Beckman's arrival astonished everyone in the Immortal Pirates, and they were instantly wary. Some even secretly placed their hands on their weapons, ready to draw steel without hesitation if Beckman made any suspicious move.
Only Ivalis and his two dozen or so former Red-Haired Pirates crewmates greeted Beckman with a smile.
"Has it been two years?" Ivalis patted Beckman's shoulder.
"Ah... Ever since Shanks died, you joined the Immortal Pirates, and Yasopp and the others joined Whitebeard. We haven't met since then," Beckman replied with a strained smile.
"Your hair's even turned grey, you bastard." Ivalis stared at Beckman's grey hair, which had been black two years ago. Now, it had changed so much.
Beckman ran a hand through his hair, combing it back, but said no more.
"Save your reminiscing for later," Zephyr interjected. "Right now, we need to focus all our efforts on acquiring the Devil Fruit." The eyes behind his sunglasses also glanced at Beckman, the strategic pirate who was once said to rival Silvers Rayleigh in intellect.
Ivalis clapped his hands, gloved in white. "Understood. Let's get started."
He then glanced back at Beckman. "If you're not busy, why don't you lend a hand?"
At Ivalis's suggestion, some of the crewmates who were not formerly Red-Haired Pirates immediately voiced their displeasure. "Ivalis, what kind of joke is this? He was the First Mate of Shanks, the man our Captain killed."
"I was also one of Shanks' subordinates, and my status wasn't lower than Beckman's at the time. Am I not here now?" Ivalis countered.
"Don't try to reason your way out of this! If you are suspected of betrayal or collusion with the enemy, I will kill you immediately!"
The speaker was Keith Fallon, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user of the Immortal Pirates, who had clashed with Ivalis two years ago during the battle where Shanks attacked Arderay to save Luffy. He had always felt an intense dislike for Ivalis ever since the swordsman joined Alucard's crew.
"I am trying to recruit talent for the Captain, and you are obstructing me? You're the one who is suspect of betrayal, Fallon." Ivalis was never one to tolerate being bullied; he was quick-tempered, and since Fallon disliked him, he had come to dislike Fallon even more over time.
"Are you kidding me? You think he would join?!" Fallon felt his intelligence had been insulted. Ivalis's submission was a sensational event back then; if Shanks' First Mate joined, the world would practically end. "I think we should just eliminate this man right here."
Fallon openly expressed his true thoughts: they should eliminate Beckman, a potential enemy, ahead of time.
At Fallon's words, many Immortal Pirates who supported his idea drew their swords, their killing intent palpable. Ivalis and his two dozen former Red-Haired Pirates crewmates were not to be outdone; they brandished their weapons, and people who should have been on the same side were split into two factions.
"Do you think you can beat me, Fallon?" Ivalis drew his saber, a gift from Shanks, three inches from its sheath.
The tension in the air escalated rapidly. Ain couldn't help but lean closer to Zephyr and whisper, "What should we do, Z-sensei?"
Zephyr stared at the two confronting sides for several seconds and said without hesitation, "Let's go. We have to secure the item."
If both sides were from outside pirate crews, Zephyr would have eliminated them without a second thought. But since both Ivalis and Fallon now served under Alucard, he felt awkward intervening, nor did he have any interest in mediating. Moreover, he had a crucial matter to resolve right now, so Zephyr simply chose to ignore the squabble.
"Hey, can you two stop? This sight is embarrassing even for an outsider like me."
This sudden remark made Zephyr stop in his tracks and drew the attention of the others. The speaker was Beckman.
"What you want is the Devil Fruit in Tesoro's hands, right? What if I told you I could help you acquire it easily?" Beckman lit a cigarette.
"And you think we'd believe you?" Fallon scoffed.
Beckman ignored Fallon's scorn and addressed Ivalis. "What do you say? Want to give it a try?"
Hearing this, Ivalis sheathed the saber he had drawn three inches. The corners of his mouth lifted in a barely visible smirk. "Is the Tactician coming out of retirement?"
"Vice-Captain Beckman... Beckman-san, you don't need to help us, since we are currently with the Immortal Pirates," one of the other former Red-Haired Pirates advised.
"You are you. Whether it's Immortal or Red-Haired makes no difference. Consider it an impulse of mine to meddle," Beckman said calmly.
"Isn't that interesting?"
Fallon raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to put away their weapons. He sneered. "Then let's make it a competition. My group and Z will go one way, and you Red-Hair remnants will go another. We'll see who gets the item. If you fail..."
At this, a look of ferocity flashed across Fallon's face. "...I will report you as a traitor and personally kill you."
"Keith Fallon, you've gone too far!" Ivalis's subordinates shouted in anger. Everyone knew how miserable a pirate's fate would be if they were officially branded a "traitor" within their crew.
"It's fine," Ivalis's answer was unexpected. He slapped Beckman on the shoulder. "Tactician-san, you won't watch me get killed, will you?"
"Hmph..." Beckman grunted, but his tone was brimming with confidence.
"Then let's all wait and see."
Fallon led his group away with Zephyr. Zephyr chose to remain uninvolved in the dispute from beginning to end; the victor of the conflict between Fallon and Ivalis was irrelevant to him.
"Ivalis, you were too impulsive! The opponent has Z, a former Admiral, and he knows the enemy well!" one man worriedly rushed up to Ivalis.
"Don't worry, just follow my method. Do you think I've just been goofing off for the past two years?" Beckman began to display his sharp intellect, starting to formulate a plan for securing the Devil Fruit.