Chapter 49: The Lonely Gambler & The Flight Above the Clouds
New World, The Moby Dick.
The feast was in full swing. The sake flowed like a river, and the meat piled up like mountains. The air was filled with the boisterous laughter of pirates celebrating the chaos of the new era.
But one man sat apart from the revelry.
Marshall D. Teach, known to his crewmates as Blackbeard, sat alone on a wooden crate near the stern. His rough, calloused fingers repeatedly traced the edges of the newspaper in his hand.
Two young faces stared back at him from the crinkled page.
One was "Vermillion Bird" Suzaku, smiling brazenly on the front page, surrounded by fire and ice.
The other, tucked in the corner but no less significant, was "Fire Fist" Ace, his eyes resolute and burning with ambition.
The sea breeze carried the scent of salt and roasted meat, blowing through Teach's greasy black hair. But it could not disperse the heavy gloom settling in his heart.
"Zehahaha..."
He let out his habitual laugh, but this time, it lacked its usual jovial resonance. It sounded hollow. Bitter.
For more than twenty years, he had been an ordinary, unremarkable sailor on Whitebeard's ship. He had hidden his strength. He had hidden his ambition. He had hidden his true name—the "D".
He spent every day scrubbing the deck, coiling ropes, drinking cheap grog, and playing cards with comrades he secretly viewed as stepping stones. He listened to them talk about family, about loyalty, about dreams he couldn't care less about.
All for one purpose.
He was waiting for an ethereal legend—the Dark-Dark Fruit (Yami Yami no Mi). The fruit rumored to possess the power to destroy the world. The fruit that chose its user.
"Is it worth it?"
The voice echoed in his heart, insidious and cold.
He looked at Suzaku's bounty poster again.
[830,000,000 Berries]
A newcomer. A kid who had just set sail. Yet, in a single appearance, he had reached a height that many veteran pirates could never achieve in a lifetime. He had challenged the world and won.
And then there was Ace. Young, talented, loved by everyone. He had already defeated a Shichibukai. He was rising like a comet, blazing a trail across the Grand Line.
"And what about me?" Teach muttered, rubbing his round stomach.
He recalled the decades spent under Whitebeard's flag. At every feast, every battle, every time the old man called him "son"... he played the role of the foolish, gluttonous Teach. The Teach who had no ambition. The Teach who was content to be a nobody.
"Zehahaha..." He laughed again, this time with sharp self-mockery.
Over twenty years. How many twenty-year periods does a man have in his life?
He had wasted his prime on one ship, gambling everything on a fruit that might never appear. What if Thatch found it? What if it was already eaten by someone else? What if it was just a myth?
Laughter drifted over from the center of the deck.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's hearty laugh was like thunder. It was a sound Teach had heard for decades, as familiar as his own heartbeat. But right now, that familiarity felt like a shackle. It felt like a cage.
"Teach! Come drink!" Thatch called out from a distance, waving a tankard. "Stop brooding over the news! The meat is getting cold!"
Teach's expression shifted instantly. The gloom vanished, replaced by a wide, gap-toothed grin.
"Coming, coming! Zehahaha! Save me the good cuts!"
As he stood up, his gaze swept over Suzaku's face one last time.
That Fruit... did it really exist?
Even if it did, was it truly worth sacrificing my entire life to wait for it? These kids are overtaking me.
Confusion enveloped him like a thick fog. Doubt gnawed at his resolve.
But then, a stubborn, terrifying light rekindled in his small, dark eyes.
"No..." he muttered, his fist clenching so hard his nails dug into his palm. "Since I've waited this long... I can't give up halfway. I've come too far to turn back now."
"This is a massive gamble! I am gambling my life on destiny!"
He strode toward his laughing crewmates, his smile honest and warm on the surface. But deep in his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his soul, was a desperate anxiety.
That legendary Fruit was like a carrot dangling before a donkey. It had led him for twenty years. Giving up now would mean that his entire existence had been a joke.
He could not accept that outcome. He would rather die.
"Zehahaha! We drink until we drop today, Thatch!"
He took the barrel of sake offered by the Commander of the 4th Division and drank deeply, sake spilling down his beard. It tasted bitter.
As the News Coos flew to every corner of the world, the name "Suzaku" spread like wildfire. From the East Blue to the New World, from Marineford to the territories of the Yonko, the world was waking up to a new reality.
The gears were turning. And Marshall D. Teach was running out of time.
Above the Grand Line. The Vermillion Wing.
