Did he share the wine that Dad gave him?
Teach looked down at the wine jug, a little surprised.
Humph, this kid is sensible and knows how to apologize.
This twenty-year-old wine was a treasure that Dad would only use to entertain the highest-level guests. It was very difficult for ordinary people to drink it.
However, it was impossible to expect him to forgive so easily.
"Hahaha, you actually still remember a nobody like me. But the fruit thing has nothing to do with you. I was just too impulsive at the time, and I only have myself to blame."
Teach scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"Anyway, let bygones be bygones. I've let it go a long time ago, but I can't bear to return this wine. I've really been wanting to drink it. Hahaha… Um, Dad, can I have a drink?"
"What nonsense are you talking about, Teach!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily. "You're already an adult. If you want to drink, just drink it all in one gulp! Why are you still acting like a brat!"
"As a son, of course I have to ask Dad's permission to drink his wine."
Teach smiled innocently, raised the wine jug, and drank it down in a gulp.
Soon, the bottle was empty. He rubbed his belly and exclaimed with satisfaction:
"What a good wine, Dad!"
Shano didn't interrupt, but watched the scene quietly.
Only after making sure Teach had drunk it all did Shano's lips curl slightly. He took the other wine flask thrown by Whitebeard and tilted his head back to take a swig.
Truth serum.
This was the item he had purchased shortly after leaving Water City.
According to the description, after drinking it, the user would have an extremely strong desire to talk for the next day.
And everything they said would be the truth from the heart.
Now that it was almost in effect, it was time to test it.
"As the saying goes, truth comes out after drinking."
Shano put down the wine flask and spoke slowly. "Brother, although you said the past is in the past, I've been thinking about it, but there's still one thing I can't understand."
"Why did you react so violently when I handed you that fruit? Even Marco couldn't persuade you?"
Huh?
Teach's brows furrowed.
This guy had acted nonchalant just now, but why was he suddenly so demanding?
How could he possibly tell the truth about something like this?
He sneered inwardly, wondering how to deal with it.
His mouth opened uncontrollably, and he roared fiercely:
"You still dare to ask? You still dare to ask?!!"
"Who told you, little brat, to produce a fruit exactly the same as the one I've been waiting for twenty years, and you managed to trick me too?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, a momentary silence fell on the deck.
Everyone, including Marco, Joz, and the other captains, looked over in astonishment.
Teach… what's wrong with him?
Why was he suddenly so angry?
And when did he become so arrogant, daring to speak to the Emperor of the Sea in such a tone?
Whitebeard also looked down at Teach, bewildered.
Teach was stunned, at a loss, sweat dripping from his forehead.
What was going on?
Why did he say what was really in his heart? He was clearly trying to make up an excuse to get away with it!
"Oh?"
Shano leaned forward with interest, a devilish grin on his face.
"Keep talking, don't stop. What fruit is so special that it's worth twenty years of waiting?"
"You ignorant brat! Of course it's the Dark-Dark…"
Teach's face changed drastically as he spoke unconsciously.
He desperately tried to keep his mouth shut, but his tongue, as if possessing a will of its own, continued to speak:
"Of course it's the Dark-Dark Fruit! The embodiment of the will of darkness, the strongest natural element! Only this fruit can fulfill my ambition to replace Whitebeard and become the world's strongest man… No!!!"
Teach's eyes were filled with terror. He raised his head and let out a bestial roar. He clutched his throat tightly with both hands, veins bulging, trying his best to stop it.
But the truth serum's effect was nearly overbearing.
It rewrote the user's will, causing them to increasingly follow their own instincts and become less aware of the truth they were telling.
Once it took effect, it was unstoppable.
Those inner words that had been suppressed for too long, those ambitions that could no longer be concealed…
Suddenly, like a flood breaking through a dam, they burst out of Teach's mouth uncontrollably, roaring and snarling:
"Twenty years!"
"For the information about this fruit, I've been lurking on Whitebeard's ship, waiting for more than twenty years!"
"Thatch, Bramanc, Namur! These second-rate guys can become captains and become famous, but I'm still an unknown minion."
"What for? Isn't it to use the intelligence capabilities of the Whitebeard Pirates to get the Dark-Dark Fruit earlier!"
"With the Dark-Dark Fruit, with my special physique, I can seize the rest of the powerful abilities in this world!"
"As for the first target, it's you, Dad! I've been coveting your Tremor-Tremor Fruit for a long time!"
Teach pointed at Whitebeard with a grin, not hiding the greed in his eyes:
"You are old now. You are no longer the strongest man in the world who could compete with Roger. It is too wasteful for you to have this Tremor-Tremor Fruit. It should belong to me!"
"What nonsense are you talking about, Teach!"
Diamond Joz's face changed drastically and he shouted angrily, "I just drank some wine, how can you be so drunk! Hurry up and apologize to my dad!"
"Drunk? I'm not drunk!"
Teach glared at him fiercely, "Shut up, Joz! You, if I remember correctly, got on the ship about the same time as me, right? What qualifications do you have to order me around in that tone!"
"You're really drunk…"
Joz's face turned grim, and his right arm instantly transformed into diamond. He slammed into Teach!
"That's enough! Stop talking nonsense! In front of the VIP and your father, wake up, Teach!"
"Thief, hahahaha… You want to fight? With you?"
Teach laughed grimly, clenched his right fist, and suddenly covered it with a pitch-black armed color domineering aura, rushing forward without retreating!
BANG!!!
