A crude raft made of massive logs bound together was riding the wind and cutting through the waves, sailing at high speed.
"Zehahahaha! See that?! This is our era!"
At the center of the raft, a tall and burly man, Marshal D. Teach, spread his arms wide and laughed heartily.
His laughter was filled with ambition and desire, as if he could already see his future of ruling over the world.
But just as he was laughing most triumphantly, a sudden, inexplicable chill shot up from the base of his spine, instantly spreading throughout his entire body.
"...Hmm?"
Teach's laughter abruptly ceased, the arrogance on his face instantly replaced by a flicker of suspicion and alarm.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he looked up, his sharp gaze scanning the empty sky.
"What's wrong, Captain?" asked Jesus Burgess, standing beside him.
The muscular man, wearing a championship belt, spoke in a deep, muffled voice.
Teach didn't answer immediately.
His dark face showed a mix of shifting emotions.
That feeling of being watched was like a thorn in his back, impossible to shake off.
"I feel like there's someone watching us."
"Watching us?" Lafitte, holding a cane and wearing a top hat, approached.
He licked his lips with his crimson tongue, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
"Some reckless pirate? Should I take care of it, Captain?"
As he spoke, the white wings on his back began to unfurl.
"No." Teach raised a hand to stop him. "The feeling is distant, very distant. It's not nearby."
"Distant?" Burgess scratched his head, looking confused. "Captain, are you hallucinating? Out here on the sea, besides seagulls, what eyes could be watching us from so far away?"
A hallucination?
Teach frowned, carefully sensing again, but the feeling of being watched had vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
Could it really have been a hallucination?
He thought for a moment, then quickly returned to his usual boisterous and unrestrained demeanor, grinning widely.
"Zehahahaha! Maybe it's just Pops missing his promising son!"
Hearing this, the crew members showed varied expressions.
Burgess laughed along, clearly not taking it seriously.
The usually silent sniper Van Augur merely silently polished his beloved rifle.
The sickly "God of Death" Doc Q leaned against the mast, coughing weakly as if on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Teach didn't dwell on the fleeting sense of strangeness any longer.
He turned his gaze to the distant horizon, waving a hand grandly and declaring with immense passion.
"Next stop, Black Soil Island! Let's go!"
"YEAH!!"
Burgess and the rest of the crew shouted in unison, full of vigor.
Under their control, the raft changed direction and sped toward Black Soil Island.
...
Meanwhile.
On Black Soil Island, inside a café.
Orion slowly opened his eyes.
Just moments ago, using his Observation Haki that spanned thousands of miles, he had not only pinpointed the location of the Blackbeard Pirates but had also "seen" their every move and heard their every word with perfect clarity.
"Black Soil Island?"
A faint smile curled at the corner of Orion's lips—a smile tinged with amusement and a chilling coldness.
Of all the countless islands in the New World, you had to choose the very one I'm on, Black Soil Island.
What a remarkable "coincidence" this is.
"If you're so eager to throw your lives away, I'll oblige."
"Fleet Admiral, have you located their whereabouts?" Morgan immediately stepped closer.
Orion nodded, casually picking up the newspaper from the table and handing it to Morgan without even glancing at it.
"Take the soldiers shopping in the city."
"Ah? Shopping?" Morgan was stunned.
With enemies at their doorstep, the Fleet Admiral wasn't planning battle strategies but sending them shopping?
But seeing Orion's unwavering gaze, he immediately snapped to attention and saluted.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
With that, Morgan turned and hurried away.
The moment Morgan left, Hancock melted softly against Orion's arm, whispering breathily.
"Orion. This queen isn't feeling well. Could you accompany me back to the hotel?"
Hancock's voice carried a peculiar nasal tone, her beautiful face flushed, her limpid eyes full of expectation.
Orion glanced down at her.
After all their time together, how could he not know what she was thinking?
He directly swept the Pirate Empress into his arms, striding purposefully toward the door under the astonished gazes of the café owner and other patrons.
Back in the hotel suite, the moment the door closed, Hancock entwined herself around him.
Orion's response was direct and rough.
The curtains were drawn, plunging the room into dimness.
A storm for two quietly unfolded within.
From the gentle sounds of water in the bathroom, to the slight creaking of the bedroom's large bed, to finally the two intertwined figures before the floor-to-ceiling window facing the sea.
When calm returned, it was already dusk.
...
Night fell, city lights glittering.
The tired trainees had long returned to the hotel and fallen asleep.
But Black Soil Island's port welcomed a group of uninvited guests.
Teach's crew arrived silently on their massive raft, docking without a sound.
"Zehahaha, we're finally here!" Teach jumped off the raft, looking relaxed.
However, the moment Lafitte stepped ashore, his brow furrowed.
His unusual eyes scanned the port.
Despite the dense cluster of various ships, he immediately spotted the conspicuously moored Marine training ship at a nearby dock.
The massive seagull emblem on its hull remained clear even in the night.
"Captain," Lafitte's voice was hushed, "it seems we've come at a bad time."
Teach followed his gaze.
When he saw the training ship, his smile instantly froze.
His first thought was—run!
"A Marine training ship? Damn it!!"
"Let's go, we need to leave immediately!"
"Don't be hasty, Captain!" Jesus Burgess grabbed his arm, speaking nonchalantly.
"It's just a Marine training ship! What's there to fear! Besides, this might not even be the training ship led by Fleet Admiral Orion!"
Burgess's voice remained booming as he thumped his chest confidently.
"Even if it is him, so what! I've found out—it's full of unweaned brats! I could take them all out by myself!"
"Carelessness invites death." Lafitte shook his head, his tone grave. "The Fleet Admiral's strength far exceeds your imagination."
"What's there to fear! The captain's current strength might just be enough to clash with him!" Burgess was clearly unconvinced.
"If we can defeat Orion here, the name of our Blackbeard Pirates will resound across the entire world! Even if we can't win, with our strength, escaping from him wouldn't be difficult at all!"
Burgess's words seemed to strike a chord in Teach's heart.
He halted his steps, the fear in his eyes replaced by his usual ambition.
He had already obtained the long-coveted Dark-Dark Fruit, and his power was no longer what it used to be—so why should he be afraid?
"Zehahahaha!" Teach burst into maniacal laughter once more, dispelling the last trace of hesitation in his heart.
"You're right! Since we're already here, how can we just slink away like cowards!"
"However," he added, shifting his tone, "for the sake of caution, we'll only stay for two days. We'll leave as soon as we've gathered supplies. Try to avoid direct confrontation with the Marines—as long as they don't come looking for us!"
With that, Teach strode confidently toward the steps leading up from the port.
But the moment his foot landed on the first step, he froze abruptly.
At the top of the steps, two figures had appeared as if out of nowhere.
A man and a woman, looking down upon them from above.
The man exuded an aura of domineering power, while the woman was breathtakingly beautiful.
It was Orion and Hancock.
Standing atop the steps, Orion gazed down at the stunned Teach below with a genial smile on his face as he asked.
"If you were to travel, where would you most want to go? Teach!"
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