Six years had quietly passed, but not a single trace of time showed on Ritter's face. This was the most tangible benefit brought by his awakening so long as he willed it, Ritter would never die of old age.

He had been carefully regulating Roger's body with conscious effort. Yet, no matter how deeply he channeled life energy into him, Ritter could detect no signs of any terminal illness. Could it really be the dreaded "plot death"?

Ritter couldn't help but doubt it.

The sun shimmered on the vast blue sea. The Oro Jackson drifted along leisurely. Ritter lay lazily atop the crow's nest, chewing on a blade of grass. Suddenly, his Observation Haki flickered.

"Hmm?" He narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the horizon.

A tiny dot slowly approached. As the distance closed, the shape grew clearer a massive warship with the head of a whale. Its sail bore the iconic skull-and-crossbones of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Hey, Captain," Ritter called down lazily. "We've got company."

Roger was in the middle of being badgered by Shanks and Buggy to tell another story. He looked up. "Who is it?"

Ritter smirked. "Take a guess."

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses, sensing with his Haki. "That direction... it's Whitebeard, isn't it?"

Roger's eyes lit up, and he leapt to his feet. "Kuhahaha! It's that guy!"

Shanks and Buggy instantly perked up. "Whitebeard? That's the guy as strong as the Captain, right?"

Ritter jumped down from the crow's nest, landing softly. "That's right. And…"

He paused, flashing a mischievous smile.

"There seem to be a few new brats on their ship too."

At that very moment, on the deck of the Moby Dick, several small figures were bustling about.

(Marked ages: Shanks 39, Vista 47, Marco 45, Jozu 42 in canon. Here, Thatch is the same age as Vista.)

Twelve-year-old Marco hovered nearby, watching over his younger siblings to make sure none of them fell. The bird mama life was tough, even back then.

Nine-year-old Jozu sparkled faintly, tiny diamond-like facets glowing as he struggled to carry a heavy barrel.

Fourteen-year-olds Vista and Thatch were crouched in a corner, locked in a fierce duel between a wooden sword and a kitchen ladle.

"Take this Rose Sword Dance!"

"Hah! Blocked by my Delicious Slash!"

On his custom-built throne, Whitebeard watched the chaos unfold with an exasperated yet affectionate grin.

"Pops! Ship spotted ahead!" a crewman shouted from the lookout.

Whitebeard looked up. His gaze traveled across the sea and landed on the familiar crimson silhouette of the Oro Jackson.

"Gurararara…" He chuckled lowly. "It's that rascal Roger."

Marco flapped over, eyes gleaming. "Roger Pirates? You mean that Roger? The one they say rivals you?"

Whitebeard rubbed the boy's head. "That's the one. And…"

He paused, grin widening.

"Looks like they've picked up a few interesting little brats of their own."

As the two ships approached, they gradually slowed to a halt, bobbing side by side on the calm sea.

Roger stood proudly at the bow of his ship, hands on hips, roaring with laughter. "Kuhahaha! Whitebeard! Long time no see!"

Whitebeard rose from his seat, Murakumogiri tapping against the deck and sending a faint tremor through the wood. "Gurararara! Roger, you're still as loud as ever."

The two crews eyed each other curiously. When their gazes finally landed on the pint-sized pirates aboard each ship, the air took on an oddly charged tension.

Shanks and Buggy leaned over the rail, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Hey, Red Nose, look at that blue-flame guy!" Shanks pointed excitedly at Marco.

"Don't call me Red Nose!" Buggy barked back, only to be distracted moments later by Jozu's shimmering skin. "Whoa! That guy's glowing! How much would that fetch on the market?!"

Marco glared back. "What're you looking at?"

Jozu scratched his head. "Huh… they've got kids too…"

Vista and Thatch had already dropped into battle stances. Beating up two kids? Easy. They even pulled out their trusty wooden sword and ladle faithful training partners since childhood.

They pointed them at Shanks and Buggy. "You wanna fight?!"

