Whitebeard looked at Teach with deep disappointment. "Teach, I never imagined it would be you who would do such a thing. How could you harm your brothers on this ship? What is the deep-seated hatred between you and Thatch? You wanted to kill him? You've been brothers for over twenty years!"
"How could you bring yourself to do it?!" Whitebeard exclaimed, his heartache evident as he covered his forehead. If he hadn't already regained his health, hearing about this would have made him dizzy with anger.
Thatch looked at Teach with a mixture of disbelief and immense pain. "Is it all because of this? You wanted to kill me?"
Everyone looked and saw the box in Thatch's hands, with its lid opened to reveal the Devil Fruit inside.
"Just for a Devil Fruit?" Thatch questioned.
"I was wrong, Thatch. It was my mistake. You can beat me up, do whatever you want, as long as it allows you to vent your anger. I'm willing to bear it all," Teach pleaded.
Thatch looked at Teach with great disappointment. He couldn't believe that their twenty-year brotherhood had shattered over a single Devil Fruit.
"If you really wanted this Devil Fruit, why didn't you talk to me beforehand? Could I have not given it to you? Why didn't you discuss it with me?" Thatch said, frustrated.
Teach lowered his head and remained silent, portraying himself as a guilty person awaiting their decision.
As they looked at his demeanor, considering their decades-long brotherhood, a hint of sympathy emerged within them.
However, they didn't see Teach's hidden expression when they softened their tone. A gleam of triumph flashed in his eyes.
As a long-standing member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach was well aware of the atmosphere within the crew, from his father to the crewmates, where brotherhood was highly valued.
It was because of this that they were so furious and intolerant of betrayal among brothers.
But at the same time, they couldn't bring themselves to be completely ruthless to their brothers.
Whitebeard, in particular, felt this way. Therefore, in the moment Teach was discovered, he understood what he should and shouldn't do.
Resisting would only make his father angrier. He just had to play the role of his son properly.
To his father, even a son who made mistakes was still a son.
Ultimately, Teach had acted out of greed for a treasure, a mistake that any pirate could make.
Such actions were unforgivable crimes in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the world of pirates, they were not considered excessively serious.
The only serious aspect was the possibility that he might have killed Thatch.
But for now, he hadn't done anything yet!
Father, how could he possibly kill one son with his own hands for the sake of another son who is still alive?
This move is called "retreating in order to advance."
On Teach's face, there was a cunning glint in his eyes.
Whitebeard felt immense pain in his heart after learning the reason. He never expected that his sons would turn against each other for such a trivial reason, all because of a Devil Fruit.
The familial bond that Whitebeard had worked so hard to maintain within the Whitebeard Pirates crumbled in the face of a Devil Fruit. As a father, this left him heartbroken and frustrated.
He looked at Teach, who was kneeling on the ground, and his eyes were filled with helplessness, anger, disappointment, and sadness.
He didn't know how to deal with Teach. Even if Teach had committed the act of killing Thatch, he couldn't bring himself to kill his own son in return.
He simply had Jozu tie up Teach and would consider what to do with him after the live broadcast ended.
With so many people watching now, no matter how much Teach betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, it was still their family matter.
No matter how despicable Teach was, he was still his son.
Family matters should not be made public. Whitebeard couldn't bring himself to commit such an act of fratricide in front of outsiders.
That would only cause pain for the loved ones and hatred from the enemies.
Those who had grudges or grievances with the Whitebeard Pirates before were probably enjoying this spectacle.
As Whitebeard had anticipated, Kaido, Big Mom, Doflamingo... even the Marines were all watching this family drama of brother against brother unfolding within the Whitebeard Pirates.
Who would have thought that even the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, would be unsure how to handle such a situation!
However, this had nothing to do with them. They were just spectators, enjoying the show.
The Whitebeard Pirates, who were renowned for their brotherhood, were finally experiencing a clash between brothers.
The so-called unity of the Whitebeard Pirates was nothing more than this.
The Marine Headquarters, the Shichibukai, and other Marines felt somewhat regretful.
They never expected that the Whitebeard Pirates would have someone like Teach, a backstabber, among them.
As they say, the strongest fortress is destroyed from within.
With Teach's presence, they could have destroyed the Whitebeard Pirates from within.
