Diamond Jozu's face changed drastically as he angrily shouted, "It's just a few drinks, how could you be this drunk! Apologize to Pops immediately!"
"Drunk? I'm not drunk at all!"
Teach glared back arrogantly, "Shut up, Jozu! If I remember right, you're as new to the ship as I am, aren't you? What right do you have to order me around like that!"
"Really drank too much..."
Jozu's face turned dark, and his right arm instantly turned to diamond as he fiercely swung it towards Teach!
"Enough! Stop this nonsense! In front of the guests and Pops, sober up, Teach!"
"Ze ha ha ha... Want to fight? Just you?"
Teach sneered wildly, clenching his right fist, suddenly covering it with the dark Armament Haki, and confrontationally swung back!
Boom!!!
Their fists collided, and terrifying shockwaves swept across the deck. Smoke and wooden debris mixed and filled the air, forcing all the pirates around to stagger backward.
When the dust finally settled, and the scene became clear again, everyone was shocked to see...
The one blown away was actually Jozu.
Even with a diamondized right arm, fine cracks appeared on it, and Jozu, caught off guard, staggered back a dozen steps, almost falling to the ground.
And Teach...
He remained in the same spot, just slightly swaying, stepping back only two steps before easily stabilizing himself.
"Ze ha ha ha!"
Teach shook his wrist and laughed maniacally, "Did you see that! You fools, this is my true strength! All these years, I kept a low profile just to stay hidden, and you need me to show it to believe it..."
"Teach!!!"
A thunderous roar echoed as Whitebeard finally stood up. With an angry shout, terrifying Supreme King Haki swept across the deck once more!
Buzz!
This time, everyone could feel the rage within that Haki.
Teach instinctively shivered, looking up at Whitebeard, swallowing hard.
"Pops..."
Marco, pale-faced, stepped forward to try to calm Whitebeard but didn't know what to say.
This scene in front of him was completely beyond his understanding.
What happened to Teach...?
Could it be, as he claimed, the naive and unambitious demeanor was just a facade all this time?
It seems hard to deny the truth.
Otherwise, even if his words were drunk talk, how could he wield such terrifying power that defeated Jozu?
"Shano, kid."
Whitebeard intimidated Teach and turned, squinting towards Shano. "Did you tamper with the drinks, right?"
"Sort of, and not really."
Shano took a sip of wine calmly, "Being the world's strongest Great Sword Master, my intuition is sharp. From the start, I sensed the desperate malice from this guy trying to kill me."
"From just one encounter, why would he hate me to such a degree? I'm quite puzzled and curious."
He swirled the wine jar in his hand and chuckled, "So, I simply added a little something to make people speak the truth in the drink."
"I got my answer, though digging out such explosive material was beyond my expectations."
He glanced at Whitebeard, "You should thank me, Whitebeard. There's a venomous snake on your ship that wants to bite you dead and swallow your corpse whole."
Whitebeard's expression turned grim.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly opened them after a long pause.
Then he turned around, grabbed his Great Blade, and lowered his head expressionlessly.
"Teach."
Whitebeard's voice was unusually calm, "I'll ask you one last time, was what you said just drunk talk, or was it the truth?"
"Is it necessary to ask at this point?"
Teach instinctively stepped back a couple of steps, maintaining a cold smile, "But Pops, what are you planning to do? I just complained a little, and you want to clean house because of it? Is that all the magnanimity the so-called world's strongest man has?"
"You're wrong, Teach."
Whitebeard looked at him in disappointment, "Do you even know, Teach... do you really know!"
"Rocks, the ambitious one who once terrified the World Government, how could he be content as an ordinary person!"
"I've known this since you begged to board the ship! Your ambition and dreams, your power and Haki, never! Ever needed to be hidden, Teach!"
Whitebeard's eyes widened, and his voice suddenly rose high!
"You want to replace me, become a Sea Emperor, desire the Dark-Dark Fruit, want the Quake-Quake Fruit... it doesn't matter! None of it matters!"
"The White Whale that sailed with me through the old era, how broad the deck is! Can't even bear your insignificant ambition!!!"
Crash!
That statement was like a thunderclap, exploding above everyone's heads.
Except for Shano, who had anticipated it, the rest stared at Teach in disbelief.
What did Pops say?
Rocks?!
Could Teach really be the son of that so-called King of the World... Rocks?!
Marco and Vista exchanged bewildered glances; the news was too shocking, even they were somewhat dazed by the impact.
"So you knew my lineage long ago, Pops..."
Blackbeard squinted, looked around, and spoke with a sarcastic smile:
"Then what's the point of saying all this? Do you still expect me to stay on this ship as your obedient son, like before?"
"If it were just about these things, of course, you could!"
A trace of sorrow flickered in Whitebeard's eyes as he spoke in a deep and heavy voice:
"But... you don't deserve to!"
He gripped his naginata, stepped forward, and demanded, "I ask you, Teach, do you remember the battle of Colombia Island five years ago?"
Colombia Island?
Blackbeard paused, then recalled, feeling his expression subtly change.
"Your look shows that you've remembered."
Whitebeard's voice grew increasingly cold:
"Colombia Island, the entrance to the New World, now renamed G-14 Branch by the Navy, was marked as the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates five years ago."
"You, Kiman, and the others were ambushed by a Navy fleet while procuring supplies there. Against three Vice Admirals, Kiman and the others were killed on sight."
"Only you, jumped into the sea to survive and escaped."
"You cried on the ship, apologizing for Kiman and the others, and we comforted you for it."
Marco also realized, his expression grim as he spoke, "But seeing your terrifying power now..."
"They didn't have to die, did they!"
Whitebeard roared, unable to control himself anymore, as he reached out his large hand, forcefully gripping Blackbeard's head and slamming his face onto the deck!
"For the sake of hiding your power, you watched your companions die! For ambition, you could abandon the family you've lived with day and night!"
"A Teach like that, is unworthy of being my son!!!"
Crack!!!
Terrifying seismic power erupted, and Blackbeard's body was instantly smashed into the depths of the deck, letting out a scream as blood spurted from all his orifices.
"Ze... ha ha ha..."
Even so, Blackbeard continued to laugh maniacally, struggling to raise his head, screaming hoarsely with his bloodied mouth:
"What's it got to do with me, Pops! In the end, I just didn't save them! By your rules, murdering a companion is a death sentence for sure, but their lives weren't taken by me, can you completely blame me for it? If anything, shouldn't we go after the Navy instead!"