Chapter 3: Whitebeard offers a bounty on Bane, Sengoku's keen sense of smell.
In the New World, the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates is the white whale Moby Dick.
After Thatch was killed and his devil fruit was stolen, Ace and Teach quickly took a speedboat overnight. They brought Thatch's body back to the Moby Dick to reunite with the Whitebeard Pirates.
After several days of travel, they arrived today.
On the deck of the Moby Dick, Edward Newgate, known as the strongest man, Whitebeard, stood under the mast. He looked at Thatch's body in front of him with a gloomy expression.
Several days had passed, and the sea climate and other factors affected Thatch's body. Even though Ace and Teach did their best to protect him, Thatch's body looked a bit bad.
However, Whitebeard did not show any disgust. He squatted down, trembling slightly, and stroked Thatch's stiff body with his hand. After a moment, he looked at Teach, who was kneeling beside Thatch's body, and asked in a gloomy tone, "Who is it? Who killed my son? "
Teach replied angrily, "Dad, I clearly saw that guy's face. He is a stranger. I have no memory of him. He suddenly appeared in the cabin. "
On the way back, Ace and the others had already explained the situation to Whitebeard many times.
But at this moment, Whitebeard was still listening carefully, his eyes focused on Teach.
Teach had already prepared himself mentally after a few days, and his story was clear and logical, without obvious mistakes. Ace, who trusted Teach, didn't add much.
After Whitebeard listened to Teach's story, the strong pressure around him began to fade. He wanted to hear Teach's account again just to confirm it. In truth, Whitebeard did not doubt Teach very much.
Teach had been on the ship for over 20 years. During this time, he had gotten along very well with all the members of the Whitebeard Pirates. They were as close as brothers, facing many dangers and hardships together.
If someone suddenly told Whitebeard that Teach killed Thatch, he would not believe it, especially in this situation.
After standing up, Whitebeard sighed softly, controlled his sadness, and then said, "Marco, you go and see Thatch off for the last time, and let him return to the embrace of the sea."
Marco, who was standing behind Whitebeard, wiped the tears from his eyes with a sad expression and said, "Yes, Dad."
Pirates are people who often risk their lives, so they deal with death regularly. This makes handling loss easier for them.
After making plans for Thatch's funeral, Whitebeard took the portrait from Ace and looked at it closely for a moment before saying, "It's definitely a new face. "
The artist on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship is really talented. From Teach's quick description, he managed to create a good picture of Bane.
"Dad, this guy killed Thatch. We have to get revenge for Thatch! " Ace said with eagerness.
Whitebeard nodded and replied coldly, "No one in this sea can hurt my family without facing consequences! "
Before Ace could respond, Whitebeard quickly commanded, "Jozu, inform everyone who has connection with us, share this portrait with each captain, and have them search for this person!"
The Whitebeard Pirates are more than just their core group. Besides their members, they also have many independent captains working nearby. As the strongest crew among the current pirates, their influence is significant.
Then, without waiting for Jozu to answer, Whitebeard added, "Spread the news in the underworld as well. Put up this portrait everywhere. I'm offering a reward of five billion Berries. Find this guy, dead or alive! "
Of course, bounties aren't only for the navy. In the underworld, there are all kinds of unusual bounties, including those that take lives like Whitebeard's, those that seek devil fruits, and also rewards for rare treasures, illegal goods, and information.
It's just that navy rewards are openly announced through newspapers, giving them the most influence and credibility.
After Whitebeard finished his arrangements, Ace stood up again and said, "Dad, I went out with Thatch, but I came back alone. It's my fault he was killed. Let me go find that guy, okay? I won't forgive myself if I don't kill him! "
As soon as Ace spoke, Teach added, "Dad, it's my fault too. If I hadn't pushed Thatch to drink so much, he wouldn't have been ambushed so easily. I need to take revenge myself! "
To Teach, Thatch and the rest were not important. He knew the truth. He was the one who killed him.
But the Dark-Dark Fruit was his. Teach thought this guy must be a special ability user; otherwise, how could he open a door like portal out of nowhere? Since the person has special abilities, it means there's a chance the Dark-Dark Fruit hasn't been eaten yet, so he still has hope.
So right now, with the help of the Whitebeard Pirates, I can find that person, get back the Dark-Dark Fruit, and then take care of him. This situation will end once I have the Dark-Dark Fruit. After that, I can think about the rest.
Whitebeard considered this for a moment, did not disagree, and agreed to their plan.
It must be noted that the Whitebeard Pirates moved very quickly. Once Whitebeard's orders were given, other powerful forces at sea learned about the situation soon after.
That afternoon, at the Navy Headquarters in Marineford.
On the top floor of the great fortress of justice, in the fleet Admiral's office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku , received important details from the navy intelligence department.
Reading the document in his hand, Sengoku showed a surprised face and said, "The captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division was killed? "
Vice Admiral Tsuru, sitting on the sofa across from the desk, held a teacup and said calmly, "I was surprised at first, but this news came from the Whitebeard Pirates themselves, and they are searching the world for the killer. It must be true. "
Sengoku nodded and then picked up the portrait of Bane on the table. He looked at it and asked, "Who is this guy? "
"I don't know," Chief of Staff Tsuru shook her head and said, "There is no information about his name, age, or past experience. However, according to what the Whitebeard Pirates released, he might have space-related abilities. "
"Can't our intelligence find this person? " Sengoku was a bit surprised.
You have to understand that the Navy has the backing of the World Government, with forces spread all over the ocean. In terms of intelligence, it has always exchanged information with the CP agency. Their intelligence capability shouldn't be worse than that of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Hearing this, Tsuru explained, "This occurred very suddenly. Even though we are skilled, we won't be able to gather intelligence in such a short time. I've already instructed our investigators to follow up, and I believe we will have results soon. "
Sengoku thought about it and realized this was true. He then said, "Let's search for him carefully. This guy is really bold. If he has a clean past, maybe we can recruit him into our navy. "
"Then we'll have to deal with Whitebeard's revenge." Tsuru said with a smile.
"We are the navy. Others may fear Whitebeard, but why should we fear him? " Sengoku laughed.
In the past few years, Sengoku has increasingly noticed that he is getting older and has less energy than before. Sometimes, he thinks about whether he should let younger people take over.
However, before he retires from being fleet Admiral, he believes he must prepare a path for the navy.
For example, should he eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates?
Even though he does not have any solid plans yet, Sengoku quickly understood that this situation might be a chance to tackle the Whitebeard Pirates.
But we still need to consider the long-term effects.