But now this traitor had been exposed.
Although they witnessed a great spectacle, the ultimate beneficiary of this incident was still the Whitebeard Pirates. They had gotten rid of a potential time bomb within their ranks.
What a shame.
Others might not know Teach's intentions, but Luo ke understood what he was thinking the moment Teach kneeled down. After all, Teach was known for his cunning, gambling, and disguises. How could he possibly surrender willingly?
This guy was definitely putting on a show for Whitebeard.
However, Luo ke had nothing to do with it. If Whitebeard was soft-hearted, that was Whitebeard's business. Luo ke had already laid out all the facts; if Whitebeard still couldn't bring himself to take decisive action, then the Whitebeard Pirates would have to bear this trouble themselves.
He was just an emotionless observer, responsible for stating the facts, creating an impact, and harvesting energy.
"The name of that Devil Fruit is the Yami Yami no Mi, which possesses the terrifying ability to nullify the powers of other Devil Fruit users, absorb damage, and compress and crush objects into a black hole. It is an incredibly formidable fruit.
Teach had seen the appearance of this fruit in the Devil Fruit catalog a long time ago and had been waiting for its appearance. He believed that only this fruit could support his dreams.
His purpose for staying in the Whitebeard Pirates was also for this reason. He believed that staying here would increase his chances of encountering this fruit.
Teach was a gambler. He gambled on whether his luck would lead him to this fruit. If he couldn't come across it in his lifetime, then he would stay obediently in the Whitebeard Pirates.
But if he did come across it, then he would continue his ambitions. In reality, Teach, just like Luffy, wanted to become the Pirate King.
It can only be said that as a pirate, his luck wasn't too bad. But for your Whitebeard Pirates, your luck wasn't so good."
After listening to Luo kei's words, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates finally understood why Teach would commit fratricide for the sake of a mere Devil Fruit.
It turned out that this guy didn't act on impulse; he had a long-standing plan.
He had set his sights on the Yami Yami no Mi long ago and had waited for over twenty years until finally encountering this fruit.
However, the fruit didn't belong to him. An impatient Teach didn't want to miss this hard-earned opportunity, so he resorted to killing to seize the fruit.
They never expected that Teach, whom they had always thought of as simple and honest, would hide such immense ambition beneath his exterior.
The Pirate King?
They actually never realized it.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a chill towards Teach.
He had been pretending to be an honest person in front of them for over twenty years. What kind of person could achieve such a level of deception?
The soft spot they had just developed for Teach vanished instantly, replaced by wariness. A person like him was truly dangerous.
When Whitebeard heard Luo ke say that Teach had considered staying in the Whitebeard Pirates for his entire life if he couldn't find the Yami Yami no Mi, as his son, he couldn't help but feel the irony of fate.
Teach had already stayed on the ship for over twenty years and unexpectedly encountered the Yami Yami no Mi at this moment.
Whitebeard couldn't help but feel some regret. If they hadn't encountered that group of pirates yesterday, if they hadn't obtained the Yami Yami no Mi from them, then the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't have experienced such a tragedy.
It was all caused by a Devil Fruit.
Whitebeard turned his head and looked at Thatch, saying, "Thatch, eat this Devil Fruit right now. From now on, any Devil Fruit we obtain on our ship must be consumed immediately. I won't allow such incidents to happen again."
Whitebeard realized that he had underestimated the position of Devil Fruits in the hearts of others.
After hearing about the abilities of the Yami Yami no Mi, he could probably understand why Teach was willing to risk killing his brothers and betraying the Whitebeard Pirates to seize it. The immense power truly drove people mad.
He hadn't paid much attention to this matter before, thinking that they were all people on the ship and they could distribute the fruits as they pleased. But after this incident, he realized that even the closest brothers needed to be cautious when faced with enormous benefits.
To prevent such things from happening again, this matter had to be taken seriously.
Thatch nodded in response to Whitebeard's words. He glanced at Teach, who visibly trembled upon hearing Thatch's words. However, he didn't do anything and continued to lower his head, concealing his expression.
Thatch then took out the Yami Yami no Mi and took a bite, finding it just as difficult to eat as he had heard before.
After taking a bite, he put the remaining fruit aside and immediately felt the power he had obtained.
Soon, two clusters of black smoke formed around his hands.
