15. Bonney gets assigned to the Fourth Division. The next Captain?
│3rd Person POV│
[Grand Line, New World, Near Sphinx Island…]
[Approximately a week after the Summit War…]
The Moby Dick and the other three paddle ships were approaching Sphinx Island, Whitebeard's hometown.
Following some distance away from them were four ships. These ships belonged to the four Supernova Captains who had participated in the Summit War.
The forty-three Subordinate Crews of the Whitebeard Pirates parted ways with them a day earlier, following the funeral they together held for all the pirates who lost their lives in the Summit War.
Basking in the sunlight in one of the crow nests, Ace pondered on what steps he should take to make sure that the Whitebeard Pirates didn't get disbanded like they did in the Canon World.
He knew that the surefire way of doing so would be to ensure that Whitebeard doesn't die.
This could be achieved if Bonney agreed to join the crew.
Whenever any trouble arose in the future, she could just make Whitebeard younger so that he wouldn't succumb to his illness in mid-fight.
However, Ace knew that Whitebeard wouldn't prefer to live like that.
He would either want to live freely on his own strength, or go out with a bang.
So, he was wrecking his brain to recall every One Piece fact to find if there was anything that could extend Whitebeard's lifespan.
This way, Whitebeard could then go through Ivankov's treatment without worrying about dying due to the treatment process exhausting his remaining life span.
A few hours ago, after giving rudimentary information about Haki to Kid and Urouge, Ace had taken Law aside and asked him if he could cure Whitebeard's illness with his Op Op Fruit.
In response, Law had stated that he would have to first study Whitebeard's illness carefully for a period of time.
He didn't say exactly how long he would need before he could give a definite answer.
While he had already convinced Whitebeard to let Law take care of him for some time, he was trying to think of a backup plan in case Law couldn't treat Whitebeard.
"Oye Ace~! Pops has called everyone to make an announcement. Come down fast!"
At this moment, a voice reached Ace and he looked down from the crow nest to see Vista yelling at him to come down.
"Ahhh-hhaaaaa!"
Letting out a yawn, Ace jumped from his position and gracefully landed on the deck.
"Why are you wasting time by dilly-dallying here? Let's go!"
Ace sauntered toward the front of the Moby Dick after dropping this sentence on Vista.
"Why you-!!" A vein bulged out on Vista's forehead as he followed after Ace.
A few moments later, after everyone had arrived, Whitebeard waved the nurses around him to back off.
At this moment, he was back in his old form and once again had to be strapped to various life support machines to keep his illness at bay.
"Listen here, you bastards!" Saying this, Whitebeard gestured toward Bonney.
After getting the signal, Bonney stepped forward and once she reached beside Whitebeard, he placed his left hand gently on her head and continued, "From today, she is a part of our family.
"Treat her well and see to it that all her needs are taken care of, alright?"
"You got it, Pops!"
"Don't worry, Pops! We won't let anything bad happen to her from now on!"
Nearly everyone gave similar responses, welcoming Bonney to the crew with open arms.
Bonney's actions at the Summit War not only tilted the war in their favor massively but also won over the hearts of everyone from the Whitebeard Pirates.
Once everyone calmed down, Whitebeard continued, "She and the members of the Bonney Pirates would join the Fourth Division.
"Jeanne, make sure that they are all settled in properly."
"Jeanne?" Bonney muttered in a low voice, her expression was one of mild shock.
The next moment, a woman stepped out of the crowd of Pirates and came in front of Bonney.
She had light blonde hair and a small scar under her left eye. Just like the deceased Fourth Division Commander, Thatch, she was also dressed in a chef's attire.
Stepping in front of Bonney, she said. "My name is Jeanne. I am the Vice Commander of the Fourth Division.
"In the absence of a Commander, I am the one with the highest authority in the Fourth Division. Also, most of the members of our division are chefs.
"I will show you the living quarters for you and your crew members a while later, alright?"
Once Bonney nodded her head in silent agreement, Jeanne went back into the crowd.
"Ace!" Whitebeard called out suddenly.
A few moments later, after Ace stood beside Whitebeard, he placed his right hand on Ace's head and declared, "From now on, in my absence, you all will follow Ace's command."
Hearing this, dead silence enveloped the deck of the Moby Dick.
Everyone looked at Whitebeard with their faces filled with shock.
This statement by Whitebeard was basically declaring Ace as the next Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.
It was implying that Whitebeard was either planning to retire or he was at the end of his life. Neither possibility was acceptable to anyone.
