White Ghost turned to look at Kalifa.
"I don't have a Devil Fruit suitable for you right now. The ones I have are more suited to men."
Kalifa adjusted her glasses.
"Captain, we can talk about it when the time comes."
Kalifa had completely given up on the World Government.
Because White Ghost had given her a piece of news.
Her father had tried to get her out, but Spandam and his father had interfered.
What kind of joke was that?
If she got out and exposed what Spandam had done, what would happen then?
So her father had been taken down too, on a fabricated charge.
She did not suspect White Ghost was fooling her, because she had received the news. Spandam and his father really had done it.
The Five Elders did not care about the schemes and infighting of the people below. They only cared whether you could get things done.
The reason Lucci and Kaku surrendered was simple.
White Ghost had said he would treat them like people.
White Ghost looked at Fukurou, and the Strength-Strength Fruit appeared in his hand.
"To be honest, you're more suited to something like a Zoan.
"You're skilled in the Six Powers and have a certain physical foundation. Although you aren't that strong, I still think a Zoan suits you better.
"But it depends on your choice. If you want to eat one now, I can give you this Strength-Strength Fruit."
Fukurou stared at the Devil Fruit in White Ghost's hand with burning eyes.
He wanted to nod, but the captain had already explained the pros and cons clearly.
He did not doubt the captain's judgment.
Look at the people on this ship. Which one of them didn't have a powerful aura?
Fukurou struggled for a while, then closed his eyes.
"Captain, then I'll wait. I'll follow what you said."
White Ghost chuckled.
"Train your body first. Having a strong physique is better than anything."
"Yes, Captain."
Fukurou lowered his head respectfully.
White Ghost looked at Kaku and the others.
"From now on, when you train, wear Seastone cuffs. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll suffer losses later."
"Yes!"
Lucci and the others nodded.
White Ghost remembered that in the original path, Lucci had been instantly beaten by Stussy using Seastone lipstick.
Once your resistance improved, try that again.
At most, you wouldn't be able to use your ability. Did they really think your whole body would become unable to move?
Kaku had also lost consciousness after being bitten once.
All that meant was that his will was not firm enough, and his body was not strong enough.
Let Stussy try biting Garp.
If she didn't break her teeth, White Ghost would livestream himself fighting the Five Elders alone.
Seeing his crew begin training very consciously, White Ghost was quite satisfied.
When he walked to the dragon head to bask in the sun, Kuro, Lafitte, and Galdino followed him up.
Lafitte poured him a glass of red wine.
"Captain, are we really not taking down Moria? Haven't you already made a Devil Fruit recovery plan?"
White Ghost gently swirled the red wine in his glass, letting it breathe.
"It's not time yet. Although I have a plan, it's still too early. That person still hasn't obtained that Devil Fruit."
Galdino poured himself a glass of wine.
Because he had some brains, White Ghost had included him in the strategy group.
"Captain isn't taking him down now because you're afraid of alerting the snake in the grass, or rather, worried about the World Government's reaction, right?"
Kuro wiped his glasses.
"Madam Robin's matter has already pushed the World Government's anger close to the edge. We can't keep teasing them."
White Ghost took a sip of wine.
"It isn't just Robin's matter. There was another incident that almost made the World Government lose control.
"But after they learned the Float-Float Fruit was in my hands, they suppressed their anger."
Lafitte and Galdino did not know what White Ghost was talking about.
Only Kuro knew.
After all, if that kind of thing happened in anyone's territory, it would be impossible to tolerate.
Kuro spoke calmly.
"According to what you said, I can't understand why the World Government would agree."
Flames appeared at White Ghost's fingertips.
Kuro's eyes narrowed.
"They want us and Lantern to fight each other so they can reap the benefits?"
White Ghost withdrew the flames.
"That's only one reason."
Lafitte and Galdino looked over as well.
They knew about Lantern.
White Ghost did not keep them in suspense.
"They want ambitious people like us to gather together so they can solve the problem in one go. That way, they can enjoy peace for a while."
"Yohoho. As expected of the World Government. Such vision and boldness."
Madness appeared in Lafitte's eyes.
Galdino was also deeply shocked.
"If it's really as Captain says, then how many people would die? Does the World Government have that kind of strength?"
White Ghost leaned back in his chair and answered him.
"They have that strength. And their strength is terrifying. Even now, I'm not confident I can hurt the Five Elders."
Kuro and the other two frowned.
They knew how strong their captain was.
If even he was not confident he could hurt the Five Elders, then just how frightening were those five people?
As the three were frowning and thinking, Issho walked up, holding a bowl of noodles. No one knew why this man loved noodles so much.
Slurp.
Issho ate a mouthful of noodles, sat down nearby, peeled garlic for himself, and said,
"Captain's Conqueror's Haki is showing signs of breaking through, isn't it?"
White Ghost sighed.
"It's hard. Very, very hard. Who knows how many people have been stopped at this step? How the hell did that guy Rocks train?"
Issho ate noodles with one bite and garlic with the next. Hearing that, he raised his head and looked at him.
"Is Captain too anxious, causing your mind to become unsettled? Don't we still have several years? Enough for us to prepare properly?"
White Ghost looked at the sky and did not answer.
He thought silently.
It was now the year 1515.
Ace still had two years before going to sea. Luffy still had three.
Those two brothers would stir the sea into chaos.
It seemed that from the time Luffy reached the Sabaody Archipelago, there would still be less than a year.
That meant he still had about five and a half years to prepare.
He had to plan around the Summit War.
As for whether that face-loving red-haired man would block the road?
When the time came, someone would naturally stop him. There was no need to worry about him.
During the Summit War, he could take down Teach in one move.
As for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, if he could get it, that would be best. If not, it did not matter.
Teach would be in his hands anyway.
He could just search later.
It was not as if anyone who obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit would become Whitebeard. The one who was strong was Whitebeard himself. The Devil Fruit merely assisted him.
Would he feel guilty toward Garp for supporting Ace?
White Ghost did not care.
He was already being roasted over a fire. Why would he still care about that?
Heaven and earth were vast, but the lives of his own people were the most important.
If his own people were about to die, should he still consider someone else's feelings?
Sorry. White Ghost did not have that kind of mood.
Seeing their captain thinking, the others did not disturb him. They stayed quietly to the side.
Issho continued eating noodles, as if he loved nothing else in the world.
While everyone was thinking to themselves, White Ghost opened his eyes and looked into the distance.
Issho also stopped what he was doing and turned toward the same direction.
Kuro and the other two were half a beat slower before they noticed and looked over as well.
At the edge of their vision, a pirate ship slowly sailed over. Two giant sea snakes pulled the ship forward from the front.
The flag on the pirate ship was a skull surrounded by snake heads.
"The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock."
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