The New World, the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Moby Dick.
After Sachi's murder and the theft of his Devil Fruit, Ace and Teach didn't delay. They immediately took a fast ship, bringing Sachi's body back to the Moby Dick to reunite with the Whitebeard Pirates.
After several days of travel, they finally arrived.
On the Moby Dick's deck, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, known as the strongest man, stood beneath the mast, his expression grim as he looked at Sachi's corpse placed before him.
Because several days had passed, and due to factors such as the sea weather, even though Ace and Teach had done their best to protect him, Sachi's body was still somewhat unsightly.
However, Newgate showed no disgust whatsoever. He crouched down, his tall frame trembling slightly, and stroked Sachi's stiff body. After a moment, he looked at Teach, who was kneeling beside Sachi's corpse, and asked in a gloomy tone, "Who? Who killed my son?"
Teach replied with a dark and resentful expression, "Dad, I saw the guy's face clearly. He's a guy I don't recognize. I have no recollection of him. He suddenly appeared in the cabin."
In fact, Ace and the others had already explained the situation to Newgate in detail many times on the way back.
But at this moment, Newgate was still listening intently to these descriptions, his eyes fixed on Teach.
However, a few days had passed, and Teach had long since prepared himself mentally. His account was clear and logical, without any obvious loopholes or flaws. As for Ace, he had never doubted Teach, so he naturally wouldn't say anything more.
After listening to Teach's account, the oppressive feeling emanating from Newgate gradually dissipated. The reason he wanted to hear Teach repeat himself was simply to further confirm his suspicions; in reality, Newgate himself hadn't really doubted Teach too much in the past.
As I said before, Teach has been on the ship for over twenty years. During these twenty years, he has gotten along very well with all the members of the Whitebeard Pirates. They are like brothers, sharing life and death, and have experienced countless crises and hardships together.
Even if someone suddenly told Newgate that Teach had killed Sachi, Newgate wouldn't believe it, let alone in this situation.
After standing up, Newgate sighed softly, suppressing his grief, and then said, "Marco, go and send Sachi off on his final journey, let him return to Mother Ocean's embrace."
Standing behind Newgate, Marco, with a sorrowful expression, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "Yes, Father."
Pirates are people who live with their heads on the line, and everyone is used to death, so the funeral arrangements are actually quite simple.
After instructing on the arrangements for Sachi's funeral, Newgate took the portrait from Ace's hands. After studying it carefully for a while, he said, "It's definitely a new face."
And you know what? The painter on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship was really skilled. Based on Teach's hasty glance, he had actually drawn a fairly accurate likeness of Bane.
"Dad, that bastard killed Sachi! We must avenge him!" Ace said excitedly.
Newgate nodded and said coldly, "On this vast sea, no one has ever harmed my Whitebeard family without paying the price!"
Before Ace could say anything more, Newgate quickly ordered, "Joe, spread the word to everyone who gave us the information, and pass this portrait to all the captains. Tell them to search for it thoroughly!"
The Whitebeard Pirates are not just this one group of people. In addition to the main crew members, they also have dozens of independent captains operating in various places. As the strongest crew in the current pirate force, their influence is certainly not to be underestimated.
Before Joss could reply, Newgate continued, "Spread the word throughout the underworld! Cover the entire world with this portrait! A bounty of 500 million Berries! Find this bastard! Dead or alive!"
Bounties weren't exclusive to the Navy; in fact, all sorts of bizarre bounties existed in the underworld—some were deadly, like Newgate's, others were for Devil Fruits, and still others were for rare treasures, contraband, or intelligence.
It's just that the Navy's bounties could be openly publicized worldwide through newspapers, making them the most influential and credible.
After Newgate finished making these arrangements, Ace stepped forward again and said, "Dad, I went out with Sachi this time, but only I came back. It's all my fault that Sachi was killed. Let me go find that bastard too! I'll never forgive myself if I don't kill him!"
As soon as Ace spoke, Teach quickly followed up, saying, "Dad, it's all my fault! If I hadn't insisted on making Sachi drink so much, he wouldn't have been so easily ambushed. I'll definitely avenge him myself!"
To Teach, Sachi was completely unimportant. How could he not know what really happened? He was the one who killed him!
But the Dark-Dark Fruit was his precious treasure. In Teach's opinion, that bastard must be a Devil Fruit user, otherwise how could he open a portal out of thin air?
And since the other party was a Devil Fruit user, it meant that there was still a certain probability that the Dark-Dark Fruit hadn't been eaten, so he still had hope.
Therefore, by using the Whitebeard Pirates' strength, they could find that person, retrieve the Dark-Dark Fruit, and then brutally murder him. That would be the end of it. Once the Dark-Dark Fruit was back, everything else could be discussed later.
Newgate considered it briefly but didn't object, agreeing to their request.
It must be said that the Whitebeard Pirates acted swiftly. With Whitebeard's order relayed, the most powerful forces on the seas quickly learned of the situation.
That afternoon, at Marineford
, the top floor of the massive Fortress of Justice, in the Fleet Admiral's office, then-Fleet Admiral Sengoku received the relevant information from the Naval Intelligence Department.
Looking at the document in his hand, Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked with some surprise, "The fourth division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates has been murdered?"
On the sofa opposite his desk, Vice Admiral Amatsu, the chief strategist of the intelligence department, held a teacup and said calmly, "At first, I was also surprised, but the Whitebeard Pirates themselves released the news and are searching the world for the killer, so it must be true."
Sengoku nodded first, then picked up the portrait of Bane on the table, glanced at it, and asked, "Who is this guy?"
"I don't know." Chief Strategist A-Tsuru shook his head. "Name, age, past experiences, and all other relevant information are zero. However, according to the information released by the Whitebeard Pirates, he might be a user with spatial abilities."
"We can't even find this person with our intelligence?" Sengoku was somewhat surprised.
You see, the Navy is backed by the World Government, with forces spread throughout the entire sea. In terms of intelligence, they've always maintained close communication with the CP (Popularity Council). Their intelligence capabilities are far beyond what the Whitebeard Pirates can match!
Chief of Staff A-Tsuru explained, "The incident happened so suddenly. Even with our best skills, we couldn't possibly gather any intelligence in such a short time. I've already sent investigators to follow up; I believe we'll have results soon."
Sengoku thought about it and agreed. He then instructed, "Then search thoroughly. Putting everything else aside, this guy is incredibly audacious. If he doesn't have a bad past and his background is relatively clean, try to recruit him into our navy."
"That would mean forming a deep-seated hatred with the Whitebeard Pirates," Chief of Staff A-Tsuru chuckled.
"We're the Navy. Others may fear Whitebeard, but why should we?" Sengoku laughed, unconcerned.
In recent years, Sengoku has increasingly felt his age and declining energy, so he occasionally considers whether he should make way for younger men.
However, before stepping down as Fleet Admiral, he feels he must pave the way for the Navy some more.
Perhaps by taking down the Whitebeard Pirates?
Although he doesn't have a fully formed plan yet, Sengoku keenly senses that this incident might be a catalyst to disrupt the Whitebeard Pirates.
However, it requires careful consideration.
(End of Chapter)