Chapter Ninety-Three: There Is No Place for Me

What?

Battle captain?

Through the transponder snail, the moment Whitebeard’s words fell, everyone beside Chu Yi froze in place. Even Mihawk, who had always held himself above others and was unmoved by worldly things, had his pupils constrict slightly as those hawk-like eyes fixed directly on Chu Yi.

Because this was...

An invitation from one of the future Four Emperors!

Even though the balance of the New World had not yet become the age ruled by the Four Emperors as in the original tale of the sea.

But who was Whitebeard?

Long before Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, was even dead, Whitebeard was already a man who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him and roam freely across the entire sea.

If anyone were to ask who was most likely to become the next Pirate King, even Big Mom and Kaido, who would later be among the Four Emperors, would have to stand aside, because the first choice for Pirate King would surely be Whitebeard!

The man most likely to become the next Pirate King was also the strongest man on the seas.

Whitebeard was a living legend.

And for such a legendary figure to personally invite Chu Yi to join the Whitebeard Pirates and take up the important post of battle captain, that was simply...

A tremendous honor!

So once everyone around Chu Yi came to their senses, aside from Mihawk, who after briefly studying Chu Yi with a trace of surprise as soon as Whitebeard finished speaking, returned to his usual silence, Tiger, Jinbe, and Marco all wore different expressions, each deep in thought.

"If the kid Tiger-brother has taken a liking to really joins the Whitebeard Pirates, then at the very least our Fish-Man Island will be able to develop in peace for a hundred years!"

A relieved smile appeared on his face. Upon hearing that the future Four Emperors had invited Chu Yi to join them, Jinbe, who had originally been planning to join the Kill-the-Heavens Pirates, immediately "betrayed" that intention.

Because Jinbe was not merely a man who wanted to sail the seas in search of adventure; he was also someone who had sworn to protect Fish-Man Island!

In the original tale of the sea, why did Jinbe reappear two years after Whitebeard’s death in the Summit War and join the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors?

All to protect Fish-Man Island!

In Jinbe’s heart, there was only one thing more important than his life, more important than his dream.

For this reason, Jinbe was fully in favor of Chu Yi joining the Whitebeard Pirates. It would not only be good for Chu Yi, allowing him to latch onto Whitebeard’s strength, but also beneficial for the future of Fish-Man Island.

At that moment, Jinbe looked at Chu Yi with encouraging eyes and a relieved smile, wishing that Chu Yi would nod at once and choose to join the Whitebeard Pirates.

Marco, however, was the opposite.

He and Jinbe were complete extremes.

Originally, Whitebeard had merely told Marco that he wanted to speak with Chu Yi.

Marco had never imagined that the first thing Whitebeard would say to Chu Yi would be an invitation to join the Whitebeard Pirates!

With Whitebeard present, the captain’s seat was not open to question, because the core of the Whitebeard Pirates was Whitebeard himself.

But...

Who would not want to be vice-captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, or battle captain, or the captain of one of the divisions?

Who has no ambition at all?

Although Marco would in the future become the captain of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, at present he was merely one of the crew’s elite fighters, with no important position whatsoever.

Hearing that Chu Yi had only just been invited by Whitebeard and was already being promised the position of battle captain, Marco’s mood was complicated beyond words. He almost wished to take Chu Yi’s place and refuse their father’s offer for him.

"What a pity, it was an invitation from Pops."

"It’s been how long... since Pops last personally invited someone to join, and even promised them an important position before they’d even agreed?"

"An offer like that, I dare say few people on the seas could refuse it. Even you, Shura, who’s making such a stir right now, are no exception!"

"So... sigh."

With a quiet sigh, Marco shook his head with a wry smile and silently comforted himself.

"But who told him to be Shura, a great pirate who rose to fame not long after debuting, one who caused two world-shaking incidents and has a bounty of a full eight hundred million?"

"It’s understandable that Pops would want to recruit him."

