On the blue ocean of the Grand Line, the Marine warship's sails billowed majestically, riding the wind and waves, sailing towards the distant horizon. Seagulls circled in the vast sky, the sea was clear, reflecting the sunlight, and occasionally, a few fish could be seen leaping out, creating shimmering ripples under the sun's rays.
On the warship's deck, Sephiroth leaned against the railing, holding a newspaper in his hands, slowly flipping through it.
"Any big news recently?" Tokikake leaned over, glancing at the headlines in the newspaper.
"Kaido the Beast in the New World Sea, in order to contest the ownership of an island under the leadership of Edward Newgate of the Whitebeard Pirates, engaged in a fierce battle with him... In the end, Kaido was outmatched and retreated!"
"Tsk tsk tsk! This Kaido is truly bold... It's just that Whitebeard doesn't have the idea of seizing territory everywhere. Otherwise, most of the New World's territory would be under his command." Sephiroth nodded in agreement.
Whitebeard, currently only 56 years old, was in his prime, his strength still at its peak. Though there was a slight decline, it was insignificant. His Haki and physical combat abilities were still the best in this world, not to mention the Gura Gura no Mi, an earthquake-type Paramecia Devil Fruit, which he had developed to a catastrophic level! With Whitebeard's current power, overturning oceans and rivers, splitting the sky and shattering the earth, were merely ordinary feats! This was not hyperbole or exaggeration, but fact! If he acted without restraint and fully unleashed his Gura Gura no Mi abilities, wanting to destroy an island and make it disappear from the map, it was basically just a matter of one punch... One punch wasn't enough? Then casually add another! Therefore, with Whitebeard, a strategic-level human nuclear warhead, ordinary people wouldn't provoke the Whitebeard Pirates without reason...
Sephiroth speculated that Kaido probably just wanted a fight and suddenly wanted to play a game of suicide, which was why he repeatedly tested the limits of death. However, given that Kaido could fly by riding clouds and escape, if he wanted to run, Whitebeard might not be able to catch him...
Whitebeard: "If you've got guts, come down!" Kaido: "If you've got guts, come up!"
If only the two of them clashed and it didn't escalate into a fight to the death, perhaps it would turn out this way!
In the distance at sea, a massive steamship with a bow shaped like a white whale slowly appeared. On its mast, a black skull flag was hoisted, with a crescent-shaped white mustache on the smiling skull's nose. This was... the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick!
The Lookout, holding a monocular telescope and standing in the crow's nest on the mast, saw the giant sailing ship and the flag atop it, and his hand holding the telescope couldn't help but tremble. The Lookout didn't immediately shout. He thought for a moment, then turned and pushed the door open, walked quickly to the Lookout's nest, and used a Den Den Mushi to call Admiral Zephyr.
"Reporting to Admiral Zephyr, the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick has appeared on the sea ahead, requesting instructions..."
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Zephyr was silent for a moment before speaking: "Tell the helmsman to continue sailing as usual. If they don't attack, we don't need to bother with them."
"Understood!" After the Den Den Mushi hung up, the Lookout called the helmsman's number and relayed the order.
So, after some time, the Moby Dick and the warship were about fifty meters apart... Many crew members on both ships also stood near the railings on deck, looking at each other from a distance, but no one spoke to provoke or make the first move.
On that Moby Dick, Sephiroth also saw a pineapple-headed man leaning against the railing, who was also looking at the warship with interest. Hearing hurried footsteps, he glanced at Smoker who appeared beside him, holding two cigars in his mouth and a Jitte in his hand, and asked with a puzzled expression: "What are you doing?"
"Getting ready for battle, of course! What else could I do?" Smoker replied flatly.
Hearing that, Sephiroth immediately raised his right hand and slapped the back of his head with his large palm. "Don't cause trouble! If you cause trouble like this, your death will be in vain... Ah! No, the Marines will give your family consolation money, so your death won't be in vain!"
Smoker: "..." He could only remain silent, his face showing frustration.
In the end, neither side made a move, and they passed each other, sailing towards their respective destinations. The Whitebeard Pirates generally followed the rule that if the Marines didn't provoke them, they wouldn't actively provoke the Marines. As for the Marines, deterred by Whitebeard's presence, they wouldn't act rashly without thorough preparation.
Just like during the Summit War, if it weren't for Ace, the Second Division Captain, being held hostage, Whitebeard could have shattered the entire Marineford island into pieces with just two "Gura Gura! Gura Gura!" punches. A hundred thousand Marine soldiers might not have even had time to escape and would have been buried at sea! Therefore, both sides ignored each other in this rather strange and peaceful circumstance...
Watching the Moby Dick slowly move away, Smoker frowned, and he asked with a puzzled expression: "Why didn't we fight those pirates? Just because they hoisted Whitebeard's flag?"
"Not only do you not pay attention in class, but you also don't listen when I tell you to learn more about the outside world!" Sephiroth put his hand to his forehead and sighed, as if talking to a child.
"In the New World, there's a rule: Don't touch Whitebeard's family! Besides, on the Moby Dick just now, did you see a young man with a pineapple head... That's the First Division Captain and ship doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates... Marco the Phoenix!"
"So what? Is he strong?" Smoker still had a puzzled expression, his skepticism evident.
