Qingdao, the pirate island, was now packed with pirates gathered around the port. At least tens of thousands of people filled the area.
The crowd was dense. Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the Nightfall Pirates.
Not all of them intended to join. Many had simply come to watch the spectacle.
Since entering the New World, the Nightfall Pirates had been expanding rapidly.
Besides their three main pirate ships, thirteen additional ships sailed alongside them, positioned to the sides and behind, forming an imposing fleet.
Over the past half month, every island they passed had pirates seeking to join their ranks. Some islands even contributed entire pirate crews.
Teach accepted them all without discrimination. It did not matter whether they were spies sent by other factions or simply weak pirates hoping to cling to a rising power.
Of course, those spies could not hide from Teach and Redyat. Pito could even sense good and evil. Anyone suspicious was already under close surveillance and would be dealt with at the right time.
In fact, such pirates still had their uses. Some could serve as cannon fodder. Others could unknowingly deliver false intelligence back to their masters.
At present, none of them had access to the Nightfall Pirates' core secrets anyway.
As for strength, Teach did not tolerate idlers.
Even conquering the entire Sageros Sea would take time.
According to Mostima's intelligence reports, the number of foreign pirates appearing in the unconquered islands and waters of the Sageros Sea had increased significantly.
It was obvious why.
Other forces would never allow Teach and the Nightfall Pirates to grow peacefully. They were already making quiet moves behind the scenes, stirring up trouble and slowing the Nightfall Pirates' advance.
Teach could easily guess this.
In the future, there would be constant battles, conquests, and wars if they wanted to dominate an entire sea.
For those with weak strength, Teach was willing to give them time to improve. But those without potential who still hoped to cling to the Nightfall Pirates would only receive a brief apology.
Teach had no need for useless people.
Only those who survived the coming great war would truly become members of the Nightfall Pirates.
Even so, careful calculations by interested parties showed that, excluding forces already in the Sageros Sea, the Nightfall Pirates now had about five thousand men.
And that did not include those they would subdue along the way.
If all those pirates were counted together, the Nightfall Pirates' total manpower would reach roughly thirty thousand.
A large portion consisted of lone pirates who previously belonged to no faction.
That was already a massive number.
Their average strength might not match the elite forces of the Overlords or the Sea Emperors, but it was still enough to make other powers wary.
The Nightfall Pirates were expanding. Expanding rapidly.
And many forces wanted to stop that momentum.
Under the general trend of dividing the New World, several top pirate crews had begun turning their attention toward the Sageros Sea.
The involvement of multiple forces made the situation there far more complicated.
Still, everyone understood something clearly.
The rise of the Nightfall Pirates was unstoppable.
All they could do was slow the process and create minor obstacles.
The pirates they sent into the Sageros Sea were little more than expendable cannon fodder.
Which, ironically, was exactly what Teach wanted.
If the Nightfall Pirates conquered the Sageros Sea too easily, his subordinates might grow arrogant. Worse, they would never be properly tempered or filtered into true elites.
Especially the newly joined pirates.
Teach had no intention of letting them live comfortably.
What he needed were bloodthirsty warriors.
Not useless passengers.
"The Nightfall Pirates are here!"
Someone suddenly shouted from Qingdao's port, and the entire crowd erupted with excitement.
All eyes turned toward the sea.
Far on the horizon, where the ocean met the sky, small black dots began to appear.
As the fleet approached, many pirates raised telescopes.
The moment they saw the three-skull flag fluttering in the wind, their hearts began pounding.
Some of them had waited half a month.
Some had waited an entire month.
But all that waiting had been for this moment.
On the deck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, members of the Nightfall Pirates gathered and looked toward the distant island.
Through video transmissions, they had already received news about Qingdao.
Recently, the World Economic News Agency had lowered the price of video calls so more people could watch recorded footage.
At the same time, every video Den Den Mushi could now play one video for free each day.
They had also launched a VIP service. By subscribing, users could unlock higher privileges. The higher the tier, the more free videos they could watch daily.
