The World's Strongest Man

Teach shook the blood from his hands and looked at the remaining members of the Scar Pirates with a mocking grin. "Gyahaha! You actually thought you could plunder an island under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates with trash like this? Are you tired of living?"

"Deputy Captain Synd!" The Scar Pirates' crew members let out desperate wails. Their deputy captain had been killed in a single strike, and the difference in strength between the two sides was on entirely different levels!

"Synd!" Bandro's pupils contracted sharply. Synd was the second-strongest member of their crew! Although Bandro could defeat him, it would take at least dozens of exchanges. It was clear from this that the ugly, fat man's strength far surpassed his own!

Damn it, why have I never seen a bounty poster for someone this strong? Is everyone at Marine HQ just sitting around doing nothing? Bandro cursed inwardly. His crew's morale had already fallen considerably, and they were facing elite members of the Whitebeard Pirates who were several times stronger than them!

"Yo! Teach, you're actually this strong! And why are you emitting black smoke all over? Is that a Devil Fruit ability?" Ace asked in surprise. Although he knew Teach's strength was definitely far beyond that of the Scar Pirates' deputy captain, he had never expected the man to be killed by a single move from Teach!

"Gyahaha! I've always been very strong!" Teach looked at his pitch-black left hand. Even he had not expected the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to be this powerful. It truly lived up to its reputation as the most vicious ability!

"Captain Ace, don't underestimate me! I'm also a Logia Devil Fruit user!" Teach said smugly.

"What?" Ace unleashed a barrage of Fire Fists, and Bandro was unable to react in time. He was knocked unconscious instantly. Ace then eagerly came to Teach and stared curiously at his left hand. "What kind of fruit ability is this? Why have I never heard of it?"

"I ate the Logia Dark-Dark Fruit! It's reputed to be the most vicious ability in the world! The only problem is that I can't become elementalized." Teach eagerly awaited Ace's shocked expression, but Ace merely froze for a moment before blurting out, "If you can't become elementalized, what kind of Logia Devil Fruit is that?"

Teach: ...

"Damn captain, are you looking for a fight?" Teach said through clenched teeth.

"Ahahaha, I think I'll pass!" Ace waved his hand. As a veteran crew member who had always held the position of deputy captain of the 2nd Division, there was probably no one who dared underestimate him.

"Hmph!" Teach snorted softly, then kicked Bandro beside him. "Captain, what should we do with this guy? And what about the other small fry? Should we dig a hole and bury them?"

While the two of them had been chatting, the members of the 2nd Division had easily defeated the demoralized members of the Scar Pirates. Quite a few had surrendered as well. Everyone heard Teach's words, and many of them immediately burst into terrified wails.

"Don't kill me! I'm willing to surrender!" "Let me go! I have plenty of treasure!" "Murder is against the law!" ...

The varied pleas for mercy continued without end, but there were also a few hard cases.

"We'll never surrender!" "If you have the guts, kill me!" ...

Ace looked at the group with an unbearable headache. Then his eyes lit up. "Teach, as your captain, I order you to deal with them properly!"

He slapped his backside and returned to the pirate ship.

"Damn captain!" Watching Ace leave, Teach's face darkened at a visible speed. "Someone, bury them all alive!"

"Yes, Deputy Captain Teach! But they still have some spoils on them. Should we search them first?"

"Captain and I don't need such a small amount of treasure. Divide it among yourselves. But don't touch anything on their ship. That's to be handed over to Pops!"

"Thank you, Deputy Captain!"

Seeing how excited the crew members were, Teach smiled helplessly. He then looked toward the Scar Pirates' ship.

There probably won't be anything good to obtain from this lousy little ship. I'll wait until we're heading home to sign in again!

Teach walked into the captain's cabin. After rummaging through it, he left with a satisfied smile. "This guy was actually pretty rich!" Teach kept marveling at the pile of treasure in his system space. "But this weakling actually had a Zoan Devil Fruit too! What an unexpected haul!"

"Teach, are you done?" On the deck, Ace held a Cherry Pie and was leisurely enjoying his lunch.

"Damn Ace! That's my lunch!" Teach stared at the Cherry Pie in Ace's hand with bloodshot eyes. Before setting out, he had pestered Thatch for half a day, but Thatch was still angry at him for his prank and had ignored him. With no other choice, Teach had asked the other cooks on the ship to make some inferior Cherry Pies. Since there had been little time, however, he had brought only a small number—barely enough for himself.

"Oh, don't be so stingy! I can share some meat with you!" Ace said somewhat uneasily. He knew Teach loved Cherry Pie the most, but he had suddenly gotten a craving and ended up eating several pieces ...

"Bastard! You ate a full half of my Cherry Pie!" Teach went into the kitchen to check, and moments later his furious roar reached Ace's ears. "Take my fist!"

"Bang!"

A huge bump swelled on Ace's head. "Smi-ma-sehn ..."

"What are you laughing at? Get the ship moving! If there isn't Cherry Pie on my table tonight, just wait until we get back!" Teach glared red-eyed at the crew members struggling to hold back their laughter. There was nothing they could do—his obsession with Cherry Pie had already surpassed Blackbeard's in the original story.

"Yes!" The crew members trembled all over. It would take at least half a day to get back to the Moby Dick from there. If they hurried, they might still make it in time.

That night, aboard the Moby Dick, in Whitebeard's room.

"Pops, we're back!" Ace said excitedly to Whitebeard. The crew members behind him had long since collapsed from exhaustion. After rowing for so long, anyone would be tired.

"Pops!" Teach was extremely surprised. The 6.66-meter-tall giant before him was the legendary strongest man in the world! He had a bounty of 5.046 billion Beli and was the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates—Edward Newgate!

Whitebeard was very old now. His body, slumped in a chair, was covered in countless scars, while a crescent-shaped white mustache was especially eye-catching. A massive Naginata rested beside him, and an overwhelming aura surged toward them.

"Gurararara! My beloved son has returned. How did the mission go? Was everything smooth?" Whitebeard laughed heartily.

"Of course it was! Pops, let me tell you, Teach was hiding his strength so deeply ..." Ace rapidly recounted everything that had happened during the mission, while Whitebeard watched the two of them with a kind expression.

"System, sign in!"

Detected the Whitebeard room aboard the Moby Dick. Sign-in successful. Obtained the Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

The corners of Teach's mouth lifted slightly. It seemed his guess had indeed been correct!