"Zehahaha... a pity there's no wine, or I'd definitely have a drink with you."
When Laffitte and the others woke up, they saw their captain chatting and laughing with a young man.
"Captain, who is that guy?"
"I think I fell into the water just now. Did that person save me?"
"Such a familiar face, that person seems to be... a big shot!"
Laffitte and the others had different reactions.
Among them, Burgess was boisterous, and Doc Q was too sickly to speak. Only Laffitte and Van Augur reacted quickly and recognized Link.
Teach slung his arm over Link's shoulder and laughed heartily at his companions, "Zehahaha... Let me introduce you. This is the famous 'The Impaler,' Link, and also my partner."
"Ohohoho... A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency, The Impaler."
Seeing his captain's demeanor, Laffitte understood perfectly that the two must have reached a deal.
He didn't ask any further questions, simply greeting Link politely.
Van Augur merely nodded at Link.
Looking at the self-aware Laffitte and Van Augur, Link couldn't help but smile. "Teach, you have a fine group of companions."
"Zehahaha... Of course. Laffitte and the others are my confidants."
Teach laughed loudly and said, "When the time is right, I will help them all obtain powerful Devil Fruits."
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Laffitte and the others, and they immediately elevated Link's status in their minds.
The reason they were recruited by Teach, aside from his strength and audacity, was mainly because of his Devil Fruit ability and the grand promises he made.
Teach's words either told them that Link was a true partner or served as a reminder that Link was so terrifying that Teach had to reveal this secret to save his own life, so they absolutely must not act rashly.
Regardless of which it was, it was clear that Link was an existence not to be provoked at this stage!
At this, Laffitte's smile widened even more.
Even the boisterous Burgess dared not speak carelessly.
Like the top executives of the Donquixote Family, they were now just stray dogs fleeing the New World in disgrace.
Before their wings were fully grown, they had to remain low-key and forbearing!
Link was also very satisfied with the founding members of the Blackbeard Pirates.
These guys would all grow to become top commanders of a Yonko crew in the future.
Van Augur was especially ridiculous; in the original anime, he took out one of Charlotte Cracker's Biscuit Soldiers with a single shot.
Once they had all grown, he could harvest them, and Link would surely gain an astonishing amount of experience.
——————
Two days later, Link brought the Blackbeard Pirates back to the Florian Triangle.
Just as their ship sailed into the front gate of Thriller Bark, Link saw Carina and the other four women waiting on the shore.
Although Carina and the others had Perona to protect them, to avoid any accidents, Link had his Wood Clone—possessing a massive amount of chakra and able to last for a month—return to Thriller Bark to protect them after he had ambushed the Blackbeard Pirates.
As soon as their ship entered the Florian Triangle, the Wood Clone informed Carina and the other four of the original's return.
So when the ship docked and Link disembarked with the Blackbeard Pirates, Carina and the others immediately gathered around.
"Link, you're back!"
"Link, who are these people?"
Because there were outsiders present, Carina and the others did not embarrass Link. After greeting him with gentle smiles, they turned their gazes to the Blackbeard Pirates.
Looking at the Blackbeard Pirates, who were either fierce-looking or sickly, Carina and the others all frowned inwardly.
This group of guys didn't look like good people at a glance. Why did Link bring them back?
Although they were very curious, none of Carina's group said anything.
"Yes, I'm back."
Link smiled and nodded, then pointed at Teach and introduced him to Carina and the others, "This is my partner, the captain of these men. His name is Marshall D. Teach."
D?
Hearing that letter, a glint instantly flashed in Robin's eyes.
After Nefertari D. Lili, Robin had become aware of the special existence of the D. Clan.
This guy also has a D. What meaning could this D. possibly hold?
"Zehahaha... Hello, you beautiful ladies!"
Teach greeted Carina and the others with a simple-minded smile, then flattered Link, "Beauties with a hero, truly a perfect match!"
"Heeheehee... You're quite the talker, big guy."
Carina and the others' impression of Teach improved greatly. Vivi and Nami, in particular, were deceived by Teach's simple and honest facade.
Link didn't correct them and simply said to Teach, "Next, I'll need you to do me a favor, Teach."
After speaking, Link's hand, hidden in his sleeve, began to form hand seals.
Immediately, the wall of the ship that Carina and the others were on automatically opened. Two giant tree branches extended out, carrying two small trees.
After transplanting the two small trees onto the ground, the branches retracted, and the ship's wall closed automatically.
Following that, a few vines flew out from the ship's cabin, carrying two fruits.
Catching the fruits, Link handed one to Teach.
"Zehahaha... Leave it to me!"
Looking at Crocodile sealed inside a tree, along with another person he didn't recognize, Teach's heart shuddered slightly.
The Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit, doesn't it have an ability that counters the Logia-type Forest-Forest Fruit?
How on earth did he defeat Crocodile?
These women's auras were clearly pitifully weak, yet Link introduced them without a care, not at all afraid that he might attack them.
He clearly knows my Fruit's ability, yet he's so confident. Just how astonishing must his hidden trump cards be?
The overthinking Teach dared not harbor any ulterior motives anymore.
Thus, he began to show his pledge of allegiance to Link.
Under the expectant gazes of the other Blackbeard Pirates and the watchful eyes of Carina and the others, Teach walked towards Crocodile, holding a fruit.
At the same time, Link also formed a hand seal with one hand.
The next second, the small tree sealing Crocodile slowly spat him out.
A wooden spike also quietly pierced the back of Crocodile's head, ending the life of the great pirate.
"Ding! An enemy has been killed. Gained 5.38% experience!"
A notification sound echoed in Link's mind, instantly delighting him.
This experience value not only greatly increased his strength but also gave him a vague sense of level divisions.
For the third stage of experience acquisition, the top commanders and first mates of Yonko crews should be worth around 5%.
With the previous two stages as a reference!
In the fourth stage, the experience from a powerhouse of that level would only drop by about 1%.
There were far too many powerhouses of this level in the New World.
If the next plan failed, Link only needed to enter the New World and hunt frantically, and he could also quickly unlock the Senju Hashirama template to 100%.
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