"Be your subordinate?"
The sudden voice made Ace and Nami freeze on the spot. Ace was still lost in his words, while Nami reacted first, asking blankly, "You, you can talk?"
"How can you talk?"
Ace's mouth hung open as he looked at the giant beast before him, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"This is not difficult."
Xia Qiu looked down at the two and slowly said, "Ace, what is your answer?"
"Answer?"
Upon hearing this, Ace sighed and asked, "If I refuse to be your subordinate, you'll kill me, right?"
"Your question is invalid."
Xia Qiu sneered, "If I hadn't appeared, Blackbeard would have killed you. In other words, I saved you. You owe me your lives."
Ace took a breath and said, "You're right."
Without this giant beast, he would be dead by now.
Xia Qiu added, "Not only that, but if I hadn't sent my subordinates, how would Nami have been saved? How would Blackbeard's subordinates have been held back?"
Ace suddenly realized and asked, "So you are the President that Mr. Christmas mentioned?"
"Not just Mr. Christmas."
Xia Qiu said coldly, "I also sent extra people. Otherwise, how could your subordinates and Mr. Christmas alone have held off these people?"
Ace was a little surprised, "So that's how it is."
Xia Qiu continued, "Without me, you two would have undoubtedly died. But do you think that was the only outcome?"
"What do you mean?" Nami frowned.
Xia Qiu snorted, "Blackbeard's plan was not to kill you, but to send Ace to prison in exchange for a Shichibukai position."
"Going to prison is still better than death, isn't it?" Ace said with a wry smile.
Nami shook her head, "That's impossible. The Shichibukai positions are already full. Even if they hand Ace over, they won't get the position. Their current target is Jinbe. They plan to team up with the Fish-Man Island rebels to attack Jinbe, causing the Shichibukai to lose one member, and then fill the spot."
"They plan to make a move on Brother Jinbe?" Ace was a little surprised.
Ace and Jinbe had a very good relationship. They met through conflict and were both under the Whitebeard Pirates, people they could entrust their families to.
"So Blackbeard really does have that idea."
Xia Qiu nodded, then said, "Sending Ace to Marine Headquarters would definitely allow them to become Shichibukai."
"Why is that?" Nami asked, confused.
Xia Qiu explained, "Because Blackbeard has an agreement with the Government. They will use Ace as bait for a public execution at Marineford, luring Whitebeard to come, and then seize the opportunity to kill him."
"This..." Nami found it hard to believe.
Ace shook his head, "Father won't fall for the trap, and they can't kill Father."
"Given how much Whitebeard values you, how could he not come to save you?"
Xia Qiu snorted, "I admit Whitebeard is still the world's strongest man, but he's old, and his strength is no longer at its peak. With the entire Marine Headquarters plus the Shichibukai, how could they not kill Whitebeard?"
"But the Four Emperors won't stand idly by. How could they let them attack?" Nami asked, puzzled.
Xia Qiu replied, "Big Mom has always coveted Whitebeard's territory. Kaido has had many conflicts with Whitebeard. Only Red-Haired could assist, but he'll likely be too busy with his own affairs. Once a war breaks out, Whitebeard will surely die."
"If they start a war rashly, the losses will inevitably be enormous. I don't believe they would do that," Ace replied.
Nami added, "Your deductions are based on the most likely outcome of each guess, but the problem is that there are too many guesses, and each guess is built on the next, increasing the uncertainty. At the very least, the benefit of doing this is too small for Marine Headquarters to go to war with us over it. If Ace were truly captured, they would likely execute him secretly. This would save face for Father and prevent us from initiating a war."
"Is that so?"
Xia Qiu smiled, "What if we add that Ace is Roger's son?"
"How do you know?"
This question made Ace stiffen, looking at Xia Qiu in disbelief.
"This..."
Nami knew this information, but she hadn't told anyone. Within the Spade Pirates, only a handful of people knew this secret.
Xia Qiu snorted, "Publicly executing Roger's son and killing the Symbol of the Era, Whitebeard. That reason is enough for Marine Headquarters to go to war with Whitebeard."
With that, Xia Qiu smiled, "Of course, this is just an agreement between Blackbeard and the Government. Whether it succeeds is another matter. As for the consequences of Blackbeard's actions, we can ignore them for now. The important thing is that I saved you, Nami, and Hachi."
