Marco soared toward their pirate ship, the vibrant flames reflecting in his flickering eyes.
"So the Marines still had another trick up their sleeve..."
Recalling the Marines' official statements about the Lightforged Crystal—how it was touted as a "life-saving tool for those on the brink of death" but "useless once shattered"—and then witnessing Ace just now crushing a crystal to heal his severed arm, Marco couldn't help but grin.
"There might just be a way to help Pops!"
Watching Marco hastily fly off, Ace felt that something was amiss, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Keeping Marco there to fight and defeat everyone on his ship? That didn't seem right either…
"Forget it..."
After thinking it over for a long moment without an answer, Ace decided to let it go.
"Pass the word—we're heading back to base. We'll visit Raijin Island another time."
"This time, I've gained quite a lot. Next time, I'll be even stronger!"
"Yes, Major Ace!"
...
"The World Summit just ended, and already the Whitebeard Pirates are launching frequent attacks on Marine warships?!"
Rosinante furrowed his brows as he reviewed the report in his hands.
The World Summit had concluded smoothly, and the Fish-Man Island migration plan had been officially approved. Admiral Wright was tasked with overseeing security during the early stages of the relocation.
Smoker had returned to the G-5 Branch to hold the line, but even he was forced to take action against the increasingly aggressive Whitebeard Pirates.
"Most of the time, they're just plundering supplies, and Marine casualties are minimal... but given the scale of the strong fighters appearing, it seems excessive for mere looting."
"What exactly is on those warships that makes them worth such a high-profile assault? Two division commanders at a time, specifically targeting ships without high-ranking officers aboard…"
Flipping through the documents, Rosinante's hand suddenly stopped. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead as a troubling thought crossed his mind.
"Could it be... the Lightforged Crystals?!"
Lightforged Crystals had been stolen before, but due to Marine propaganda, most pirates never dared to actually crush them to test their effects.
But it had been quite some time now, and the ones leading this spree of attacks were the Whitebeard Pirates. Rosinante recalled something Wright had once said in passing:
"If Whitebeard's health weren't in such decline, and if the G-5 Branch weren't so active, he'd probably have come to teach me a lesson himself."
Whitebeard's declining health?
Rosinante didn't know where Wright had gotten that information, but it was true that Whitebeard had been personally engaging in battle less frequently. On top of that, Gran Tesoro had received verified orders from the Whitebeard Pirates for Germa's medical equipment and pharmaceuticals—an undeniable fact.
Germa's medical technology shouldn't be of much help to Whitebeard, as it was fairly standard. More importantly, neither Whitebeard nor his crew would ever allow him to receive treatment from an outside force.
In other words, Whitebeard's condition hadn't significantly improved.
But if they had discovered the true effects of the Lightforged Crystals…
Rosinante didn't dare waste another second. He immediately ordered his subordinates to tally the number of Lightforged Crystals stolen from the raided warships.
The results came back quickly. As Rosinante read the report, a dark shadow loomed over his heart.
136 crystals!
As a strategic resource, Lightforged Crystals were distributed in set quantities to each warship. The G-5 Branch was an exception, given the high-pressure battles against New World pirates, so their allocations were more generous.
Aside from the Dawn, standard warships carried at least one hundred crystals each—whereas, on other ships, the number was usually capped at fifty.
Despite Wright's high production efficiency, the sheer number of Marines and warships meant it was impossible for every Marine to have a personal crystal. Instead, they were distributed by the ship's medical officers in emergencies.
Even so, they had drastically increased survival rates for the troops. In critical moments, officers could even use their own crystals to rescue subordinates.
The warships that had been raided had already used some of their stored crystals, meaning the Whitebeard Pirates had managed to seize a total of just over one hundred.
But if all 136 of those Lightforged Crystals were crushed to heal Whitebeard…
A chill ran down Rosinante's spine. Without hesitation, he contacted Wright via Den Den Mushi.
Wright listened to Rosinante's report in silence. At that moment, he was aboard the Ryugu, flagship of the Ryugu Kingdom, sailing through the Calm Belt.
"So they finally figured it out…"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Wright sighed. With that many Lightforged Crystals, given Whitebeard's monstrous physique, he wouldn't be fully healed—but he could at least recover seventy to eighty percent.
The remainder could easily be mended by Marco's Phoenix Flames, combined with other medical techniques, bringing Whitebeard back to around ninety percent of his prime—which, for Whitebeard, might as well be his peak condition!
Previously, the Whitebeard Pirates had heard rumors about the Dawn's miraculous capabilities, but they had assumed it was tied solely to Wright's own powers. While they had been curious, they hadn't acted rashly.
But the Lightforged Crystals were different. Unlike the Dawn, they could be used independently of Wright. With the strength of the Whitebeard Pirates, they were simply too easy to obtain—they had just never realized how to use them before!
"It looks like the New Branch Plan needs to accelerate. Otherwise, that old man Whitebeard, after holding back for so many years, might just decide to stir up some real trouble."
The Lightforged Crystals couldn't simply be banned—that would do more harm than good. But perhaps modifications could be made to limit their stacking effects while still preserving their life-saving function.
Having made his decision, Wright immediately contacted Sengoku.
At Marineford, Sengoku paced back and forth in his office, deep in thought. Wright's report was too critical to ignore.
"So Whitebeard's health problems weren't exaggerated after all. If anything, we underestimated them. Too bad we didn't realize sooner."
"No… Even if we had, there would've been nothing we could do. A legendary pirate like Whitebeard—no matter how old or sick he is, until the moment he actually shows weakness, no one would dare challenge him."
"Besides, Whitebeard has no permanent base to lose. Even the Marines can't concentrate enough forces to take him down in one strike."
Stopping in his tracks, Sengoku grabbed his teacup and took a deep gulp, exhaling deeply.
"At least the Marines have Wright, and on the Warlords' side, we have Enel. Plus, there's Fish-Man Island!"
"If the Fish-Men and Merfolk officially join the Marines, our naval combat capabilities will skyrocket! Even if they refuse to fight Whitebeard directly, their presence alone would be a massive deterrent to regular pirates."
"Whitebeard is strong, but he's still just one man! As long as we maintain pressure on the other three Emperors, we can free up enough forces to deal with him!"
"And now… the Marines hold an unprecedented strategic advantage—Kuina's Float-Float Fruit!"
"That arrogant bastard Shiki might have been a madman, but I still remember just how terrifying his Flying Pirate Fleet was…"
"It's truly a blessing that the Float-Float Fruit ended up in Marine hands. For once, Shiki did something right!"
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