Becoming the New King atop Your Bones

"Thanks, Thatch! I will step on your bones and become the new Pirate King, Zehahahaha!!!"

After swallowing the Dark-Dark Fruit, Marshall D. Teach hastily fled the Moby Dick, feeling no regret whatsoever, but rather overwhelmed by unprecedented joy.

"Finally, finally you've arrived! The Dark-Dark Fruit, the strongest Logia, a power that devours all other fruits—an unprecedented power!"

"Hahaha, I am now the strongest Ability User in this ocean!"

The next day, as dawn broke, most of the Whitebeard Pirates were still asleep after a night of revelry following the robbery.

"Ugh! I feel terrible, I threw up everything I ate! Thatch! Thatch! Can you make me something to eat, Captain Thatch?"

With a thud, the drunken member of the fourth squad collapsed to the ground. Before he could get up, the pungent smell of blood hit him, instantly waking him from his drunken stupor.

"Captain Thatch! Help! Marco! Ace! Pops! Thatch has been murdered!"

A piercing scream instantly rang out from the silent Moby Dick, and all the dazed and still unconscious members of the Whitebeard Pirates rushed over in a panic.

A moment later, the figure covered with a white cloth, the fourth squad leader Thatch, was carried in front of everyone with a sorrowful expression.

"Thatch! Damn it, what happened? Who did this?!"

"Thatch, my trusted partner, I will tear the murderer to pieces!!!"

"Calm down, who's still missing..."

Even with Marco's temper, his face was ashen at this moment. Everyone looked around, and Ace's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"Teach, where is Marshall D. Teach? He's not Thatch's brother, where is he now!"

In an instant, it was like a meteorite falling into a calm lake, stirring up a monstrous wave within the pirate crew.

"Speaking of which, we haven't seen Teach since earlier. Where is that guy?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, could this guy be fleeing to avoid punishment?!"

"That's impossible. Thatch and Teach are longtime friends, having been on the same ship for over twenty years. How could they possibly do such a thing!"

The pirates were discussing amongst themselves when, just then, a member of the fourth squad stepped forward.

"I remember yesterday Teach went to see the captain, and the two of them were drinking in the room. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now it seems that this must be Teach's doing!"

"Wait, without solid evidence, don't wrongly accuse a brother who has been on Pops's ship for over twenty years..."

"Since it was him who did it, he must have had a purpose. Did something go missing from Saki's room?"

Raising his voice slightly to drown out the clamor of the crowd, Ace snapped out of his daze, his eyes blazing with intense anger.

"The Devil Fruit! Where is the Devil Fruit Thatch got yesterday?!"

With a sharp shout, the pirates who were searching Thatch's room stepped forward and shook their heads repeatedly at the crowd.

"There were only Captain Thatch's personal belongings in the room, and no one saw that Devil Fruit... Ace, you mean?"

"That despicable Teach! For a single Devil Fruit, he cruelly murdered his own friend, violating the Whitebeard Pirates' most inviolable ironclad rule: killing a comrade!"

"I will make him pay for his actions..."

At this moment, Ace was furious. As the captain of the second squad, he would never forgive the traitor who cruelly murdered his comrades!

"Wait, Ace..."

Whitebeard, who hadn't spoken until now, stopped him. Ace, who was about to rush out of the Moby Dick, froze in place, his face full of disbelief.

"Pops!"

"Let's forget it, Ace. I have a bad feeling. Things might take a turn for the worse this time..."

"Teach ... he's one of my men, so it's my job to bring back this traitor who killed his comrade. I'll be back soon, Pops."

With rocket boosters cutting through the waves beneath his feet, Ace walked further and further away as everyone watched him go.

"Why!"

With a deep sigh, Whitebeard's deteriorating health made it difficult for him to even sleep soundly, let alone witness such a brutal killing of his comrades right before his eyes.

"Don't worry about him, Pops. Ace is very strong. Teach will definitely not be his match."

Seeing his Pops's worry, Marco voice, and the other squad leaders echoed his sentiments, but they still couldn't quell Whitebeard's anxiety.

The scene of taking in Marshall D. Teach decades ago, vaguely, once again leaps into my mind.

For some reason, Whitebeard always felt that he would die at Teach's hands.

"At the very least, I want them to live in peace before I die..."

Looking around at his 'sons' who were by his side, the Whitebeard raised his head, his smile resolute.

"My son, I will punish him. I will not allow anyone else to lay a hand on him. I am Whitebeard, you know, guralaralaralar!"

The New World, the Wano Country.

The belated newspaper fell from the beak of a newspaper-delivering seagull and was swiftly delivered to the Shogun's Residence.

Within the White Cloud Chamber, Huayue glanced at today's headline, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, plotted to steal Alabasta, a member state of the World Government. He has now been defeated by Marine Headquarters Smoker and imprisoned in Impel Down..."

"He used to be able to fight Bullet to a draw, but after so many years, he's lost both his skills and his brains. It's terrifying to feel like he's at odds with the world!"

Do you think I'm right, Baccarat?

With tears welling up in her eyes, Sugar reluctantly offered each bright, plump grape to Huayue's lips.

Baccarat, who had been standing silently and respectfully to the side, tilted her head in thought, then slowly nodded.

"The Marine Headquarters has always had an ambiguous attitude towards the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The fact that this has been made into the newspapers is a rare occurrence, which means that the person who defeated the Seven Warlords of the Sea must not be a Navy Commodore."

"Based on the pirate crews that Paradise has been staying in Alabasta recently, the one with the most rapid increase is Straw Hat Kid. It seems that he is the one who defeated Crocodile."

"To be able to defeat Crocodile, who possesses Logia ability, with only 30 million Beli of power, that Straw Hat Kid must have had incredibly great luck..."

At this point, Baccarat smiled, seemingly harboring a hint of greed for that unprecedented good fortune.

"Your Majesty, may I handle the Straw Hat Kid?"

"That won't do. The swordsman beside him is Kuina's intended target, and besides, he's not a kid that can be dealt with by luck alone."

During the conversation, a figure rushed in from outside the door.

"You still have the leisure to eat grapes here? News has come from the East Blue that someone has discovered an island floating in the air. It's not a floating island, it's a real island!"