surprised to encounter someone with a working brain.

The previous guy seemed like he could have been easily fooled.

But this one looked like he wasn’t going to be so easy. Kakashi also recognized him.

Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Captain, Phoenix Marco, a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user.

Raijin had always dreamed of obtaining this fruit.

Kakashi’s eyes flashed with lightning as he sized up Marco.

He was curious about this guy’s true strength.

“Heh, you sure have guts, you guys from Dressrosa!”

“Our old man is here, and you still dare to talk big.”

Marco chuckled lightly, sensing Kakashi's hostility toward him.

He had no interest in dealing with such people.

After all, Kakashi seemed weak.

This guy probably couldn’t even beat one of their division commanders.

“Why wouldn’t we dare? The Whitebeard Pirates are nothing to us!”

“Just a bunch of sea trash, not even enough to make us afraid.”

“By the way, where’s Jinbei? Shouldn’t he be coming out to confess by now? Doesn’t he care about Fishman Island at all?”

Kakashi sneered at Marco, realizing that this guy didn’t take him seriously.

But Kakashi wasn’t taking Marco seriously either.

No matter how arrogant he was, Kakashi didn’t think he would lose to this guy.

He was one of Konoha’s top geniuses!

Raijin entrusted him with a great responsibility!

Even gave him the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

If he couldn’t handle Marco…

How could he live up to Raijin’s expectations?

“Stop your nonsense.”

Marco’s expression changed. Insulting him was one thing.

But insulting the Whitebeard Pirates was something Marco would never forgive.

He decided to capture this guy and make him sincerely apologize in front of Pops.

Boom!

Marco stomped down, leaping into the air as his arms shook.

Blue flames ignited on his arms, turning into wings.

In an instant, he transformed into a hybrid form, charging at Kakashi with overwhelming power.

Sizzle!

Kakashi’s figure twisted into a bolt of lightning, shooting straight into the sky.

The speed of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was incredibly fast.

Almost comparable to the Glint-Glint Fruit!

As soon as Marco made his move, Kakashi was already gone.

“Lightning Blade!”

Lightning crackled around his hand!

Kakashi’s hand pierced through Marco’s body in an instant.

All of this happened in a single second.

At that moment, everyone on both ships was stunned.

“Marco!”

“Hey, hey, hey, is Marco okay?”

“That brat attacked him!”

Kakashi’s figure transformed back into lightning, returning to the ship.

It was as if he hadn’t moved at all!

This kind of speed could only be achieved by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Glint-Glint Fruit.

After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Kakashi had honed it to a high level using his experience with Lightning Release.

He could unleash terrifying volts of electricity.

And with the ninja’s Body Flicker Technique combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit’s speed...

Honestly, Kakashi didn’t know if anyone could keep up with him now.

Even his teacher, the Yellow Flash, might be a bit slower in comparison.

“Kakashi-sama, that guy doesn’t seem to be dead!”

At that moment, a ninja beside him reminded.

The blue-flamed phoenix in the air trembled slightly.

It looked like it might fall, but then stopped in mid-air.

“I see it.”

Kakashi nodded and squinted his eyes, staring intently at Marco.

The feeling of the Lightning Blade earlier didn’t seem quite right—this guy’s a Phoenix.

Could he really be immortal?

Next!

Kakashi noticed that the wound he had inflicted on Marco's chest wasn’t bleeding at all.

Instead, a blue flame appeared at the wound, gradually enveloping it.

This guy…

“You almost killed me!”

Marco lifted his head, a smug expression on his face as he looked at Kakashi.

The blue flame on his chest shrank, completely healing the wound. It looked just like before, with no trace of injury and no aftereffects.

Sweat dripped from Marco's forehead as he gazed in disbelief at the seemingly ordinary man below. This guy looks so young, without any powerful aura.

Even his Haki doesn't seem fully developed yet.

But unexpectedly, he’s incredibly strong, able to do something so astonishing.

If it had been anyone else, they would’ve been killed by this guy in that brief moment.

But luckily, Marco had the powers of the Phoenix Fruit.

“You’re lucky! Get lost before your luck runs out.”

Kakashi glanced at him, speaking calmly.

In the ninja world, people who act this arrogant usually get beaten up.

Looking at Marco now, it seems like he’s not far from a beating.

But!

This also served as a wake-up call for Kakashi.

The powers on the sea are bizarre!

His Rumble-Rumble Fruit isn’t invincible.

“You…”

Marco’s face showed anger, just as he was about to retort to Kakashi.

But a clear sound of vibrations came from behind him.

“Boom!”

“Marco, stand down!”

