In the original storyline, Blackbeard and his crew had come to Marineford to seize Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Although Blackbeard couldn't have predicted that Whitebeard would die in this battle, the old pirate was already nearing the end of his life. Blackbeard had simply been waiting for the right opportunity.
However, the situation was completely different now.
The Marines were on the verge of collapse, Whitebeard was still fighting vigorously, and the pirates even had mysterious powerhouses supporting them.
If the battle continued like this, the Whitebeard Pirates might actually manage to escape without suffering any further major losses.
And if that happened, Blackbeard would have even fewer opportunities to steal Whitebeard's Devil Fruit.
The moment Whitebeard spotted Blackbeard appearing in the distance, his attention was immediately drawn toward him.
To Whitebeard, every member of his pirate crew was family. They were all his sons.
Yet Blackbeard had spent decades hiding among the Whitebeard Pirates, only to murder Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander, for the Dark-Dark Fruit.
That act had crossed the one absolute rule Whitebeard had established for his family.
Furthermore, the entire Summit War had begun because Blackbeard defeated Ace and handed him over to the Marines.
Whitebeard had therefore been forced to lead his entire fleet to Marine Headquarters.
By now, even if the number of pirates killed hadn't reached 10,000, it had certainly reached seven or eight thousand.
In other words, Blackbeard was directly responsible for the deaths of countless people Whitebeard considered his sons and family.
The hatred between them had become completely irreconcilable.
"Teach! You actually dare show your face in front of me?!"
Whitebeard clenched his fist and aimed it toward Blackbeard.
However, Blackbeard knew perfectly well that he wasn't Whitebeard's match.
He had deliberately positioned himself at the edge of the battlefield, as far away from Whitebeard as possible.
Seeing Whitebeard preparing to attack, Blackbeard immediately shouted.
"Garp! I'm still one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Are you seriously going to stand there and watch Whitebeard attack me without helping?!"
"I brought fresh reinforcements to support the Marines!"
Hearing this, Garp frowned.
Given his personality, he would never willingly cooperate with pirates under any circumstances.
Unfortunately, the Seven Warlords of the Sea occupied precisely that uncomfortable gray area.
The current situation was still extremely unfavorable for the Marines.
If Blackbeard genuinely intended to help them, Garp couldn't simply stand aside and allow Whitebeard to kill the entire group.
Therefore, Garp clenched his fist and attacked Whitebeard again.
At the same time, he shouted to make his intentions clear.
"Whitebeard! Your opponent is me! Are you looking down on me by letting yourself get distracted?!"
As for whether Blackbeard and the Marines were truly allies or enemies, Garp decided to leave that problem to Sengoku.
Sengoku stared at Blackbeard with a deep frown.
He had already recognized the people standing behind the pirate and understood what Blackbeard had been doing.
Blackbeard's ambitions were practically undisguised.
There was no possibility that someone like him would remain satisfied with the position of a Warlord forever.
Sooner or later, he would undoubtedly become another major enemy of the Marines.
However, Sengoku's highest priority today was securing victory.
As long as Blackbeard was willing to support the Marines during this battle, everything else could be dealt with afterward.
"Blackbeard! Since you've come here, start attacking the pirates!"
"Once this war is over, I'll report your contributions to the higher authorities!"
Seeing that his crew was no longer in immediate danger, Blackbeard burst into laughter.
"Zehahahaha! No problem!"
"Today, I'll make the entire world understand that I, Blackbeard, have already become one of the strongest men on these seas!"
With that declaration, Blackbeard led his crew into battle against the Whitebeard Pirates.
Although Blackbeard himself had little chance of defeating Whitebeard, the abilities of his Dark-Dark Fruit were undeniably formidable.
Ordinary powerhouses had almost no way of dealing with him.
And the people accompanying him were hardly weak either.
Shiryu of the Rain, for example, had few opponents capable of matching him below the Admiral level.
The remaining nine members of Blackbeard's group generally possessed strength comparable to Marine Rear Admirals or Vice Admirals.
With both the Marines and pirates already approaching exhaustion, the arrival of these fresh reinforcements immediately influenced the entire battle.
Watching this unfold, Makoto couldn't help smiling.
'So this is what Spink meant when he said Blackbeard would join their side?'
Apparently, Spink's supposedly meticulous arrangements didn't mean he genuinely controlled every aspect of the situation.
Makoto therefore sent another message through their mental link.
