Blackbeard was screaming inside his head while looking around, thinking if he could find a place to hide and escape as soon as the quiz livestream ended.
However, Teach caught the attention of Thatch before he could make a move. Everyone was discussing the answers, and Teach's restless behavior stood out.
"Teach, what are you doing? Is something wrong?" Thatch asked curiously.
"It's nothing, really. I just feel a little uncomfortable after drinking too much. I'll take a rest, and I'll be fine," Teach forced a smile and replied.
"Should I tell Pops about it? You can go back to your room and rest. We'll handle things here," Thatch suggested.
"No need for that. I'll manage on my own. I don't want to disturb everyone," Teach told Thatch and quietly left, without drawing much attention. Everyone's focus was on the questions.
Only Luo ke noticed Teach's actions and couldn't help but inwardly smirk. It seemed like Teach understood that he was the traitor.
Luo ke didn't intervene to stop Teach, after all, this was the Whitebeard Pirates' affair, and it didn't concern him. He was just an emotionless questioner, harvesting the effects.
Teach quickly found a hiding spot in the ship's cabin, praying for everything to be over soon so he could escape.
Meanwhile, on the deck, the Whitebeard Pirates had reached a consensus regarding the question.
Compared to the other three options, the first one seemed more reasonable.
As for options two, three, and four, it was unlikely that they went to check on Kokoro since Whitebeard had already rejected the idea. Ace had also considered it and decided not to intervene with the affairs of the Country of 29. He wouldn't have the face to see her either.
So, unless Whitebeard agreed, Ace wouldn't go.
As for avenging Sabo, it was unrealistic. Sabo was a Celestial Dragon, after all. Ace wasn't like Marco, who could act against the Gorosei without consequences.
If Ace had really attacked a Celestial Dragon, then during the public execution, the World Government would reveal all of Ace's crimes. Attacking a Celestial Dragon was a grave offense.
As for the fourth option, they hadn't even considered it.
With a unified answer, Whitebeard spoke up:
"Answer: a, Ace went to meet Luffy."
Everyone was waiting for this answer.
At the same time, in the East Blue, the Straw Hat Pirates were also watching the livestream.
Luffy found it hard to believe when he heard this answer. If this answer was correct, it meant that Ace was captured because of him and died while protecting him.
That would make his guilt immense.
Luffy, who always wore a smiling face, suddenly looked crestfallen.
During the livestream, Marco heard Whitebeard's answer and provided the correct one.
"Answer incorrect. The correct answer is d. Ace left alone to clean up the traitor who killed his comrades in the Whitebeard Pirates."
This answer struck the Whitebeard Pirates like a thunderbolt.
How could it be?!
If this answer was true, it meant that someone on their ship had killed their comrades and escaped out of fear.
Someone actually did such a thing?!
Whitebeard's face filled with anger, and the others were equally furious.
"Who could it be? Who committed such a treacherous act?"
"To kill comrades, how dare they do such a thing!"
"Unforgivable!"
...
At Marine Headquarters, even the likes of Sengoku hadn't anticipated such a result.
Marco's analysis just now was logical and convincing, and they had all believed it to be the correct answer.
But now, upon the revelation of the correct answer, it turned out that there was a traitor within the Whitebeard Pirates?!
Sengoku couldn't help but laugh at this answer.
He had previously held meetings with the higher-ups to discuss this matter, but they had never arrived at a possible answer. They couldn't figure out how Ace had been captured by the Marines.
And now it turned out he was defeated by a traitor?
The Whitebeard Pirates actually had such a character among them?
To be able to defeat the Second Division Commander, they must have been someone significant.
Sengoku rubbed his chin in thought. Based on the footage, it seemed that all the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates who participated in the Summit War were present, except for Ace. If someone had betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, they wouldn't have joined the attack on Marine Headquarters.
Sengoku turned to Brannew and said, "Show me the records of the Summit War."
Upon hearing Sengoku's request, Brannew retrieved the relevant information on the Summit War, including video footage and photos.
Sengoku quickly scanned through the materials and suddenly noticed a blind spot.
It seemed that during the war, among the sixteen division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, only fourteen were present, excluding Ace, who had been captured.
What about the missing one?