Roger and Whitebeard exchanged glances and shared identical devilish grins.

"All right, boys!" they shouted in unison. "Take all their treasure!"

"YEAHHHHH!!" the six little troublemakers cried in unison, charging into battle.

Marco's fiery blue wings spread wide not very stable yet, but plenty flashy. "I'm Marco, future First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Shanks grinned and drew his toy wooden sword. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"

Bam!

They collided midair. Marco flapped wildly while Shanks ducked, rolled, and poked at Marco's butt with his toy blade.

It was like watching a Pokémon battle.

Ritter squatted nearby, cracking sunflower seeds. "Shanks, go for his legs!"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow. "Marco, use Claw Strike!"

Both kids launched their moves simultaneously—

"Waaah!" Shanks flipped through the air.

"Ow!" Marco yelped, rubbing his behind.

Ritter nodded, deeply impressed. "No wonder he became the youngest Yonko. His combat instincts are already kicking in."

Round One: Draw.

Jozu's diamond fists sparkled. "Take this!"

Buggy's red nose twitched. Suddenly, he wailed, "WAAAH! You're bullying me!"

Jozu froze. "Huh?! I didn't hit that hard…"

Slide!

Buggy dove between his legs with a sneaky baseball slide!

Thud! Jozu faceplanted, eating a mouthful of deck.

Whitebeard Pirates: "That's cheating!!"

Roger Pirates: "Nice one, Buggy!"

Ritter gave a thumbs-up. "That's called tactical deception. I taught him that, hehe!"

Buggy: Victory!

Just as Buggy puffed up with pride—

"Hey! No fair! Four against two?!" Buggy clutched his sore red nose, eyes brimming with tears.

Across from him, Marco, Jozu, Vista, and Thatch lined up, looking ready for war.

Marco crossed his arms. "The pirate world isn't fair!"

Jozu nodded, fists raised. "Pops says numbers count as strength!"

Vista and Thatch shouted in unison, "Exactly!"

Shanks wiped dirt from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Buggy… we'll have to use that move."

Buggy blinked. "Huh? What move?"

Shanks suddenly lunged at Marco, shouting, "Watch this!"

Marco opened his wings again but Shanks skidded to a halt, whipped out a handful of sand—

"SANDSTORM!!"

"Aaaah! My eyes!!" Marco stumbled, clutching his face.

Meanwhile, Buggy crept behind Jozu and tossed chili powder in his face.

"Achoo! Achoo!" Jozu's diamond skin might be tough, but his nose wasn't. Tears and snot streamed freely.

While chaos broke loose, Shanks snatched Vista's wooden sword. Buggy swiped Thatch's ladle.

"Give it back!" Vista shouted, hopping mad.

"You want it? Come and get it!" Shanks held the sword out over the edge.

Vista and Thatch edged forward cautiously.

Shanks extended the sword.

Vista flinched.

Shanks pulled it back.

They relaxed.

He extended it again flinched again.

In, out. In, out.

"Eh-heh-heh (≖‿≖✿)"

Vista and Thatch bared their teeth. "You little brat! You done playing yet?!"

The tides had turned.

Marco was still rubbing his eyes. Jozu was sneezing up a storm. Vista and Thatch had been disarmed and humiliated.

Shanks and Buggy locked eyes and grinned like devils.

"Let's go!"

Shanks swept Marco's legs.

Buggy launched his signature move "Red Nose Charge!"

BOOM!

Marco flew backward and landed squarely in Jozu's arms. The four boys rolled into a tangled heap, a full-on kiddie pileup.

Whitebeard Pirates: "SO CHEAP!!"

Roger Pirates: "ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!"

Ritter gave a slow clap from the sidelines. "My students… They're already starting to show my flair for chaos, hahaha!"

Roger burst into uproarious laughter. "Kuhahaha! Whitebeard, looks like your kids still need some training!"

But Whitebeard wasn't angry. Instead, he looked at Shanks and Buggy with admiration.

"Gurararara! Those two brats… not bad at all."

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