— — — — — — — —
Eliminate the problem from the roots. Leave nothing behind.
That was Joey's way of handling things.
If anyone chose to be his enemy… then there was absolutely no way he would leave them any chance to fight back.
From start to finish, he would make sure to end them—completely.
Now?
Joey was calculating—if he took action himself, defeating the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't be difficult.
But the problem was that…if he wanted to kill Edward that would be absolutely impossible!
After a brief consideration, he immediately abandoned that idea.
It was pointless.
If Edward escaped, then no matter how many of his subordinates Joey killed, it would all be meaningless.
A powerful Silver Rank 3 fighter like Edward…if he decided to go into hiding and specifically target the Charlotte family, it would become a massive problem.
A man with nothing to lose wouldn't fear consequences.
That would be far too risky.
Thinking through all these possibilities, Joey muttered to himself, "This is enough."
"The Whitebeard Pirates can't be wiped out just yet. Or rather, the benefits of doing so are too small, while the risks are far too great."
With that realization, Joey relayed his decision to his siblings.
Upon receiving their eldest brother's command, everyone held back just a little.
Most of the high-ranking officers and strong fighters were spared. Since neither side wanted an all-out war, there was no need to make an enemy for life.
It wasn't worth it. That was the best way to put it.
To outsiders, it might seem like fear—cowardice, even.
Joey didn't care what others thought about this war.
What mattered most was ensuring his family's best interests.
"Gekishin"
"Ikoku!"
But…compared to the others, the battle between Edward and Linlin was on a whole different level.
These two were truly equals and neither showed any mercy.
The ocean stirred. Waves surged violently.
The clash of these two monsters…it wasn't something that could end quickly.
However…
"Huff... Huff..." A woman with long, icy-blue hair panted heavily, looking completely drained.
The Ice Witch—Whitey Bay!
A formidable member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Yet, even with the combined efforts of other nearby members, they were all exhausted under Compote's relentless assault.
"Ugh!"
Compote's attacks were simply too fierce, making resistance feel almost impossible. Finally, she landed a hard hit on Whitey Bay, causing her to scream.
"Huh?"
The sudden scream distracted Edward for just a moment.
"Chance!"
In an instant, Linlin lunged forward.
Her fist clenched as Armament Haki surged around it.
Her punch landed directly on Edward's face.
'Urgh!'
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
But seizing this opportunity, Edward quickly retreated.
At that moment, Edward noticed a group of pirates sneaking up, ready to ambush Joey.
Without hesitation, he roared, "You little brats! Stop right there!"
For a moment, the ten or so pirates froze in place, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
"Heh…"
Joey looked at them with a smirk. "If I were you, I'd listen to Whitebeard. Do you really think you can threaten me?"
They were standing just three meters from the line of death.
Unknown to them, a greatsword was already waiting in silence.
Sadly the stand couldn't unleash flying slashes. That was just a limitation of the weapon.
Otherwise…the range of its attack wouldn't be just thirty meters.
"What do we do?"
"..."
"Fall back!"
Without hesitation, the group retreated.
Joey just shook his head, still smiling.
He had no further interest in them.
They were nothing but trash.
"Hmph!"
Edward wiped the blood from his mouth, glaring at Linlin, who was charging at him once more.
His eyes burned with rage.
"You crazy woman!"
"Don't think I'm afraid of you!"
ROAR!!!
A terrifying aura erupted alongside his bellow.
This time Edward wasn't holding back. He unleashed his full strength.
Armament Haki infused with Conqueror's Haki coated his attack.
From above, his massive blade came crashing down.
"Murakumogiri~Naginata Rasetsu!"
"SLASH!!!"
The sheer force behind it was overwhelming.
"Huh?"
For a brief moment, Linlin felt the hairs on her body stand on end.
This attack was absolutely terrifying.
But Linlin simply grinned, baring her teeth.
"Who do you think you're looking down on?! You think I'm scared of you, old man?!"
She gripped her massive blade, Napoleon, with both hands.
And then Armament Haki infused with Conqueror's Haki.
Everything Edward could do, She could match.
Not only that! lightning of Zeus and flames of Prometheus crackled along Napoleon's blade.
Linlin swung it wide.
"Mama-God Slayer!!!"
Their attacks collided.
BOOM!!!
An even more terrifying force exploded outward, both fighters making sure their attacks didn't hit the island.
Otherwise, even if they wouldn't wipe out everyone, at least seventy to eighty percent of those present would fall.
This battle was on an entirely different level.
— — —
In the distance, the deep sea erupted into a towering wave.
"Sigh!" Joey sighed helplessly. "Seriously, Mom's gone into one of her berserk states again. This isn't good… I need to stop her before things get out of hand."
He knew all too well—whenever his mother fell into this state, she didn't completely lose her mind, but…she was definitely on the verge of doing so.
