The sky was just beginning to lighten. The Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division fleet was still actively searching for and pursuing Rob Lucci. However, after one night, taking advantage of the darkness and his superior ship speed, Lucci had long since left them far behind.
By this time, all members of the Fourth Division finally understood what had happened. Their Commander Thatch had been murdered by Rob Lucci from the Second Division! And now, the Second Division's captain, Marshall D. Teach, was hunting Lucci!
It was only after these Fourth Division members had bought into this 'truth' that Teach finally "came to his senses," put aside his "grief and hatred," and began contacting the Moby Dick.
On the Moby Dick, Newgate had only just woken up. Several young women in pink nurse uniforms were waiting outside his room.
The tall old man, who feared nothing in the world, showed an expression of helplessness when he saw the small nurses.
"Captain, it's time for your medicine," one pretty little nurse said with a smile, holding out several pills.
"This is today's intravenous drip. Don't worry, Captain, it'll only take two hours," another nurse said, shaking an IV bottle in her hand while smiling at Newgate.
"Captain, this is today's menu. You can choose what appeals to your appetite, and we'll prepare it immediately," said a third little nurse.
Soon, four, five, and six nurses each gave Newgate instructions. They basically took flawless care of him. For anyone else, being surrounded by a group of beautiful women who managed their eating, drinking, and bathroom needs, and who were also skilled in professional massage and therapy techniques, would be paradise.
But Newgate was extremely uncomfortable with it; it made him feel very ill at ease.
He took the pills, swallowed them without needing water, then grabbed the menu and grumbled, "Do I really have to get the IV drip today? I wanted to drink some sake..."
"That's not on the menu, and you absolutely must finish the drip, Captain," the head nurse said to Newgate with a sweet smile.
It was precisely this smiling attitude that left Newgate utterly helpless.
"Why is it all vegetables again? No grilled meat?" Newgate complained, looking at the menu.
Just then, Marco walked in from outside, holding a Den Den Mushi. His expression was grim, and his eyes flashed with anger.
The moment Newgate saw Marco, he immediately called out, "Marco, what's wrong? You look awful."
Marco nodded, then stood beside Newgate and said quietly, "Pops, something happened to Thatch."
Newgate frowned, then asked in a deep voice, "What is it? What happened?"
Marco opened his mouth, intending to speak, but paused. He simply said, "Let Teach explain it to you, yoi."
With that, he held up the Den Den Mushi.
Newgate looked at the Den Den Mushi and said in a grave tone, "Teach? What exactly happened?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Teach was silent for a moment before speaking with rage, "Pops, Thatch is dead. It's my fault for raising a traitor! That Rob Lucci, he murdered Thatch! I'm hunting him down right now!!!"
Newgate's eyes instantly went bloodshot, and his powerful, invisible aura immediately surged out. Marco handled it fine, but the small nurses surrounding him all turned pale and trembled with fear.
Seeing this, Marco waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
At this point, the little nurses, who had just been making Newgate helpless, dared not say another word. Like small quails, they quickly scurried away.
Forcefully suppressing his anger, Newgate spoke into the Den Den Mushi with a frigid tone, "What exactly happened? Why would that bastard Lucci kill Thatch? Do you have proof? What did he do!? Why was my poor son Thatch murdered!?"
On the other side, Teach had already prepared his narrative and spent the entire night subtly ensuring that the Fourth Division members were unified in his version of events.
"Pops, this is what happened. Earlier, Lucci got information from somewhere, saying there was a very good prey, an entire merchant fleet..." Teach quickly explained.
In his story, he was the skeptical one.
That Rob Lucci first gave Thatch strange intelligence, and Thatch subsequently robbed the merchant fleet. He and Lucci went to see Thatch because Thatch had acquired an unknown Devil Fruit. After arriving, they had a banquet. When the banquet ended, he went back to get the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to check the ability for Thatch. But when he went back to find Thatch, Thatch was already dead, stabbed dozens of times in the stomach.
It was then that he, Teach, realized that given Thatch's strength, he couldn't have been killed so silently unless he had his guard completely down, meaning he was attacked by one of their own!
Combined with the ransacked room, Teach immediately thought of that bastard Lucci and started searching for him, only to find that Lucci had already taken off in his ship. It was an assault ship, and it was night. By the time morning arrived, they still hadn't caught up to that damned Lucci.
"Pops, it's all my fault! I was blind and didn't see the darkness in that bastard Lucci's heart! He stole the Devil Fruit that Thatch was preparing to eat... I swear I'll chase him down and kill him with my own hands to avenge Thatch, Pops!" Teach cried into the Den Den Mushi.
Newgate was filled with deep sorrow, feeling like his luck had been terrible these last couple of years. Now, there was internal conflict: one son had killed another and fled. This kind of blow was devastating for Newgate.