It cost a considerable amount.
But in the long run, the service was extremely profitable, especially among ordinary civilians.
A single video was not expensive, but as daily entertainment for people around the world, the costs added up quickly. Many commoners could only afford one video per day.
Some fanatics, however, might spend an entire month's salary within a day or two.
That obsession had even caused numerous chaotic incidents.
Meanwhile, Morgans the "Big News" had become a global celebrity.
In the past, people might know the World Economic News Agency but not the name Morgans. Only the underworld truly knew him.
Now that had changed.
Morgans possessed exceptional vision. He stood at the forefront of the developing video era and had effectively transformed from a journalist into an entrepreneur.
Video Den Den Mushi were constantly being upgraded. They were now cultivated in large numbers, each carrying a unique identifying mark.
Morgans hoped that one day every person in the world would own their own personal video Den Den Mushi.
At present, many people still shared them.
His ultimate goal was to create something like an account system, tying each individual to their own video Den Den Mushi.
From there, countless additional functions could be developed.
From Teach's perspective, Morgans was already approaching the concept of a "platform."
Of course, the underlying motivation was still profit. Selling more video Den Den Mushi meant earning more money.
Still, increasing production, lowering costs, and reducing prices had earned widespread praise.
After all, video Den Den Mushi were still far more expensive than ordinary Den Den Mushi.
Morgans had become a true celebrity of the high seas.
At this moment, countless people around the world were watching the scene unfold.
Some were even live streaming it.
Reporters from the World Economic News Agency were broadcasting directly from Qingdao.
These live broadcasts were free. Anyone with a video Den Den Mushi could watch them.
And no one disliked free entertainment.
Combined with the reputation of the Nightfall Pirates, the audience numbers surged.
"They're here! They're here!"
Excited voices rang out across the port as the Nightfall fleet slowly approached.
Then something even more striking happened.
As the ships drew closer, the sky above gradually darkened.
Dark clouds spread across the heavens like ink spilling over paper.
The darkness seemed to devour the light itself.
An invisible pressure spread through the air.
And strangely enough, it only made the watching pirates even more excited.
Especially those who had come specifically for Teach.
This was the power of the Dark Emperor.
The ability of the most vicious Devil Fruit.
Darkness that could devour even light itself.
Such an overwhelming presence truly suited a man destined to be called an Emperor.
Teach had not yet officially become one of the Four Emperors. His power had not fully reached that level.
Yet the World Economic News had already begun promoting him as a future Sea Emperor.
The title "Dark Emperor" had spread across the seas.
Among younger pirates, many had already begun calling him Emperor.
Even if the world had not formally recognized the title yet, it showed how powerful Teach's reputation had become.
This was a true powerhouse.
Only someone like him could command their submission.
Teach stood from his throne.
The sea breeze swept across the deck, causing his pirate coat to billow behind him.
His Observation Haki had already expanded to its limit.
Through it, he could clearly perceive everything happening at Qingdao's port.
This was not just curiosity.
It was caution.
If anything unexpected happened, or if other forces interfered to create chaos, the damage to the Nightfall Pirates' reputation would be immense.
And many forces would happily see Teach humiliated.
Even the current chaos in the Sageros Sea was part of that effort.
But in Teach's eyes, it was insignificant.
At that moment, however, he sensed something.
A malicious intent.
And a familiar aura.
Within the crowd at Qingdao's port, two pirates stood close together, speaking in low voices that only they could hear.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. The bombs have been planted at several locations around the port," the other man replied excitedly. "Once the Nightfall Pirates dock, the explosion will cause massive casualties and chaos. It might even destroy their ships."
"If we complete this mission, the Chief will definitely reward us."
They were CP0.
Or rather, CP0 candidates.
They had been trained within CP0's institutions but were not yet full members.
True CP0 agents were the elite of the elite.
These two still lacked sufficient achievements and strength.
