Chapter 267: Fighting Rumors with Rumors
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the conference room, various officers were seated, the front-page news from the World Economic News spread open on the table.
Admiral Sengoku sat with his hands clasped, his expression grave as he listened to the surrounding discussion.
"Admiral Sengoku's actions have instead become evidence for the existence of the Angel Fruit... The outside world is spreading rumors that the Angel Fruit truly exists, capable of tempting even the Yonko and the Marines to send people to compete for it..."
"How did it come to this?"
"Is there still a way to block the news now? Or should we Marines take the initiative to debunk the rumors?"
Someone proposed such a plan, but it was quickly drowned out by voices of refutation.
Debunking wouldn't work.
The Marines' ability to control public opinion wasn't actually strong.
Otherwise, the Marines would have long ago prevented the Pirate King's final words from spreading, thereby avoiding the start of the Great Pirate Era.
"No, the focus now is the Whitebeard Pirates making a move, and this pirate Teach!"
Fleet Admiral Kong suddenly spoke, stopping the debate.
"Sengoku's deployment had nothing to do with the Angel Fruit. But the Whitebeard Pirates did indeed dispatch Teach to compete for the Angel Fruit!"
"What does this signify? It signifies that Whitebeard believes in the existence of the Angel Fruit!"
Kong's words silenced all the officers.
Whitebeard was no ordinary person. Not only did he hold the title of the World's Strongest Man, but he was also a legendary great pirate who had come through the Rocks era.
Such a major figure possessed countless secrets.
"Even the Whitebeard Pirates dispatched Teach. This is enough to show how much importance Whitebeard places on the Angel Fruit!"
Kong stated firmly.
"But, Fleet Admiral Kong, Teach is just an unknown pirate. If Whitebeard truly valued the Angel Fruit, why would he send him instead of one of the other commanders?"
Someone raised a doubt.
"This point is actually even more frightening."
"According to the investigation results, Teach joined the Whitebeard Pirates over ten years ago. His strength is not weak, yet he has no bounty. This is a major failure on the part of us Marines!"
Admiral Sengoku said in a deep voice.
Teach's words and actions that day had left a deep impression on him.
A pirate who dared to shout "From now on, it's my era" in front of a Marine Admiral, yet fled in panic upon realizing he was outmatched.
Combined with the information gathered by the Marines, this zero-bounty Teach was likely the most troublesome type, a true pirate.
"I fought with Teach. This person absolutely cannot be underestimated."
"He has strength, ambition, understands forbearance... If the Angel Fruit is real, then he will surely grow into a major enemy for our Marines in the future."
"However, his flaw is being somewhat arrogant, getting carried away after obtaining the Angel Fruit."
After pondering for a moment, Sengoku made his judgment.
"This is a gambler who stakes everything on one throw."
"In the future, when dealing with Teach, perhaps we can start from this weakness..."
"In summary, this person's status within the Whitebeard Pirates must be extraordinary, but his reputation is not prominent, making him the best candidate for the Whitebeard Pirates to dispatch to seize the Angel Fruit."
"Wait..." Kong suddenly spoke:
"Sengoku, if Whitebeard really dispatched Teach to compete for the Angel Fruit..."
"Then why did Teach end up eating the Angel Fruit, instead of bringing it back to the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Kong's question made Sengoku ponder for quite a while.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, I have two guesses."
"The first possibility, this pirate named Teach, has selfish motives!"
As soon as these words came out, the officers all looked thoughtful.
Pirates were lawless individuals; having selfish motives was perfectly normal.
"As for the second possibility..."
Sengoku narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
"This person Teach is indeed extraordinary. Perhaps Whitebeard's true goal was to have Teach eat the Angel Fruit."
The younger officers were stunned, while Kong and others from Sengoku's era frowned deeply.
They understood Whitebeard.
A secret treasure like the Angel Fruit, ordinary pirates would likely not hand it over to others.
