In the Marine Headquarters' conference room, Fire Fist Ace—the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—was tightly bound and lying off to the side.
As for Blackbeard, he wasn't particularly famous. If he hadn't killed Thatch, the third division commander under Whitebeard, Gion wouldn't even know who he was.
Inside the meeting room, Fleet Admiral Sengoku wasn't seated, but instead stood face-to-face with Blackbeard.
Next to him were Hero Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and others. Even Aokiji had returned and was now standing off to the side with Akainu and Kizaru.
All of them were top brass of the Marines. Gion suddenly didn't know whether she should stay or leave.
Though she held the status of an Admiral candidate, she wasn't exactly one of the top decision-makers.
But seeing Good's carefree attitude as he marched straight in, she sighed inwardly and decided to stay—just in case she needed to keep him in check or help him out.
As Good's booming voice echoed through the room, everyone's eyes instinctively turned toward him.
Blackbeard raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Oh ho? So this is the new admiral who's been making waves lately—the Reckless Maniac Admiral, huh?"
Lying on the ground, Ace stirred violently upon hearing Good's name. His eyes burned with fury as he shouted, "Reckless Maniac! What did you do to my old man?!"
Good looked at him and grinned. "Whitebeard? He's fine! I even made a date with him for the next fight!"
"As for whether he'll survive the next one… well, I'm not so sure!"
The Marines around them all fell into awkward silence.
What the hell is this guy even saying? None of it makes any sense!
Blackbeard, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes with growing interest as he studied Good.
This guy… doesn't seem too bright. I wonder if there's some way to take advantage of that later.
The room quieted down again as Sengoku looked to Blackbeard.
"You told Aokiji you had news capable of shaking the entire era," he said in a deep voice. "Well, now you've got your audience. Speak."
Blackbeard chuckled meaningfully, a grin spreading across his face—but he didn't speak right away.
Sengoku frowned. As a master tactician, he instantly saw through the ploy—Blackbeard was deliberately stalling to drive up the price.
"I've already promised to make you a Warlord. What more do you want?"
Blackbeard didn't flinch in front of all the high-ranking Marines. "Ace was the price for becoming a Warlord."
"This news I have… will require an additional price."
He paused dramatically. "Just give me 500 million Berries. That's all I ask."
Sengoku narrowed his eyes, considering. "If your information proves valuable enough, the Marines can pay that. But if it's worthless, you won't get a single berry."
Blackbeard smirked confidently. "It'll be worth it. You'll see."
Just as he was about to drop the bombshell, Good suddenly shouted from the side, "Damn, how long are you gonna stall?!"
"I'm already getting bored. Isn't it just that Ace is the son of the Pirate King, Roger? That's the big secret, right? So lame!"
The room fell dead silent.
All eyes turned to Good—again.
Blackbeard froze, eyes wide with disbelief.
Wha… How the hell does he know that?!
And before he could even say it himself, this guy just blurted it out?!
And he called it a lame secret…
The massive surprise Blackbeard had been holding back for maximum impact was completely ruined.
His heart filled with a choking sense of frustration and disbelief.
How the hell does he know?!
On the Marine side, Sengoku, Tsuru, and the three admirals stared at Good in stunned silence.
Behind him, Gion's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Good.
Did Admiral Good just say… Ace is Roger's son?
Sengoku quickly composed himself. That level of self-control was exactly why he had risen to the top.
In a deep voice, he asked, "Good… is that true? This isn't the kind of thing you can lie about. And how do you know?"
Good answered simply, "He just looks like him. Don't you think Ace looks a lot like Roger?"
The room collectively facepalmed.
Behind him, Gion covered her forehead with one hand, visibly frustrated.
He doesn't look like Roger at all!
Kizaru tilted his head, lips curled, and muttered, "Yo~ That's… quite the blunt answer."
Sengoku turned to Blackbeard, confirming that this was indeed the information he had been about to share.
"Well, since Good beat you to the punch, we won't be paying the 500 million."
At that moment, Blackbeard looked like he'd been punched in the gut.
He had planned to use that money to buy a proper pirate ship for his crew—he was sick of floating around on makeshift rafts.
And now… it was all gone. The whole plan, down the drain.
If he'd known this would happen, he would've just blurted the news out from the start.
Damn it!
Blackbeard glared at Good, a mixture of irritation and confusion brewing inside him.
How the hell did this guy know about Ace's parentage?
And there's no way he believed that "he looks like Roger" nonsense.
You've got to be kidding me… He looks like Roger?
You're the one who looks like Roger, not him…
Blackbeard narrowed his eyes. This guy… maybe he's not as dumb as he seems. Is he pretending?
…
In the end, Blackbeard left.
He had only managed to secure one thing from this meeting—his title as a Warlord of the Sea.
Once Blackbeard was gone, Sengoku burst into cheerful laughter. "Well done, Good!"
He clapped Good on the shoulder with pride.
Not only had Good completed two major missions, but he had also just saved the Marines 500 million Berries.
"Good! When you've earned a bit more military merit, I'll submit a request to have you recognized as a Hero of the Marines!"
Good just laughed dumbly, saying nothing.
Sengoku thought for a moment. Since he wanted Good to rack up more military merit, he needed to give him more missions.
So he made a decision.
The task of escorting both Ace and Shiki to Impel Down… would be handed to Good.
Good agreed immediately, without a shred of hesitation.
Of course, to ensure nothing "unusual" happened along the way, Gion was assigned to accompany him again.
And to everyone's surprise, newly-minted Warlord Blackbeard submitted a request to Sengoku.
He wanted to tag along to "visit" Impel Down.
Sengoku didn't refuse.
The Marines were quite lenient with Warlords, after all.
And so, Good, Gion, and Blackbeard set off together to escort Shiki and Ace to Impel Down.
…
(End of Chapter)
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