Mediator!

"The prophesied person, the one destined to arrive in Wano in the future? And the giant elephant where the Mink Tribe town is located?"

Marco frowned, looking at Toki and the young Momonosuke beside her.

As a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco had heard about the ancient city of Zou, built on the back of a giant elephant, from Inuarashi and Nekomamushi when they boarded the Moby Dick. But he never imagined that the giant elephant would be so intricately linked to Wano, and it seemed that this young Oni had a master-servant relationship with it.

Thinking about the size of that elephant, Marco felt a headache. If such a massive creature went berserk, not many could stop it. Connecting this to what Toki said about the prophesied person, Marco felt even more troubled and regretted agreeing to let Pops come to Wano and get involved in this mess.

As Marco was deep in thought, he suddenly sensed something rapidly approaching them. Almost simultaneously, Teach, Vista, Jozu, and others in the Whitebeard Pirates turned their attention to the same direction. Izo and the Minks quickly moved to shield Momonosuke and Toki.

"What is it, Izo?" Toki asked, seeing the serious look on his face.

"Lady Toki..."

Boom!

Before Izo could answer, a loud crash echoed, and the banquet hall doors were slammed open by a person.

"Kin'emon!"

Izo exclaimed upon seeing the person who had crashed in. The others then noticed that the figure lying lifeless on the floor was none other than Foxfire Kin'emon, a retainer of the Kozuki clan.

"Who did this?!" Izo shouted in rage, cradling Kin'emon's corpse, glaring in the direction from which the attack had come. The killer must be there.

Toki was devastated at the sight of Kin'emon's body. With Ashura Doji already fallen, this marked the second death among Kozuki's retainers, reducing Momonosuke's future support even further.

"Gurararara, quite the bold way to make an entrance," Whitebeard remarked, not looking at Kin'emon's corpse but instead focusing outside the banquet hall, sensing a familiar presence. Holding his naginata, he began walking out, followed by Marco and the others.

As they stepped outside, they saw Nicholas in the distant sky. Curiously, there seemed to be a young Oni with him.

"Gurarara, Lightning Kid, is this your way of greeting me?" Whitebeard called out loudly to Nicholas.

"I was going to ask you, Newgate. Did you come to Wano to fight me?" Nicholas replied, looking directly at Whitebeard.

"You sure are a cocky brat. But I don't have the habit of looking up at others. Why don't you come down here!"

Whitebeard clenched his left hand into a fist and punched the air. The impact created tangible cracks in the atmosphere.

Ka-cha!

As Whitebeard's fist struck the air, the space around it shattered like glass, and the cracks rapidly spread toward Nicholas.

"Quite a unique way to greet someone. Ikoku sovereignty."

While the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were surprised by Whitebeard's sudden attack, Nicholas disappeared with Yamato and reappeared at another point in the sky. He then swung his long sword, sending a powerful, comet-like shockwave back at Whitebeard, who stood on the balcony of a pavilion.

The shockwave, wrapped in a brilliant white light, approached Whitebeard in an instant. The Whitebeard Pirates were taken aback by this fierce attack.

Could it be that this man truly intends to go to war with the Whitebeard Pirates?!

Otherwise, why would he unleash such a terrifying attack?

The most excited by the potential clash were the Kozuki clan and the samurai in Kuri. If Nicholas and the Whitebeard Pirates fought, they would have a chance to drive Nicholas out of Wano just as they had driven Kaido away. They could then reclaim the Flower Capital and Ringo for the Kozuki clan!

While most of the Whitebeard Pirates were stunned, the shockwave, like a comet, was about to engulf Whitebeard along with the pavilion.

In the blink of an eye, a figure engulfed in azure flames appeared in front of Whitebeard.

Boom!

The roaring azure flames blocked the comet-like shockwave, and the continuously regenerating flames eventually extinguished the shockwave's residual power completely.

"Marco, impressive strength. You've grown a lot since those days," Nicholas remarked, smiling at Marco, who stood between him and Whitebeard, flapping his wings.

On the pavilion balcony, the Whitebeard Pirates, including the division commanders, first glanced at the unharmed Whitebeard and then looked at Nicholas in the sky.

"What can I say? People grow, especially when they keep in mind what you once told them," Marco responded to Nicholas without much hostility. He even felt some gratitude towards Nicholas. If it weren't for Nicholas's words back then, Marco might not have had the strength or the right to stand before his father and intercept Nicholas's "greeting."

Yes, what others saw as a terrifying attack was, to Marco, just the simplest way for someone of Nicholas and Whitebeard's caliber to say hello. In other words, if you couldn't withstand such a simple greeting, you didn't deserve to stand as an equal.

"Gurarara..." Whitebeard laughed heartily, his eyes full of authority as he looked at Nicholas, who was sheathing his sword. He was clearly pleased with Marco's growth. Now, Marco was qualified to intervene when he and Nicholas greeted each other. In a few more years, Marco would be able to truly greet the top figures of the sea.

"Lightning kid, I see you've fully mastered Linlin's Ikoku sovereignty," Whitebeard said to Nicholas. As former comrades, they were familiar with each other's signature moves. Charlotte Linlin once confidently claimed that ordinary humans, even if they mastered the technique, couldn't successfully perform Ikoku sovereignty. Yet Nicholas had proven her wrong. In fact, he had almost killed Linlin twice during the Cake Island conflicts, which was far more impactful than just proving her wrong.

Under Whitebeard's gaze, Nicholas was unfazed. He slowly descended with Yamato to stand before Whitebeard.

"Gurarara! Since you're here, why not have a drink together?" Whitebeard suggested to Nicholas. Then he turned his gaze to Toki and the young Momonosuke hiding behind her. After all, this wasn't the Moby Dick, and some matters required the host's permission. Additionally, Whitebeard wanted to see if he could act as a mediator to resolve the conflict between the two sides.