After comparing the identities of the commanders who appeared, Sengoku identified the one who didn't show up.
Fourth Division Commander Thatch?
Could it be that he betrayed Whitebeard?
At this moment, many people were laughing at the Whitebeard Pirates. It was amusing to see a traitor within their own pirate crew.
No one expected that one of the Four Emperors would stumble upon such a situation.
Because of this, Whitebeard nearly sacrificed the entire crew at Marine Headquarters.
It was both laughable and heartbreaking.
Meanwhile, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were also searching for the traitor, trying to figure out who almost caused their entire crew to be wiped out.
Suddenly, Thatch's expression turned somewhat uneasy.
A few days ago, he had noticed something while watching the footage of the Summit War. When he saw the scene where the Whitebeard Pirates made their appearance, he instinctively looked for his own position.
However, after scanning the division commanders standing beside Whitebeard, he didn't see himself.
Initially, he thought he might have been blocked and not captured on camera. But now, it seemed that this matter might be related to him.
Moreover... the culprit could possibly be him.
How is that possible? I wouldn't do something like this... Thatch immediately dismissed the thought from his mind. He knew his own intentions best.
Thatchh decided to inform Whitebeard about this matter.
Upon hearing Thatch's words, Whitebeard furrowed his brows. He couldn't believe that Thatch would betray the Whitebeard Pirates and kill his comrades.
If it wasn't Thatch, then there was only one possibility—the one who killed Thatch.
Marco and the others also realized this.
Upon hearing Thatch's confession, the other division commanders recalled their own actions during the Summit War, which could prove that they weren't the ones who betrayed the crew.
"Who could have attacked Thatch, my brother?" Ace said angrily. When he first joined the crew, Thatch was the first one to talk to him and became his closest friend.
They never expected that someone among them would kill Teach. How could he bear it?
No wonder Ace wanted to catch the culprit.
At that moment, Luo ke asked the second question, "Question: Who is the traitor? You have three minutes. The countdown starts now."
Due to the mistake in the first question, they became even more cautious.
On the one hand, they considered the reward related to the answer, as they didn't want to miss out on it. Last time, They got all the answers right and received a Life Potion. They were equally eager to know what the reward would be this time.
On the other hand, they also wanted to identify the culprit.
"Thatch do you suspect anyone?" Whitebeard asked Thatch.
Whitebeard didn't want to face this question if possible. He didn't even want to entertain the thought that his son could do such a thing.
However, previous live broadcasts had proven that Luo ke's words were highly likely to be true.
He didn't want to suspect anyone, so he had to leave this question for Marco and the others to figure out. Whitebeard even questioned himself, wondering how he would handle the culprit if it turned out to be his own son from the Whitebeard Pirates.
At that moment, they realized that Teach seemed to be missing from the crowd.
"I just saw Teach here, standing with Thatch. How come he's gone now?"
Thatch's expression turned grim. He had noticed something off about Teach earlier, but he didn't think much of it when Teach mentioned feeling unwell and left.
Now, upon reflection, Thatch realized that Teach had been perfectly fine before, and it was only after hearing the answer to the first question that his face turned uncomfortable.
A bad thought suddenly sprang to Thatch's mind.
Thatch's face turned ugly as he said, "Teach told me earlier that he wasn't feeling well and went back to his room."
He didn't voice his suspicion.
Because he couldn't comprehend how Teach, someone who had such a good relationship with him and was considered a brother, could kill him.
There must be some misunderstanding.
No, it can't be like this. I must be mistaken.
Teach couldn't possibly do something like this.
It must have been someone else.
That's what Thatch could only think in his mind.
The others didn't associate Teach with being the culprit who killed Thatch, but it was indeed not good timing for Teach to leave. It could easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
No one believed that Teach could have killed Thatch because their relationship was so strong. Thatch had even been drunk earlier, and Teach had helped him back to his room.
How could such close brothers commit such an act?
Whitebeard frowned slightly and said to Marco and Jozu, "Go and fetch Teach, quickly."
"Yes, Dad," Marco and Jozu responded promptly.
Marco and Jozu hurried to Teach's room to find him.
The others began searching for clues among the members of the Second Division.