Marco voluntarily approached Thatch and asked him to use his power on him.
Thatch reached out his hand towards Marco, and Marco was pulled towards Thatch as if through space. At that moment, Marco tried to activate his own power but found that his Phoenix Devil Fruit had lost its effect.
"As Mr. Luo ke said, my power is no longer effective," Marco said to Whitebeard.
Upon witnessing this scene, the other members of the Whitebeard Pirates were ecstatic. They were extremely excited that Thatch had obtained such a powerful fruit ability, one that rendered other ability users powerless. It meant that Thatch was now the natural enemy of all ability users.
And one must know that among the Four Emperors on the sea, besides Red Hair, all of them were ability users. The Seven Warlords were also mostly ability users, except for Hawkeye. Even the three Admirals of the Navy were ability users...
This meant that the Whitebeard Pirates had gained another powerful force. They were even stronger now!
Upon hearing their words, Teach lifted his head and glanced at Thatch's hand enveloped in black smoke, then immediately lowered his head again. A blazing gaze flickered in his eyes. This was the power he had dreamed of!
In contrast to the excitement of the Whitebeard Pirates, the other people who witnessed this scene had unpleasant expressions on their faces.
Big Mom, Kaido, and other major pirates had unpleasant expressions on their faces. They had been enjoying the spectacle, but now they saw that Whitebeard had gained another powerful ability user. Considering that most of their subordinates were Devil Fruit users, the addition of Thatch, a user of the Yami Yami no Mi, meant that the Whitebeard Pirates had become their natural enemy.
The Whitebeard Pirates were already formidable due to Whitebeard's strength, especially now that he had regained his prime. With the addition of Thatch and his Yami Yami no Mi ability, the Whitebeard Pirates' momentum had surpassed that of the other Four Emperors. The situation was not favorable.
The Marines also realized the threat posed by the addition of Thatch to the Whitebeard Pirates. They immediately increased Thatch's bounty to 850 million berries. The Whitebeard Pirates had become too dangerous. With Whitebeard's restored strength and the presence of Thatch, the three Admirals of the Navy were unable to handle them. Fortunately, they had non-Devil Fruit users like Garp on their side, which prevented them from being completely defenseless.
Some of them couldn't help but blame Luo ke. Why did he have to cause trouble for them? Was this his revenge against the World Government and the Navy?
Nevertheless, the Whitebeard Pirates became the most dangerous enemy in the eyes of the Marines. As for Luo ke, he became the number one threat in the eyes of the World Government.
...
When Thatch consumed the Yami Yami no Mi, Whitebeard finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had one less source of conflict now. The only thing left was to decide what to do with Thatch, but they would discuss that after the quiz livestream ended.
Luo ke's side began the third question.
"Question: What was Marshall D. Teach's true intention when he defeated Ace, who was chasing after him, and handed him over to the Marines to become one of the Seven Warlords?
Here are the four options: a) seeking protection from the Marines, b) claiming Ace's bounty from the Marines, c) obtaining permission to go to Impel Down, d) provoking a conflict between Whitebeard and the Marines, diverting Whitebeard's hatred towards himself."
Upon hearing this question, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates glared at Thatch.
Thatch could feel their gaze and couldn't help but feel helpless. Please, I beg you, don't provoke me anymore. I'm finally getting things under control, and if you instigate me again, I'll really be done for.
But Thatch didn't dare to say such things openly in front of Whitebeard, nor did he want to offend Luo ke. Luo ke was a man who dared to defy even the Five Elder Stars. To provoke someone like him would be to seek death.
Thatch had no choice but to swallow all the bitterness himself. He was in a difficult position now. He had done some of these things, but not everything. But he had to take the blame for it all...
The third question seemed easier than the previous two because it provided more information.
Marco thought for a moment and said, "Since we're talking about Teach's true intention in becoming one of the Seven Warlords, we can rule out options a) and b). That leaves us with options c) and d), obtaining permission to go to Impel Down and diverting Dad's attention.
The answer should be among these two options."
"Impressive, Marco. You narrowed it down right away," everyone chuckled.
"In that case, we can probably eliminate the fourth option as well," Ace said, scratching his nose.
"Why do you say that?" Whitebeard asked Ace.
