Blackbeard had been waiting for Whitebeard to say exactly that.
After Whitebeard entered the cabin, Marco watched a sly grin spread across Blackbeard Teach's face. Teach turned to the other Division Captains and shouted, "I'm leaving. I'm going to become a truly free pirate. Who wants to stay here and be the Revolutionary Army's dogs, and who wants to leave with me and become free pirates?"
His words were highly provocative, and quite a few of Whitebeard's captains and Division Captains began to waver.
Some muddleheaded people stepped forward. "Teach, I'm going with you."
Others, however, scoffed at him.
"Don't do anything stupid, you idiots! What do you think has allowed us to maintain our current status and position?" Marco shouted. He wanted the fools to calm down before making their choice. Their blood was boiling right now, and hardly any of their choices came from reason or clear thought.
Leaving was easy for them, but coming back would be difficult, held back by their pride and the things they had once said.
Marco knew exactly what kind of people they were, so he immediately gave them a stern warning.
But while Marco was smart, he was still several levels below Blackbeard when it came to controlling the atmosphere and people's hearts. After his warning, he instead stirred up even greater rebelliousness in many of them.
Most pirates were like stubborn mules: they could only be coaxed along, not whipped forward. His stern warning only drove more people to stand behind Blackbeard.
Others were smarter. They only wanted to pressure Pops into maintaining the status quo and force him to compromise; they did not truly want to leave the Whitebeard Pirates.
To be honest, many pirates sheltered beneath a great tree without realizing they were in its shade. Only after