Above Onigashima in the New World, lightning flashed continuously across the sky, making the enormous skull-shaped structure on the island look even more sinister and terrifying!
Inside Onigashima, Kaido took huge gulps from his sake gourd. After listening to the scout read out the latest news, he wore a look of utter disdain.
"Hahaha! What Zero Division Captain? He only killed some newly appointed Shichibukai, and they're already singing his praises to the heavens? Those people at the news agency are getting more and more outrageous with their stories just to make money!"
"Ye Yu, was it? If you've got the guts, come try Onigashima. You've still got a long way to go, brat!"
The pirates around him stood frozen in terror, not daring to move. Lord Kaido went on drunken rampages several times a day on average, and every single one left them trembling in fear!
One careless moment, and they might be accidentally beaten to death by Lord Kaido's spiked club!
Over on Whole Cake Island, Big Mom had received the news as well.
She stopped chewing.
"Hm? Is this little brat really as powerful as the news says?" Big Mom revealed a suspicious expression.
Perospero, wearing a colorful top hat, came before Big Mom.
"Reporting, Mama, I already spoke with Morgans over the Transponder Snail. It's absolutely true. At the very least, this brat is at the level of an Emperor's commander," Perospero said respectfully.
"Mum~ mum~ mum! What an interesting little brat. Not even twenty, yet already so powerful!" Big Mom burst into laughter, the fat on her greasy, bloated face jiggling wildly.
It was clear that Big Mom was quite curious about Ye Yu.
"Say, Perospero, do you think this brat is so powerful because he's some new race? Send someone to bring him to Totto Land. Our Totto Land needs new races!"
A thin sheen of sweat appeared on Perospero's forehead. Who could possibly bring over such a powerful brat?
But he did not dare disobey Big Mom's orders.
"Yes, Mama. I'll make the arrangements right away." With that, Perospero gave a respectful bow and left the room.
Out at sea, a pirate flag bearing a single-eyed skull fluttered in the wind.
It belonged to the main ship of Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of this world.
Early that morning, Shanks had been woken by Benn Beckman. Red-Haired Shanks yawned, still half-asleep, and complained, "Hey, Beckman, are you seriously not letting me sleep? I drank until two in the morning yesterday. What time is it now, and you're already waking me up?"
Benn Beckman did not answer. His expression was grave as he took a deep drag from his cigarette, then slowly exhaled. In an instant, smoke filled the air.
"Listen, Shanks. You'll definitely be interested in this news. It's about Blackbeard Teach."
The moment he heard the name Blackbeard Teach, Red-Haired Shanks's expression turned cold. He snatched the newspaper away.
"What? That bastard Blackbeard Teach... is dead?!" Red-Haired Shanks's eyes filled with profound shock.
Others might not understand Blackbeard Teach, but he knew that man very well!
Teach was no harmless man. He was a deeply calculating monster with two lives!
Even he had been left with scars during his battle against Blackbeard Teach!
He had warned Whitebeard long ago to stop Ace from pursuing Blackbeard Teach, but Whitebeard had refused. That was why Blackbeard Teach had captured Ace and handed him over to the Marines!
But... this guy called Ye Yu had actually... wiped out the entire Blackbeard Pirates by himself... How terrifying!
Benn Beckman stubbed out his cigarette and looked toward the sea. "Red-Haired, this sea is getting more and more interesting, isn't it?"
Red-Haired Shanks also looked out at the sea before him. The corners of his mouth rose slightly as an overwhelming aura surged forth. "I really want to meet this Zero Division Captain who killed Blackbeard!"
"Looks like a new era is coming. Are you ready, Beckman? Don't let the up-and-comers leave you behind, hahaha!"
Unaware of all this, Ye Yu spent two hours and finally caught up to the Marine warship.
By the time Ye Yu rushed alongside the Marine warship, his little boat had already been reduced to a wreck.
Ye Yu looked at his battered little boat, now practically falling apart, and scratched his head awkwardly.
He had been too hungry, so he had used a little too much strength... He had wrecked the boat until only its frame remained.
