Chapter 43: Zefa and Whitebeard, Two Old Rascals

Upon encountering Zephyr, the three division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates instantly became alert. The atmosphere grew tense as they stood on the verge of drawing swords against each other. In contrast, Zephyr remained much calmer, standing firm without any unnecessary movements.

"Don't be so tense!" Lin Yan stepped forward, acting as a mediator between the two sides. He then revealed a surprising piece of information: Zephyr had already become a member of his Seventeenth Team!

"What?!" The commanders were visibly shocked. The mere presence of Zephyr in their territory was unsettling enough, but the revelation that he had joined their ranks was downright astonishing. Marco, Jozu, and Izou stood there, utterly stunned.

As two major forces of the same era, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates was familiar with the name Black Arm Zephyr. He was someone who had historically given their old man many headaches. Now, the notion that Black Arm Zephyr had switched sides and joined the Whitebeard Pirates seemed almost impossible. The three commanders initially thought Lin Yan was joking—such a turn of events couldn't be true.

But as the reality sank in, the weight of Lin Yan's words became apparent. . "Admiral Zephyr, are you serious?" Izou asked, his voice trembling as he looked at the genuine former Navy Admiral standing before him. This was truly the stuff of fantasy.

"If the old man finds out about this, heaven knows what kind of expression he'll show," Jozu remarked, taking a sharp breath.

"Let's just hope he doesn't have a heart attack" Marco added, his tone a mix of worry and sarcasm.

Before any further discussions could ensue, Marco and the others hurried off to report the unbelievable news to Whitebeard.

Meanwhile, Lin Yan led Zephyr and the crew back to the territory of the Seventeenth Division. The crew of the Seventeenth Division were overjoyed as they looked around their new home, each of them checking out this place and that.

Meanwhile the Moby Dick, when Whitebeard heard the news, he stood up abruptly from his chair, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"Zephyr is here??" he exclaimed.

Long before their arrival, Marco and the others had already prepared Whitebeard for the truth: "Old man, this matter is absolutely true, Zephyr is indeed with Lin!"

"Has this old fellow really joined our Whitebeard Pirates?" Whitebeard still found it hard to believe, the history between them was long and fraught with battles, yet it had also forged a deep camaraderie. In this world, almost everyone from the previous era had died—Roger, Kozuki Oden, Rocks, and others. Even those who miraculously survived from the old era were well past their prime, not to mention living to Whitebeard's age. Zephyr was one of them. Although they had been enemies, both were almost fully in the grave. It's lonely at the top. As those around him passed away one by one, what needed to be let go had been let go. To be able to reminisce at this age with an old acquaintance was a fortunate thing indeed!

Whitebeard stood up, pulling out all his IVs. "Old man, what are you doing...?" Marco asked in confusion.

"Gurarara! How can I meet guests looking like this?" Whitebeard said with a smile, his eyes sparkling.

Then, under the astonished gazes of Marco, Jozu, and Vista, he set aside what he was holding and headed straight towards Lin Yan's Seventeenth Division.

Speaking of Lin Yan, suddenly adding so many people to the Seventeenth Division meant that Lin Yan was busy registering each one, busy beyond measure. With more people came more responsibilities. Lin Yan could no longer afford to be a hands-off manager. Carefree fishing was out of the question. It seems he would have to appoint a deputy captain. Regarding this deputy captain, Lin Yan already had a plan in mind.

After a whole day of handling matters, when Lin Yan returned to the hall, he was taken aback by the scene before him. Whitebeard and Zephyr had clashed—not in battle, but in arm wrestling! Both sat upright, a stone table between them, which had already cracked under the enhancement of their arm strength.

"People say that the Tremor-Tremor Fruit made you the strongest man in the world, but in my opinion, that's all there is to it!" Zephyr looked at Whitebeard across from him and sneered.

"Gurarara, such a big age and still so spirited, I want to see what you can muster to compete with me in terms of strength!" Whitebeard also puffed his chest and glared.

The two taunted each other, smiling on the surface, but the strength in their hands continued to increase.

"Crack!!" Under the enhancement of their arm strength, the stone table collapsed thunderously. The force even transmitted to the ground, which also cracked due to their arm wrestling.

Whitebeard was naturally overjoyed to reunite with an old friend. And after Zephyr resolved his heartache over Edward Weevil, he gradually regained his former demeanor. Learning that Whitebeard personally came to challenge him, he didn't hesitate and accepted everything.

Besides arm wrestling, they had tried many other methods to test their strength, but neither could best the other. But because of this, their desire to win showed. Today, they were determined to settle the score.

"Again!" Whitebeard declared with great enthusiasm.