"Mom, am I really Whitebeard's son?"
Edward Weevil scratched his head like a simpleton. Miss Bakkin had spent years feeding him the lie that he was the only true heir of Whitebeard, his biological son. Of course, a fool like Weevil never questioned her words.
"That's right, my Weevil!" Miss Bakkin cackled, adjusting the sunglasses on her wrinkled face. "You are Whitebeard's only bloodline in this world!"
She was short, hideous, and far from impressive, yet her words dripped with conviction. She claimed she had once been Whitebeard's lover. In truth, she never dared to spread such rumors openly. She had merely spun her tale for Weevil's ears, convincing him he was the fruit of her love with the world's strongest man.
It was absurd.
It was pathetic.
And it worked.
Weevil believed every word, too simple-minded to recognize the deception.
Still, Bakkin was no fool. She had seen Weevil's monstrous strength firsthand. His raw physical power reminded her of Whitebeard in his youth—not because of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but because of sheer physical dominance. Whitebeard, even without his Devil Fruit, had been a titan whose might shook the seas. In Weevil's brutish strength, she saw a shadow of that man.
Weevil was, without doubt, a monster.
He possessed frightening power, but lacked the mind to wield it. So Bakkin crafted his role, parading him as Whitebeard's son. With Whitebeard's health declining year by year and the old man's inevitable end on the horizon, she had hatched her scheme. With Weevil as her weapon, she intended to snatch everything Whitebeard once commanded.
The idea was bold.
But boldness alone meant nothing in a world where men like Rhett Vane existed.
The warship beneath their feet had been nothing but an unlucky encounter. For pirates like them, the Navy would always give chase, but whether the Marines came or not, Weevil slaughtered regardless.
Blood painted the deck, soaking the wood until it reeked of iron. More than a hundred sailors had been butchered, including a rear admiral and two captains. Severed limbs littered the floor. None of the Marines died peacefully; their eyes remained open in horror and resentment.
Death without peace.
Such was the life of a Marine. Compared to the endless swarm of pirates across the seas, the Navy was thinly spread. They fought not for plunder, but for justice, and the toll was staggering. Every year, countless Marines gave their lives in battles they could never win against overwhelming numbers.
Miss Bakkin stood at the center of it all, smiling with a toothpick between her teeth, as if the massacre meant nothing. To her, human lives were worthless. She had lived as a pirate too long to pretend otherwise.
"This warship will do," she said at last, flicking the toothpick into the sea. "We'll take it."
Suddenly, her sharp eyes caught something in the distance. On the vast ocean, a titanic shadow moved. On its head stood a lone man.
"A sea king? Someone's riding it…" she muttered in disbelief. "That's… unusual."
The figure approached swiftly, carried across the sea by the Sea King beneath him.
"He's coming this way."
Bakkin narrowed her eyes. She couldn't make out his face yet, but his presence made her uneasy.
Weevil, however, spotted the man clearly. Tall, broad, and radiating confidence, Vane stood upon the head of the great beast as though it were his personal ship.
"That one… he looks strong," Weevil mumbled with childlike curiosity.
Vane had already noticed them. He barely registered the shriveled old woman at Weevil's side—his eyes went immediately to the hulking figure with the crescent beard.
Whitebeard's son, Edward Weevil.
Or rather, the fool who believed himself to be such.
Vane didn't buy the story for a second. He remembered the files stacked on Sengoku's desk, reports warning of Weevil's destructive power. This idiot had even managed to wound Zephyr, a former Admiral. To truly suppress him, the Navy would need an Admiral or several Vice Admirals together.
But Vane was not the Navy.
His lips curved into a sharp smile as he gave the order to the Sea King beneath him. The creature surged forward, splitting the waves as it closed the distance.
"Perfect," Vane thought. "I'll kill him here. Consider it a favor to Sengoku."
_____
Support & Read chapters in advance on patreon.
patreon.com/Zphyr