"The Beria Brothers are really lucky. Despite being severely injured, they managed to drift across the sea and were found by Captain Marco."
Teach grinned as he handed over half a cherry pie. "Want some? It's really delicious! I don't usually share with others, but I feel like I really hit it off with you, Beria Brothers."
Griffin took the cherry pie. Its bright red appearance looked sickeningly sweet.
Under Teach's expectant gaze, he finished the half slice in two bites.
Perhaps due to the immense mental strain caused by the Sharingan, he particularly enjoyed eating sweets that could quickly replenish his energy. Especially today after waking up, he had consumed an enormous amount of food.
This led to Marco constantly nagging him to pay for his meals.
...
"Hahaha, it's delicious, right? Cherry pie!"
Griffin nodded. "The flavor is good."
"Hehe, it seems we get along really well!"
Teach simply sat down by the railing where Griffin was leaning, looking up at the starry sky. "Young Beria, as a sea merchant, which seas have you traveled through?"
"What do you sell? I've heard that slave traders make the most money!"
Griffin lit a cigarette he was holding and slowly said, "Dealing in slaves requires finding buyers, which is quite troublesome. Actually, arms dealing is more profitable. I sell weapons to the Marines."
...
"An arms dealer? No wonder..."
Teach handed over a bottle of wine, laughing. "You do have an aura about you that's not like an ordinary merchant. But... if you do business with the Marines, are you affiliated with them?"
"Not really. It's just that the Marines' orders are the most stable. Occasionally, I take orders from pirates too."
Griffin shook his head helplessly. "This time, I got played. That pirate crew pulled a double-cross on me. My crew suffered heavy losses, and even I... sigh..."
...
"That's too much! Even in the pirate world, there should be principles. How can they attack their business partners!" Teach slammed the deck angrily. "Tell me which pirate crew it was. I'll ask the old man to teach them a lesson and get justice for you!"
...
...
Griffin silently glanced at Teach.
Principles...
Saying something like that is no different from me claiming I don't care about money.
"No need. Every time I trade weapons, I hide time bombs inside them. If they don't pay, the timers won't stop. They've all been blown up."
Teach shuddered, baring his teeth. "Tsk... as expected of an arms dealer. You're truly ruthless!"
...
Griffin took a deep drag of his cigarette and sighed. "In this world, if you're not ruthless, you can't survive..."
He was currently enriching his cover story.
Simply being an ordinary sea merchant couldn't explain why he was so severely injured or his physique that far exceeded normal people's.
An arms dealer is still a merchant. Adding a double-cross scenario makes the story more complete.
As for whether it could fool others, he could only leave it to fate.
Griffin wasn't trained in acting. If his Marine identity was exposed, at worst, he'd just fight his way out.
As long as he revealed his identity, Whitebeard most likely wouldn't risk starting a war with the Marines just to keep him.
He didn't need a 'Marineford War' to prove himself.
...
...
After a few casual exchanges, Teach suddenly asked, "Hey... Brother Beria, since it was pirates who harmed you like this, and we're also pirates, don't you hate us?"
He had seen many people who, after being hurt by pirates, came to hate all pirates.
Griffin gave a faint smile. "Brother Teach, what do you think a pirate is?"
Teach was taken aback, then burst into loud laughter. "Hahahaha, why even ask such a simple question? Of course, they're free people who roam the seas and plunder as they please!"
"Is that so? Then do the Whitebeard Pirates engage in plunder?" Griffin asked.
...
Teach stroked his chin, pausing for a moment before saying, "Pops doesn't rob civilians or ordinary ships. In fact, he protects many islands from pirate raids."
"We capture notorious pirates and exchange them with the World Government for bounties through bounty hunters. Besides that, there's the protection money collected from our territories."
...
"Then do you consider that plunder?" Griffin pressed.
Teach scratched his head and grinned. "Not sure, probably yes?"
Griffin nodded. "Of course it is, but it's a more sophisticated form of plunder—sustainable plundering."
"When an organization grows to a certain scale, like the Whitebeard Pirates, Charlotte Linlin's Big Mom Pirates, Kaido's Beasts Pirates... simply relying on robbery can no longer sustain such a massive operation. They need to occupy territories and manage long-term revenue streams."
"Brother Teach, what does this remind you of?"
...
Teach furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Suddenly, his expression changed.
"It's like... the World Government!"
Griffin nodded gently and continued, "Exactly. The World Government operates on the same model as you do."
"The World Government is the upper echelon of pirates, the Marines are their combatants, the over two hundred Member Nations are their territories, and the Celestial Tribute is their protection money..."
"The so-called World Government is just another name for the world's strongest pirate crew."
Griffin looked at Teach with a smile. "So... why should I hate pirates? Everyone in this world survives by seizing resources from others."
...
...
Teach's eyes widened more and more. He had never heard such arguments before, nor had he ever equated the World Government with pirates.
"This... this... this is truly..."
"Treasonous talk!!"
Griffin exhaled a puff of smoke. "Ha, don't go reporting me to the World Government now~"
He had never spoken these words to anyone else. The reason he shared them with Blackbeard...
was probably because of recognition.
...
Blackbeard was an evil man—that was undeniable.
He betrayed Whitebeard, who had cared for him for decades, even personally delivering the killing blow. When his goals were at stake, he wouldn't hesitate to turn on his comrades.
But before that, he had genuinely intended to spend the rest of his life on Whitebeard's ship if he couldn't find the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Decades of endurance, gambling his future on something with uncertain outcomes—his resilience was unimaginable.
Griffin admitted he couldn't do the same.
...
Griffin detested Teach, but that didn't stop him from recognizing Teach's qualities.
Compared to that "Chosen One" still back in Windmill Village, Griffin would rather have Teach as his rival.
Only someone sufficiently cruel and vicious, who would stop at nothing, would make killing them truly satisfying!
...
...
"Hahahaha! How could I? I really like you, Brother Beria!"
Teach raised his wine bottle: "To the greatest Pirate Crew!"
Clink—
Griffin clinked glasses by the bottle neck: "To the World Government."
——
——
——
East Blue, Loguetown.
The smoke in Smoker's room was so thick one could barely see, dense enough that opening a window slightly would make people mistake it for a fire.
Creak—
"Cough, cough, cough..." The Marine who pushed the door open choked on the smoke, inhaling a massive amount of secondhand smoke in one breath.
"Colonel Smoker... cough, cough, cough..."
Smoker turned his head, his eyes bloodshot, looking as though he hadn't slept for days.
His voice was hoarse: "Has headquarters sent anyone yet?"
The Marine waved away the smoke in front of him and shook his head: "The higher-ups said Loguetown is too important, and they haven't found a suitable replacement to guard it in your stead. They asked you to wait two more days."
Bang—
Smoker picked up the jitte on the table, stood up, and walked past the Marine: "Tell them I've already waited two days—that's more than enough face for those pieces of shit."
"Prepare a ship. I'm heading to the New World!"
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