"...?!"
His words made Nami's group snap back to their senses. They hadn't expected this dirty, big-bellied man to actually be a good person. They had just met him, yet in this situation, he still chose to help them.
Usopp didn't hesitate and shouted: "Nami!"
"I'm looking!"
Nami, controlling the helm, tensed up. Her eyes constantly scanned the situation ahead as if searching or waiting for something.
Then, at that moment, as if she finally found what she wanted, her tense face lit up with excitement. "Usopp, hard to starboard! Sanji, help out, lower all sails!"
"Got it, Nami!"
"Please leave it to me, Miss Nami!"
With Nami's command, the nervous Usopp and the lovestruck Sanji sprang into action.
But Nami still didn't relax; she stared intently ahead.
At the moment Sanji lowered the sails, her eyes lit up, and she shouted loudly: "The wind's here! Knock all those guys away, we're leaving!"
Sure enough, a strong gust suddenly swept over, shaking all the surrounding ships. Only the Straw Hats' ship, under Nami's guidance, sailed forward stably.
"Damn it! Steady the ship and chase after them!"
"That's my ten billion belly!"
"No, that's my Devil Fruit!"
But the chaos only lasted a moment. The pirate crews quickly gave orders to stabilize their ships and chase after them.
Before the Straw Hats could breathe a sigh of relief, Usopp paled upon seeing the pirate ships rapidly closing in. "Nami!"
"Shut up, I'm scared too!"
Nami snapped at him, but her hands were steady as she controlled the helm. "Damn it, I need more time. We absolutely can't let them catch up, or we're doomed!"
Her words made everyone tense up. Even Teach felt the same, watching the pirates rapidly closing on them, his expression dark and uncertain, as if hesitating about something. But after a brief moment, seeing the pirates charging forward, he turned around, as though making a final decision!
The Dark-Dark Fruit belonged to him!
Without hesitation, under everyone's gaze, Teach stomped the deck with his right foot and leapt forward. Then he raised his fist and swung it at the charging pirates.
This scene made Luffy and the others widen their eyes in disbelief as the massive fist smashed into a pirate's face, sending him flying away.
This guy… is an absolutely good person!
Luffy and Zoro exchanged a glance. The two of them also seemed to have made a decision and were preparing to launch an attack.
But before they could…
"Don't mind me!"
Teach, noticing the commotion behind him, shouted anxiously: "Run! You damn brats, hurry and run! Don't get caught!"
His words made everyone show expressions of admiration, not only Luffy's group, but even the pirates chasing them.
In their hearts, they couldn't help but think: As expected of a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, what a loyal person!
Luffy and Zoro stared at Teach's back. At this moment, for some reason, they hesitated.
Luffy lowered his hat, his expression firming. "Nami—"
But before he finished speaking, Teach's voice echoed again.
"Run, damn it! You brats, you must stay alive!"
Facing the pirate crews head-on, Teach's expression was serious. He took a deep breath and roared to the sky: "A man's dreams will never end!"
For his dream!
For his future!
He would get the Dark-Dark Fruit!
He had searched for it for years. If he gave up now, he would regret it for life!
Without further hesitation, he leapt again, raising his fist and charging into the crowd of pirates.
That back and that fist… Made the Straw Hat crew fall silent again.
Luffy looked deeply at Teach's back. Then, without hesitation, he took a deep breath and shouted: "We're leaving!"
As Luffy spoke, Nami smiled faintly, no longer conflicted. She shouted loudly: "Usopp, hard to port!"
Another gust rose, and the ship accelerated once more as it rode the wind. As they sped forward, the Straw Hats kept their eyes on Teach's gradually shrinking silhouette.
"He has so much loyalty and courage! So this is a member of the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Sanji flicked his cigarette, admiration swelling in his heart as he watched Teach's back. But as he finished speaking, something struck him.
He stared blankly at the increasingly distant Baratie.
Wait, why was he running with them?
He wasn't even part of their crew!
Panicking, he shouted: "Wait, wait! I haven't gotten off the ship yet!"
…
"It's already over. The Straw Hat crew has successfully withdrawn."
"The group of pirates is still in pursuit. That ten billion belly.. They won't give it up easily. But right now, a portion of the pirates are still staying in the East Blue and haven't gone to chase the Straw Hat crew."
"Vice-Admiral Garp says he needs to clean up the pirates in the East Blue and doesn't have time to return for now!"
"Target individual, Teach, in order to help the Straw Hat crew retreat, chose to stay behind."
"He's now on the Umbrella Corporation's fleet. With the help of the Umbrella Corporation's fleet, they've also successfully withdrawn. I was worried something unexpected might happen, so I didn't make a move."
"Got it, got it. I'll look for a suitable time to take action. This is really giving me a headache…"
After Borsalino finished reporting, he hung up the Den Den Mushi directly.
Then he stood still, sinking into deep thought again.
Although the appearance of the captain of the Beast Pirates was a bit unexpected, he was stopped by the boss of the Umbrella Corporation, so it didn't cause too much impact on the East Blue.
As for the remaining three emperors in the New World, with Sakazuki and Kuzan holding them off, once they receive their fleet reports, they should quiet down.
As for the other pirate crews… They'll likely give up only after the Dark-Dark Fruit is eaten or the bounty is withdrawn.
Ten billion belly is still extremely tempting to pirates!
Of course, he didn't need to personally handle the matters over there next.
After thinking for a moment, Borsalino didn't dwell on it further. Since the East Blue incident had ended, he should proceed to complete the mission from the research institute.
It was a pity that he had originally planned to take advantage of the chaos to collect that guy's blood and tissue samples, but he hadn't expected things to end up like this, forcing him to put his original plan on hold.