Chapter 16: Found You
"So this is what Blackbeard Teach looks like? The Admin was right — the man's not exactly winning any beauty contests. But that kind of distinctive face makes him easy to spot. One glance and you'd never mistake him for anyone else."
Yukari Yakumo held a hand-drawn portrait between her fingers as she strolled through the streets of Fish-Man Island.
Having arrived in an entirely new world, she wasn't about to sit around doing nothing. Besides, Whitebeard had gifted her several tens of millions of Berries in spending money.
So Yukari had spent the better part of the day shopping — picking up local specialties, browsing the markets, and even purchasing a Fish-Man Island cookbook so Ran could study interdimensional cuisine back home.
She hadn't forgotten the Group Quest, of course. But that didn't mean she couldn't multitask.
Under the wary, suspicious gazes of the island's fish-men and merfolk, Yukari glanced left and right, then muttered to herself.
"If I keep this up much longer, it's going to look like I'm slacking off. I should probably put in some actual effort. This is the first Group Quest, after all."
Portrait in one hand, parasol in the other, Yukari took a single step backward — and vanished into a gap in the fabric of space.
To any onlooker, she had simply ceased to exist.
The Whitebeard Pirates were also scouring Fish-Man Island. Whitebeard's orders had been explicit: if anyone spots Blackbeard Teach, do not engage. Report immediately. That order applied to the division commanders as well — no one was to act on impulse.
Many of the crew thought Whitebeard was being overly cautious. Teach was dangerous, sure, but could he really take on a division commander in a fair fight?
Thatch's death had been an assassination — a knife in the dark. In a straight confrontation, a commander wouldn't fall so easily.
But Whitebeard had given the order, and they would follow it. He was their old man. Their captain. That was enough.
With Fish-Man Island under Whitebeard's protection, the local soldiers and guards were cooperating as well — monitoring every corner, ready to alert the pirates the moment anything seemed off.
Fish-Man Island had become a massive net.
And the prey — Blackbeard Teach — had no idea the net existed.
He was too busy riding the high of his second life.
At that very moment, Teach was descending toward Fish-Man Island in his coated dinghy, already at roughly 4,000 meters below the surface. Only another 6,000 to 7,000 meters to go.
He had no idea that the Whitebeard Pirates had been waiting for him for quite some time.
Or that Ryū and Yukari had been waiting even longer.
In the Dimensional Chat Group, Kaguya, the Little Wandering Planet, and even the newly-joined Josuke were all glued to the livestream, watching every development in real time.
A certain Gap Yōkai was serving as the group's designated camerawoman.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Aboard his coated dinghy, Blackbeard Teach suddenly frowned. An inexplicable feeling of dread crept up his spine — a premonition that something was wrong.
He scanned his surroundings with sharp, wary eyes. Aside from the occasional Sea King drifting past, there was nothing.
So what was this feeling?
Was something about to happen?
No… that was impossible. He'd taken this exact route in his previous life without a hitch. Nothing had gone wrong then, and nothing had gone differently this time around. What danger could there possibly be?
"I'm overthinking it. Probably just nerves."
Teach shoved the ominous feeling aside. The wariness drained from his face, replaced by a savage grin.
"Even on the second go-around, that idiot Thatch still didn't suspect a thing. And that fossil Whitebeard still couldn't protect his precious 'son'!"
As Fish-Man Island grew closer beneath him, Teach let out his signature cackle. "Zehahahaha!"
All he had to do was pass through Fish-Man Island, and the path to East Blue would be open. The Paramecia-type Munch-Munch Fruit was waiting for him. He absolutely could not let it slip away this time.
His coated boat glided smoothly through Fish-Man Island's enormous protective bubble. The coating held perfectly. He was inside.
Teach's grin widened. Just as smooth as last time. That premonition of danger? Nothing but paranoia.
He was a man reborn. Everything was within his foresight. How could he possibly encounter a threat that hadn't existed in his previous life?
And even the dangers from before — this time, he'd see them coming and dodge every single one.
"Zehahahaha! Fish-Man Island, we meet again! The first step on Marshall D. Teach's path to becoming Pirate King starts right here!"
His broken teeth gleamed in a feral smile. His eyes were dark, predatory — the kind of gaze that could make a person's blood run cold.
At over three meters tall, he cut an imposing figure.
Of course, compared to Whitebeard's six-plus meters, he was practically a child.
But then again, in the One Piece world, two or three meters was practically average.
Just as Blackbeard Teach was about to take his first step forward, a voice like silver bells drifted down from directly above him.
Clear, melodic, carrying notes of curiosity and mild surprise.
"Ufufu… this one seems to have overheard something rather interesting. You wouldn't happen to be Marshall D. Teach, would you?"
Teach's pupils contracted to pinpoints. His massive head jerked upward like a machine locking onto a target.
Cold sweat erupted across his forehead. The words left his mouth on pure instinct: "A Devil Fruit… ability user?!!"
Floating in midair was a girl he'd never seen before. She sat in a bizarre, impossible posture atop what appeared to be a black ribbon suspended in empty space.
The ribbon was covered in crimson eyes.
No — calling it a ribbon was wrong. It was more like a crack. A tear ripped directly through the fabric of space itself.
He'd seen spatial distortions before. His former "old man," Whitebeard, could shatter space with a single punch. Teach was no stranger to the sight.
But this girl was sitting on a crack in space as casually as if it were a park bench.
As if the tear in reality was a solid object.
And those crimson eyes inside the gap, staring out from the void…
The girl looked young. And the smile on her face appeared almost gentle.
But the danger Blackbeard Teach felt radiating from her was unlike anything he'd experienced.
It was on par with standing before Whitebeard himself.
No — it felt even more dangerous than that old monster.
Yukari Yakumo sat perched atop her gap, her long, elegant legs swinging idly in the air.
Her bright, crystalline eyes gazed down at Blackbeard Teach with undisguised amusement. One hand held her ornate parasol; the other now held a decorative folding fan — purchased from Fish-Man Island — in place of the portrait she no longer needed.
The fan concealed half of her exquisite face. Behind it, her lips curved upward.
"No answer? Well, with a face that distinctive, I hardly need confirmation."
She tilted her head, her smile widening.
"It seems this one is rather lucky today. Could it be that all that terrible fortune from the sign-in and the Gift Package has finally run its course~?"