Rob, Rob, Rob... Robbery

"Everyone, something unfortunate has happened!" In the restaurant, the Blackbeard Pirates sat around a table as Teach spoke solemnly to the others.

"What happened, Captain Teach?" Shit's heart skipped a beat. Since setting sail with Teach, this was the first time his captain had said something like this.

Teach swept his gaze around the table. Everyone wore tense expressions. He sighed and slowly said, "The Blackbeard Pirates have less than a hundred million Beli left. And after buying all those Cherry Pies and supplies yesterday, we're broke!"

Teach: ... (dead serious)

Everyone else: ...

"But Captain, aren't you the one holding all the treasure?" Fuckyou could not help asking. For a drunkard, having no money to buy liquor was an agonizing thing.

"We spent a total of 1.8 billion Beli commissioning the pirate ship! I'm not some bottomless treasure chest—where would I get that much money?" A trace of bitterness appeared on Teach's face. Ridiculous, right? A great pirate with a bounty as high as 1.3 billion Beli, and the Blackbeard Pirates were actually facing a financial crisis.

"Actually, we could just loot a few towns!" Laffitte said from the side, only to find everyone else looking at him strangely.

"But the captain said we're not allowed to lay a hand on civilians!" Burgess sighed.

"Exactly. Captain Teach may be one of the Shichibukai now, but he's also Whitebeard's second division vice-captain! Before you arrived, the captain had already stressed that rule: no attacking civilians!" Shit shook his head, speaking with a headache coming on.

"Zehahahaha! Can't be helped. If we attack civilians, Pops will be unhappy!" Teach laughed carelessly. "Forget it. Once we get the ship, we'll loot a Marine branch! There should be plenty of money and supplies there!"

Teach's words left everyone slightly stunned, but they soon accepted it. What, the Marines could force the Shichibukai title onto them, but they were not allowed to loot one Marine branch? They had to get something out of it, at least!

Several days later

"Captain Blackbeard, this is our creation! It was built with countless rare materials, its hull is inlaid with Seastone, and its Dragon bone is made from Adam Tree..." At the docks of Dock One, Iceburg proudly introduced their work to Teach. As Mr. Tom's disciple, he had personally taken part in building this ship! After exhausting the efforts of countless shipwrights, they had managed to finish it within seven days! If sold to anyone else, this ship would cost at least two billion Beli. But their customer was Blackbeard, one of the Shichibukai and a man with a bounty of 1.3 billion Beli! If they displeased him, the Galley-La Company would not get off lightly.

Looking at the grand and imposing pirate ship before him, Teach could not help admiring the shipwrights' craftsmanship. The lifelike Dragon head at the bow, the exquisitely carved patterns on the keel, the cannons lining the hull with their cold metallic aura—even the Blackbeard Pirates' flag already hung from the rails!

"Zehahahaha! As expected of Mr. Tom's disciple! I'm very satisfied with this work!" Teach laughed, then took more than a dozen chests from his dark space.

"There are treasures and Beli worth 1.6 billion here! Mr. Iceburg, feel free to count them!" As a great pirate, Teach disdained doing something as low as defaulting on payment.

Iceburg gestured with his right hand, and more than a dozen burly shipwrights stepped forward. They opened the chests one by one, and after confirming that they contained treasure and Beli, nodded to Iceburg.

"Thank you for your patronage, Mr. Blackbeard!" Iceburg bowed to Teach. Teach waved a hand, turned, and boarded the Thunder Gaba that now belonged to them. Laffitte and the others had long since grown impatient and followed Teach aboard one after another.

"Men, set sail!" At Teach's command, Burgess hauled up the anchor while Shit and Fuckyou raised the sails. Teach stood at the bow, freely savoring the scent carried by the sea breeze...

Marine G-3 Branch

For the soldiers of the G-3 Branch, today was a very good day!

See that enormous warship? It had delivered supplies from Marine HQ, which meant tonight's menu would be especially lavish!

At that thought, the exhaustion from training eased for every soldier. Most had joined the Marines simply to make a living, while only a small number had done so for the justice in their hearts. Perhaps some had joined because pirates had destroyed their hometowns, seeking revenge for familiar faces they had once known.

"Sorry for the trouble, Vice Admiral Kesha!" Major General Lanshou, commander of the G-3 Branch, respectfully addressed the proud man before him. Vice Admiral Kesha had a thick cigar clenched between his teeth and wore a pair of sunglasses. A scar also ran across his left eye.

"No need to be so polite! This is my duty as a vice admiral of Marine HQ!" Vice Admiral Kesha raised his head. He was sincerely proud of his position!

"Major General, sir! N-no, this is bad! A pirate ship is sailing toward our G-3 Branch!" A Marine soldier came running over, panting heavily. The panic on his face made Major General Lanshou frown.

"Why are you panicking? As Marines who uphold justice, how can we be frightened by pirates?" Major General Lanshou berated him harshly. The Marine soldier shuddered and instinctively straightened his posture. "My apologies!"

Only then did Major General Lanshou's expression improve slightly. He looked at the Marine soldier and sternly asked, "You said a pirate ship is heading toward our G-3 Branch. Which pirate crew's flag is it flying?"

A trace of suspicion appeared on Major General Lanshou's face. Since taking office, this was the first time he had heard of a pirate crew daring to approach a Marine branch. What was their purpose? To raise their bounty? Or for revenge?

"I don't know. It's a very strange pirate emblem! There are three skulls on it, and the skull in the middle has a patch of white beard!"

"A white beard?" Vice Admiral Kesha, standing nearby, froze. As a vice admiral from Marine HQ, he naturally knew what that symbol represented!

But they couldn't possibly be here! he thought, and confidence rose in his heart.

"Hmph! This vice admiral would like to see just who these people are!" Vice Admiral Kesha flicked his cape aside and strode toward the docks.

Major General Lanshou, still in the room, hurried after him and walked behind Vice Admiral Kesha.

"Vice Admiral, leave this to me! There's no need for you to personally step in!" Major General Lanshou said hurriedly, fury rising in his heart as well!

They dare attack the Marine branch guarded by me, the famed Mushroom Major General? Isn't this a slap in my face?

The two arrived at the docks, where a peculiar pirate ship came into view!

Vice Admiral Kesha's pupils suddenly contracted.

Fuck! Why is this man here?