But Whitebeard was different.
"If it were Whitebeard, he is indeed capable of doing such a thing."
"He has already reached the pinnacle of piracy and is only interested in his family. If he planned to use the Angel Fruit to cultivate his 'son' Teach... that makes sense."
Kong and Sengoku looked at each other, their expressions gradually becoming serious.
Teach was definitely no ordinary pirate; he was indeed worthy of Whitebeard placing such importance on him.
"Regardless of which speculation is true, this person cannot be left alive!"
Kong said decisively.
Finished speaking, he glanced at Sengoku again:
"Sengoku, you've analyzed so much, surely you have a way to deal with Teach now?"
Hearing this, Sengoku smiled slightly.
"We Marines may not be able to stop the spread of rumors, but this time, perhaps we can use rumors to counter rumors."
"We can release information: the true Angel Fruit possesses characteristics similar to Devil Fruits, regenerating after the user dies."
"This way, Teach will definitely become the target of public criticism!"
"This news must be spread quickly, before Teach returns to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
.......
The meeting at Marine Headquarters had concluded.
With Fleet Admiral Kong's approval, Sengoku's plan was quickly disseminated level by level to Marine territories and branches around the world.
Grand Line Marine Branch G-2.
"Marshall D. Teach, how scary~"
Borsalino, the current Vice Admiral of the G-2 branch, glanced at the order just received from Headquarters and scratched his head.
"Not just Teach, Mr. Sengoku also wants us to spread rumors quickly... What a hassle."
After murmuring lazily for a few sentences, Borsalino's gaze fell on the few branch officers in front of him.
"This task is yours."
"This.. Then what specifically should we do, Vice Admiral Borsalino?"
"Who knows?"
Borsalino drawled, speaking somewhat lazily:
"Maybe... go to the taverns in nearby towns? Pirates like to go to taverns. Using the power of pirates might be very useful."
The officers looked at each other, wiping sweat from their brows.
An hour later, in a town bar.
Several Marine officers, changed into plain clothes, gathered at the bar counter.
Listening to the surrounding noise, the loud boasting of the drinkers, they felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Bars were places pirates frequented; they, as officers, rarely came here.
Especially their professional instincts as Marines made them subconsciously scan the appearances of the surrounding drinkers, judging whether they were pirates, always keeping a tense string in their minds.
"We need to have a couple of drinks. Not drinking in a bar looks too conspicuous, it'll expose our identities."
One officer whispered, taking a sip of his drink.
"That's right."
The others' eyes lit up, nodding and smiling in agreement.
After a few drinks, they gradually loosened up and started chatting idly with the drinkers next to them.
"Speaking of which, why did we come to the bar again?"
One officer burped, asking in a low voice.
"Oh right, to spread rumors. I remember the content seemed to be... as long as you kill that pirate Teach, the Angel Fruit will reappear?" another officer replied somewhat fuzzily.
"Nonsense! I clearly remember it like this... As long as you kill Teach, guang! An Angel Fruit will appear..."
"You're the one talking nonsense! I remember it like this... After killing Teach, usually a Grilled Skewer Fruit appears. Only if you're lucky will an Angel Fruit appear!"
Unconsciously, the other drinkers had looked over, listening with interest to the discussion among these drunken officers.
The matter of the Angel Fruit and Teach was the hot topic recently, and they were also listening intently.
"You guys must be drunk, how could the Angel Fruit regenerate on the user's corpse? That's complete nonsense!"
A drinker joined the discussion.
The drunken officer immediately glared.
"You're the drunk one! What I'm saying is a secret circulating within the Marines, the kind that cannot be leaked!"
"Marines?" The drinkers were all shocked.
"Uh..." One drunken officer still retained a shred of reason and quickly made something up:
"Yes, my third aunt's second uncle's cousin-in-law is a Captain at Marine Headquarters. This is important information that only officers at the rank of Captain and above know within the Marines!"