"Is Blackbeard supposed to be your ally or your enemy?"
"Even if you manage to recruit him, how exactly are you planning to make him cooperate with Whitebeard? I'm genuinely curious."
Spink responded with a soft chuckle.
"All Blackbeard wants is the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Bringing him over to our side would only take a few words."
"As for making him cooperate with Whitebeard, that's even simpler. We merely need to place Ace's life on the opposite side of the scales."
"Their grudges can be settled afterward. Today, what I need them to accomplish is the complete destruction of the Marines."
"Kitano-kun, I've already been perfectly open with you. We can continue discussing your conditions."
"How about this? I'll give you 10 Fate Value, five Emergency Escape Cards, and another 50,000 Mission Points. What do you think?"
Makoto raised an eyebrow.
He had to admit that Spink was the most generous and accommodating person he had encountered since becoming a Player.
If Spink hadn't recognized his identity, Makoto might genuinely have accepted the offer and withdrawn immediately.
Unfortunately, things were different now.
His personal safety had become the most important consideration.
As for rewards, those could always be discussed later.
"Before I consider your offer, you need to answer one more question."
A hint of delight appeared on Spink's face.
"Go ahead."
"How did you recognize my identity?"
Spink answered calmly.
"Oh, that? It's actually quite simple."
"I didn't recognize you at first. I recognized the young lady accompanying you."
"Once I connected her identity with your behavior, figuring out who you were became easy."
Makoto's heart sank.
'Just as I thought.'
At the beginning of this mission, he had never imagined encountering an acquaintance like Spink.
Naturally, he hadn't considered making Sakiko disguise herself.
Now that Spink had recognized them so easily, Makoto found himself seriously considering whether he should eliminate the man here.
After all, Makoto and Sakiko both possessed numerous secrets.
The same was true of Asuna and Yukino Yukinoshita.
If the four of them formed a team and attracted the attention of the entire Tavern, who knew how much trouble would come looking for them in the future?
The only way to eliminate that threat once and for all was to ensure that Spink never left this battlefield.
Makoto didn't even seriously consider cooperating with him.
After all, if Makoto proposed adding a confidentiality clause to their agreement, someone as intelligent as Spink would immediately realize that Makoto was hiding even greater secrets.
It would be practically equivalent to hanging a sign around his neck announcing that he had something to conceal.
However, if he decided to kill Spink, a fierce and possibly devastating battle would inevitably follow.
Makoto had little doubt that this seemingly refined and scholarly man was concealing numerous trump cards.
After considering everything, Makoto directly contacted the two girls inside his cursed technique's spatial dimension.
He briefly explained the situation before asking,
"I've decided to attack this guy. What do you two think?"
Asuna looked surprised.
With her current knowledge and understanding, she still couldn't fully comprehend how much trouble having her identity exposed might cause.
However, Sakiko responded almost without hesitation.
"Then attack him. We can't allow our secrets to be exposed."
"As for your concern about coming into conflict with the Tavern, he's only a bartender working for the organization. The Tavern isn't going to expend enormous resources over someone like him."
"Even if the Tavern eventually discovers that we killed him, there are only two likely outcomes."
Makoto listened carefully.
When it came to experience with matters like these, Sakiko actually knew somewhat more than he did.
"The first possibility is that the Tavern demands compensation."
"If we can't provide suitable compensation, they might expel us or issue missions targeting us in future Mission Worlds."
"The second possibility is that they force us to join the Tavern to compensate for the losses caused by his death."
"After all, in a place like the Main God Space, dead people don't have any rights."
Makoto nodded.
He generally agreed with Sakiko's assessment.
However, one concern remained.
From what he understood, Players in the Main God Space could activate Fate Burn to attack other Players, although doing so would result in enormous penalties.
Sakiko immediately guessed what he was thinking.
"That possibility is extremely unlikely. The penalties are so severe that even Professionals can't afford to endure them."
"Surely someone like Spink isn't important enough for the Tavern to send an Elite-rank or even Hero-rank powerhouse after us?"
Hearing this, Makoto finally relaxed.
There were still risks involved, of course.
However, compared to the danger of allowing Spink to return and expose their information, those risks were acceptable.
Just then, Spink contacted him again.
"Since you've agreed, Kitano-kun, shall we complete the transaction now?"
"Sure."
Makoto smiled faintly.
Acting as though he had completely lowered his guard, he activated Geppo (Moonwalk) and rushed toward Spink's group.