Beneath the vast, azure sky, the pirate ship drifted leisurely through an endless sea of clouds. It looked like a small boat navigating a white ocean.
Sunlight filtered through the thin mist, casting dappled light and shadow onto the deck. The air was thin, crisp, and pure.
"This is incredible!"
Nami leaned dangerously over the ship's rail, reaching out her hand. Her fingers brushed against the fluffy white vapor.
"So this is what it feels like to touch the sky! These clouds feel like cotton candy!"
She stretched her arms wide, embracing the wind. The fear from the battle below had faded, replaced by the sheer wonder of flight. She turned and hugged Rem, who was standing silently by the railing.
"Thank you, Rem! I never imagined we could sail through the clouds! It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"
"Nami-sama..."
Rem stiffened, flustered by the sudden affection. Her cheeks flushed pink.
"Please let go of Rem... this is quite troubling... Rem is not used to hugs..."
On the main deck, the scene was one of industrious activity.
The rescued civilians—men, women, and children—were busy under Kiyo's gentle guidance. They were scrubbing the deck, coiling ropes, and polishing the brass fittings.
Although their movements were unskilled, their faces were serious and focused. They weren't doing it because they were ordered to. They were doing it because they wanted to contribute. They wanted to earn their keep on the ship that saved them.
Rem gently extricated herself from Nami and frowned. "They should rest. They have been through trauma."
She was about to intervene, but a hand stopped her.
Suzaku was leaning against the cabin doorway, watching the scene with a gentle smile.
"Let them help, Rem."
He walked over to her, his voice soft.
"For people who have been helpless for so long... being able to do something, anything, makes them feel human again. It gives them security. They need to feel useful, not like burdens."
He gestured to the kitchen.
"You prepare delicious meals for everyone. Let them help clean up. Isn't that fair?"
Rem blinked, processing his words. She looked at the civilians. She saw a mother smiling as she wiped a window. She saw a father teaching his son how to tie a knot.
"Rem understands," she nodded thoughtfully. "Suzaku-sama is wise."
"Oh, Rem," Suzaku said, his tone shifting to business. "How is your mastery of the Float-Float Fruit coming along?"
He looked at the clouds passing by.
"Can you reach the level of the Golden Lion? Can you control multiple islands simultaneously?"
Rem's expression fell. She looked down at her hands.
"Rem cannot control that many islands yet... controlling the ship and maybe a few smaller rocks is my limit for now."
She bowed her head.
"Rem is sorry, Suzaku-sama. Rem has disappointed you. You even had to rescue Rem from the Admiral earlier... Rem truly is useless..."
"Don't say that."
Suzaku placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
"How long has it been since you ate the Fruit? A week? Two?"
He lifted her chin so she had to look at him.
"Your progress is astonishing. Besides, that was an Admiral. Aokiji is one of the strongest men in the world. It's normal not to be able to defeat him yet."
He smiled encouragingly.
"You knocked a Vice Admiral into the sea with one hit. You saved Kiyo. You flew the ship to safety. Without you, we would all be frozen statues right now. You are already very impressive, Rem."
He looked deep into her single visible eye.
"Besides... don't you still have me? You are my person. My family. I will always protect you, just as you protect me."
Rem's heart skipped a beat.
"Suzaku-sama's... person?"
She looked at him with wide, shimmering eyes.
"Is Rem the same as Albedo-sama? Does Suzaku-sama see Rem in that way?"
"Of course." Suzaku laughed heartily, misunderstanding the depth of her question. "You are all my most important companions! You, Albedo, Nami... you are my crew!"
Just then, a holographic panel flickered in Suzaku's vision.
[System Notification]
[Legend Points Acquired: +50,000]
[Reason: Worldwide Fame Achieved]
"Oh?" Suzaku's eyes lit up. "It seems the newspapers have landed."
He nodded to Rem. "I'm going back to my room for a moment to check something. I'll leave the deck to you."
"Yes, Suzaku-sama!"
Rem watched Suzaku's retreating figure until the door closed behind him. She unconsciously touched her flushed cheek, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
"The same as Albedo-sama..." she murmured to herself.
Her mind drifted to the way Albedo always spoke about "serving" the Supreme Being.
"Serving Suzaku-sama... Does that mean Rem also needs to..."
She blushed a deep crimson, steam practically rising from her head.
"...Does Rem also need to have a few babies?"
The image of small, blue-haired children with Suzaku's eyes running around the deck filled her mind. Her gaze grew soft, filled with a longing she hadn't dared to acknowledge before.
"Rem will do her best," she whispered to the clouds.
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