"Damn. Blackbeard got away."
Werther was frustrated. He had hoped Blackbeard would be killed too.
Still, it was hardly a surprise. If Blackbeard were that easy to kill, he would not be Blackbeard. He had lain low among the Whitebeard Pirates for twenty years before finally making his move. He was not going to die so easily.
But even though Blackbeard had escaped, he was no longer in any position to become one of the Four Emperors. At most, he would be a powerful Great Pirate in the New World.
Some of his men were dead, and others were crippled. There was nowhere else like Impel Down for him to find powerful new crewmates.
Besides, the pirate laborers would soon spread word that Blackbeard treated the pirates he recruited like slaves.
Once that happened, recruiting powerful allies would be out of the question. He would have trouble finding even ordinary ones.
"Who's next, then?"
Werther looked toward the Red Hair Pirates. Marco looked back at him.
But after their eyes met, Marco and the Red Hair Pirates headed the other way, toward the battle between the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
That surprised Werther. Marco must have reached some kind of agreement with the Red Hair Pirates. Otherwise, he would have charged straight at Werther.
Judging by the hatred in Marco's eyes as he left, though, he would come after Werther sooner or later.
Werther, who had already risen, sat back down. If they were not going to trouble him, so much the better. He needed time to recover from his injuries.
Just then, a deep voice roared across the island.
"Thunder Swordsman Werther! Your life is mine!"
The roar was booming, but there was something dim-witted about it.
Werther turned his head. A stout, round-bodied man stood