Ace didn't know the name of this Devil Fruit, but just from the aura it gave off, he could tell it was anything but ordinary.
Thatch had always taken good care of him and had a great personality besides. Ace genuinely hoped Thatch could further increase his strength.
And lately, the Marines' movements had been anything but normal. A great war could erupt in the New World at any time—one that not even a single Emperor of the Sea would be able to sit out!
If Thatch could strengthen himself further, his chances of surviving that unprecedented war would rise significantly.
"Yeah! Captain Thatch, you should eat it!"
"I really can't wait to see—what kind of ability will it be?"
"Could it be a Logia like Captain Ace's?"
"That'd be perfect! I heard Logia-type Devil Fruits are the strongest!"
"Not necessarily. Pops has a Paramecia, and he still has the title of the world's strongest man!"
"Come on, eat it, eat it!"
The crew jeered and whooped, all trying to push Thatch into eating the Devil Fruit.
Only, among the crowd, there was one man whose face was dark as the abyss, his eyes nailed to the Devil Fruit in Thatch's hand.
Marshall D. Teach.
When the treasure chest was first opened and he saw the Fruit's true appearance, he had been overwhelmed with shock and joy. But when he heard everyone egging Thatch on to eat it, his expression turned very ugly.
"N-no… I can't eat it. I don't want to lose my proud swimming skills just yet!"
Thatch didn't go along with the crowd. He hesitated.
"Captain Thatch, what are you saying? Just some swimming skills—totally not worth comparing to a powerful Devil Fruit ability!"
"Yeah! For all we know, after today, Captain Thatch, you might be as powerful as Captain Ace!"
"Haha, maybe in Captain Thatch's eyes, this Devil Fruit doesn't even compare to a top-grade ingredient!"
"Exactly. He is our chef-god Thatch, after all!"
Everyone tried to persuade him, but Thatch still wavered.
"I'll think about it a bit more. If I decide not to eat it, I'll put this Devil Fruit up and award it to whoever has contributed the most in the Second Division."
Hearing that, Teach finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
As long as Thatch didn't eat it right now, there was still a chance.
That's right—the Devil Fruit in Thatch's hand was precisely the one he had dreamed of for so many years: the Dark-Dark Fruit, the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit)!
"…Man, I really don't get you. You'd actually pass up something this good?"
Ace sighed helplessly.
"Alright, forget it. Let's wrap this up. Next, it's time for a celebration feast! We're celebrating our victory in this raid!"
Seeing the mood droop, Thatch immediately announced the banquet, and the crew erupted into loud cheers once more.
However, he never imagined that this banquet… would be the very last one of his life.
…
On Cake Island, Creed was reading the World Economy News, particularly interested in one article.
"Oh? A 500 million belly bounty from the Whitebeard Pirates? The wanted man is Marshall D. Teach? And the one who requested the bounty is Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Huh? Ace has already come to the New World? And he's even become Pops' Second Division Commander?!"
Creed frowned.
It was obvious now that his appearance in this world had caused the progression of the pirate era to shift in strange ways.
If things had followed the original story, Ace wouldn't have come to the New World this early—probably not for another year or two.
But now, he was already the Second Division Commander under Whitebeard. And judging from the bounty article, that bastard Blackbeard had already succeeded in killing Thatch, stealing the Dark-Dark Fruit, and even escaping the Whitebeard Pirates' initial pursuit.
"In that case… things are getting interesting. Thankfully, Luffy is still in Foosha Village. If they all gathered in the New World right now, that would really be something to worry about."
Creed let out a small sigh of relief.
With a storm about to sweep across the New World and danger lurking everywhere, it was best that a small fry like Luffy wasn't caught up in it.
"Ace shouldn't have gone after Blackbeard yet. Before that happens, I have to stop him."
After thinking it over, Creed decided to head for Whale Island to find Ace.
As long as Ace didn't go hunting for Blackbeard, he wouldn't fall into Marine hands, his identity wouldn't be exposed, and neither Whitebeard nor Ace would have to die.
Of course, Creed had his own plans as well: he wanted to meet Whitebeard—and while he was at it, extract the ability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from him.
However, Creed's decision to head to Whitebeard's Whale Island left Shiki and Big Mom quite shocked.
They both tried to persuade him, hoping he wouldn't leave Cake Island at such a critical moment. They were worried the Marines would launch some sort of operation; if Creed wasn't here, there would be no one capable of stopping a full-force strike from the Marines.
After all, the power the Marines had now gathered was simply too vast and terrifying!
But Creed was determined to go. They had no way to stop him and could only silently pray that this time, the Marines wouldn't do anything too reckless.
To save time, Creed only brought Ain and Falkor with him on this trip, piloting a small speedboat out to sea.
That, at least, put Big Mom and Shiki a bit more at ease.
So that's how it was—seemed like the little couple just wanted to go out traveling for a bit, relax, and enjoy some alone time.
Even so, Creed promised them that this trip to meet Whitebeard wouldn't take more than five days, which made them feel a lot better.
Seagulls wheeled overhead. Sunlight glittered across the surface of the sea as the speedboat tore across the waves, much faster than any ordinary ship.
Before long, a massive, whale-shaped island appeared on the horizon.
Creed had already notified Whitebeard via Den Den Mushi, so his arrival was greeted with a warm welcome from the Whitebeard side.
Ace had also told them before that Creed was like an older brother to him and Luffy, so the Whitebeard Pirates now regarded Creed as half one of their own.
Just then, Creed noticed a pirate ship moored alongside the Moby Dick and couldn't help but be surprised.
It was a ship roughly the same size as the Moby Dick. The pirate flag flying above it was a skull with crossed swords in the background, and three red scars slashed down from the top of the skull across its left eye.
It was Shanks' ship!
That sight made Creed pause in mild astonishment.
He hadn't expected to arrive right in time for this historic scene.
Creed boarded the Moby Dick and saw Whitebeard seated in his usual central position, lifting a massive sake gourd and gulping down drink after drink.
All unrelated crew members had already withdrawn, leaving only a few division commanders standing guard in the distance.
Compared to their last meeting, one or two more IV bottles now hung on the rack beside Whitebeard.
It had only been a few months, but his illness had clearly worsened.
Across from Whitebeard sat an enormous sake bowl, larger than a water vat, filled to the brim with fragrant liquor. Beside the bowl sat a red-haired swordsman in a black cloak.
It was indeed Shanks.
(End of Chapter)
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