Taro pondered for a long time, knowing that Crocodile certainly wouldn't easily reveal the secrets he knew. After staring at Old Sand for a while, he said in a serious tone,
"What do you want?"
Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke from his cigar, glanced at Aokiji and the others, and then looked at Taro.
"I want to take Blackbeard away!"
Taro's brow furrowed, and he didn't hesitate for long. "Impossible, he must die today!"
"Ha, hahaha!"
Crocodile let out a sinister laugh. "The corpse is fine too!"
Taro was stunned for a moment, sensing that Crocodile was definitely up to something. After another moment of contemplation, he shook his head with a mocking smile on his lips.
"If that's the case, then I'm no longer interested in what happened back then!"
Blackbeard's body was a freakish anomaly and even harbored Rocks' Soul. This world also possessed many technologies that were difficult to comprehend.
Heaven knows what kind of monster might emerge after a while if Crocodile took Blackbeard away.
Taro was unwilling to take such a risk. If possible, he wanted to scatter Blackbeard's ashes right here, today!
Crocodile was not used to Taro's unconventional response. His expression stiffened, and after staring at Taro for a long time, he turned his gaze to Aokiji.
"I'm sure you must be interested, right?"
Aokiji was indeed very interested, his expression showing a slight hesitation. Seeing this, Taro spoke up first.
"Kuzan, Blackbeard must die today, and his corpse cannot be handed over to anyone!"
"If you try to stop me, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship!"
Taro's words were heavy and his tone was icy.
Aokiji appeared even more conflicted. Crocodile, taking in Aokiji's expression, let out a strange smile.
"Thirty-six years ago, Whitebeard was the strongest on the Rocks Pirates after Rocks himself. During that incident, his mission was to hold back the Roger Pirates..."
With a shift in thought, Crocodile actually began to recount the events of the past.
Not to mention Aokiji, even Marco and the others were hearing these things for the first time. Since it concerned Whitebeard, they also wanted to keep listening, their expressions shifting.
Taro's face darkened slightly. Crocodile really had a way with manipulating people's hearts; just the beginning of a story had captured everyone's interest.
Of course, that included Taro.
After saying this, Crocodile's expression was an unreadable mix of mockery and anger. He paused for a long time before continuing.
"Trust is the most useless thing in this world!"
He said this out of nowhere, as if he were lamenting.
Taro remembered that before Old Sand was defeated by Luffy, this seemed to be the principle he always followed. He didn't trust anyone, and his relationship with the members of Baroque Works was purely hierarchical, disposable at any time.
The Whitebeard Pirates Remnants pondered for a moment before their faces changed drastically, and they shouted angrily,
"Impossible! How could Pops...?"
"Zehahaha!" Blackbeard suddenly burst out laughing, though his weak voice lacked its former boisterousness.
Immediately after, his tone became somewhat hoarse and filled with resentment.
"Nothing is impossible. That old fellow betrayed the Rocks Pirates; he was a traitor on the ship!"
Marco was emotional and furious, roaring, "Impossible! You're lying!"
Taro raised an eyebrow. Had Rocks' Soul surfaced again?
Rocks ignored Marco and instead tried his best to turn his head, a smile tugging at his lips.
"I really didn't expect to see you again, Crocodile!"
Crocodile glanced at 'Blackbeard,' clearly recognizing that he was currently Rocks.
However, the Sand Crocodile's expression only shifted for a brief moment before returning to normal, and he said coldly,
"I didn't expect to see you in such a pathetic state again either. How unsightly, Rocks!"
Once Crocodile spoke, except for Taro, whose expression remained unchanged, and Mr. 1, who looked completely bewildered,
Aokiji, Marco, and the others all appeared shocked!
"Rocks?"
"He... he's Rocks?"
"..."
A hint of surprise flashed in Aokiji's eyes as he looked at Taro.
"You said before, 'In a sense, he is Rocks!' Did you know this all along?"
Taro chuckled and waved his hand.
"Not that long ago, just a few dozen minutes ago!"
Aokiji stared deeply at Taro for a moment and then nodded.
"Crocodile, what exactly do you know?"
Crocodile gave Aokiji a mocking look before turning his gaze toward Taro.
Taro pondered for a moment and thought it over.
"Speak!"
"However, I must remind you that I also know a thing or two about that incident. If I find out you're lying, I'll make sure you face the consequences!"
Crocodile laughed loudly, actually regaining some of his air as a formidable figure.
"Taro, you really do enjoy looking down on people!"
As he spoke, he squatted down, unfastened the gold hook on his left hand and set it aside. He ran his stump over the stitches that ran horizontally across his face, his tone grim.
"Rocks, all of this is thanks to you. Even today, it still aches!"
The smile on Rocks' face deepened.
"Don't forget, you only survived because of me!"
Crocodile's expression instantly darkened, the atmosphere around him almost solidifying.
Zhou Chen was stunned. He had always thought Crocodile's injuries were left by Whitebeard, which was why he was so hostile toward him.
Moreover, that old scoundrel Oda had once drawn Crocodile as a child; back then, he was a handsome little boy with no scars on his face and his arms intact.
How did these injuries get linked to Rocks?
Seeing this, Rocks laughed even more wildly.
"Hahaha! Brat, you really are useless. After all I taught you, you're still this incompetent!"
Killing intent surged from Crocodile as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Rocks by the throat.
The dehydrating power instantly made Rocks' face look like withered wood!
Aokiji's eyes were cold. With a wave of his hand, extreme frost froze Crocodile's arm.
"Until things are explained clearly, he cannot die yet!"
As he spoke, he looked toward Taro.
Taro shrugged, "Do as you wish! As long as he dies, I can spare some time to listen to a story for amusement!"
Meanwhile, his Internal Energy continuously permeated the area, remaining alert for any changes in Blackbeard.
Under Aokiji's ice, Rocks regained some vitality and said mockingly,
"Newgate betrayed me. I only gave his son a little lesson and incidentally guided his son to kill him. That's not too much, is it?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Did this mean Crocodile was Whitebeard's son?
Aokiji and Marco were both stunned!
Taro was also stunned and blurted out,
"Isn't Crocodile a woman?"
Before he could finish, Crocodile's gaze shot toward Taro like lightning.
The way the others looked at Taro also became strange.
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