A powerful voice rang out, making Marco retreat to the ship.

And the vibrations hadn’t stopped yet.

“Boom. Boom.”

With each step, it felt like it was pounding on their hearts.

A tremendous pressure swept over Kakashi's entire body.

He had never felt anything like this before.

Even when facing Dracule Mihawk, he could stay composed.

He could even think of ways to gain an advantage over Mihawk.

But these vibrations had Kakashi sweating profusely.

“This is the world’s strongest man! He’s coming out.”

At that moment, a voice sounded beside Kakashi.

Kakashi turned his head and saw Mihawk standing next to him, staring at the Moby Dick.

Mihawk’s face was expressionless, looking as usual.

But Kakashi could clearly sense the battle intent burning in Mihawk’s eyes.

Heh!

This is frustrating!

I can't believe I didn’t have as much drive as this guy.

Was I scared just now?

The tension on Kakashi’s face eased a bit.

“The title of the world’s strongest man should belong to Lord Raijin, the Uchiha clan is the strongest.”

“A bunch of trash pirates—what right do they have to claim such a title?”

A childish voice chimed in again beside him.

Kakashi didn’t mistake it—it must be that Uchiha Izumi.

After all,

there’s no one on their ship who has awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Everyone else had already collapsed unconscious.

The only one left who could still speak beside them was Uchiha Izumi.

And with how much this guy idolizes Uchiha Raijin,

Kakashi couldn’t think of anyone else it could be.

“.”

Mihawk couldn’t help but glance at Uchiha Izumi.

How could this guy say something like that?

Didn’t you see how much trouble Lord Raijin had just fighting Charlotte Linlin?

And yet, you still think you can take the title of the world’s strongest from this man?

But Mihawk had spent enough time in Dressrosa.

He knew how fanatical the Uchiha clan was about Uchiha Raijin.

Some Uchiha even referred to Uchiha Raijin as a god.

“Boom!”

The figure stepped onto the platform, and everyone, including Kakashi, could see him clearly.

With a confident smile and a crescent-shaped mustache beneath his nose,

holding a giant naginata, his massive body

just standing there was enough to make people feel unsteady.

“Uchiha Raijin! I’ve come to see you personally, won’t you come out and meet me?”

Whitebeard glanced at the three of them, pausing longer on Mihawk and Uchiha Izumi.

But not finding his target, he immediately shouted.

His deafening voice echoed across the entire sea!

Waves rolled in.

Even the ships of Dressrosa swayed a bit.

“Lord Raijin just finished a battle and doesn’t have time to meet with lowly pirates like you.”

Uchiha Izumi’s eyes flashed with the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Susanoo armor on her body began to take shape.

It was clear she had no intention of informing Raijin.

She intended to stand as the vanguard for him.

Even against the so-called world’s strongest man.

“Gurararara. Little girl, you should stand aside. I’m not in the habit of bullying children.”

Whitebeard laughed, squinting at Uchiha Izumi.

She looked quite young, and the information they had said she was only ten years old.

Incredible!

At least more incredible than him!

He didn’t have such power at ten.

“Uchiha Raijin, are you really going to let a little girl stand in front of you?”

“Don’t make me look down on you. I came all this way, and you don’t even dare show your face?”

Whitebeard shouted again.

But the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were already getting restless.

Uchiha Raijin’s arrogance was too much!

Even now, when their father personally asked for a meeting, he still hid in the cabin.

“Creak.”

The cabin door opened slightly, and Uchiha Raijin stepped out.

He was wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt, having changed out of his battle gear.

He had even taken the time to shower inside.

“Edward Newgate. Sorry about that, I was just taking a bath!”

“And I don’t care how pirates see me. But if I’m looked down upon, I’ll make sure to change that perception in my own way.”

“Charlotte Linlin was the same way—always calling me ‘boy,’ so… I stepped on her shoulders and stood at the same height as you all.”

“So, old man, if you call me that again, make sure your sons live under your wing for the rest of their lives!”

Raijin pushed past Uchiha Izumi, walking in front of the three of them, coldly glaring at Edward Newgate.

It was because he hated that nickname that he chose to step on Charlotte Linlin’s shoulders to make a name for himself.

Now, even though Whitebeard was arrogant, Raijin planned to take some time to mess with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Let’s see if everyone on Whitebeard’s ship has as tough a mouth as he does.

Raijin was also quite interested in the Devil Fruits on Whitebeard’s ship.

“.”

The sea fell into silence.

The Whitebeard Pirates couldn’t believe that Raijin’s first words upon coming out were so arrogant.

He even threatened their father directly!

They had never seen someone so cocky.

(End of chapter)