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On the Moby Dick, the crew began repairing the parts of the ship damaged by Pops' battle with Giorno.
By the side of the ship, Liam and Robin stood on a small boat, raising the sail and riding the wind away.
"He even asked for another boat, what a thick-skinned guy…" Some members of the Whitebeard Pirates had taken a dislike to Giorno after he openly declared he wanted to kill Teach. As they repaired the deck, they grumbled angrily, "And he trashed our ship like this… We shouldn't have let him just walk away so easily!"
"Are you done complaining?" A nearby commander said. "He didn't actually attack Teach, did he?"
"That's only because Pops stopped him…" the man retorted, still indignant.
The commander replied calmly, "But he could've refused Marco back at Sabaody Archipelago. And he didn't have to come all the way here just to heal Pops either, did he?
"He speaks his mind, acts freely, stands upright, and clearly distinguishes between gratitude and grudges.
"Even when facing Pops, he's neither servile nor overbearing! Especially that kind of bearing, not just any pirate can manage it…
"Isn't that an impressive pirate?
"If we keep talking behind Giorno Giovanna's back like this, we'll only make ourselves look bad."
Those crew members felt ashamed and quietly went back to repairing the ship.
…
Teach gazed at the undulating sea, thinking about everything that had happened since he persuaded Marco to bring Giorno here to treat Pops…
He actually revealed that I injured Shanks… how annoying!
Teach had stayed on Whitebeard's ship because he believed it was the place most likely to lead him to the Dark-Dark Fruit, or news about it.
If he never found the Dark-Dark Fruit in his lifetime, then he'd accept fate and give up his ambitions.
But no matter what, he never truly intended to join this pirate crew. With his ambitions, he had no interest in living under someone else's pirate flag. Since he never planned to be anyone's subordinate, he naturally slacked off whenever possible. Otherwise, wouldn't he just be helping Whitebeard build his empire and reputation? Marshall D. Teach wasn't that selfless.
Still, this trip wasn't without gains…
A glint of ambition flashed in Teach's eyes. The thing he feared most hadn't come true, Giorno was not a Dark-Dark Fruit user! Although Giorno's ability to swap Devil Fruit powers without harm was astonishing, it didn't mean much to Teach.
What he valued most about the Dark-Dark Fruit was its ability to counter all other Devil Fruits.
As for stealing others' abilities, Teach did have a method, it just required the ability user to die first. It wasn't like Giorno's harmless transfer.
But if Teach set his sights on a particular ability, he couldn't care less whether the owner lived or died.
Giorno was unexpectedly powerful, but he wasn't a Dark-Dark Fruit user…
As long as that hope remained…
Teach would never abandon his ambition!
As for everything else, they were minor issues. Though not entirely to his liking, Teach wasn't petty enough to dwell on them.
At worst, he'd just put in a bit more effort on this ship from now on. If helping the Whitebeard Pirates build their reputation was unavoidable, then so be it. It was annoying, but he probably wouldn't find any excuse to refuse in the future, he'd just grit his teeth and accept it.
"Didn't expect the Marines' battleship to dare get this close to monitor us…" Thatch walked over to Teach and looked out at the distant sea, remarking with a sigh.
"Why bother with those Marines?" Teach withdrew his gaze. "Don't tell me you want to become a Shichibukai too, Commander Thatch? Zehahaha…"
Thatch said, "The position of Second Division Commander has been vacant. With your strength, Teach, you could easily take it."
Teach replied, "Forget it. I guess I just don't have that kind of ambition."
A mere commander position in the Whitebeard Pirates, how could it possibly suit someone like him? Zehahahaha…
As they passed by Pops and the other commanders, they saw Whitebeard clenching his fist toward the small boat that had already drifted some distance away.
"Gurararara… Since you like taking things so much, I'll give you a little extra!"
Marco and the others hurriedly shouted, "Pops! Don't, "
Boom!
Whitebeard's fist, wrapped in a halo of quake power, slammed into the air ahead. Instantly, cracks like shattered glass spread through the sky, and a world-destroying tremor overturned the sea, surging like a raging dragon toward the small boat.
…
"Looks like Giorno and Jolyne managed to get away safely…"
On the sea not too far away, Vice Admiral Strawberry observed through a telescope. What he saw was an overwhelming surge of quake power that seemed ready to overturn the entire ocean. The small boat leaving the Moby Dick was tossed violently by the churning sea. Just as he thought the boat would be torn apart, a figure leapt out from it, standing against that terrifying quake force…
Strawberry spoke gravely into a Den Den Mushi, "And Whitebeard has regained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit…"
The Den Den Mushi, mimicking Sengoku's signature braided beard, replied wearily, "Giorno and Jolyne won't die. With Whitebeard's personality, after Giorno helped them so much, even if there were irreconcilable hatred, he would still let the two of them leave this time…"
…
"Gurararara!" On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed. "Impressive indeed, to even withstand my quake power…"
"Pops! Stop using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!" Marco scolded. "You're getting old, you should listen to your sons once in a while… it's about time you properly retire."
Whitebeard chuckled. "Retire? What nonsense. I'd be laughed to death."
Vista and the others watched the small boat that had been blasted even farther away by Whitebeard's strike. "Can a boat like that really sail safely in the New World?"
Jozu said in a deep voice, "They came here flying with Marco. They probably haven't even been to Fish-Man Island. Who knows if they've learned how to navigate in the New World?"
Izo added, "What I'm more curious about is why someone that strong insists on becoming a government-affiliated Shichibukai."
The samurai from Wano Country muttered thoughtfully, "And after Pops asked him, he kept laughing… what exactly was so funny?"
"He said he thought of something amusing…"
The other commanders were equally puzzled. They had been talking about the Shichibukai, so why would that make him laugh?
"Didn't he already say," Marco said as he walked over, having just "disciplined" their disobedient father, wiping his glasses with a soft cloth, "even if someone were to become a Shichibukai, it wouldn't be him, but…"
…
"Me? A Shichibukai?"
Inside the small boat rocking on the New World seas, Robin looked at Liam, who was holding the helm. When they used to sail, it was always B.I.B. steering. After acting as helmsman for so long, Liam himself had naturally become quite skilled at it as well.
But the New World's seas were far from calm, demanding a high level of skill.
Liam handed the helm over to the black armor beside him, took out a green Den Den Mushi from Robin's bag, weighed it in his hand, and smiled. "You're the captain. If not you, then who?"
"…" Robin parted her lips slightly, frowning as she thought deeply. Scenes from the past flashed rapidly through her mind, and she suddenly realized:
"So the identity of 'Jolyne Cujoh'… was prepared for today, for the future… for when an invitation to become a Shichibukai might arrive?"
(End Of This Chapter)