Vice-captain of Whitebeard pirates

Chapter 54: Chapter 53 Banquet



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Today marked the largest gathering of people since the establishment of the Whitebeard Pirates, and it was also the first time the pirate ship was filled to capacity.

The two captains, Whitebeard and Larson, along with Marco, Gangplank, Thatch, Rakuyo, and the more than twenty new members who had joined with Rakuyo, were all now part of the Whitebeard Pirates.

At this moment, everyone sat around the ship and began their banquet.

Those who came with Rakuyo were visibly happy; after all, the Whitebeard Pirates were on a different level compared to second-rate pirates like the LaBelle crew. Everyone dreams of joining a powerful pirate group, and today, their dream had come true.

As the festivities were in full swing, Whitebeard raised his wine glass high and announced, "Kids, welcome to the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Yo!!"

"Oh oh oh!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Marco joyfully hugged Gangplank, dancing happily in front of everyone.

"Hahaha, look at these two guys," Whitebeard said, amused by the sight.

Larson smiled and added, "Everyone is very happy today!"

"Larson, come on!" Whitebeard exclaimed, suddenly raising his wine glass toward him.

Larson lifted his glass and clinked it with Whitebeard's, chuckling, "You guy."

"Hey-hey," Whitebeard replied, looking at the joyful faces around him. "I once dreamed of such a scene, but I didn't expect it to come true so soon."

"Where is this going?" Larson replied, confidence shining on his face. "The limits of our Whitebeard Pirates are far beyond this!"

The banquet continued for a long time. As Marco and the others grew tired of dancing, they ran into the crowd to play alongside Rakuyo again, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Everyone, just drinking isn't enough!" Thatch exclaimed as he emerged from the kitchen, carrying plates piled high with delicious barbecue.

"Long live Thatch!" Marco cheered in excitement.

"Don't worry, don't worry! There's enough for everyone!" Thatch announced, having prepared plenty of food, and everyone praised the meal after tasting it.

However, Thatch wasn't overly concerned with their compliments. He approached Gangplank with anticipation and watched as Gangplank took a bite of the barbecue. "How is it? Is it delicious?" he asked impatiently.

Gangplank chewed thoughtfully. In truth, he had been won over after the first bite, but as the captain of the first team (often competing with Marco), he felt he shouldn't let his excitement show like everyone else. So, he pretended to keep his composure and said, "It's not bad."

"Just okay..." Thatch felt a little disappointed but then reignited his determination. Conquering Gangplank easily wouldn't be fun!

With that thought, Thatch hurried back to the kitchen to whip up another round to impress Gangplank.

Noticing Thatch returning to the kitchen again, Larson expressed concern to Gangplank. "Go tell Thatch that we have plenty to eat, and he should rest too. We don't want him wearing himself out."

"Oh, okay," Gangplank replied.

He rushed to the kitchen and told Thatch, who was hard at work, "Thatch, stop working! Come on out and have fun with everyone."

Upon hearing Gangplank's words, Thatch paused, feeling as though Gangplank didn't believe he could conquer him, and maybe he was trying to persuade him to give up.

"You underestimate me too much!" Thatch asserted calmly. "Don't worry, I won't give in so easily."

Gangplank was bewildered. "??? What is this all about? Are they on the same wavelength or something?"

He scratched his head, leaving the kitchen with confusion written on his face.

"Why are you alone? Where's Thatch?" Larson asked, puzzled to see Gangplank exiting solo.

"Thatch is still in there," Gangplank replied, scratching his head.

"What? Didn't I ask you to call him out?"

Gangplank thought of Thatch's earlier reaction, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "He doesn't want to come out on his own. I can't drag him!"

After that, Gangplank went to seek out Marco in the crowd, leaving Larson looking bemused. "He doesn't want to come out?"

Whitebeard glanced sideways at Larson. "Don't worry, keep drinking!"

After a moment's thought, Larson decided, "I should go check on him."

With that, he got up and made his way to the kitchen.

Upon entering, Larson saw Thatch busily working inside.

"Thatch, why don't you come out and play with everyone?" Larson prompted.

Thatch turned around, calmly saying, "Gangplank is challenging me, and I have to accept his challenge."

"??? He challenged you?" Larson replied, perplexed.

Thatch clenched his fists. "Yes! This is a battle between him and me!"

...

Larson walked back out, still bewildered, and sat next to Whitebeard.

"What happened?" Whitebeard asked curiously.

Larson nodded toward Gangplank, who was energetically goofing around in the crowd, and replied, "I have no idea what's going on between them."

Whitebeard choked for a moment, musing that even he could grow lonely in the midst of such festivities!

At that moment, Larson noticed Rakuyo approaching.

"I just heard Marco say that our pirate group seems to be missing a navigator now?" Rakuyo announced.

Larson's eyes lit up, and Whitebeard put down his wine glass. Larson couldn't wait to say, "That's right! Which one of you is a navigator?"

Rakuyo smiled sheepishly. "I served as the navigator and helmsman for the LaBelle Pirates before. If you don't mind, I should be able to handle both positions on our ship!"

"Brother!" Larson glanced at Whitebeard.

Whitebeard nodded and said to Rakuyo, "Rakuyo, from now on, you will be our navigator!"

"Yes!" Rakuyo replied firmly. "Don't worry! Wherever you want to go, I promise I will get you there!"

