Chapter 284: The Wine Named "Hometown"!
The New World.
The Moby Dick was still sailing the sea.
Even though it was noon, the sky was pressed low by dark clouds, torrential rain poured down, and giant waves tens of meters high rose and fell continuously across the surface. The weather in the New World was always this unpredictable.
But for the Moby Dick, which had sailed these waters for decades, a mere rainstorm was nothing but a speck of dust.
"Pops, Jozu and Thatch's report is back. Even using underworld connections, they couldn't find any trace of Teach."
On the deck, Marco was reporting to Whitebeard.
And if one looked closely, they would find that most of the sixteen commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were actually not on the Moby Dick. Apart from a few commanders responsible for standing guard, only Marco and Whitebeard were on deck.
After hearing this, Whitebeard merely gave a faint "mm."
This left Marco bewildered. "Pops, are you sure Teach is still alive?"
"That guy's Vivre Card has already..."
What he was referring to was exactly what the Whitebeard Pirates had been busy with recently.
After leaving Dressrosa, Marco immediately informed Whitebeard of everything he had seen and heard there — especially regarding Teach.
But what surprised him was that after hearing this, although Whitebeard didn't react much on the surface, Marco — who knew his Pops very well — could tell.
His Pops seemed to care very much about this. Or more precisely, he seemed to have already guessed something.
But he didn't share his guess with Marco. Instead, he issued a captain's order.
"Use all means necessary to find Teach's whereabouts."
This was also something Marco couldn't understand.
From the memory of the "Balloon Vendor" Assoria, he naturally realized that Teach's death wasn't so simple. But dead was dead — the disappearance of a Vivre Card explained everything.
And the facts seemed to confirm his thinking. During this period, the Whitebeard Pirates and the crews under their command had used nearly all their resources. Even the Great Swordsman "Flower Sword" Vista had forgone watching the duel between Hebi and Hawkeye. But ultimately, they found nothing.
After hearing Marco's tentative inquiry, Whitebeard merely said calmly: "A Vivre Card means nothing, Marco."
"If that guy inherited that ambition, he definitely isn't dead."
Inherited? Ambition?
Marco frowned slightly, still not understanding.
"But Pops, the current situation on the sea..."
He genuinely intended to persuade him. The situation was becoming increasingly chaotic.
Especially the duel on Instein Island not long ago, and Red Hair clashing with a Marine Admiral — both had caused quite a stir in the New World.
Under these circumstances, even the Whitebeard Pirates needed to be strictly on guard.
"The situation on the sea... Gurararara!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"Those guys indeed did well — actually finishing off one of the Five Elders."
"Indeed, they really dare to do such a thing."
Marco sighed as well. Killing a Five Elder was no different from directly starting a full-scale war with the World Government.
But now the Government had clearly quieted down — at least not taking any drastic actions in the short term. From this alone, the deterrent power The Zodiac currently held was evident.
Thinking of this, Marco couldn't help but recall the Zodiac members he had seen in Dressrosa, as well as that Star Lord — who had recalled the souls of the dead from the Underworld, like a god.
"The Zodiac... truly remarkable."
Marco sighed.
But exactly as his words fell—
"Marco."
Whitebeard spoke softly. "Go get some wine."
"Huh?"
Marco almost suspected he had misheard.
He looked at Whitebeard in exasperation. "Pops, didn't we agree yesterday that you can't drink anymore? You can't joke around with your body."
He made up his mind that no matter what, he wouldn't let his Pops drink today.
But then he saw Whitebeard glare. "Foolish brat!"
"Inviting a guest onto the ship but not offering them wine — this old man doesn't remember teaching you such rules!"
His voice shook the entire deck.
Marco was stunned. "A guest?"
The moment the word left his mouth, he heard a voice from behind him.
"No need to be so polite."
That calm voice made Marco's body stiffen instantly.
Not just because his Observation Haki hadn't sensed anyone else on deck. More importantly — he had heard this voice before.
He slowly turned his head.
Then he saw an unbelievable scene.
The rainstorm sweeping the nearby sea was still continuing. But oddly, only around the Moby Dick, the wind and rain couldn't get close at all.
The dark clouds overhead seemed pushed aside by some invisible force, and a single ray of starlight spilled down through the gap.
Within that starlight, a figure was slowly emerging.
A figure wearing a mask, wreathed in flowing starlight. Marco recognized him immediately.
"Star Lord!"
He spoke in disbelief.
Yes. Even though the Thirteenth Division Commander Atmos and the Eighth Division Commander Namur were nearby monitoring sea conditions, the Lord of The Zodiac had already bypassed their vigilance and arrived on the deck of the Moby Dick.
