Fateful Encounter

The Moby Dick, once filled with laughter and joy, is now filled with a somber and oppressive atmosphere.

Whitebeard's face was clouded with worry, his expression slightly weary, and his broad back seemed to be slightly hunched. This incident had dealt him a heavy blow. He was indeed the World's Strongest Man, but he was also the patriarch of the Whitebeard Pirates, the father of everyone on the ship.

First, the near-total annihilation of the members of the First and Third Divisions made him feel heavy-hearted and his breath caught in his throat. But seeing the self-reproachful and guilty expressions on Marco and Jozu's faces, the words of reprimand stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them. After all, after understanding the situation at the time, he knew that even he might not have been able to do better than the two of them in that situation.

As for revenge? He didn't know who to seek it out on.

Gild Tesoro fell into the sea and there has been no news for many days. He may have already perished. Those who were controlled by greed and accidentally touched the trap were also buried in the sea of fire in the first place. The few who managed to escape were torn apart by the enraged major forces.

Before he could recover from his grief, something even more unbelievable happened: his son killed another son and defected. Killing a comrade is the most intolerable crime on a pirate ship. He never imagined such a thing would happen on his ship. For Whitebeard, who always valued family above all else, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

"Old Man, it's all my fault. I noticed Teach's strange behavior and knew that his previous actions were all an act, but I still gave him one last chance, which led to Thatch being killed by that heartless bastard. I will personally bring him back and use his sinful blood to pay tribute to Thatch's spirit!" Marco was filled with remorse. If he hadn't been deceived by Teach's distraught appearance, he would never have let his guard down.

"I should be the one bringing that bastard back! If I hadn't led the support team, that bastard Teach might have died in the Golden City long ago, and none of this would have happened. I should be the one bringing Teach back!" Jozu roared in resentment. He still refused to believe that it was all real, wishing he had fallen into a dream.

"Alright, all of you, quiet down." Whitebeard's face was grim. Even the unintentional aura he exuded was enough to overwhelm the ordinary crew members, causing them to faint one after another. This scene made Whitebeard slightly restrain his domineering Haki. "None of you need to blame yourselves. In this matter, the only one who made a mistake was that bastard Teach. He committed the most unforgivable crime on a pirate ship..."

"Something terrible has happened!" An ordinary crew member stumbled in, looking anxious.

"Hmm? What's going on?" Whitebeard frowned slightly. This person was a member of the Second Division. Could it be...?

"Old Man, something terrible has happened! Captain Ace left a letter and left alone, saying that Teach... that bastard Teach was one of his team members, and he has to bear the guilt of killing Captain Thatch. He will personally bring Teach back and use Teach's life to let Captain Thatch's soul rest in peace."

"Nonsense!" Marco's expression changed drastically, and he couldn't help but say, "Old Man, we absolutely cannot let Ace fight alone. That bastard Teach is terrifyingly strong; Ace has no chance against him!"

"Yes, although I hate to admit it, Teach's strength is still above mine. Ace is still too young. It's too early for him to fight against someone of that level!" Jozu also said loudly.

For the past two years, they had all accepted the enthusiastic young man and made him a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. They were even pleased and supportive of him becoming the Second Division Commander. So, when they heard that Ace was going to take on Teach alone, they all turned pale with shock.

Whitebeard fell into deep thought, not directly refusing as Red Hair in the original work when he tried to stop him. After all, his son's words were certainly more credible than those of an outsider like Red Hair. Moreover, Teach was no longer the character in the original work who had no notable achievements. He was a top-tier fighter who had defended the "Dark-Dark Fruit" while holding his own against two powerful figures, Doflamingo and Gild Tesoro.

However, he could never allow Ace to retreat directly; otherwise, how could he console the spirit of Thatch?

Therefore, after a moment of contemplation, Whitebeard said, "Marco, Jozu, Vista, the three of you work together and make sure to bring that bastard Teach back to me before Ace makes a move. Unjust and immoral people... don't deserve to live in this world. I will personally teach that Teach this principle!"

Sea area near Alabasta.

"Vivi, do you really just need us to take you to Alabasta? These guys following us closely don't look like they're easy to mess with!" Nami frowned as she glanced at the dozens of large ships closely following them in the sea behind them.

"Miss Vivi, if you have any difficulties, please tell me! I am Sanji, the Sanji of Love, and I will definitely rescue you from the Vice Admiral of the dragon!" Her curly-browed eyes sparkled with pink light.

"It's alright. They're just here to see me, they won't do anything to me." Vivi smiled somewhat unnaturally, but in her heart she thought, "I'm sorry, you're all good people, but my enemies are not people you can handle. It's best not to involve you in this."

"Oh right, I remember now, you said you were the princess of Alabasta, so these people aren't here to welcome you... Ouch!" Nami's eyes were already practically turning into the symbol of Beli, but then a dozen or so cannon shots from the sea behind her made her lose her balance and almost fall onto the deck.

The crowd's expressions turned strange; this welcoming ceremony was indeed quite grand.

"So they're enemies?" Luffy belatedly realized, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to charge forward, "I'll beat them to a pulp..."

"Idiot, wait!" Nami Luffy down. "Didn't you see that the enemy has been maintaining such a long distance from us? These people are definitely veterans in naval warfare. They're not greedy for credit and have no intention of boarding the enemy. Instead, they're prepared to keep suppressing us with fire. In that case, before we even get close, our entire crew will be wiped out by their firepower."

Luffy mentally compared the distance between them and the length of his outstretched arm, and couldn't help but sigh in frustration, "What am I supposed to do? Am I just going to let the enemy chase me around and beat me up like this? That's so frustrating!"

"The only option left is to escape..." Nami smiled bitterly. "It seems that we really can't judge the enemies on the Grand Line based on past experience!"

Bang!

"You look troubled, Luffy. How about asking your brother for help like you did when you were little?" A shirtless, pockmarked Freckled Youth jumped onto the edge of the Going Merry's railing, pressed down on his orange cowboy hat, and said with a smile.