"Uh!? This... He only fights in high-level skirmishes, so it's hard to say if he's strong, but it's undeniable that he's very durable..." Sephiroth thought for a moment. "No, that's not the point! This guy, Marco, is Whitebeard's right-hand man and usually doesn't leave Whitebeard's side. In other words, even if we don't see Whitebeard right now, he might be in the cabin and not coming out, but... Regardless of Whitebeard's presence or absence, fighting the Moby Dick is not a good option."
"Even if Whitebeard happened not to be on that ship, and we won and captured the pirates on it, whether we could safely return to Marine Headquarters from the New World is another matter... Even if we returned, this matter could turn into a costly war with many casualties, and countless Marine soldiers would die tragically. Furthermore, whether Marine Headquarters and the World Government even want to fight this battle is another matter... In short, it's extremely troublesome, better to avoid unnecessary trouble!"
If they hadn't been outnumbered and Zephyr wasn't worried about the safety of these Marine Academy Students, he might have chosen to fight this Moby Dick. But... If Whitebeard was truly on that ship, it would be difficult for anyone on this warship, except Zephyr, to escape unharmed! In Sephiroth's opinion, Yonko-level powerhouses were still stronger than ordinary Marine Admirals! After all, Haoshoku Haki techniques could overpower most Busoshoku Haki and Devil Fruit abilities. Even if Zephyr's physical combat and Haki had reached their peak, without Haoshoku Haki, in terms of absolute raw power, he was ultimately no match for Whitebeard!
Sephiroth seemed to think of something, he shook his head gently, sighed, raised his right hand, patted Smoker's shoulder, and said earnestly: "Young man, just knowing how to fight and kill won't work! Do you believe that Vice Admiral Sakazuki, who now directly kills pirates blindly when he sees them... In the future, once he becomes Fleet Admiral, he will also become hesitant due to various concerns, and eventually become a qualified Marine meeting king, holding meetings first when facing doubts..."
Listening to Sephiroth's inexplicable words, Smoker was completely confused, not understanding what the other person was saying at all...
On the way back to Red Port, apart from the minor interlude of encountering the Moby Dick, nothing else happened.
After everyone returned to the Marine Headquarters' Marine Academy, Zephyr informed everyone that because the other classes were still on missions, and the Marine Academy's course had concluded, there was still over half a month until the collective assignment ceremony. Therefore, during this period, everyone could follow warships for short-term missions or engage in free activities...
Sephiroth went to the beach at Marineford alone, found an empty corner, and sat cross-legged. He held the black Butcher's Blade in his left hand and slowly drew the cleaver with his right, fully exposing the black-blue blade to the air. Sephiroth set aside the scabbard, held the Butcher's Blade vertically with both hands, and black Busoshoku Haki quickly wrapped around the blade, completely covering it.
However... He didn't stop there but continued to pour Busoshoku Haki into his blade. Ordinary swords had a limit to the amount of Haki they could contain... However, this limit varied depending on the sword's quality and special properties. Swords of better quality had higher limits. Since Sephiroth obtained the cleaver, ordinary normal attacks were already at the level of a Great Swordsman, and there was no longer a need to accumulate Busoshoku Haki on the blade for a long time...
In a short while, Sephiroth poured all of his Haki into the cleaver. The excessive Haki made the Butcher's Blade as black as ink, and the red patterns on its blade, resembling blood vessels, appeared incredibly terrifying and deep crimson, possessing a captivating beauty.
Thump! Thump! Thump!... The cleaver seemed to have awakened from its slumber. Its blade emitted faint pulse-like sounds and began to refine the Busoshoku Haki on its blade.
On the other side, Sephiroth's body felt weak and powerless after over-consuming his Busoshoku Haki. However, supported by his immense physical strength, his Busoshoku Haki also began to gradually recover. This process took about an hour. At this moment, the cleaver had also refined the Busoshoku Haki on its blade to a certain extent.
Under Sephiroth's careful guidance, the extremely dense Busoshoku Haki flowed into his body through the hilt. His current situation was essentially using his body to endure "Ryuo," so he had to be cautious! A slight stinging and bloated feeling emanated from his arm, and the flowing Haki slowly rinsed his muscle cells. Fortunately, this Busoshoku Haki originated from his body, so the rejection was insignificant...
It took another half an hour for him to transfer the Haki from the blade back into his body. At this moment, Sephiroth's entire body, from the inside out, was filled with an itchy and stinging sensation. In his Kenbunshoku Haki perception, many of his internal organs were experiencing internal bleeding. If not for his super regeneration ability to repair the damage in time, he would have already been half-crippled...
Two hours later, the itchy and stinging sensation gradually subsided, and the excess Haki that could not be contained was naturally discharged from the body.
Sephiroth stood up and carefully sensed the condition of his body.
"The quality and quantity of Haki have indeed increased slightly... But it might just be a temporary boost... Repeated long-term experimentation is needed to confirm it... Speaking of which, using the cleaver as a Haki transfer and refining point... Isn't this equivalent to turning the cleaver into a 'dan tian'?"
"Everything is truly miraculous...! By chance, I've achieved my original idea of internal energy in an alternative way..." Sephiroth muttered to himself, a faint smile playing on his lips, satisfied with this unexpected discovery.