"I am here to keep the appointment."
Star Lord casually cast his gaze at Whitebeard. "As a guest, I have also brought good wine."
He pointed a finger.
VMMM!
A wine glass appeared out of thin air before him. And from within, streams of clear liquid also materialized.
[Dream Creation · Cup of Dreams]
[Dream Creation · Starlight Wine]
"It won't affect your body."
Star Lord waved his hand, tossing the glass to Whitebeard.
Then he sat cross-legged, perfectly at ease.
"Gurararara? That sounds pretty good!"
Whitebeard caught the glass and smelled the liquid inside.
Then, without waiting for Marco to stop him, he raised his head and downed it in one gulp.
Gulp... Gulp... Hm?
As the wine entered his mouth, Whitebeard paused.
Because the hidden injuries accumulated over many years inside his body were actually starting to recover rapidly. Intense vitality radiated anew from within, making his entire body feel comfortable.
And at the same time, the rich aroma made him faintly feel as if he saw a place.
A dilapidated, barren place.
An island that had become a lawless land because it couldn't pay the Heavenly Tribute.
A place filled with orphans and corpses.
Edward Newgate had been one of those orphans.
That was where his childhood was.
He remembered that island. He remembered the things given to him by the other orphans he protected when he left.
It was a bottle of wine — extremely poor quality West Blue strong liquor found on the corpse of a bandit.
That was his first time drinking wine in his life.
"Cough, cough... Newgate! You must be careful at sea!"
"You must take care of yourself!"
"We can't come with you!"
Whitebeard still remembered his answer from that time.
"Everyone — you must do your best to survive!"
"I will achieve success and then come back. I will take the people on the island to a place isolated from the world — a place without war and danger!"
"We are people without a home, but I will create a home that belongs to us!"
That was the first promise he ever made.
Since then, Whitebeard had heard many flattering words, drunk much fine wine, and made many promises.
But to him, only that cup of wine at the starting point of his life's journey was the most deeply remembered.
"Hah... it really is..."
Whitebeard grinned.
Through the image reflected in the remaining liquid at the bottom of the cup, he saw his aged self and his crescent moon-like mustache.
"In the blink of an eye, it's been so many years."
He said this, then looked at Star Lord.
"The wine is not bad. What is its name?"
"Hometown."
"Gurararara — a very fitting name!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"I cannot drink such precious wine for free."
He gently raised his hand and punched.
VMMM!
Invisible vibrations erupted, shaking open the cabin doors at the back of the deck.
A massive red wine bowl, along with a bottle of wine that looked quite old, flew out on the tremors.
Seeing this, Star Lord's eyes flickered slightly.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was hailed as one of the strongest Paramecia abilities — "capable of destroying the world." Yet such a dangerous ability could be used by Whitebeard to fetch objects. From this alone, it was clear that this great pirate's mastery over his fruit had reached perfection.
"Star Lord — this old man has wanted to meet you for a long time. Gurararara!"
While speaking, the seal on that bottle of wine was also opened. The liquid spilled into the massive crimson cup, which then landed in front of Star Lord.
"You treated this old man to a rare fine wine, and it just so happens this old man has a cup of good wine here as well."
He slightly raised his hand to signal.
After seeing the gesture, Marco was stunned.
He naturally knew its meaning — Whitebeard wanted to talk to the other party alone and didn't wish to be disturbed.
Marco seemed to want to say something, but then saw Whitebeard's firm gaze.
He didn't say anything more. He merely turned and left silently.
But before leaving, he cast a doubtful glance at the already empty wine bottle. Pops actually still had wine hidden in his room?
Star Lord didn't concern himself with Marco's departure. He merely picked up the massive wine bowl placed before him.
He downed it in one gulp.
After putting the bowl down, he let out a breath. He rarely drank, but he wouldn't disrespect Whitebeard.
"Good wine."
After it entered his mouth, he found the taste even better than he had imagined — there was actually a hint of cola flavor in it.
But as he said this, he heard Whitebeard laugh heartily again.
"Good wine? This old man doesn't think so."
"This old man thinks this wine has a strange taste... but that guy did say it was specially made for you, and is just right as the wine left for you."
Beneath Star Lord's mask, Roy was stunned.
Made for him? And left for him?
At first, he almost thought Whitebeard meant something unsavory had been added to the wine.
But immediately after, his gaze went thoughtfully to the patterns that were clearly in the style of the Giant race. Speaking of which, he had felt this kind of wine cup was familiar since the moment he saw it.
And in his mind, he recalled where he had seen one before.
It was in Linlin's memory — during that banquet in Elbaf.
The answer came to him naturally.
"This bottle of wine was left by Rocks?"
(End of chapter)
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