Fortunately, this was a question-and-answer situation rather than a multiple-choice question. Luo ke had given them ample time to think about the answer.
They could thoroughly search for clues.
However, neither Ace nor Whitebeard believed that the members of the Second Division present could be the culprits.
There was only one reason: they couldn't determine if they could overpower Thatch, as he might have been killed by a surprise attack.
But they couldn't overpower Ace either, being the division commander.
If they couldn't defeat Ace, then how did Ace end up in the hands of the Navy?
Could it be that Ace was captured by the Navy along the way?
But that didn't make sense either. If Ace encountered a foe he couldn't defeat, couldn't he escape?
Why would he desperately fight against the Navy? He wasn't there to pick a fight with them but to capture the traitor.
Could it be that he ran into an Admiral from the Navy on the way?
Everyone was puzzled, unable to find a solution.
Just as they were contemplating the answer, Marco and Jozu returned.
"Dad, Teach is missing!" Marco said with an uneasy expression.
"We searched the entire ship, but there's no trace of Teach," Jozu added, frowning.
Marco and Jozu's words immediately sparked a disturbing thought in the minds of the Whitebeard Pirates.
And Thatch's face turned even darker than ink.
Initially, Thatch was unwilling to believe that Teach had killed him, but now Teach had vanished without a trace at this critical moment. This clearly indicated that something suspicious was going on!
Could it really be Teach?
Thatch suddenly noticed a loophole: Teach hadn't heard the answer to the first question before leaving.
At that time, no one knew that the correct option was the fourth one.
However, Teach's expression turned ugly after hearing the options and he hurriedly left.
This meant that he already knew about it when he heard the options.
But if Teach hadn't killed him yet, why would he know the answer?
A bold idea popped into Thatch's mind.
In other words, Teach was just about to do it, but the live broadcast interrupted him. So he understood that if the broadcast hadn't interrupted, he would have killed Thatch.
That's why he left after hearing the answer, feeling guilty.
Why did Teach want to kill him?
Thatch suddenly looked at the box he was holding, containing the Devil Fruit they had obtained today.
He was about to eat that fruit, and Teach was right beside him.
Could it be that Teach killed him for this Devil Fruit?!
Thinking about this, Thatch felt deeply saddened. Twenty years of brotherhood couldn't withstand a single Devil Fruit.
Teach's disappearance, coupled with the search for the traitor, made everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates realize that these events were not mere coincidences.
"No way, the traitor is Teach?!"
"Why would Teach do such a thing? Is there a misunderstanding somewhere?"
"That Teach!!! How dare he do such a thing! I will never forgive him."
"Find that guy quickly. We must get to the bottom of this! Dad and Thatch treated him so well, why would he betray us?"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates scattered in search of Teach's whereabouts.
Whitebeard's face was unusually serious. This had crossed his bottom line.
Killing a brother and betraying the Whitebeard Pirates were absolute taboos on this ship.
Whitebeard couldn't comprehend that Teach, with his smiling face, would do such a thing. Why would he betray the Whitebeard Pirates?!
Soon, Teach was found and brought back.
Though the Moby Dick was large, it had its limits. Now, the Moby Dick was sealed off by a barrier, preventing people inside from leaving and outsiders from entering.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates were exceptionally familiar with the ship. They knew every corner inside out.
The entire crew searched, and it didn't take long for Teach to be found.
When Teach was brought back, he was still dripping wet.
It turned out that this guy believed that staying on the ship would eventually lead to his discovery, so he directly dived into the sea, planning to escape from there once the live broadcast ended.
However, the Whitebeard Pirates had Fish-Men, and while some searched the ship, others searched the sea. No matter how well Teach hid, he couldn't escape the eyes of the Fish-Men in the sea.
Teach didn't resist after being discovered. He surrendered willingly and was captured.
He knew very well that he couldn't win against Whitebeard in his prime. So, surrendering was the wisest choice before the situation escalated further.
Moreover, after being Whitebeard's son for over twenty years, he knew his father's character well, including his soft spot.
Whitebeard looked disappointedly at Teach, then turned to Luo ke and said, "The answer is Marshall D. Teach."
"Correct answer," Luo ke promptly affirmed.
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=> The day of studying in Hogwarts.
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(End of this chapter)