Seeing the shocked expression of everyone, Whitebeard said with anger in his voice, "You bastards, what's with that look on your faces?
"Nobody lives forever and I'm the same. Listen well, everyone!! You all will live well and embrace the future together even when I am not there with you.
"Ace will lead you all in my stead and you all will follow his every command like you follow mine. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Pops!"
Some scattered responses came from here and there, which irked Whitebeard further.
He bellowed, "Did you bastards understand my order?"
""YES, POPS!!""
This time, everyone replied loudly.
Satisfied with the response, Whitebeard smiled and continued, "My era has already ended. The conclusion of the Summit War signaled the dawn of a new era.
"This era is in the hands of you guys. How this era will unfold will depend on how you guys want to shape it. So, don't waste time thinking about the well being of an Old Man like me."
Everyone hung their heads after Whitebeard finished speaking.
No matter how much they desired otherwise, they knew that Whitebeard's words were true.
This was coming for quite some time.
"I understand, Pops!" At this moment, Ace spoke up, "I will assume command but only under one condition."
As he paused for a moment, everyone focused on him.
Looking at Whitebeard seriously, he said, "You have to comply with everything I or any one of us do in order to treat your illness and make your condition better.
"That means, if the nurses said that you have to lower your alcohol consumption, you have to listen to their advice, alright?"
As soon as those words were said, the atmosphere on the deck lightened significantly.
"You have my support, Ace!" Marco shouted from the side.
As if his words were all the encouragement everyone needed, the other Division Commanders and everyone else also echoed after him.
"Ace is right, Pops!"
"Yeah, you have to make a promise, Pops!"
The commotion on the deck grew as almost everyone started clamoring for Whitebeard to agree to Ace's condition.
Whoosh–!
Suddenly, Whitebeard released his Conqueror's Haki for a split second, effectively silencing everyone.
After glaring at the pirates in front of him, he looked at Ace and said, "You are one insolent brat, you know!"
"Hehehe~! Thanks for the compliment!" Ace said while scratching the back of his head with an "embarrassed" smile.
Seeing this scene, a tick mark appeared on Whitebeard's forehead.
Taking a deep breath, Whitebeard said, "Fine! I promise to comply!"
"""WOOHOO!!"""
Everyone cheered loudly once Whitebeard gave in.
Even Bonney wasn't an exception as at this moment, she had a big smile on her face.
=+=+=+=< Scene Break >=+=+=+=
│3rd Person POV│
[Grand Line, New World, Sphinx Island, Near the shore…]
With a blindfold tied around his eyes, Ace was being pursued by numerous small blue-colored fireballs which were being controlled by Marco.
A few moments ago, while having lunch, Ace was informing Marco about how much his Observation Haki had improved from when he left to chase after Teach.
Wanting to test him out, Marco proposed a suggestion and the result was the current situation.
"Marco, do you also think that Pops assigned Bonney to Jeanne so that she could one day lead the Fourth Division?" Ace asked suddenly.
Without any delay, Marco replied, "Yes!"
Even while they talked, the test didn't stop as Marco kept controlling the fireballs to keep pursuing Ace in a masterful manner.
Similarly, Ace also expertly kept dodging the fireballs.
When the fireballs weren't attacking him in huge numbers, he would move his body in such a way that they would miss him by a small margin.
The heat of the fireballs wasn't much of an issue to Ace because of his Logia powers.
From time to time, Marco would attack Ace from all sides, leaving no room for Ace to maneuver his body out of the way to dodge.
In such a situation, Ace would elementalize his body and spread it apart in such a way that the fireballs would simply pass through him without any contact.
This continued for a few more minutes before Marco dispersed the fireballs and stopped the test.
While Ace incinerated the blindfold with his Flare Flare Fruit's powers, Marco stepped towards him and said, "You have made more progress in your Observation Haki in the last three months than the nine months you were training under me."
For some reason, out of the four basic Observation Haki techniques, Ace was most skilled with the Emotion Sensing aspect.
Therefore, he knew that even though Marco said his last statement in a nonchalant way, he was feeling slightly doubtful inside.
Ace could guess what was going through Marco's mind.
"Don't worry! You are a very competent teacher, Marco! It's just that the thought of dying while leaving all of you guys behind and leaving countless promises unfulfilled stimulated me.
"Additionally, I wasn't really giving my all in increasing my Haki proficiency while you were training me."
…To Be Continued!
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A/N: Some wholesome moments between the family.
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