"Honestly, Blackbeard, I don't hate you as much as everyone else!" Adrian didn't hand over the body directly. He looked at Blackbeard with an earnest expression. "Forbearance, tenacity, cruelty, greed... to achieve your goal, you'll use any means. You were willing to bet your whole life on a 'Dark Fruit' that you didn't even know would appear."
"Perhaps in the eyes of the Whitebeard Pirates, you are a despicable and cruel bastard who can kill even his friends! But in my opinion, you are more like a qualified pirate than they are. Since you have chosen to be a pirate, don't pretend to be righteous; otherwise, you'll be no different from a prostitute trying to be a virgin—the trash of the world!"
Sengoku and the Marines were stunned. What is happening here? Are these two going to join forces?!
"Bastard, stop talking nonsense with me and return Whitebeard's body quickly!" Blackbeard roared, his face twisted in rage.
Normally, he would be delighted to meet someone who "understood" him like Adrian, but right now, all Blackbeard wanted was the power of the Gura Gura no Mi. The black-haired boy in front of him, who wasn't even 20 years old, was clearly more insidious than he was. Blackbeard didn't want to work with people like him. I'm a bad guy with a bottom line and professional ethics, okay?
"Okay, I'll give you the body!" Adrian gently waved his hand.
Boom!
The golden coffin, as huge as a hill, immediately stood upright. The heavy lid slowly opened, revealing Whitebeard's lifeless body.
"Stop, Corpse Collector Adrian, I order you as a Marine Fleet Admiral! Don't give the corpse to Blackbeard!" Sengoku's expression changed, and he tried to intervene.
However, Adrian didn't seem to hear him at all.
Whoosh!
Six arm-thick golden chains threw Whitebeard's body directly to Blackbeard. The huge golden coffin immediately vanished.
Greed and madness flickered in Blackbeard's eyes. In a moment, he would become the strongest man in the world! And the humiliation he had just suffered would be returned tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold.
Adrian! Just you wait! After I get the Gura Gura no Mi, I'll kill you first! All the Devil Fruit abilities you have will belong to me!
Blackbeard ordered his crew to re-drape the black cloth over the tall corpse, then he went inside without hesitation.
"Damn, what the hell is Blackbeard doing? This is the second time."
"That bastard Warlord returned Father's body to that traitor, Blackbeard!"
Once again, a tense atmosphere filled the square. Aside from Adrian, no one knew what Blackbeard was doing under that black cloth.
Watching the scene, Adrian couldn't help but admire Blackbeard. This guy had a clear goal and had made a meticulous plan to achieve it. In the original, Blackbeard had taken the Yami Yami no Mi, then joined the Warlords, triggered the Summit War, and used the opportunity to sneak into Impel Down to recruit a powerful crew. He was laying the groundwork to become the new Emperor. He then appeared at the end of the war to reap the benefits and capture Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi. In a single step, he gained great strength and fame, achieving what many great pirates could never do in a lifetime.
This step-by-step, delicate calculation was something not even Sengoku, known as "The Strategist," could have predicted. He was definitely the number one careerist and schemer in the pirate world. Even Crocodile's "Utopia Project" seemed petty in comparison. No matter which world you're in, a sinister, patient, and calculating person like Blackbeard, who is hard on himself and even harder on his enemies, is worthy of being called a hero.
It was just a pity that Adrian, a transmigrator, had appeared. Blackbeard's perfect plan was now doomed to fail.
"The greater the hope, the greater the pain of disappointment, Blackbeard. Don't blame me, this is your fate!"
"I really want to see what happens when you find out you can't get the Gura Gura no Mi you've been dreaming of!" Adrian's lips curled into a smirk as he looked forward to the next scene.
At that moment, a lion-like roar sounded from behind him.
"Adrian, you bastard, what the hell are you trying to do?" Sengoku roared, his fists clenched. "Why did you disobey my order and return the body to Blackbeard? I demand a reasonable explanation, or I won't let you go!"
"I think, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, are seem to be mistaken?" Adrian turned to look at Sengoku with a playful smile. "I'm not your subordinate, and I have no obligation to obey your orders. Didn't Blackbeard make that very clear just now?"
"Heh heh heh heh, is the scene about to get out of control?" Doflamingo jumped onto the head of a Marine Vice Admiral, spreading his arms arrogantly. "But that kid is right. The Warlords have never been affiliated with the Marines. It's just that the Marines want to think that way to hide their embarrassment!"
Though Doflamingo's voice wasn't loud, it was heard clearly by every Marine. Many of them wore expressions of humiliation and resentment. But the truth was just as Doflamingo had said. Unless ordered by the World Government to assemble, the Warlords didn't follow Marine orders. On the contrary, the Marines had to close one eye to their behavior.
"Hmph, you're just a pirate. Marineford is not a place for you to run wild. If you don't cooperate, I'll be the first one to kill you!" Akainu's cold voice instantly carried from the harbor. A huge lava fist fell from the sky, heading straight for Doflamingo.
"Goshikito!" Doflamingo swung his arm, creating a giant spider web of sharp threads that cut the giant lava fist into countless pieces. The pieces fell to the ground as a rain of fire.
"Akainu-san, you really like to mess around!" Doflamingo said, pretending to be calm. He then voluntarily withdrew, jumping back to his previous position.
Damn it, this is bad luck. How could I have forgotten about that mad dog, Akainu? Doflamingo hated the Marine, Tsuru, who had the ability to wash away a person's "evil," but he truly feared Akainu. This idiotic admiral, who believed in "absolute justice," was even more ruthless and cruel than pirates. Even the arrogant Doflamingo usually kept a low profile around Akainu. There was no other choice; he couldn't afford to fight him.
"Damn it, I'll settle accounts with you after the war is over!" Sengoku roared. "Go now, hurry and stop Blackbeard! Don't let his tricks succeed!"
The surrounding Marines immediately swarmed Blackbeard's crew, but none of them had the high-end combat power to compete.
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho, everyone, please be careful and don't be impatient... Please, please don't enter this area casually!" Lafitte said politely, tipping his hat. But the coldness in his eyes made people feel uneasy.
"Hehehe, I'm really looking forward to it!" Catarina Devon said with a smirk, her hips crossed.
"By the way... if that guy fails, should we disband on the spot?" Shiryu said absentmindedly, a cigar in his mouth.
"Weh-hah-hah-hah-hah, don't be so pessimistic! The Captain rarely misses!" Burgess, the first to follow Blackbeard, had great confidence in his captain.
In the crowd, only the sniper Van Augur looked at Adrian with resentment. His expression seemed to say, "Boss, if you don't take me away, they'll kill me when I get to the New World."
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second. Everyone held their breath, nervously staring at every movement under the black cloth. Only Adrian maintained his playful smile.
"Hey, Captain, are you alright?"
"You seem to be taking a lot longer than we agreed on...!"