In the distance, Kizaru saw Makoto moving and assumed he had finally made up his mind.
The Admiral immediately joined him in launching an attack.
At that moment, a familiar system notification sounded in Makoto's ears.
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Spink's Fate Value: 26.]
[Hayes's Fate Value: 6.]
[Lia's Fate Value: 6.]
[Kawa's Fate Value: 6.]
[Chen Yue's Fate Value: 6.]
[Trust Level: 0%. Manifestation Points: 0.]
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real failed.]
Makoto almost burst out laughing when he saw the notifications.
He had deliberately used his casual agreement to trigger Making Fake Become Real, wanting to test how much the other Players actually trusted him.
He had already prepared himself for the possibility that their trust would be extremely low.
Nevertheless, seeing that endless string of zeros still made him feel as though he had been thoroughly played for a fool.
There was no need to hesitate any longer.
Despite his refined and gentlemanly appearance, Spink had never intended to negotiate with him sincerely!
Meanwhile, Spink frowned as he watched Makoto approaching.
For some reason, his own Talent had failed to determine whether Makoto's agreement had been truthful or deceptive.
This was the first time anything like that had happened.
It almost felt as though something had interfered with his Talent just as it was about to activate.
'So he possesses a powerful Talent too.'
Realizing this, Spink immediately issued an order.
"Everyone, use your full strength! Prepare for battle!"
"Understood!"
A series of responses echoed through Spink's mind.
With a casual movement of his hand, a Death Note appeared in his possession.
He picked up a pen.
If Makoto showed even the slightest sign of hostile intent, Spink would immediately write his name in the notebook.
Once forty seconds passed, Makoto would begin suffering the agony of cardiac paralysis.
The reason it would cause pain rather than immediate death was the effect of Spink's Adaptability.
His Adaptability had reached 20 points.
Because of this, anyone whose name he wrote would experience five episodes of cardiac paralysis, each occurring at forty-second intervals.
The attacks would become increasingly severe until the victim finally died.
This was the real trump card that gave Spink the confidence to manipulate the outcome of the entire war.
Even powerhouses like Whitebeard and Garp would inevitably die if their names were written in his Death Note.
Furthermore, if Spink activated Fate Burn, the Death Note could temporarily recover its original power.
He could write a sentence such as "The enemy will die of cardiac arrest in three seconds" within a single second.
After that, his enemy would be doomed.
Unless, of course, the enemy also activated Fate Burn...
...
Kizaru's attack arrived first.
Unsurprisingly, it was blocked once again.
However, because Marco's attention had been drawn toward the Blackbeard Pirates, Kizaru was finally free to launch a continuous series of attacks.
Unfortunately, even his relentless offensive failed to achieve any particularly meaningful results.
Meanwhile, Makoto was rapidly closing the distance to Spink's group.
His Observation Haki remained firmly locked onto every member of the team, predicting the actions they would take over the next few seconds.
Then, Makoto's movements suddenly faltered.
An image had appeared inside his mind.
He saw Spink writing his name inside a book.
The moment Makoto witnessed this scene, his entire body went on alert.
On the surface, the action didn't appear dangerous at all.
His Observation Haki had merely used Future Sight to reveal what Spink was about to do.
Yet Makoto suddenly felt as though an invisible hand had tightened around his heart.
That was because he remembered a particular term he had heard more than once before.
Death Note!
'Is that thing in Spink's hand actually a Death Note?!'
Makoto didn't dare gamble on the answer.
He immediately stopped advancing and stared coldly toward Spink.
Meanwhile, Spink's pen also paused slightly.
An absurd suspicion arose in his mind.
'Did he figure it out?'
Almost instantly, Spink reached his decision.
If his ability had already been discovered, there was no reason to hold back.
He would have to strike first!
His hand transformed into a blur as he began writing in the Death Note.
At the same moment, Makoto unleashed his attack without the slightest hesitation.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Vortex!"
In an instant, spatial ripples erupted outward with Spink's body as their center.
They spread like invisible waves expanding across the battlefield.
However, every individual ripple was composed of countless spatial rifts layered densely over one another.
Only Makoto's Lattice Eyes, his extraordinary Talent, and his cursed technique's spatial dimension, which had expanded more than a thousandfold not long ago, made such a technique possible.
The spatial lines maintained their vertical structure as they swept outward.
Anything that came into contact with them was instantly sliced into countless pieces!
…