The two fists collided, and a terrifying shockwave swept across the deck. Smoke and wood debris filled the air. The surrounding pirates were shocked and retreated repeatedly.
After the smoke and dust cleared, the scene became clear again. To everyone's astonishment,
it was Joz who was sent flying.
His right arm, already diamond-like, was now covered in fine cracks. Caught off guard, Joz stumbled back a dozen steps, nearly falling.
But Teach… he remained where he was, swaying slightly, taking two steps back before easily stabilizing himself.
"Hahaha!"
Teach shook his wrist and laughed wildly. "See! You idiots, this is my true strength! I've been hiding it for years to avoid attention. You have to show it to convince me..."
"Teach!!!"
With a roar like thunder, Whitebeard finally stood up. A terrifying domineering aura once again roared across the deck!
Buzz!
This time, everyone could feel the rage woven into the aura.
Teach shuddered, looked up at Whitebeard, and swallowed.
"Dad…"
Marco, face pale, stepped forward, wanting to calm Whitebeard but unsure what to say.
The scene was completely beyond comprehension.
Teach… what had happened to Teach?
Was it really true, as he claimed, that his previous honesty and noncompetitiveness were all just a facade?
It seemed irrefutable.
Otherwise, even if what he had just said was drunken ravings, how could he explain the terrifying power that defeated Jozu?
"Little brat, Shano."
Whitebeard shocked Teach, turned his head, squinted, and looked at Shano: "You did something in the wine, right?"
"Yes, and no."
Shano sipped wine calmly. "As the strongest swordsman in the world, my intuition is sharp. From the moment I got on the ship, I felt strong malice from this guy who wanted to kill me as soon as possible."
"It's just a one-time meeting, why does he hate me to this extent? I'm puzzled and curious."
He shook the wine jug in his hand and chuckled, "So, I added a little thing in this wine that can make people speak the truth."
"I got the answer I wanted, but was surprised to find so much explosive material."
He glanced at Whitebeard. "You should thank me, Whitebeard. You have a poisonous snake on your ship that wants to bite you to death."
Whitebeard's face was as gloomy as water.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly reopened them.
Then he turned, grabbed the big knife, and lowered his head expressionlessly.
"Teach."
Whitebeard's voice was surprisingly calm. "I'll ask you one last time: were those words just drunken nonsense, or did you really mean it?"
"At this point, is it necessary to ask these questions?"
Teach subconsciously took a step back, forced a sneer. "But Dad, what are you going to do? I just made a few complaints, and you want to clean up the mess, right? The so-called strongest man in the world, is this all you can do?"
"You're wrong, Teach."
Whitebeard looked at him, disappointed. "Do you know, Teach… do you know!"
"Rocks, the son of Rocks, the ambitious man who once frightened the world government, how could he be an ordinary person content with being ordinary!"
"I've known this since the day you begged me to get on board! Your ambitions and dreams, your strength and dominance, never! Never need to be hidden, Teach!"
Whitebeard's eyes widened, and his voice rose suddenly!
"You want to replace me, be the Emperor of the Sea, get the Dark-Dark Fruit, the Shock-Shock Fruit… It doesn't matter! None of that matters!"
"This White Whale, which has come through the old days with me, has such a spacious deck! Can't it accommodate your insignificant ambition?!"
BOOM!
These words exploded overhead.
Aside from Shano, who had anticipated this, the others looked at Teach in disbelief.
What did Dad say? Rocks?!
Teach, is he really the son of Rocks, the man who once claimed to be King of the World?!
Marco and Vista stared at each other in shock, truly stunned.
"So you already knew my life story, Dad…"
Blackbeard narrowed his eyes, looked around, and said with a forced smile:
"What do you mean by saying all this? Do you think I can continue to stay on this ship and be your good son like before?"
"If that's all, of course!"
A trace of heartache flashed in Whitebeard's eyes, voice low and heavy:
"But… you don't deserve it!"
He gripped his naginata tightly, stepped forward, and demanded, "Let me ask you, Teach, do you remember the Battle of Colon Island five years ago?"
Colon Island?
Blackbeard was stunned, then remembered, expression changing slightly.
"From the look of you, you seem to have remembered it."
Whitebeard's voice became colder:
"Colon Island, close to the entrance to the New World, renamed the G-14 branch by the navy, was our Whitebeard Pirates' territory five years ago."
"You and five others, including Gilman, were raided by the navy fleet while purchasing supplies. Under the attack of three vice admirals, Gilman and the others were killed on the spot."
"Only you jumped into the sea to survive and escaped back."
"You were wailing on the ship, saying you were sorry to Gilman and the others, and we comforted you."
Marco also realized, grim. "But now, with the terrible strength you have shown…"
"They obviously can't die, can they!"
Whitebeard roared, could no longer control himself, stretched out his big hand, grabbed Blackbeard's head, and pressed his face hard on the deck!
"To hide your strength, you watched your companions die! For your ambition, you even abandoned your family who you spent every day with!"
"You, such a Teach, are not worthy of being my son!!!"
Crack!!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted, and Blackbeard's body was smashed into the depths of the deck. He screamed, blood gushing out of his seven orifices.
"Thief… Hahaha…"
Even so, Blackbeard continued to grin. He struggled to raise his head, roaring with blood in his mouth:
"What does it have to do with me, Dad! I just watched them die without helping! According to your rules, murdering your companions is a capital crime, but I didn't take their lives. Can you put all the blame on me? After all, I should go to the navy to settle the score!"