But if they succeeded in this mission, they might receive powerful Devil Fruits as rewards.
Combined with the mission's merit, they could finally become official CP0 agents.
They had ambitions of their own.
"Don't get your hopes up," the other man said calmly. "The Nightfall Pirates' ships are built from branches of the Adam Tree and other rare timbers. They're unbelievably durable. Explosives alone won't destroy them."
He had thoroughly researched the fleet.
Trying to destroy those ships with bombs was pure fantasy.
"This is the Nightfall Pirates we're dealing with. What's more important is escaping quickly. If we stay too long, we might be discovered."
The agent was extremely cautious.
His partner nodded.
Just looking at the approaching darkness made his heart uneasy.
Not only the sky but the sea itself had turned dark.
Staring at it too long stirred an instinctive fear deep within his chest.
Unfortunately for them, they had already been discovered.
Every word they spoke reached Teach's ears.
Teach's Observation Haki had not yet reached Pito's level of sensing good and evil, but it was close.
The fluctuations of their hearts could not lie.
Naturally, Teach would never allow such a thing to happen.
What surprised him, however, was that CP0 had already started targeting him.
Teach tilted his head slightly.
Redyat met his gaze and nodded.
Although Redyat's Observation Haki had great range, it worked differently from Teach's.
A purple glint flashed in his eyes.
Through Teach's gaze, he received a brief stream of memories.
Teach only showed him what he wanted him to see.
The next second, Redyat's body sank into the shadows and vanished.
Meanwhile, the two disguised CP0 candidates began moving through the crowd.
Each carried a small button.
It was the detonator for the explosives.
They planned to leave the port and observe from a distance.
Once the Nightfall Pirates docked, they would trigger the explosion and disappear.
Running away too early would attract suspicion.
But just then, both men suddenly felt a chill.
It felt as if something was watching them.
Years of training made them instantly alert.
Their muscles tensed.
Standing back to back, they scanned their surroundings.
But they failed to notice something strange.
The shadows beneath their feet began to shift.
The next moment, those shadows expanded rapidly.
Before either of them could react, several shadowy tentacles burst upward and wrapped around their legs.
With terrifying force, both men were dragged downward.
Their bodies sank into the shadows.
And disappeared.
A short time later, Redyat returned to the ship.
Teach looked at him.
Redyat shook his head.
"CP0 candidate agents. They don't have access to core CP0 intelligence."
Then his expression shifted slightly.
"But I did locate a CP0 training base."
"Heh heh..."
Teach's eyes gleamed with interest as a grin spread across his face.
"That's more than enough."
Stephanie had previously provided him with information about CP0.
But discovering a training base was far more valuable.
It meant an opportunity.
An opportunity to infiltrate one of the World Government's most secretive organizations.
Far away, inside a brightly lit office, a man sat behind a desk.
His long golden hair rested over his shoulders. His expression was stern.
This was Arest.
The Vice Chief of CP0.
"Vice Chief."
A voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"The life cards of Numbers 8 and 12 have completely burned away."
Arest remained calm.
"I see."
"So they were discovered."
He had personally assigned the mission as a test of the Nightfall Pirates' capabilities.
The deaths of the two agents meant nothing to him.
There were countless replacements.
"Then we will try other methods."
"This is the best opportunity."
The Nightfall Pirates were expanding rapidly. That expansion also created opportunities to plant spies within their ranks.
Many agents would likely die during the process.
But it was worth the cost.
The Nightfall Pirates possessed extremely powerful Observation Haki. Even elite agents could not guarantee they would remain undetected.
Still, the risk had to be taken.
Spread across Arest's desk were intelligence reports about the Nightfall Pirates.
Their meteoric rise had already alarmed the World Government.
Plans targeting the Nightfall Pirates had begun.
And Arest was the man in charge.
He also possessed a hidden trump card.
Stephanie.
But Stephanie alone was not enough.
Her infiltration into the New World required years of preparation to avoid raising suspicion within the Nightfall Pirates.