Darkness Versus Darkness

"Sir..."

Teach suddenly spoke, his manner utterly sincere.

"What benefits did Old Man give you? I can give you double—no, ten times as much! As long as you're willing to hand Ace over to me, I'll satisfy any demand you have."

Yaen looked up at Teach and said calmly,

"Oh? What an arrogant statement. You're nothing more than a stray dog who has lost its home, yet you think you can stand shoulder to shoulder with the entire Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Zehahaha! What are the Whitebeard Pirates? Aside from Old Man, not a single person in that crew truly harbors a dream. They're all failures of the sea, huddling together for warmth and using so-called familial affection to fill the emptiness left by their lost ambition and dreams..."

At this point, Teach grew excited. His half-clenched hand seemed to be grasping at something as he continued,

"My Blackbeard Pirates will absolutely surpass the so-called Whitebeard Pirates! I'll be the next Pirate King to conquer the entire sea!"

Hearing this, Ace retorted furiously,

"Teach, you're someone who murdered your own crewmate, and you think you have the right to say that? You want to become the Pirate King? The only one who can become the Pirate King is Old Man!!!"

"Zehahaha! Ace, what right do you have to criticize me when you're a defeated loser?"

Then Teach stared at Yaen and Brook before raising his voice.

"Sir, if you're willing to join me, I can give you the position of vice-captain, and I'll absolutely respect all your decisions. Whatever you want, I'll obtain it for you. How about it?"

"That's a very tempting offer..." Yaen gave a simple assessment.

Hearing this, Ace grew anxious and hurriedly said to Yaen, "Sir, don't believe this bastard who murdered his own crewmate."

Yaen smiled faintly