Chapter 80 – The Four Emperors, Blackbeard Appears
Itachi stared silently at the crooked old man standing before him.
The old man had made such a heavy request, yet he refused to explain anything. After a moment of silence, Itachi finally spoke.
"Sir… answer my question first."
"Otherwise, I will never agree to the requests you've made."
He paused and touched his chest.
"This so-called Spirit of the Tree World appeared in me without reason. I never asked for it."
As he spoke, Itachi raised his blade toward his chest, as if preparing to carve it out.
"I don't want it."
"NO!"
Two tears slid from the hollow sockets of the old man's dry eyes.
"In the future… you and your companions will encounter the stories of this world."
"The Spirit of the Tree World chose you. It will help you and your companions one day."
He took a breath before continuing.
"As for the Kozuki Clan of Wano… that is merely my personal request."
"How you deal with them should depend on your own judgment once you arrive in Wano."
"But…"
A trace of cold bitterness appeared in the old man's eyes.
"No matter what happens, the Kozuki Clan is no longer worthy to rule Wano."
"They lost their inheritance."
"They lost their mission."
"They lost their faith."
"They lost everything."
"They are no longer worthy."
The crooked old man slowly turned around and began walking toward the darkness.
"Please forgive me, Lord Itachi."
"I cannot explain the fate entrusted to you."
"For that… I am deeply sorry."
He continued forward, his body trembling.
"I still have a little strength left."
"I will do one final thing for you—the new inheritor of the Spirit of the Tree World."
"If one day you arrive there… I believe you will understand your destiny."
"When you touch the gates of the New World…"
"I will tell you everything."
As the old man staggered deeper into the darkness, the space before him seemed to tear open.
In the next moment, he completely disappeared.
At the same time, the restraining force field that had been holding Itachi vanished.
Auction House
Moments earlier, everyone in the auction hall had felt the violent shock.
After speaking briefly with several armored guards, the clown-masked host returned to the stage.
In his usual exaggerated tone, he announced:
"Ladies and gentlemen, there was a small incident just now, but it had nothing to do with our auction house!"
"So please relax…"
"The auction will now continue!"
With a flourish, he presented the next items.
"A total of twenty-three Devil Fruits will be auctioned today!"
Among them was the fruit taken from Freys' ship.
It had already been identified.
The Shield Fruit.
Audience Seats
Freys leaned closer to Law and explained.
"In every auction here, the most valuable treasures are sold first."
"After that, items like medicinal materials, jewelry, and the treasures we looted are sold in the Rand Coin Free Trade Market after the auction."
"They take a 10% commission on every trade."
"Ten percent…" Law frowned.
"That's a lot."
Freys shrugged.
"It is. But there's no choice."
"In the entire New World, this is the only place where pirates can trade fairly."
"If pirates deal directly with each other… someone usually dies."
At that moment, a young voice spoke from beside Law.
"Exactly."
"Otherwise, why would it be called the black market?"
Law turned.
The speaker wore a black robe and a mask.
But something about him looked strange.
Even though he was dressed like a pirate, he also wore a gentleman's top hat.
On the brim of the hat…
A pair of adventure goggles.
Just as Law was studying him—
Itachi silently returned and sat beside Freys.
"Brother!" Freys nudged Law.
Law turned quickly.
"So fast!?"
Itachi gave a small nod.
"Well…?"
Law lowered his voice.
Itachi simply nodded again.
Law immediately understood.
But then Itachi added quietly:
"It's not what we thought."
"What do you mean? Then what is it?"
"Something similar."
Itachi didn't elaborate.
After exchanging a glance with him, Law understood.
This wasn't the place to talk.
The entire hall was filled with pirates watching the auction.
"Once the deal is done," Law whispered, "we leave."
The Auction Begins
On stage, the clown host raised the Devil Fruit.
"According to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia…"
"After eating this fruit, the user can transform any part of their body into a shield!"
"And if awakened—"
"They can even turn surrounding objects into shields for both defense and attack!"
He grinned.
"Captains! Why not give your combatants a reliable ability like this?"
"The starting price is three Rand Coins!"
"The minimum increase is one Rand Coin!"
Before he even finished speaking—
Someone raised a paddle.
"Three!"
"Four!"
"Five!"
"Six!"
"Seven!"
"Ten!"
"Twelve!"
The price quickly climbed.
Then suddenly—
A large man sitting in the center of the hall slowly raised a hand.
His fingers were covered in gemstone rings.
"I bid…"
"One thousand."
The entire auction hall froze.
All eyes turned toward him.
Law and the others recognized him immediately.
He was the large man wearing the brown beast mask they had seen earlier at the Fried Restaurant.
Even the clown host's smile disappeared.
"Sir… did you say one thousand?"
"ZEHAHAHAHA!"
The masked man burst into wild laughter.
"Relax!"
"But the 1,000 Rand Coins I mentioned…"
"…aren't just for that Devil Fruit."
"Right?"
"Ariel!!"
The man suddenly clenched his raised fist.
A white circular ripple appeared in his hand.
Several pirates gasped.
"Wait… that ability—"
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit?!"
Before they could react—
The masked man punched the air.
CRACK!
The very air itself shattered like glass.
A massive fracture tore through the hall, stretching all the way toward the distant city walls.
The ground violently trembled.
The front rows of pirates—
Including the clown host—
Were instantly blown apart by the shockwave.
Blood sprayed through the collapsing air.
Second Floor
On the second floor, a scar-faced old man stared down at the attacker.
"Marshall D. Teach…"
"So it really is you."
"ZEHAHAHAHA!"
The man removed his beast mask.
The entire hall erupted in shock.
"It's him!"
"Blackbeard!!"
"One of the Four Emperors of the New World!"
"Why is he here?!"
Blackbeard laughed wildly.
"Did you hear that, Ariel?"
"They're asking why I'm here!"
His eyes narrowed.
"But I'm more curious about something else…"
He stared at the old man.
"You were once a Marine Admiral of the previous generation…"
"So how did you end up hiding here…"
"…running a black-market business like this?"
As he spoke—
Blackbeard unleashed another tremor shockwave toward the scar-faced old man.
(End of Chapter)
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