"Cooperation?"
Whitebeard's lips moved slightly, as if he were chewing on the word itself, trying to grind it down and taste whatever hidden meaning lay beneath it.
"Teach, are you telling me that brat Ian's Beasts Pirates want to cooperate with me?"
"That's right, Pops!"
Teach's face remained full of sincerity. "Please don't misunderstand. Lord Ian came this time with complete goodwill. He has no ill intentions toward you!"
"Our Beasts Pirates truly wish to form an alliance with you!"
"We?"
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Whitebeard's mouth.
Every member of the Whitebeard Pirates glared at Teach with fury.
Beasts Pirates are "we," and Whitebeard Pirates are "you."
This bastard really had cut himself cleanly away from his past.
Ignorant of what he had done using the Sacred Separator, Teach continued speaking like someone earnestly pleading for their sake.
"Lord Ian is preparing for the final battle against the World Government, Pops. This time he's here to invite you and the Whitebeard Pirates to join the war!"
Teach added, "Lord Ian even came in person! That alone shows how seriously he takes this!"
"That's enough, Teach!"
Marco could no longer bear another word. His voice burst out in anger. "I never imagined that after living together for more than ten years, this is what you turned out to be!"
So servile. Practically a dog raised by Ian!
Marco didn't remember the Teach he knew ever being like this.
"If you want to lick Ian's feet, then go lick them by yourself!"
Vista roared with equal fury. "Our bones don't bend like yours. We don't kneel!"
"Hey, hey, Vista, Marco, don't be so harsh!"
Teach wore the panicked expression of an honest man being wronged and hurriedly explained, "Look—Big Mom's family, Cross Guild, and even the Red Hair Pirates have agreed to work with Lord Ian!"
"The pirate world has united like never before, all for the purpose of overthrowing the rule of the World Government!"
"This is a grand, world-shaking cause! If we join, our names will be remembered for generations!"
Big Mom and Redfield both twitched their lips at the same time.
He made it sound like everyone shared life and death, like they had forged some kind of united pirate destiny.
Saying such nonsense with a straight face was… almost impressive.
"…"
But Marco didn't find any of it funny. He couldn't even begin to laugh.
So the Charlotte Family, the Cross Guild, and the Red Hair Pirates had really joined forces with the Beasts Pirates?
This was about as bad as news could get.
Against a combined force like that, what could the Whitebeard Pirates possibly—
Wait.
Even without the Charlotte Family, the Cross Guild, or the Red Hair Pirates… wasn't the Beasts Pirates alone already enough to crush them with ease?
For some reason, that thought made his heart feel a little lighter.
"Redfield."
Whitebeard, fully aware of how dire things had become, turned toward his long-time rival and asked with genuine confusion, "I can't figure out how your Cross Guild got mixed up with that brat Ian."
"If I remember right, Moria holds a deep grudge against Ian, doesn't he?"
Back in Wano, Moria's entire crew had been wiped out by Ian and Ian's teacher. That piece of history wasn't even a secret anymore.
Whitebeard really couldn't imagine how Moria had managed to swallow that hatred.
Just like Hiyori would never forgive Ian, how could Moria possibly accept a partnership between the Cross Guild and the Beasts Pirates?
"It wasn't just Moria."
Redfield let out a cold laugh. "That brat Ian stole a Devil Fruit I had my eye on, and he beat the hell out of me while he was at it."
Whitebeard frowned deeply.
That did sound like a grudge that couldn't be easily resolved. Then why…?
"What could I have done?" Redfield said, almost like he needed to vent the bitterness in his heart. "Ian showed up at our headquarters with Hawkeye and Charlotte Linlin."
"Moria and Crocodile refused to cooperate, so he killed them. And I was forced to become his ally."
Whitebeard's eyes widened.
So brazen… so reckless?
He couldn't help but glance at Charlotte Linlin and Shanks, two fellow Yonko.
If this was what the Cross Guild had gone through, then what about the Charlotte Family and Shanks' crew?
"Hmph."
Linlin's expression stiffened. She forced a cold snort, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Shanks cleared his throat. "Don't lump me in with them. I chose to cooperate with Ian out of my own free will."
But at that moment, Marco suddenly understood.
So aside from the Red Hair Pirates, Redfield and Charlotte Linlin were both forced into Ian's camp?
If that was the case—
"I really can't wrap my head around it, Redfield! BIG MOM! People like you… being forced by Ian of all people?!"
Marco's voice rang out loudly.
Aunt Linlin merely let out a disdainful snort.
It was easy to talk big when you weren't the one suffering.
Redfield could only shake his head with a bitter smile. "If you haven't fought Ian yourself, you'll never understand."
He had only crossed blades with Ian once all those years ago, but even that single clash—along with the fleeting glimpse he'd caught of him on Thriller Bark—was more than enough to make him aware of the vast gap between them.
"So," Marco shouted, "you're just going to accept being ordered around by Ian like this?"
"'Working together' to fight the World Government? Hah! Sounds nice on the surface!"
"But all he wants is to use you as cannon fodder—to draw the Government's fire away from him!"
"You submitted because of the Beasts Pirates' military might! Doesn't Ian know how furious you really are? How could he possibly trust people like you?"
Aunt Linlin and Redfield's expressions both darkened.
Such a simple truth—how could they not understand it?
But the situation left them with no choice.
Ian's lips curled upward. Things seemed to be heading in a very interesting direction.
Hawkeye spoke with a cold calmness, "If I were you, I wouldn't even think about doing something foolish."
Anyone who hadn't witnessed Ian's true power with their own eyes would never understand.
His strength had already stepped into an entirely different dimension.
This so-called 'cooperation' of Ian's was nothing more than removing the chance for them to get in the way.
Before Ian, whose power could only be called overwhelming, what help could any of them possibly offer?
Any enemy Ian couldn't defeat was one they couldn't even scratch, even if they all attacked together.
**********
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