Meanwhile, Gangplank remained oblivious that he had just lost his previous position by simply enjoying the festivities.

"Right," Larson said, looking at the tavern owner, who was shivering in the corner. "Rakuyo, find two people to take him back to LougeTown."

"Okay," Rakuyo nodded. He quickly found two crew members who had come aboard with him to return the tavern owner to shore.

When the tavern owner realized he would finally leave, he was overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears of joy.

"It's wonderful, I can finally leave this devil's cave!" he exclaimed.

As the boat escorting the tavern owner gradually moved away, the party on board continued to thrive.

Marco, having consumed enough wine, initiated another round of provocations.

Standing in the center of the crowd, he patted his chest and declared, "I'm not bragging. Apart from our two bosses, I am the strongest person here. If anyone has an issue, feel free to challenge me!"

The new members who boarded with Rakuyo had become familiar with Marco. Upon hearing his bold proclamation, they cheered excitedly, amplifying the atmosphere.

"This guy," Whitebeard mused, unable to hide his amusement as he watched the antics.

"I don't believe you can be that strong. Let me compete with you!" was the first challenge that emerged.

Marco's youthful appearance led many to doubt his strength, yet a young man in his twenties, known as Seamus, stepped forward. He had consumed the most alcohol earlier during Marco's drinking spree.

"Seamus, take him down!"

"Defeat Marco!"

"Come on!"

The crowd rallied behind Seamus.

Marco regarded Seamus with a grin, affirming, "I won't hold back!"

Seamus replied with disdain, "Come on!"

With that, Marco dashed towards him. As it was a sparring match, neither participant wielded any weapons.

Seamus raised his fists to defend himself from Marco's attack, preparing for the punch.

However, as their fists met, Seamus's expression instantly contorted in pain.

Marco stepped back while Seamus fell to the ground, howling in agony and cradling his wrist.

The surrounding crowd fell silent, shocked by Marco's overwhelming strength, having knocked out Seamus with just one punch.

"It's alright," Marco crouched down next to Seamus, showing concern.

Seamus groaned through tears of pain, "How do you train, you monster? Winning with fists feels like hitting a rock!"

Marco thought to himself in disbelief: Where did this guy come from? I didn't even use my full strength against him just now! Did he really think sparring with me wouldn't yield results after all that training?

Though Seamus's wrist wasn't broken, it had swollen significantly enough that he could hardly pick anything up afterward.

As Seamus was taken aside, Marco stood tall in the middle of the crowd and declared, "Who else wants to challenge me?"

Having won against Seamus, Marco's confidence soared, yet this time, no one dared to step up to him. After witnessing his strength against Seamus, the crowd understood that Marco was not someone they could easily defeat.

"I'll challenge you," Rakuyo announced, stepping forward.

Upon seeing Rakuyo, the new crew members erupted in excitement.

"Haha, Rakuyo is here! Marco, you're finished!"

"Come on, Rakuyo! Teach this guy Marco a lesson!"

"…"

With a raised eyebrow, Marco heard the anticipation in the crowd. It was clear they believed Rakuyo to be formidable.

Rakuyo stood before Marco, smiling. "Come on."

Marco grinned back, "Ready!"

As he had done with Seamus, Marco rushed towards Rakuyo.

Rakuyo's expression turned serious. Unlike those who merely made noise, he felt a weight of pressure the moment Marco charged at him.

He became nervous, surprised that someone so young wielded such strength.

Though both were of similar ages, Rakuyo was a bit older. Initially, he hadn't planned on taking this challenge seriously, but now he had to reconsider. He felt that if he didn't give it his all, he might end up like Seamus.

The crowd cheered and shouted encouragement as Marco and Rakuyo faced off.

Whitebeard and Larson watched with interest from the sidelines.

Whitebeard took a sip of his wine and asked Larson, "How long do you think Rakuyo can last?"

Larson, amused, replied, "You said that just in case Rakuyo wins."

"I propose a bet: I bet on Marco to win, and you choose Rakuyo. Whoever loses will drink a barrel of wine. What do you think?"

"Not a chance!" Larson shook his head. He sensed Whitebeard's intentions and wouldn't fall for it.

While he wasn't afraid of the barrel of wine, he had no desire to bet on something he knew would end in defeat.

Both Larson and Whitebeard could see that Rakuyo was not a match for Marco.

Rakuyo was at a disadvantage since he couldn't use weapons, which considerably diminished his combat strength.

With Marco's specialty in hand-to-hand combat, the gap between their abilities only widened.

As the contest unfolded, Marco and Rakuyo sparred for over ten rounds, with Rakuyo increasingly struggling.

In the end, Rakuyo had to concede defeat.

With a sigh, he said, "You guys are truly worthy of the Whitebeard Pirates. Everyone he is as strong as a monster."

Whitebeard and Larson smiled knowingly. After all, they were the two captains of the Whitebeard Pirates.

But Rakuyo was especially awed by Marco's strength. He had been the strongest among the LaBelle Pirates, yet he couldn't even defeat the seemingly smallest thief in their ranks.

He could only lament the staggering gap in strength between pirate crews.

If the Whitebeard Pirates wanted to utterly destroy the LaBelle Pirates, it would be as easy as drinking water.

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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11

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