"Rivals"—this word has almost defined the entire history of the One Piece world.

And at the top of the list of greatest rivals stand the "Pirate King" and the "Hero of the Marines"—Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp.

One fled, one chased—neither could escape the other.

From being simple enemies at the very beginning, they gradually developed a strange relationship that was both adversarial and friendly—one where they could even entrust each other with their wives and children.

Undoubtedly, they were the only pair of mortal enemies in history to ever reach this point.

As for Sengoku, the other pinnacle of the Marines, his mortal enemy was Whitebeard.

From his younger days, Sengoku had frequently clashed fiercely with Whitebeard on the open seas.

However, after Whitebeard left the Rocks Pirates and established the Whitebeard Pirates, and Sengoku became an admiral, the two of them rarely had any opportunities to cross paths.

Especially for Sengoku, battles had become a rarity.

Their relationship wasn't as convoluted and frustrating as the one between Roger and Garp.

Theirs was purely a pursuer-and-pursued dynamic—when they met, the only thing that followed was a fight to the death.

This was precisely why Sengoku reacted so strongly when Michael suggested that the Marines cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates.

His beloved son had truly embarked on the path of trolling his old man!

"Brrrring brrrring, brrrring brrrring."

Sure enough, within seconds, the Den Den Mushi in Michael's hand began ringing.

Answering it leisurely, Michael remained silent, waiting for Sengoku to speak first.

"...Michael, are you seriously not messing with me?" Sengoku's voice trembled slightly.

Who knew how much mental preparation he had gone through in those few seconds.

"Why would I mess with you old man? Tell me, since I was a kid, when have I ever joked around with you about something this serious?"

Michael's words forced Sengoku to fully face reality.

This kid genuinely intended to cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates!

Though he had already discussed it with Tsuru—that whatever Michael wanted to do, they should let him do it, even if it was unorthodox…

But this wasn't just unorthodox…

This was outright defiance of the natural order!

"You brat… sigh. What exactly do you hope to gain by cooperating with the Whitebeard Pirates? Even if a pirate crew possesses formidable strength, they're still pirates at the end of the day. What help could they possibly offer us?"

"To be precise, this is a three-way collaboration. Don't just exclude the Ryugu Kingdom, old man," Michael said with a laugh.

"In any case, the Marines absolutely won't be at a disadvantage—in fact, we'll likely benefit the most… All you need to do is grant me full authority."

Michael's explanation was vague, almost as if he was deliberately speaking in riddles to Sengoku.

But after a moment of contemplation, Sengoku ultimately decided to firmly place his trust in Michael.

If he couldn't even trust Michael, then who could he trust?

"...Fine. What authority do you need?" No sooner had Sengoku spoken than he shook his head.

"Never mind. Rear Admiral Michael, hear my orders. From this moment, you are temporarily granted the authority of a Marine Admiral and Acting Fleet Admiral… Don't let me down, Michael."

"Just you wait and see."

With that, Michael ended the call, giving Sengoku no chance to continue rambling.

Now that he had the authority, there was no time to waste…

Once Sengoku saw the detailed report Michael would eventually send back, the old man would probably be so thrilled he'd jump for joy.

Next up was to persuade—

No.

To help the Ryugu Kingdom and the Whitebeard Pirates recognize reality.

*****

"Ne—p—tune, hohohohoho!" Neptune held a massive wine cup, clinking it against Whitebeard's enormous sake dish.

"Whitebeard, it's been far too long since we last met!"

King Neptune, though a good king and father, was still a bit too eccentric for his own good.

Who knew what kind of quirk it was to enjoy stretching out his own name like that.

"Gurararara! Neptune, you old fool, you've grown even bigger than when you were young!"

Whitebeard had already cast aside the recent battle, laughing heartily alongside Neptune.

"This is a sight I've truly never seen before!"

Garp watched Neptune and Whitebeard, inexplicably breaking into laughter himself.

Those who had watch one piece knew one thing well—whenever the pirates gathered in a relatively relaxed setting, be it the Straw Hat crew, the Red Hair Pirates, the Roger Pirates, or the Whitebeard Pirates...

There was an overwhelming chance one event would be triggered...

Some fool named Luffy, or someone with a similarly reckless personality, would inevitably shout...

"Let's have a feast!"

And now, it was a banquet hosted by the Ryugu Kingdom, held within the halls of the Ryugu Palace.

Whether they were Marines, members of the Whitebeard Pirates, or the merfolk and fishmen of Ryugu Palace, what had once been clear divisions had now dissolved into a drunken mess.

Michael's lips twitched.

At this moment, he sat sandwiched between Neptune and Whitebeard, appearing so small in comparison...

Damn it all, a 12-meter-tall fishman and a 6-meter-tall mutated human!

What's the point of growing so damn tall for no reason?

Is gigantism some kind of virtue or something?

Michael silently rolled his eyes while once again evaporating the alcohol spilling from the massive wine dishes and cups clashing above his head.

Bloody hell!

"Oh? Angel brat, why aren't you drinking with us?" Whitebeard let out a drunken hiccup as he turned to Michael beside him.

"Even Garp here has had his share... Are you really not touching a drop?"

"Just keep drinking, you old bastard. Drink yourself to death and I won't need to cooperate with you anymore!" Michael glared viciously at the world's strongest man. "Obviously if I get drunk too, who's going to... negotiate our cooperation?"

"That's your reason for not drinking? So the game begins with the drinking itself?"

A look of surprise crossed Whitebeard's face.

"Obviously. When others are drunk and I'm sober—that's the perfect state for business negotiations."

This statement also drew the attention of Garp, Neptune, and Queen Otohime.

"Rear Admiral Michael, what did you mean earlier about cooperation...?" Queen Otohime looked at Michael in astonishment.

"Could it be cooperation between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Cooperating with pirates wouldn't be a first," Michael replied with a smile, his gaze flickering between Whitebeard and Garp.

"Gurararara! So you know about the truth back then... Did Sengoku tell you, or was it Garp?" Whitebeard laughed heartily without concern.

"Fine then, what kind of cooperation do you propose?"

"The first ever tripartite cooperation between the Marines, pirates, and a non-World Government affiliated nation."

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