He withdrew his gaze.
Kong Tai turned, looking in the direction the Freedom was heading.
"Elbaf."
If before, he felt the Red Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island was only a part, fifty percent likely to be in Elbaf.
But after learning from Vegapunk that Jaguar D. Saul was alive and had taken the giants to Ohara, that possibility neared eighty percent.
With the strength of the giants, carrying a Poneglyph would be effortless.
And it was understandable that Jaguar D. Saul, for the sake of history, might have taken this Poneglyph from Fish-Man Island when passing through.
In fact, he had asked Vegapunk on Egghead Island if he knew about the last Road Poneglyph, and if it was in Elbaf.
But unfortunately, Vegapunk was not interested in Poneglyphs, only in knowledge, and thus did not know much about Jaguar D. Saul.
Kong Tai was not surprised by this.
Whether it was in Elbaf or not, they would see when they got there.
In fact, in the New World, their crew rarely used Log Pose anymore, only Eternal Pose.
And the direction they were sailing now was a Log Pose given by Vegapunk, pointing directly to Elbaf.
Therefore, they were two days ahead of their original planned schedule.
If they found the last Poneglyph in Elbaf, they could go directly to the final island, Laugh Tale, deduce the coordinates of Raftel, and head to the ultimate island.
If not, they would have to go back and look for Whitebeard.
Oh... one thing was forgotten.
In Wano Country, they had not met Mihawk.
Perhaps because that guy knew he had killed Kaido, and to preserve his pride as the World's Strongest Swordsman, he had left early.
Of course, this was just a joke.
The real reason was that the guy had gone to Wano Country, seen a scene completely opposite to his memories, with no strong samurai, and being bored, he had set sail again to find fun among pirates, thus missing Kong Tai and his crew.
This had made Kuina, who had been preparing for a peak swordsman duel with Mihawk in Wano Country, quite frustrated.
However, this world, to Kong Tai, was both vast and small.
As long as he wished, with communication, he could find Mihawk at any time.
And the throne of the World's Strongest Swordsman would be his sooner or later.
Later, Mihawk had called him and learned that he would be going to Mary Geoise soon. Mihawk expressed strong interest and said he would go too.
Kong Tai was indifferent to Mihawk's joining.
After he killed Kaido in Dressrosa, the world seemed to have fallen into a strange calm, as if everyone was waiting for him to go to Mary Geoise.
But this calm was only relative.
It was only the calm among the higher-ups of the major powers.
Both in the Paradise of the first half of the Grand Line and in the New World, pirates were still active.
Especially with two Yonko positions vacant, the golden treasures left by Tesoro's death attracted countless pirates.
Everyone was eyeing those two positions, everyone wanted wealth, which turned the New World into a meat grinder for countless pirates, chaotic and filled with endless battles.
Even in Whitebeard's territory, many pirates who appeared from who-knows-where had been challenging them.
The world is like this; it does not standstill because of a person, an event, or the rise and fall of a faction.
Even if the world were without the World Government, if Kong Tai truly killed all the Celestial Dragons and Im.
It would not change much for the world.
The only change would be a different sky above their heads.
And whether the common people below could live well would depend on whether the new sky was kind.
Boom—!
In a certain sea area of the New World.
The Whitebeard Pirates had just sunk a pirate crew that had come to challenge them.
This was the third pirate crew they had encountered today.
Looking at the pirates in the thick smoke, screaming incessantly, Marco, standing by the ship, turned his head and sighed to Whitebeard behind him, "Old Pops, this world is getting more chaotic, and more incomprehensible!"
Hearing Marco's words, Whitebeard couldn't help but show a hint of emotion in his eyes.
He also did not expect that brat could achieve such a feat. Even he, after seeing the news from Dressrosa, had fallen into a long stupor.
Kaido, due to his ability to fly and his personality, had become the most active of the Yonko.
That guy often came to challenge him alone. As soon as he saw that he couldn't win, he would turn and run.
However, even though Kaido always retreated, Whitebeard never dared to underestimate him.
That guy was at his peak, while he was in his twilight years. Recently, he felt his condition was worsening.
In a few more years, without anyone challenging him, he himself would fall from the position of the world's strongest.
He had a premonition of this, but he had never expected that silver-haired brat would achieve true world's strongest before he came of age.
To know that even in his prime, he would definitely not have been able to kill Kaido!
"By the way, Old Pops," Marco said, interrupting Whitebeard's reverie at this moment.
"What is it?"
Whitebeard looked up at Marco, a hint of confusion on his face.
"Shanks has been making a lot of moves lately. Is he planning something?"
"Shanks?"
Whitebeard thought for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, even if that brat makes a move, it won't affect us. Don't forget, Old Pops, I am Whitebeard!"
Seeing the confident Whitebeard, Marco couldn't help but smile.
Whitebeard was not only the captain of their pirate crew but also the common father of their family. As long as Whitebeard stood, their pirate crew, their family, would never fall.
However, thinking of Whitebeard's gradually declining health recently, a hint of worry flickered in the depths of his eyes.
Precisely because he was the doctor on the ship, no one understood Whitebeard's physical condition better than him.
And because Whitebeard was the captain and parent of their pirate crew, he was even more worried about the fate of the pirate crew after Whitebeard fell.
Shaking his head, Marco turned to look at Ace, who was playing with his crewmates on the deck, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
Not only Whitebeard but he also had expectations for Ace.
His exceptional talent, though not as strong as that silver-haired brat, was an unparalleled genius at his age.
As long as Ace grew up, even if Whitebeard fell, their pirate crew, their family, would not be overturned by the waves of the New World and devoured by countless pirates like hungry wolves.
He didn't ask Ace to grow to the level of Whitebeard's peak, but at least to the level of an Admiral. With them, they could maintain the Whitebeard Pirates from falling.
Therefore…
"Work hard, Ace!"
Marco murmured silently in his heart.
...