Somewhere in the New World, aboard Whitebeard's flagship, the Moby Dick, the crew was gathered together in loud celebration.
Drinking heavily.
Eating meat in huge mouthfuls.
Laughing loudly without restraint.
That was the main rhythm of life aboard the Moby Dick.
Present at the banquet were Whitebeard's division commanders, elite members from each division, and many veteran pirates.
Among them was none other than Blackbeard Teach.
At this point in time, Teach had not yet betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates.
He was still outwardly bold and easygoing, blending into the crew extremely well.
However—
There was one particular group he clearly did not get along with.
"Zehahaha!" Teach laughed loudly while holding up a drink.
"Katakuri, why aren't you drinking?"
"I heard you guys achieved another great victory for the Whitebeard Pirates recently."
"As expected of the former vice-captain of the Gray Kingdom's Oathblood Division!"
Though Teach wore a huge smile on his face, his words repeatedly emphasized one thing—
That Katakuri and the others were not truly part of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Katakuri merely glanced at Teach calmly without replying.
He didn't even bother acknowledging him.
Ever since Oathblood began sheltering under Whitebeard's protection, Teach had constantly targeted them.
Or rather—
He seemed deeply hostile toward Oathblood and the Gray Kingdom in general.
Every now and then, he would deliberately come over to provoke them.
Katakuri had long grown accustomed to it.
After all, while temporarily staying under Whitebeard's banner, it was best not to cause unnecessary conflict.
"Teach, you're acting all sarcastic again," another voice suddenly interrupted.
"What?"
"You wanna fight with me or something?"
Unlike Katakuri, Bratt was nowhere near as patient.
He was the type to explode instantly at the slightest provocation.
Though years of training Observation Haki had restrained some of his battle-crazed tendencies, if someone challenged him and he didn't respond—
Then he wouldn't be Brat anymore.
"Zehahaha, I wouldn't dare provoke you Oathblood people," Teach laughed.
Over the years, Teach's constant instigation had caused quite a few Whitebeard Pirates to grow dissatisfied with the Oathblood members.
Although Whitebeard himself suppressed most conflicts, clashes still happened occasionally.
Especially with lawless personalities like Enel and Bratt around.
The slightest spark was enough to ignite a fight.
Half a year ago, someone foolishly provoked Enel.
Unfortunately for him, he was far too weak.
Enel hadn't even needed to move.
The man attacked first, only to get instantly electrocuted by Enel's lightning and end up bedridden for three months.
Because of that incident, many Whitebeard Pirates became even more hostile toward Oathblood.
After all, the injured pirate hadn't been very strong—
But he was extremely popular among the crew and had been a long-time veteran aboard Whitebeard's ship.
So regardless of who was right or wrong, the Oathblood members naturally became targets of resentment from those close to him.
Since that incident, Enel rarely visited the Moby Dick anymore.
"Teach, what exactly are you trying to do?" a calm voice suddenly asked.
"Zehahaha, nothing at all, Marco," Teach replied casually.
"I was just chatting with the Oathblood people."
The one who approached was none other than Marco, commander of Whitebeard's First Division.
Among the Whitebeard Pirates, there were naturally people who treated Oathblood kindly.
Marco was one of them.
And recently, Marco had become increasingly worried about Teach's constant provocations.
He couldn't understand why Teach always seemed to target Katakuri and the others.
In Marco's memory, Teach was actually someone fairly easy to get along with.
Yet whenever the Gray Kingdom or Oathblood were involved, he always behaved strangely hostile.
Whitebeard had originally accepted and protected Oathblood because he admired them.
And because he had held great respect for the Gray Kingdom's former captain, Dragon King Rosinante.
That was why Whitebeard allowed Oathblood to remain under his protection.
But over the past ten years, Oathblood had gradually become an undeniably powerful force within Whitebeard's sphere.
Just Katakuri alone—
The former vice-captain of the Gray Kingdom—
Possessed Observation Haki capable of seeing the future.
And his overall strength had already stepped into Admiral-level territory.
Among Whitebeard's entire crew, he was probably second only to Whitebeard himself.
Then there were monsters like Thunder God Enel, Death God Denise, and the others.
All of them were terrifying figures famous throughout the New World.
To be honest, Marco himself had felt enormous pressure these past few years.
But it was precisely that pressure that forced him to continue growing stronger.
The other division commanders felt the same.
Marco believed this was actually beneficial for the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because it pushed the entire crew to another level of strength.
However—
The growing friction between Whitebeard's crew and Oathblood made Marco increasingly uneasy.
That was why he came over immediately after seeing Teach provoke Katakuri again.
He wanted to prevent the tension from worsening further.
"Relax, Marco," Teach laughed loudly.
"I wouldn't dare provoke Oathblood."
"After all, their captain is Dragon King Rosinante."
"If their captain ever comes back to life someday…"
"Then they'll all become untouchable higher-ups."
"I can't afford to offend them."
At that exact moment—
Katakuri suddenly raised his head and glanced coldly toward Teach.
Then he looked toward the sky.
"He's here."
The instant Katakuri spoke—
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki surged from the distant horizon.
The sky itself split apart as clouds shattered under the pressure.
Marco looked into the distance.
A lone figure was walking through the sky itself, carrying a massive wine barrel on one shoulder as he slowly approached.
"…Dragon King?!"
Teach's mouth fell open completely.
His face froze in utter disbelief.