A mother like this was bound to cause trouble. In this kind of frenzied state, it wouldn't be surprising if she did something completely unpredictable.
"Mom! That's enough! The fight is over! There's no need to keep going."
"Huh?"
Hearing Joey's words, Linlin, who was still locked in combat, suddenly snapped back to reality.
And just like that, she pulled back.
Only Joey could bring her out of this state so easily.
It was only because of Linlin's attachment to her son that this was even possible.
As for anyone else? The best they could hope for was that she wouldn't harm them outright. But waking her up from this rage? That was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Huff—
Seeing Linlin finally stop, Edward let out a deep breath. His expression didn't look great at all. To be honest…
Edward could fight guys like Shiki, Roger, Sengoku, Garp, or Zephyr for three hundred rounds if necessary.
But Linlin? That crazy woman?
As her name implied—she was an actual lunatic, completely insane!
Fighting her was a death match. One wrong move, and he wouldn't even know how he died.
What was he supposed to do? There was no way around it, just had to accept it.
Edward returned to the Moby Dick.
At that moment, everyone started to gradually retreat, ending the battle.
Clearly, they all understood—with both their captain and Linlin withdrawing from combat…this fight was pretty much over.
Edward looked at Joey seriously and said, "Kid, looks like you won this round."
Joey smiled. "Won? Nah, it was nothing special."
Casual and relaxed.
As if this battle had never even mattered to him.
And the thing was—it really didn't.
Was there anything here worth caring about?
If this had been the future, when the Whitebeard Pirates stormed Marineford and got crushed… maybe he'd feel a little something.
But now?
The Whitebeard Pirates, Roger Pirates, Golden Lion Pirates…
Even the Big Mom Pirates and the Charlotte Family…
They were all just getting started.
They weren't weak, but they were far from their peak.
It was meaningless.
"Gurararara—"
Seeing Joey's indifferent attitude, Edward couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder… Kid, you really are terrifying. Shiki calls you a monster hiding in the depths. Now I see it… You are a monster lurking in the shadows."
Joey chuckled. "Golden Lion sure gives me some high praise."
Even as he spoke humbly…
Anyone with half a brain could tell—Joey had no intention of denying it.
Edward took one last deep look at Joey before giving the order: "Brats! We're leaving!"
"Yes, Pops!"
The pirates all looked pissed off.
After all…they'd been stopped by just a handful of people.
No—they'd almost been wiped out by just a few people!
Especially Cracker. he alone had created tons of biscuit soldiers, practically like an unstoppable monster!
He had already reached Bronze Level 9. At this point, his strength was about equal to his future self in the original story.
If he took one more step forward — If he reached Silver Level 1, then he would have surpassed his original self entirely.
If that happened…Summoning even stronger biscuit soldiers would only be natural, right?
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Oven scoffed. "They ran pretty fast, huh? Acted all tough, but in the end, this is all they amounted to?"
Mondée walked over, puzzled. "Big Bro! Why did you let them go?"
Joey smiled and explained, "Do you really think we could completely wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"This…"
Everyone fell silent, thinking about it.
Yeah…Destroying the Whitebeard Pirates wasn't exactly an easy task.
To put it another way—It was damn near impossible! Erasing them completely wasn't something that could be done so easily!
Joey continued, "It's incredibly difficult to annihilate them. If all of our family members were here, maybe."
"But right now? Even if I go all out, the chances of success are only about twenty percent. And Whitebeard would definitely escape."
"I see!"
Everyone nodded in understanding.
One survivor—A crazy monster lurking in the depths of the sea…
What would that mean?
Just look at what their mom was like. That alone was enough proof.
If their mother was dead set on taking revenge on a particular force, with no weaknesses holding her back…she would be a nightmare.
Joey continued, "And that's not all. The second reason is that it's best if I don't reveal my full power just yet. Now isn't the right time."
"Additionally," he paused for a moment before saying, "this brings us to the third reason. Don't you all think the Adam Kingdom has too much control over the New World?"
"Uh…"
Everyone was stunned.
Yeah…
The New World was basically ruled by the Adam Kingdom and other major nations right now.
Joey smirked. "Pirates are a double-edged sword. If used properly, the balance of power in the New World will gradually shift away from these nations. This is a great opportunity. So… I'd rather not see that blade break just yet."
The real storm hadn't even started. Everything would begin when Roger became the King of the Pirates!
On that day—Pirates would run wild.
In the future…the New World would be ruled by the Four Emperors.
That was how things unfolded in the original story.
And that alone was proof—The future New World would be in absolute chaos.
And that was exactly what Joey wanted.
Finally, Joey turned to his siblings and said, "So let's just call this fight a draw. No need to dwell on it too much."
.
.
.