"What!? Blackbeard joined the Navy!?"
When Red brought this news back to Pokémon Paradise, everyone in the Straw Hat crew—as well as Ace—instantly revealed expressions of utter disbelief.
And as all of his companions turned their eyes toward him, Red's expression grew solemn."According to that female Marine…"
"Blackbeard should have slipped past our sight by escaping through the deep-sea region. Then, while drifting on the ocean, he just happened to be rescued by their warship."
"After boarding the ship, Blackbeard defeated the entire crew immediately and tied up that Marine Colonel, Hina."
"But at the time, he didn't harm a single Marine. Instead, he used their warship's Den Den Mushi to contact Marine Headquarters…"
"As for the content of that conversation, neither Hina nor the Marines heard anything."
"They only know that afterward, Marine Headquarters used the Den Den Mushi to issue an order to Hina and her crew…"
"To escort Blackbeard back to Headquarters."
Here, Red's voice abruptly paused.
He lifted his head, eyes deep and heavy as he looked at Ace:"Ace, even though Hina didn't hear what Blackbeard told Headquarters, the fact that that guy could go from pirate to Marine just like that—and rumor has it that because of repeated achievements these past days, he's already been given the same Marine Headquarters Colonel rank as Smoker and Hina!"
"Based on what I know of him—and the Navy—if they're willing to get that close…"
"There's a high chance that Blackbeard used information related to the Whitebeard Pirates as leverage to strike some kind of deal!"
"Bastard!!! That damned guy!!!"
Hearing this, Ace clenched both fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, and endless fury surged in his eyes.
But moments later, as if something suddenly struck him, he forced himself to calm down.
"No! I have to let Pops know about this!"
"Red, lend me your Den Den Mushi!"
"No problem."
Without hesitation, Red pulled out the Den Den Mushi he always carried.
But when he dialed the Whitebeard Pirates' number, the Den Den Mushi merely stayed asleep and didn't react at all.
"What's going on!?" Ace frowned deeply and dialed again.
A third time… a fourth time…
No matter how many times he dialed the number long etched into his muscle memory, the Den Den Mushi simply would not respond.
"Could you have remembered it wrong?" Sanji asked while removing the cigarette from his lips.
But Ace immediately shook his head. "Impossible! There's no way I could forget this number!"
At that moment, the long-silent Robin suddenly spoke:"If the number isn't wrong…"
"Then this kind of reaction means the signal on the other end has already been blocked."
"It seems… Blackbeard's move is faster than we thought."Red folded his hand near his mouth, brows tightly knit in thought.
Based on Blackbeard's portrayal in the anime, although his plans always seemed crude—relying heavily on outrageous luck—there was one thing that had to be acknowledged…
His sense of timing was frighteningly precise.
And some of his seemingly unrelated actions would always, somehow, end up connecting in bizarre ways.
Crocodile's death would undoubtedly send shockwaves across the world.
Naturally, the Navy and World Government would turn even more attention toward the Kingdom of Alabasta.
That alone would be enough for Blackbeard to recognize Princess Vivi—who had once appeared with the Straw Hat Pirates—and deduce the true cause of Crocodile's fall.
However, judging from Hina's reaction toward them, Blackbeard should not have directly exposed the Straw Hats' identities.
So…
Why did he deliberately tell Hina about Smoker's whereabouts!?
Red sank deeper into thought, even forgetting to comfort the increasingly uneasy Ace, whose mood spiraled because he couldn't reach Whitebeard.
If one reversed the logic from the outcome…
Blackbeard's ultimate goal was unquestionably Whitebeard's head—and the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit.
According to his original plan, triggering the Summit War was indeed a nearly perfect route.
And since his former subordinate crew had already been wiped out by the Straw Hats, he was highly likely considering infiltrating Impel Down again to recruit strong new followers.
But to trigger the Summit War, the Navy first needed to capture someone absolutely critical to Whitebeard.
And that person couldn't be someone insignificant.Otherwise, holding a massive public execution over a "nobody" would be an embarrassment to the Navy.
Within the Whitebeard Pirates, only two people met those criteria…
One was the First Division Commander Marco, who had followed Whitebeard since childhood, fighting across the seas with him.
The other was the man standing right beside Red—only the Second Division Commander, yes, but a man who carried the sinful bloodline of the Pirate King—
Ace.
"Wait!"
Red suddenly raised his head, realization flashing across his eyes.
He turned to Ace and asked:"Ace, how many people know you came to Alabasta?"
"Huh?!"Ace froze, completely confused by the sudden question, but still answered:
"I came to hunt down Blackbeard. Aside from the crew, of course I didn't let anyone else know."
"It's just that… along the way I kept asking around—people, underground groups—anyone who might've had info on Blackbeard. And I never tried hiding my trail, so…"
"So that's it."Red nodded knowingly, then immediately asked:
"Then tell me—does Blackbeard know you and Luffy are brothers!?"
"How could he possibly—!?"
Ace answered instantly.
But one second later, his voice cut off.
His brows furrowed deeply, and a contemplative look flickered in his eyes.
"I think… when Luffy got his first bounty, I did tell the crew about him."
"And a few days later, Blackbeard attacked Thatch and fled the Moby Dick."
"That explains everything!"Red clapped his hands, eyes gleaming with sharp insight.
"Blackbeard must've realized we reached Alabasta by recognizing Vivi's identity."
"Then he realized Luffy was your brother—and once your trail vanished after entering Alabasta…"
"He must have guessed you and Luffy had reunited."
"That's why he fed Smoker's location to Hina and sent her here to retrieve him."
"Once she confirmed she'd picked up Smoker, he could confirm we were still in Alabasta—raising the likelihood that you and Luffy were together."
"His target… from beginning to end… was always you!"
"Ace!!!"
Red suddenly lifted his head, gaze blazing as he locked eyes with Ace.
Ace stood frozen, stunned by the conclusion.
"W-What…?"
A faint breeze swept past them, stirring dust along the ground.
Even though they were inside the brightly lit Paradise, the air between them dropped to freezing cold.
Suddenly, Red let out a quiet, meaningful sigh, turning toward Ace with a complicated look.
For a long moment, the two stared at each other.
Then, under the watchful eyes of all their companions, Red slowly spoke:
"Ace."
"Since things have come this far… there's something I can't keep hidden anymore."
"In truth… I have seen your future."
(End of Chapter)