The room was dim and quiet.
"Whoosh…"
A deep snore echoed within the chamber.
Whitebeard slept soundly, his chest rising and falling like slow waves.
Suddenly, his weathered eyes snapped open. For a brief moment, confusion clouded his gaze.
"Huh…? Been a long time since I've slept that deeply."
Sitting up, he noticed that the silver needles once embedded in his back were gone, and his body felt lighter—almost rejuvenated.
"Did that brat use some kind of strange Devil Fruit ability?" Whitebeard muttered, a faint grin curling under his mustache.
Despite the years, his mind and instincts were still razor-sharp. Even asleep, no one could approach him unnoticed—unless they used a Devil Fruit power.
"Marco! How long have I been out?" he called, stretching his massive arms as his bones cracked audibly.
"Pops, it's already nighttime," came Marco's calm voice from outside the door.
Whitebeard chuckled. "That long, huh? My body feels lighter than it has in years. Maybe that brat really knows his craft."
He pushed open the door, finding Marco sitting on the deck beneath the moonlight.
"Gurarararara! Where's that kid?" Whitebeard asked, his laughter rolling across the ship.
"Shirogai's already gone," Marco replied with a faint smile, hiding his right arm behind him. "We entertained him in your stead, Pops."
"Oh, what a shame! That brat's one of the most promising newcomers I've seen in decades. I'd have liked to share a drink with him!"
Whitebeard laughed again, then squinted at Marco's concealed arm. "Hm? You're hurt? Is that why you're calling him that brat Shirogai?"
"Pops, don't tease me." Marco chuckled awkwardly, lowering his gaze. "Shirogai's strength… it's already at the level of an Emperor. I sparred with him—and I couldn't win."
Whitebeard patted Marco's shoulder. "Losing isn't what matters. I've been defeated before too. What's important is to lose the battle, not your will."
"Yes, Pops," Marco said seriously. Then his tone shifted. "Pops… maybe I should go bring Ace back."
Whitebeard raised a brow. "Oh? Did that brat tell you something?"
Marco hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Shirogai said Ace's defeat could ignite a war between the Whitebeard Pirates—and the Marines."
"Gurararararara!" Whitebeard's laughter boomed again. "That brat worries too much!"
But Marco didn't laugh. "Pops… I've been thinking the same thing. Teach—he's been hiding too well."
Whitebeard's expression darkened slightly.
Marco continued, voice low.
"He concealed his ambitions for decades aboard our ship. We never saw it coming—not until that night when he murdered Thatch and ran." Marco clenched his fists. "For twenty-eight years, he hid his true self, waiting for the perfect moment. Ace… that straightforward idiot… won't stand a chance against someone like that. Teach knows all of Ace's fighting habits. Every weakness."
Whitebeard exhaled slowly. "It's too late. Ace contacted me through a Marine Den Den Mushi a while back. Said he'd found Teach's trail—and that he was going to finish it himself."
Marco's eyes widened. "Then there's still time! They haven't met yet."
He pulled off the bandage covering his arm. "Pops, look."
Whitebeard's brows furrowed. "You're wounded? That brat did this? And your Phoenix Fruit can't heal it?"
Marco shook his head. "I'm keeping it as a reminder. To remember the pain of losing focus."
He looked up, serious now. "Pops… Shirogai used Teach's Devil Fruit ability against me. That's how I know Ace is in danger."
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed. "Teach's Devil Fruit… you mean the one he stole from Thatch?"
Marco nodded. "The Dark-Dark Fruit. A Logia-type, but… different. When I fought Shirogai, he showed me what it could do."
He remembered vividly—Shirogai's calm grin, the swirl of dark mist twisting in his hand.
"This is Teach's power. Feel it, Marco," Shirogai had said.
Black smoke poured from his palm, forming a vortex that pulled with terrifying force.
Marco's body was dragged forward; panic flared as Shirogai's hand closed around his arm. Instantly, the blue flames of his Phoenix form vanished. His regeneration stopped cold—his powers sealed.
For that instant, Marco had felt powerless.
"If you lose focus against Teach," Shirogai had warned, his eyes calm as steel, "you'll die."
Then pain flashed—Shirogai's Dragon Claw technique slashed across Marco's arm, snapping him out of his daze. Marco barely managed to release his Armament Haki and kick him away.
Now, remembering it, Marco clenched his fist. "Pops, if we ever fight Teach, stay clear of that black smoke he releases. It pulls in Devil Fruit users—and if he touches us, we lose our powers completely."
Whitebeard frowned. "So the fruit absorbs the Devil Fruit essence within its victims… troublesome."
Marco nodded gravely. "There's more. According to Shirogai, the Dark-Dark Fruit can do something even more horrifying."
He met Pops' eyes. "It can strip a Devil Fruit ability from a recently dead user… and transfer it to another fruit. It creates new Devil Fruits."
Whitebeard's expression hardened, shadows crossing his face.
No wonder Teach had killed Thatch despite the risk. No wonder he'd run.
"That bastard Teach… his ambitions may reach far beyond what we imagined."
Whitebeard rose to his full height, his presence filling the room like a storm.
"Marco. Send word to every division. I want Ace found—immediately. If he resists, tell him this: give me Teach's location. I'll deal with that traitor myself."
Marco nodded firmly. "Yes, Pops!"
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