Vicious Curse

"Kuris, that bastard! He actually ran off to a godforsaken place like this! Hmph! Once I catch him, I'll drag him back to the Moby Dick and execute him in front of Pops and all our companions, to comfort Dipeta's spirit in heaven after he was murdered by that traitor!"

On an uninhabited island, Thatch moored his small boat by the shore. After lowering the sails, he muttered to himself while warily searching for traces of the traitor Kuris.

"This isn't right. According to the intelligence I received, Kuris should be on this island! But why isn't there even a trace of a human presence?"

Thatch was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and his attainments in Haki were nothing to scoff at as well! After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit Teach had given him, his Observation Haki underwent a transformation! Its sensing range had expanded considerably, more than enough to cover an island of this size!

"There are plenty of animal presences, but Kuris's is the one thing missing! Could I have been deceived? Was the information I got fake?" The more Thatch thought about it, the angrier he became. In the end, he even hurled the most vicious curse in the world at the person who had given him the information!

"You damn bastard! What garbage intelligence! You made me come all this way for nothing! Hmph, I curse you to marry a stunningly beautiful wife, only to discover on your wedding night that he's bigger than you!" Thatch spat viciously. Even the author shuddered at such a malicious curse! But in the next instant, Thatch's expression suddenly changed!

"Come out! I know you're there!" Thatch said to a massive boulder on the beach, blue arcs of electricity continuously flickering in his palm.

"Ara ara, you're quite sharp, young man!" A lazy voice came from behind the boulder. Then, a tall figure slowly appeared before Thatch!

"You are..." Thatch's pupils suddenly contracted when he saw the newcomer. "Marine HQ Admiral Aokiji Kuzan! Why are you here?" Thatch instinctively felt that things were going badly. Even though he had eaten the Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit, there was no way he could defeat a Marine HQ Admiral! Besides, with his current level of Devil Fruit mastery, he could not turn himself into electricity and travel through the clouds to escape. His stamina simply could not support it!

"Ara ara, don't worry, young man. I mean you no harm! I'm merely acting on orders from our Fleet Admiral to invite you to be a guest at Marine HQ for a while!" Frost began to radiate from Aokiji as he slowly walked toward Thatch.

"Haha, I never thought Marine HQ would send an Admiral to capture me! You really think highly of me, Thatch!" Electricity began to surge around Thatch's body. Using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's speed, he reached Aokiji's side in the blink of an eye!

"Armament: Cherry Pie!" Thatch roared. His right foot was coated in Armament Haki as he kicked Aokiji in the stomach!

But

"Ara ara! That was quite a powerful kick!" Aokiji lazily looked at Thatch, his left hand tightly gripping Thatch's right leg. As his Devil Fruit power activated, waves of cold slowly spread up Thatch's leg!

"Damn it!" Thatch instantly transformed into lightning and escaped Aokiji's grasp. A massive amount of lightning then gathered in his right palm! "Palm Thunder!"

A sky-filling barrage of lightning crashed down on Aokiji. Regardless of its actual power, the display alone was truly terrifying!

"Hm? The Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit? The so-called strongest Logia Devil Fruit has actually appeared in the world!" An unreadable look crossed Aokiji's face. Then he gently raised his right hand...

"Ice Time!"

"Alright, I understand! Bring him back as soon as possible. He is the most important part of this plan!" Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, then sternly looked at the commanders gathered in the conference hall.

"The first stage of this operation has succeeded. What comes next depends on all of you!" Sengoku stared at Marine HQ's top fighting forces before him, and the unease in his heart lessened slightly.

That was right. With so many pillars holding the line, this operation could not fail!

Whitebeard was old!

"Then let's proceed according to plan, Sengoku!" Tsuru, the chief staff officer, pondered for a moment before speaking from the side.

"Mm! Everyone, gather officers of colonel rank and above from every branch, for a total of one hundred thousand elite Marines! All Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals are to stand ready! Summon every Shichibukai. If they refuse, we have the right to strip them of their positions! The Science Unit must make preparations as well!" After saying that, Sengoku slapped the table and rose to his feet.

"Everyone, we are about to face the Whitebeard Pirates, led by the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard Edward Newgate! One of the Four Emperors of the New World! Victory in this war is something the Marines must claim!" Sengoku swept his gaze over the commanders present. Apart from Garp, every face was filled with grave seriousness!

"In the name of justice, we must win this war!"

"For justice!"

"For justice!"

"For justice!"

"Sigh, why struggle pointlessly? In the end, aren't you just making yourself suffer?" Aokiji looked helplessly at the shivering Thatch, whose hands were bound in Seastone handcuffs as he was tied to the back of Aokiji's bicycle, and shook his head.

"Hmph! If I surrendered without a fight, how could I possibly be worthy of the honor of the Whitebeard Pirates? And what, is Marine HQ so broke that it can only use a bicycle to transport prisoners?" Though Thatch had become Aokiji's prisoner, his tongue remained as vicious as ever.

"Ara ara, it's purely a personal hobby! No need to be so hot-tempered, little lightning man!" Aokiji answered without looking back, focused on pedaling his bicycle.

During the long and boring journey, Thatch constantly used his particular talent to attack Aokiji with words. Finally, just as Aokiji was on the verge of exploding, the warship assigned to receive him arrived!

"Lock this guy up already! And gag him while you're at it!" Aokiji said, his face dark with frustration.

"Hey! You're depriving a prisoner of his right to speak! Is that really okay? I curse you to have children with no ass—mmph!" The instant Thatch's mouth was gagged, Aokiji let out a long breath and felt refreshed once more! He began humming his favorite elegant tune again.

"Today is a good day, everything I wish for will come true..."