"Since Teach handed me over to the Marines, it would inevitably create a conflict between Dad and the Marines. That's an obvious outcome. If we're talking about true intentions, it should be something unexpected."
"In that case, only the third option remains, obtaining permission to go to Impel Down. I remember during the Summit War, Luffy came from Impel Down with a group of pirates wearing prisoner outfits. They must have escaped from Impel Down," Marco continued.
"Criminals..." Suddenly, everyone realized something.
Upon witnessing this, Sengoku's expression darkened. He had been played by this guy named Teach..
Obtaining permission to go to Impel Down.
As the Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Sengoku was well aware of what Impel Down entailed. It was where the Navy imprisoned the pirates they had captured over the years.
Moreover, the prisoners held on the underground Level 6 were extremely dangerous and powerful pirates, each one a major threat. Releasing even one of them would cause significant havoc in the world.
This Teach had manipulated both him and Whitebeard. He used Ace to provoke a war between Sengoku and Whitebeard, diverting the Navy's attention while he utilized his position as a Warlord to go to Impel Down.
For Teach, who had left the Whitebeard Pirates alone, becoming the Pirate King required powerful allies. And where else could he find powerful allies in an instant other than Impel Down, where numerous pirates gathered?
In other words, the entire Summit War wasn't a conspiracy orchestrated by Lou ke.
The real mastermind was Teach. From the moment Ace was handed over to the Navy, this so-called Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and even the Four Emperors, including Whitebeard, were all manipulated by Teach..
They all fell into Teach's trap.
Moreover, after the Summit War, the Whitebeard Pirates suffered heavy losses, and the Marine Headquarters was severely damaged. It proved the saying, "When two fight, the third party benefits."
Damn it... Sengoku's expression was extremely grim. He had been outwitted by an unknown pirate. It was a great humiliation.
"Marshall D. Teach... I'll remember this grudge!" Sengoku said coldly.
At this moment, during the live broadcast, Whitebeard also provided the answer to the third question.
"Answer: c) obtaining permission to go to Impel Down."
"Correct answer, Marshall D. Teach. During the war between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates at Marineford,Teach seized the opportunity to go to Impel Down, specifically to the underground Level 6.
He orchestrated infighting among the pirates imprisoned on Level 6, ensuring that only the strongest individuals would survive."
After a fierce battle, they finally managed to take away extremely wicked individuals who were imprisoned here, such as Yoru no Shiru, the Tyrant King Abauro Pizarro, the Black Moon Hunter Cataro, the enormous battleship Saint Juan Eruwolf, and others. They successfully filled the manpower shortage of the Blackbeard Pirates."
With each name Luo ke mentioned, the faces of those who heard it became increasingly grim.
Except for Yoru no Shiru, all of these individuals were notorious pirates with a fearsome reputation on the seas. For them, Teach bringing together such a group of formidable pirates was not good news.
Especially for Sengoku and the others, their expressions turned even darker. They realized that they had been outsmarted by that guy, Teachi.
If news of this were to spread, the Marines would become a laughingstock. They were used as pawns, resulting in the escape of so many pirates from Impel Down and causing even greater disaster in the world.
It was truly ridiculous.
This was not merely a battle of strength but a complete intellectual domination. Sengoku, the renowned strategist, had been played by Teach like a puppet.
The Marines had originally hoped to execute Ace, the bloodline successor of Roger, and eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates during the Summit War, establishing the Navy's authority and deterring pirates. However, they not only paid a tremendous price during the war but also had their own base infiltrated, resulting in the release of even more pirates. This operation was truly embarrassing.
Everyone couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, known for his strategic prowess, had fallen into such a situation at the hands of Teach. The name Teach had finally become etched in the minds of people worldwide. The person who managed to deceive Sengoku was destined to be no ordinary character. He truly deserved the title of a ruthless individual who had concealed himself within the Whitebeard Pirates for over twenty years.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the live broadcast, focusing on the individual who was bound and kneeling with their head lowered.
Meanwhile, Teach kept all the information reported by Luo ke in his heart.
Impel Down, huh... A glimmer flashed in Teach's eyes.
The third question ended, and the fourth question began.
"Question: Who stabbed Whitebeard in the chest during the Summit War?
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=> The day of studying in Hogwarts.
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(End of this chapter)