The New World, aboard the Moby Dick.
A freckled young man wearing a cowboy hat was seething with anger.
He stood by the railing. If a man with a pineapple-shaped head had not been holding his arm,
he would have already jumped off the ship.
"Marco, don't stop me!" He turned and said to the man with the pineapple-shaped head.
Clearly, this man with the pineapple-shaped head was Marco, the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander and ship doctor.
Marco showed no sign of letting go. His grip only tightened. "Ace, don't be rash! Listen to what Pops has to say."
The freckled man was, of course, Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander and Lott's disciple.
Ace turned to Whitebeard beside him. "Pops, I have to handle this myself. We can't let Thatch die for nothing."
Ace was going after Teach precisely because Teach had killed the Fourth Division Commander and stolen the Dark-Dark Fruit.
And Teach was a member of the Second Division.
As his commander, Ace bore some responsibility for what had happened.
It had happened just after a banquet the night before:
"Pops, Mira, we got a piece of loot when we wiped out that pirate crew last time. You'll be really happy when you see it."
After saying that, Thatch staggered back to his room and brought out the Dark-Dark Fruit to show everyone.
Since most people aboard had seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, this fruit was not particularly unfamiliar to them.
"Is... isn't that the Logia Dark-Dark Fruit?"
"So this is the Logia Devil Fruit known as the most vicious!"
"Commander Thatch, you're freaking awesome!"
"Wow, why don't we ever get that lucky?"
Everyone was astonished at the sight of the Devil Fruit in Thatch's hand.
It was not as though they had never obtained