On the western coast of Jaya Island in the Grand Line lay a place the World Government found nearly impossible to control, an island where outlaws from every corner of the sea gathered freely.
This was Mock Town.
A town built entirely by criminals and pirates, governed by violence, money, and reputation rather than law.
Three years ago, when Teach was still traveling toward the East Blue, he had passed through this very town and recruited Van Augur, the gunman who now served aboard his ship.
Mock Town thrived because of pirates, reckless spenders who poured endless Berries into alcohol, weapons, information, and pleasure. As long as pirates existed, Mock Town would never lack vitality.
And today, the Nightfall Pirates arrived.
Their iconic flag fluttered high above the harbor. At the forefront sailed the Lucky Goddess, flanked by two modified Kraken Kingdom warships, their silhouettes cutting through the waves as they approached the docks.
From afar, the town had already noticed.
Within moments, news of the Nightfall Pirates' arrival spread through Mock Town like wildfire.
The legendary pirate crew had come.
Pirates flooded toward the harbor, eager to see them with their own eyes. For many, this would be the only time in their lives they would ever lay eyes on a pirate whose bounty exceeded one billion Berries.
After the Battle of Urso Island, the Nightfall Pirates' bounties had skyrocketed. Nearly every core member had seen a dramatic increase.
Bounties were not just a measure of strength, they reflected threat.
The Nightfall Pirates had slaughtered Marines, shattered fleets, exposed secrets, and stirred chaos across the seas. Their power, combined with their actions, posed an undeniable threat to the World Government.
Teach's bounty now stood at 1, 289, 200, 000 Berries.
To many pirates, even that felt low.
Redyat, the first mate, hovered just under one billion at 990 million, ready to cross the threshold at any moment. Beneath them were multiple executives with bounties exceeding 500 million.
Such numbers were beyond imagination.
Yet not a single person in Mock Town dared to harbor thoughts of claiming Teach's head.
Image dissemination had changed the era. The world now saw its monsters.
Arrogance vanished when faced with an unbridgeable gap. When strength became unreachable, envy and jealousy transformed into awe.
Every major battle of the Nightfall Pirates had showcased overwhelming power. Every victory had humiliated the Marines.
Among the pirates of the New Era, the Nightfall Pirates held unmatched prestige.
"Hahaha… what a free-spirited island."
Teach surveyed the town calmly.
Pirates dominated the streets. Their murderous auras were unmistakable. Ordinary civilians were rare. A place this prosperous, built on crime, clearly had unseen backing.
From Hunting Island to Mock Town, nearly a month had passed.
During that time, the Nightfall Pirates had made a detour, to Drum Kingdom.
Drum Kingdom was a winter island, locked in perpetual snow.
Its mountains resembled drums, giving the nation its name. More importantly, it was famous across the world as a medical superpower.
Drum Kingdom possessed unparalleled doctors, advanced medical technology, and rare instruments. Even more crucially, it was rich in precious medicinal herbs that grew only in extreme climates.
Centuries of accumulated medical knowledge had made it a holy land for physicians.
Yet in the future, a foolish king would ascend the throne.
A tyrant who monopolized doctors, expelled medical professionals, and ruled through fear. He would not destroy Drum Kingdom outright, but he would rot it from within.
Doctors were Drum Kingdom's true treasure.
Without them, knowledge meant nothing. Equipment became scrap.
Teach had long set his sights on Drum Kingdom's medical technology, research data, and instruments, many of which even the World Government could not obtain.
The Nightfall Pirates' arrival there was silent.
laffitte infiltrated the royal palace unnoticed and hypnotized everyone, guards, officials, even the king himself.
No resistance. No alarms.
Through the king's command, Teach acquired massive amounts of medical data, rare instruments, and priceless herbs.
To the outside world, these items were simply "requisitioned by the king."
No one questioned it.
The king himself remembered nothing, only the vague sense that he had conducted an important transaction.
Teach also claimed two Devil Fruits hidden within Drum Kingdom's vault:
The Munch-Munch Fruit and the Spore-Spore Fruit.
In the future, these would belong to the king's sons, two fools who would lead Drum Kingdom into decline.
The Munch-Munch Fruit was a terrifying Paramecia.
Anything eaten could be integrated into the body. Objects, materials, even people. It allowed fusion, modification, and the creation of rare alloys.
In Otto's hands, it could elevate life-machinery to entirely new heights.
It could even grant access to the abilities of absorbed Devil Fruit users.
A top-tier ability.
But for Teach, it was unnecessary.
Too many abilities diluted focus. Worse, the act of eating everything was repulsive, even dangerous to the mind.
Instead, Teach planned to use it strategically.
As for Drum Kingdom's doctors and biologists, Teach valued them immensely. Many were experts not only in medicine, but in pharmaceuticals, biology, and cellular research.
When the time was right, he would take them all.
laffitte's hypnosis ensured the king's early death and the premature rise of Wapol. To keep Wapol alive long enough, Teach even forced a Zoan Devil Fruit upon him, the Deer-Deer Fruit: Roe Deer Form.
A pitiful fruit.
But fitting.
No one aboard the Nightfall Pirates wanted it.
Teach had originally intended to trade it, or give it to Kaido, who collected Zoans indiscriminately.
Once Drum Kingdom collapsed, Teach would harvest its legacy in one swift move, before the World Government could react.
As for the kingdom's fate afterward?
He didn't care.
The suffering would come sooner, but so would the chance for rebirth.
Teach remembered only fragments of the future: pink snow falling like cherry blossoms, a quack doctor with a great heart, and a miracle born of belief rather than skill.
He left the Human-Human Fruit untouched.
Its future value exceeded a billion Berries.
Teach wanted to watch.
The world had already changed. Small ripples had become storms.
Yet the era still moved forward.
The truth of "D.", inherited wills, God Valley, and the secrets of the final island, all remained.
Roger's discarded Eternal Pose still existed somewhere in this world.
And when the time came, Teach would claim it.
With Baccarat at his side, there was no doubt,
He would find it.