"I object!"
Jozu was the first to speak up, his voice echoing with indignation. "What are you talking about? You were obviously planning on Daddy's Tremor Fruit, and now you have the gall to claim you're a loyal and a filial son? Do you really think we're all fools?"
Only Joz's voice broke the silence on the deck of the massive ship. The other Whitebeard Pirates hung their heads in shame. It was clear that Blackbeard's words had struck a chord.
"Damn it, don't fall for Teach's tricks... Bang!"
Before Joz could finish his sentence, his sturdy body was launched uncontrollably towards Blackbeard, who met him with a devastating punch.
"Joz, don't you understand? Everyone wants to live!" Blackbeard roared with laughter, spreading his hands wide. He was thoroughly satisfied with the turn of events. With the troublesome Joz out of the way, the Whitebeard Pirates would be his. A grotesque expression twisted his face. Without giving Joz a chance to speak, a spiral shaped black mist reappeared in his palm, and a golden light shone brightly behind him.
"Dark Shockwave!!"
The battle on the deck was over in an instant. Blackbeard's victory was absolute. The powerful combination of the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Buddha-Buddha Fruit left Joz with no chance to fight back.
"Xiehahaha, little ones, let's find a place to bury our beloved old man first. As for the location… let's choose his hometown, Sphinx!"
Blackbeard's gaze swept over the crew. Not a single one of the Whitebeard Pirates dared to meet his eyes, and he felt a surge of pride. Whitebeard, do you see? Your pirate group will be mine from now on!
"Although there are around 200 people, it's definitely much better than those 1000 newcomers outside. For the sake of such a large inheritance you've left me, I will bury you generously. But… I've heard that you seem to have buried a lot of treasure in your hometown, Sphinx?"
"Adrian, you just wait. Before long, I will form a group of Yonko's to seek revenge on you. The humiliation I suffered from you will definitely be returned to you a hundred times, a thousand times!!"
Blackbeard glanced at Jozu's defeated body on the deck and addressed Burgess, who was practically quivering with anticipation. "Drag this trash to the cabin. His Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit… is yours."
While Blackbeard was lost in his ambitious fantasies, a far more somber scene was unfolding at Shakky's rip-off bar in Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 13. Dragon's group and Jinbe were shrouded in a thick atmosphere of depression.
"Your right hand is seriously injured, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep it…" Shakky said solemnly, her expression grim as she examined Dragon's right arm.
Dragon remained silent, but the fury in his eyes spoke volumes. His heart was consumed by hatred for Adrian. His life, his career—all of it had been nearly ruined by that man.
"I know what you're thinking, but I still want to remind you, that person is very dangerous. If possible, it's best not to have any interaction with him in the future." Rayleigh spoke softly from the side. He still had lingering fears from the day Adrian had stood on his chest. He was a terrifying guy with more ruthless methods than any pirate.
Probably only Roger could rival him.
Dragon was simply not on the same level. If it weren't for the sake of Straw Hat Luffy, Rayleigh would never have spoken up.
"Well?!"
A cheerful exclamation interrupted their conversation. Luffy held up a newspaper, pointing to Ace's wanted poster. "Hey, Rayleigh, Ace… it's great that he's not dead!!"
"Wow, his bounty is so high, it's so much higher than mine…"
"But… why did he join that bastard's organization? Sabo died at the hands of that guy!"
"Jinbe, let's go get Ace back, shall we?"
Jinbe wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, unsure how to answer such a naive question.
"Luffy, stop messing around." Dragon yelled impatiently. "That person… is no longer the Ace you used to know."
Looking at Luffy jumping around, Dragon felt a sudden pang of regret for leading the rescue. He had risked everything to save him, only to be met with such a naive and idiotic reaction?
"Ah?" Luffy pinched his chin and stared at the photo on Ace's wanted poster with a serious face. He didn't seem to notice the sadness on everyone's faces. "His face obviously hasn't changed?"
"Luffy, the real Ace died in the Summit War." Rayleigh sighed softly, explaining with a heavy heart, "This one, to be precise, should… be your grandfather!"
"Nonsense, Ace is obviously my eldest brother! How could he be my grandfather?" Luffy kept patting the newspaper, a wise expression on his face as if to say, none of you are going to lie to me.
"Adrian resurrected him with the shadow of Garp the Fist, so… the person who controls that body now is a shadow with your grandfather's personality and abilities."
Luffy was a little confused. After a long moment of thought, he finally said, "But he is still Ace. I won't call him grandpa!"
Rayleigh: "Well, call him whatever you like. I can't explain that."
"No, I'm going to get Ace back, and then beat that guy up together to avenge Sabo…"
"You are no match for Adrian at all right now. If you really want to take revenge, I'm afraid you still have a lot to learn!" Rayleigh seemed to have made up his mind. He stood up slowly, before Dragon could speak, and stared at Luffy with piercing eyes.
"Come with me. I know an island that is very suitable for training, and there, I will teach you more powerful techniques. Maybe in the future, you will really be able stop Adrian. After all… Shanks even left you that straw hat!"
Adrian couldn't have guessed that despite the major changes he had made to the Summit War, Luffy would still find his way back to the same path of training from the original story by pure accident. If he had, he would have been amazed by the power of the protagonist's halo.
But for Adrian, no matter how much stronger Luffy became, it was useless. The two were no longer on the same level. He just needed to follow his own plan, step by step.
After resting for a week on Amazon Lily, Adrian and his group, now full of energy, finally embarked on a new journey to the New World.
With a loud bang, the gigantic Island suddenly floated, along with the Fish-Man Island and Noah, and soared towards the blue sky.
Next stop: New World, Dressrosa!!