Thinking this, Marco forced a smile and looked at Chu Yi, saying as calmly as he could, "Shura, from now on we may really be comrades. Please... please take good care of me in the future."

"Comrades? Isn’t that a little early to say?"

Since he believed Whitebeard’s invitation was one no one could refuse, Marco had just barely adjusted his mindset and was preparing to accept Chu Yi, who could step straight into the role of battle captain upon joining.

Unexpectedly, just as Marco was taking the initiative to show goodwill toward Chu Yi, before Chu Yi could even speak, Tiger, the only one whose expression was extremely complicated—at times relieved, at times somewhat desolate—stepped forward, first placing himself between Chu Yi and Marco, then said solemnly to Chu Yi, "Kid, I know it’s definitely a good thing for you to join Pops’ crew, but you need to think it through carefully. Joining a pirate crew may be easy, maybe just a few words, but leaving one is not so simple."

"All right, I won’t say too much, or Pops might misunderstand."

"Actually, I just want to tell you this, kid: Fisher Tiger follows you, Chu Yi. If you’re willing to join the Whitebeard Pirates, then I’ll go with you to the Whitebeard Pirates."

When he finished, Tiger looked toward Mihawk as well and asked in his rumbling voice, "Hey, Mihawk, if the kid joins the Whitebeard Pirates, then you should come along too."

"Hm?"

Suddenly addressed by Tiger, Mihawk looked utterly baffled, clearly not understanding what Tiger meant.

Chu Yi, on the other hand, understood Tiger very well and knew why he was saying such things to "Hawk-Eyes."

After their recent time together, Tiger clearly held Mihawk in very high regard, and after such a short period, Tiger had already begun to regard Mihawk as a member of the Kill-the-Heavens Pirates.

However, someone like Mihawk was not easy for Chu Yi to recruit, let alone for anyone else.

And if Chu Yi tried to recruit him this early, it might well drive Mihawk away altogether. So while Mihawk was still trying to make sense of Tiger’s words, Chu Yi quickly moved past the previous topic and said with a smile to Tiger, "Tiger, just now I don’t think I said..."

"That I’m joining the Whitebeard Pirates, did I?"

"What!"

The instant Chu Yi’s calm words fell, a wave of exclamations broke out!

What kind of joke was this...

That was Whitebeard’s invitation. Could it be that you aren’t tempted at all?

Staring at Chu Yi with utterly shocked expressions, Jinbe, Marco, and the others fell into stunned silence once again, never imagining that Chu Yi would say such a thing.

And Whitebeard, far away on the other end of the transponder snail, clearly had not considered that Chu Yi might refuse.

Almost the moment Jinbe and Marco were left standing there in stunned silence, Whitebeard’s transponder snail, with a tuft of Whitebeard’s mustache hanging from its mouth, fell quiet for a few seconds before its expression abruptly darkened and it asked in a low voice, "What? Kid, you’d best think this through. In this sea... no one has ever refused me."

"No one?"

Chu Yi first shook his head, then kept the smile on his face and said calmly, "Then I’ll just create another first."

"Whitebeard, when everyone thought the Celestial Dragons stood above all others, and that their dignity could not be profaned..."

"I killed them."

"When everyone thought Mary Geoise was impregnable, the strongest fortress in the world..."

"I destroyed it."

"So when everyone believes that your invitation, Whitebeard, is one no one could possibly refuse, then I, Chu Yi, refuse it!"

"Because your Whitebeard Pirates are too small a stage."

"They can’t contain me."

As he spoke, Chu Yi spread his arms wide, as though embracing the entire sea, and said gravely, "My dream is not to seize a territory on the seas and rule it as my own domain. It is to let the light of freedom shine over the entire ocean!"

"I will overturn the World Government and the rule of the Celestial Dragons!"

"I will make this world... one without slaves!"

"Tell me, Whitebeard, the things I seek to do, can your Whitebeard Pirates..."

He paused, then gave a cold smile and fixed his gaze on the transponder snail before him, pointing at it as he asked in a voice of iron:

"Can you do them?"