Still, there was a ready-made large ship right in front of him! Ye Yu immediately activated his Conqueror's Haki. His Conqueror's Haki Manifestation carried him into the air.
Without any effort, and with the help of his Search-Search Fruit, Ye Yu quickly found his way to the mess hall.
It was not mealtime yet, but lunch had already been prepared.
Because of Marine training, all the Marines were running drills on deck. At the moment, Ye Yu was the only one left in the entire mess hall.
He lifted the pot lids. Damn, there were braised prawns, seafood, foie gras, chicken legs, duck legs, sushi—everything one could want.
"Looks like Marine Headquarters is really loaded! Even ordinary Marines at Marine Headquarters eat this well!" Ye Yu rubbed his hands together and said excitedly.
"Then I won't hold back, haha! Time to eat!"
At that moment, Ye Yu practically transformed into Luffy and began stuffing himself in an exaggerated frenzy.
He did not forget to comment as he ate. "Damn, these prawns are unbelievably delicious. I almost want to kidnap this chef and make him cook just for me from now on, haha!"
"This duck leg is amazing. Did they add some special seasoning?"
"The seafood selection here is way better than on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship."
With his mouth stuffed full of food, Ye Yu kept talking to himself while eating.
By the time he had eaten his fill, it was already noon. The Marines finished training and arrived at the mess hall, flooding in like a swarm and wolfing down their food.
Ye Yu was a little dumbfounded. He had thought that when the Marines entered the mess hall and discovered him, a pirate, there would be another fight.
Instead, they completely ignored him...
It was not really the Marines' fault. Ye Yu simply did not give off the impression of a strong person. He looked more like a newly enlisted Marine recruit!
"Hey, rookie, you were selected into Marine Headquarters yesterday, right? If an officer sees you without your uniform, you'll be severely punished!" an old Marine said to Ye Yu.
Ye Yu found it even more amusing.
"I'll go back to the dorm and put on my uniform." Not intending to cause trouble, Ye Yu only wanted to quietly enjoy this full-bellied life.
Ye Yu chuckled, activated his Search-Search Fruit, located the nearby dormitories, picked a private room, and flopped straight onto the bed.
"Mm, this dorm is pretty nice. The window faces the sunlight."
After stretching lazily, Ye Yu gave no further thought to anything and went straight to sleep.
He had passive Absolute Defense. Even while asleep, no one could hurt him!
He pulled the blanket over himself and slept soundly.
Until his Transponder Snail began to ring.
Berrr, berrr, berrr...
Berrr, berrr, berrr...
Who is it... interrupting my beauty sleep? Awakened by the call, Ye Yu was in a terrible mood.
The moment he answered, praise from the Whitebeard Pirates came pouring through at him!
"Captain Ye Yu, you're incredible! I never expected you to wipe out the Blackbeard Pirates so quickly! That's awesome!" Marco said, dancing excitedly aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' ship.
"Yeah! I saw Blackbeard's miserable state in the newspaper. It was so satisfying!" Diamond Jozu added excitedly.
"Hahaha! As expected of the Zero Division Captain! On behalf of Ace and Thatch, I thank you!" Vista said with admiration written all over his face.
Then Whitebeard's hearty voice came from behind them. "Go, go, go! Stop getting in the way of my conversation with Ye Yu."
Whitebeard snatched the Transponder Snail away.
"Hey, Ye Yu brat, you're on your way back now, right? We'll give you a proper welcome!"
It turned out that the Whitebeard Pirates had also received the newspaper delivered by the News Coo at noon.
After seeing the report about Ye Yu wiping out the Blackbeard Pirates, every member of the Whitebeard Pirates had jumped up in excitement, all scrambling to speak to Ye Yu over the Transponder Snail.
Ye Yu also realized that his deeds had actually been photographed. In the pirate world, the only organization capable of that was probably the World Economy News Paper!
"I'm not back yet, Pops. I discovered that the Marines' food is really pretty good. I'm freeloading meals and sleeping aboard a Marine warship right now!" Ye Yu said with a laugh.
What?
He had just killed Blackbeard, and now he was going to provoke the Marines?
Before you continue