As for Teach's words, Newgate didn't doubt them.
After all, Teach's performance at Jam Island had genuinely moved Newgate, who already had a degree of trust in the man. Also, while Teach might lie, could the entire Fourth Division lie along with him? The Fourth Division was Thatch's crew; they wouldn't conspire with Teach!
Finally, based on what he knew, Teach had no reason to act. Newgate also knew that Teach and Thatch had always had a great relationship; they were close brothers and friends. Why would Teach kill Thatch?
And if Teach was the killer, why was Lucci the one who ran away? That made no sense!
Because he was missing some key information, such as the Dark-Dark Fruit, or the fact that Lucci was a Marine, Newgate couldn't piece together the full picture.
Indeed, Teach had not revealed the fact that Lucci was a Marine.
The reason was simple: first, he couldn't explain how he knew; he had already torn up the letter and destroyed it. Even if he hadn't, he couldn't use it as evidence, as it contained all his own damning secrets!
Second, even now, Teach still suspected that the entire 'Marine' thing was Lucci trying to deliberately divert attention. He had believed it in his initial fury, but as he calmed down, he found it increasingly unbelievable.
How could Lucci possibly be a Marine? It was probably just nonsense Lucci had spouted to divert his attention, perhaps even trying to use the incident to provoke another conflict between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines to buy himself more time to escape...
Suppressing his grief, Newgate said, "Enough, Teach. This isn't your fault. None of us saw the malice in Lucci's heart, did we? If this is a mistake, then we are all at fault. Come back now..."
"No! Pops! I must capture Lucci and avenge Thatch, and cleanse the shame of having a traitor in our Second Division! I will find him! I will find him, even if it takes hunting him to the ends of the earth!!!" Teach said with great intensity.
Newgate found comfort in this passionate tone. He could hear that Teach's words were sincere and filled with emotion.
See? Teach and Thatch truly were close brothers.
Since this was the case, Newgate no longer objected. After all, if one of his sons was killed and he didn't have any reaction, that wouldn't be right. He would let Teach vent his anger for now.
"Be sure to stay safe, Teach." Newgate finally instructed.
"Yes, I'll be extremely careful, Pops!" Teach replied in a deep voice.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Newgate looked at Marco beside him.
Marco's expression had softened somewhat, but he asked with concern, "Pops, are you feeling alright?"
"I can handle it..." Newgate muttered.
Before Marco could speak again, Newgate paused, then angrily ordered, "Captain's orders! Every single member of the Whitebeard Pirates is to focus on finding that Rob Lucci! Find his intelligence as fast as possible! See where he fled to! Issue a kill order, and put a bounty on his head! Ten Billion Berry!!! I want his head for Ten Billion Berry!!!"
Seeing his father so enraged, Marco immediately replied, "Yes, Pops! I'll do it right away!"
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Delicious Chef, Teach put away his Den Den Mushi. He quickly reviewed the situation, found no major omissions, and felt a slight sense of relief.
It's settled!
Of course, this only meant the mess had been cleaned up so he wouldn't suffer a total loss. He was still furious that he hadn't secured the Dark-Dark Fruit; he was irritable and volatile.
Just as Teach was stewing in his anger, he suddenly noticed something. He looked up toward the distant horizon.
Soon, a figure leaping through the air rapidly caught up with their fleet.
"That's..." Teach was surprised, then seemed to recognize him. "The Heavenly Yaksha, Donquixote Doflamingo!"
Before Teach could think further, Doflamingo's figure, clad in his pink feathered coat, landed arrogantly on the deck of the Delicious Chef, clearly the flagship.
"Fufufufufufu, I finally caught up with you bastards..." Doflamingo chuckled wickedly.
The Whitebeard Pirates were highly combat-aware. The moment Doflamingo landed, the many pirates who had been roaming the deck immediately rushed forward, surrounding Doflamingo.
"Bastard! Don't come looking for trouble at a time like this!"
"Do you think you can be arrogant just because you're a Warlord of the Sea?"
Although Doflamingo knew there was a significant gap between him and the Whitebeard Pirates as a whole, he would never take an ordinary Division Commander seriously; they weren't on his level.
"I don't have time to waste on small fry like you!" Doflamingo's expression turned cold.
The instant the words left his mouth, a powerful aura burst from his body. It was Conqueror's Haki. The immense Haki swept out, instantly knocking out all the surrounding low-level pirates.
"Well then, the small fry can lie down. Now, you must be an officer. Where is your Commander Thatch? Tell him to get out here! Stealing the Donquixote Family's cargo requires an explanation, even from the Whitebeard Pirates!" Doflamingo cleared the deck of weaklings and looked at the one man still standing in the distance.
That man was Teach.
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