Next Bonus, 100!!
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To murder a crewmate for a Devil Fruit?
For something like this to happen on the Whitebeard Pirates—a crew bound together by the ties of "family"—was unthinkable.
It cast a heavy, suffocating fog over them all.
Teach's betrayal wasn't just a knife in Thatch's back—it was a knife in the back of the very ideal the Whitebeard Pirates were built on.
Family. Loyalty.
"It's all my fault," Ace said, his voice choked with agony. If he had just accepted the fruit from Thatch yesterday, none of this would have happened.
"This isn't your fault, Ace," Vista said, trying to console him.
"No one could have seen this coming—not Thatch, not you, not any of us."
Thatch hadn't struggled much when he died.
He hadn't suspected a thing.
And Teach had exploited that trust perfectly.
A sneak attack.
Who would have ever suspected a crewmate of thirty years, a man they had lived and fought alongside day in and day out?
This was a blow that everyone on the crew, including Whitebeard himself, had to endure. It had nothing to do with Ace's vigilance.
"It's alright, Ace."
Whitebeard finally spoke, his voice heavy with sorrow.
"First, let's lay Thatch to rest."
Thatch's funeral was held in Whitebeard's homeland. Every division commander, every captain of the allied crews, was there.
Teach's betrayal was a shock to them all.
Disbelief.
Loss.
Disappointment.
Regret.
The mood was a complex storm of emotions.
For pirates and Marines alike, there was one thing more unforgivable than an enemy.
A traitor.
"It doesn't matter where he is."
"We have to bring Teach back."
"Unforgivable!"
The captains and commanders muttered amongst themselves, their anger simmering.
Marco felt a sense of unease. The atmosphere within the crew was turning strange, poisoned by Teach's betrayal. He sought out a few of the commanders who knew Teach best, to try and understand.
"For Teach to be willing to kill Thatch and betray Pops," Vista said, his brow furrowed with worry, "it must have been no ordinary Devil Fruit. We've found plenty of fruits over the last thirty years, and Teach never showed any interest."
"Was it just a coincidence?"
"Or... has he been waiting all this time?"
"We'll find out when we bring him back."
"Thatch's blood will not be spilled in vain."
The crew was a powder keg of fury.
After the funeral, they went to Whitebeard, demanding to be allowed to hunt down Teach.
Whitebeard stood before Thatch's grave, listening in silence.
After a long while, he finally spoke. "Let it be."
"EH??"
Everyone was stunned.
"Pops!"
"Why?"
"Commander Thatch..."
Whitebeard turned to face them, his gaze falling on the familiar faces of his sons. "Forgive my selfishness," he said, his voice thick with pain. "But I am giving up on avenging Thatch. Because I can't bear to lose another son. I'm begging you."
The towering figure of Whitebeard bowed his head, and tears streamed down his face.
In that moment, all the shock, all the discontent, all the anger—it all washed away.
In his words, his actions, his tears, they saw the profound, sky-deep love he had for his family.
"POPS!" they all cried out.
Marco's heart ached.
In that instant, his father had grown old. It was as if Teach's betrayal had drained the very spirit from him.
An attack from an enemy could never fell Whitebeard. But a betrayal from a son... that was a mortal wound.
When he had said, "I can't bear to lose another son," he had been talking about Teach, who had fled. Even after he had murdered Thatch, even after he had betrayed the crew, Whitebeard still considered him a son.
A disobedient son who had made a terrible mistake.
This was something that would become clear during the Summit War, in the way he spared Teach.
He was also talking about the rest of them.
As a former member of the Rocks Pirates, it was impossible for Whitebeard not to recognize that face. He had known all along.
But Teach's "act" had been too good. It had lowered Whitebeard's guard.
And now, Teach had bared his fangs, stained them with blood, and fled. To rashly pursue him would only lead to more conflict.
More injury, more death.
That was the last thing Whitebeard wanted.
Thatch's death was a blade that had pierced through his defenses.
He had to admit it.
He was old.
So old that he had grown weary of the endless conflict. All he wanted was to sail with his sons, to enjoy his time on the sea until the day he died.
The commanders and most of the crew understood. They silently swallowed their grief.
But Ace...
He left a letter and disappeared.
He would bring Teach back. He would make him apologize at Thatch's grave. He would get justice for Pops and for the crew.
Unlike the weary, aging members of the crew, Ace was still young, still full of fire and passion.
He was fire itself.
Burning.
When Whitebeard read the letter, he let out a deep sigh. "Let him go. He blames himself. He and Thatch were the closest... And Teach was one of his own men."
Whitebeard was helpless.
He knew that although no one blamed Ace for Thatch's death, Ace blamed himself.
That was just the kind of person he was—stubborn, always taking the weight of the world on his shoulders.
If he stayed, that guilt would only eat away at him.
And whether Ace succeeded or not, his actions had already earned the admiration of the rest of the crew.
Whitebeard had seen Ace as his successor, and to see him defy his orders for the sake of his principles... it made him proud.
The courage to defy your father's command... wasn't that exactly what the rest of the crew was lacking?
On these seas, you couldn't afford to be a good little boy.
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The news of the turmoil within the Whitebeard Pirates did not spread far, circulating only among the other Emperors, Marine Headquarters, and the World Government.
"The sun is setting on his era," Fleet Admiral Sengoku remarked.
Teach's betrayal was a fatal wound. It would shatter the trust that held the crew together.
Today it was Teach. Who would it be tomorrow?
How long could Whitebeard's "family," bound together by cups of sake and a code of honor, last?
Jin's assessment of Whitebeard had been dead on.
Of course, after a moment's reflection on his old rival, Sengoku immediately began to scheme, to think of a way to twist the knife.
Jin also received the news, but he didn't pay it much mind. On these seas, betrayal and deceit were commonplace.
...
The black sail of the Polar Tang billowed in the wind.
Law and his crew had reassembled and were now on a campaign to dismantle Doflamingo's various outposts, honing their skills along the way.
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