Chapter 344: Chapter 345: It’s All a Misunderstanding! A Misunderstanding!
Whoosh!
A figure wreathed in blue flames shot backward over a hundred meters, slamming violently into a coral mountain.
Rumble!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The entire coral mountain exploded, sending a massive cloud of dust billowing skyward and countless fragments shooting out like powerful bullets.
"Commander Marco!!!" The Whitebeard Pirates shouted in alarm.
But in the next moment, a figure shot rapidly out of the spreading smoke.
"Well~ What a monster, and such immense power-yoi!" Marco said with a smile, half of his body still engulfed in blue flames.
"So this is the ’Blue Flames of Resurrection,’ huh? You really are hard to kill!" Aeridar looked at the blue flames on Marco in surprise. Indeed, they emanated no heat whatsoever, truly peculiar flames.
At this, Marco spread his arms, which transformed into wings of blue flame. With a slight flap, he ascended dozens of meters into the air, looking down at Aeridar from above.
"Want to take this to the sky, huh?" Aeridar grinned. "Too bad, I can fly too!"
Before his words even finished, Aeridar launched himself into the air, reaching Marco’s altitude in the blink of an eye.
"He’s... he’s flying!!!" The Whitebeard Pirates cried out, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
Marco looked at Aeridar, who was now flying and level with him in the air, his pupils suddenly constricting. He couldn’t help but blurt out, "You can fly too!!!"
"Well, well~ While I can’t fly for long periods by flapping wings like you, I’m much more agile in short bursts," Aeridar snarled with a grin.
The ability to fly was one of Aeridar’s latest developed techniques. He had originally anticipated this ability would only manifest upon reaching the ’Awakening’ stage, but unexpectedly, he had developed and mastered it even before ’Awakening.’
His flying ability worked much like his jumping; he used impact force to propel his body into the air, similar to Geppo, but instead of just from his feet, he continuously released impact force from his entire body.
Initially, he could fly in a straight line like a rocket, by releasing concentrated impact force from his feet. He later improved it to release impact force from his entire body, not only canceling out the pull of gravity but also allowing him to fly freely in the air with more agility than a bird.
In terms of agility, Aeridar, who flew without wings, was far more agile than Marco, who relied on his wings. The downside was that releasing impact force from his entire body consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
Aeridar, whose abilities hadn’t reached the ’Awakening’ stage, couldn’t sustain prolonged flight. Only when flying in a straight line would the consumption be less. Otherwise, Aeridar wouldn’t need a ship; he could just fly directly into the Calm Belt.
"Here I come!" Aeridar raised his arm with a savage grin, shaking his fist at Marco.
Marco’s eyes narrowed, and he secretly focused, on guard.
In an instant, Aeridar threw a punch. The air immediately became chaotic, transforming into a fierce, transparent white impact that burst outwards, covering an area dozens of meters in front of him.
Impact Wave!!!
"Hey, hey, that’s too much!!!" Marco’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected such a wide-ranging attack from the start. Too late to dodge, he was hit dead-on.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The terrifying Impact Wave carried Marco along, causing destruction. The ground fractured and trembled, kicking up a sky-high cloud of dust that obliterated everything within a hundred meters.
"This... monster!" Atmos’s eyes were wide with disbelief as he witnessed the scene.
"One... one punch caused all that destruction!" Namur was equally stunned, his heart filled with dread.
Both of them could tell that their opponent clearly hadn’t used his full strength. They couldn’t say it was effortless, but he certainly hadn’t put much effort into it.
Splash!
A distant pool of water suddenly burst open, and a figure, most of his body still burning with blue flames, burst out of the water.
In mid-air, Marco flapped his wings, completely dry. His lifeless eyes looked at Aeridar in surprise, saying, "You truly live up to your name as a monster-yoi!"
"Well~ I’ve never seen such a strange bird. You truly live up to the name Phoenix," Aeridar paused, a little surprised. To take a direct hit from his Impact Wave and be completely fine—he had never seen that before.
Even Syrons the Ghost Hammer, whose entire body was hardened with Armament Haki, would have clutched his chest in pain after being hit by his Impact Wave just a few years ago.
"Forget it. Let me show you something fun!"
Suddenly, Aeridar gave a playful smile, clenching his fist and cocking his arm.
"That stance..." Marco’s eyelids twitched. He felt a sense of familiarity looking at Aeridar’s peculiar posture and suddenly had a bad feeling.
At this moment, the air seemed to solidify.
"Aeridar-san, Marco-san, please stop!"
Suddenly, a familiar shout came from afar.
Hearing this voice, Aeridar’s hand instinctively relaxed, and Marco also eased up.
In the distance, a blue whale-shark Fish-Man ran over—it was Jinbe.
Upon Jinbe’s arrival, Aeridar and Marco both descended from the sky. Although they still faced each other, they didn’t engage further. After all, fighting and causing destruction in someone else’s home was generally frowned upon. Now that the host had arrived, it was only right to show some respect.
Soon, Jinbe arrived, accompanied by Oliver’s group and Namur, Atmos, and the other Whitebeard Pirates.
"It’s all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! Aeridar-san and I are already acquainted." Seeing the two parties confronting each other, Jinbe quickly explained, having already heard the story from the original customers of the Mermaid Cafe on his way.
From both sides’ perspectives, neither was truly at fault.
"Uh~"
Upon hearing Jinbe’s words, Marco and the others were dumbfounded. Namur and Atmos had come to warn Aeridar, intending to use the Whitebeard Pirates’ name to deter him from any harmful actions. But if Jinbe and Aeridar were acquainted, it meant Aeridar might have come to discuss something with Jinbe, or perhaps just for a visit.
"Well, we apologize then. The fault is ours. However, you also injured our men, so how about we call it even-yoi?" Marco retracted the blue flames burning on his body, scratching the back of his head with a laugh.
At this point, Namur and Atmos had nothing more to say. It was clear that the other party wasn’t in the wrong. Anyone would get angry after being inexplicably warned.
Among pirates, strength reigned supreme, and getting beaten simply meant one’s skill wasn’t up to par. Their Whitebeard Pirates were not so petty as to fight to the death over a small misunderstanding.
Moreover, to put it more seriously, the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were currently in continuous conflict. Engaging in another war with a powerful force like the Chris Pirates would likely give the Beasts Pirates an opportunity to capitalize.
After all, the Chris Pirates were not to be trifled with. As a neutral zone between two Yonko pirate crews, their strength was considered top-tier in the New World. If a full-scale war were to erupt, the Whitebeard Pirates fighting on two fronts would suffer heavy losses.
It was even possible that the Big Mom Pirates might intervene if they saw such a situation, which would be disastrous. Facing attacks from two Yonko-level pirate crews and a top-tier pirate crew, even if the Whitebeard Pirates managed to hold out, they would likely be severely weakened.
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