Ace understood his meaning and sighed, "So you want me to become your subordinate."
Xia Qiu stated, "That's right. I need a subordinate to help me. Your strength is considerable and meets my requirements. So, what is your decision?"
Ace was the most suitable Mr.1. He possessed the strength of a Shichibukai and was young, only twenty years old, with potential for further growth.
The battle between him and Blackbeard was the perfect opportunity for him to intervene.
Xia Qiu didn't plan to wait for the Summit War. There would be many corpses then, but few of them would belong to powerful individuals. Only Ace, Whitebeard, and a few commanders would be worth consuming.
However, the scale of the war was too large. At the very beginning, the shock caused by Whitebeard tilted Marineford. Then Aokiji froze the sea, and the ice block Jozu lifted was tens of meters high.
Could he break through the ice and get to the surface?
Besides that, would everyone around him just let him eat those corpses?
So, Xia Qiu resolutely took action, killing Blackbeard, and at the same time hoping Ace would join his crew.
Ace hesitated, frowning as he asked, "If I refuse, will you kill us?"
Xia Qiu smiled and said, "I will simply return everything to how it was."
The meaning of his words was obvious: if Ace refused, Xia Qiu would kill him. He certainly wouldn't let such a powerful energy slip away.
Ace was still hesitating. He didn't know what Xia Qiu intended to do. If he rashly did something for him, and it turned out to be an utterly heinous act, Ace would rather die.
Furthermore, he would have to leave the Whitebeard Pirates, which made it impossible for Ace to make up his mind.
"Four years."
Xia Qiu suddenly said, "You only need to work for me for four years. After four years, if you wish to leave, you're free to do so. How about it?"
The time was too long, and Ace might not agree. Even if he was forced to agree, problems would arise later. Perhaps as long as Nami and Hachi were safe, Ace wouldn't mind sacrificing his life to defend some of his principles.
The most important thing was that he needed Ace's wholehearted help.
Four years was enough time for him to complete his plan.
"Four years?"
Ace was somewhat tempted. This duration was acceptable. Ace nodded and said, "I can be your subordinate, but I hope you'll agree to one condition."
"What is it?" Xia Qiu suppressed the joy in his heart and looked at Ace.
Ace said, "You must let Nami and Hachi go."
"Huh?"
Nami was slightly taken aback, then said, "Ace, I want to stay here with you..."
"You must leave."
Ace interrupted her, looking at her and saying, "Didn't you say Blackbeard planned to ally with the Fish-Man Island rebels to assassinate Jinbe? You and Hachi will go to Fish-Man Island, find Jinbe, tell him about this matter, notify Father, and resolve it. Then he can also send you back."
"Okay, okay."
Hearing Ace's reasoning, Nami felt the matter was indeed urgent, so she nodded and said, "I'll leave with Hachi."
Ace looked at Xia Qiu and asked, "Does your excellency agree?"
Xia Qiu thought for a moment. Nami was an excellent navigator; she was very useful, and with her, his plan could be carried out smoothly. However, she wasn't irreplaceable.
Xia Qiu said, "I can agree to your request. After they are healed, they can leave. But they must keep my identity a secret and not spread it around."
"I promise,"
Nami quickly said, "Besides Father, I won't reveal your identity to anyone."
Ace looked at Xia Qiu and said, "Also, there are some things I won't do for you, such as killing indiscriminately or harming the innocent."
"Don't worry."
Xia Qiu grinned and said, "Anyone I ask you to kill is someone who deserves to die."
Ace then asked, "Then how should we report this to Father? If he finds out..."
"We'll tell him the truth."
Xia Qiu said, "I killed Blackbeard and saved you. Doing favors for a benefactor, Whitebeard shouldn't stop you, right?"
"Alright."
Ace said somewhat helplessly, "Then I'm willing to be your subordinate."
"Then I look forward to your performance."
Xia Qiu smiled and said, "Don't move for now. I'll have a doctor come to treat you, and we'll take you away from this island first. But before that, I have a few more things to do."
As Xia Qiu spoke, he swallowed Blackbeard's corpse and walked away.
His subordinates were still fighting, and he didn't know the outcome yet.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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