Chapter 9: Group Quest — Unlocked
From Whitebeard's chat messages, the picture became painfully clear. The One Piece timeline he was currently living through placed him right at the moment when "Blackbeard" — Marshall D. Teach — had murdered Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander, to steal the Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit.
After the murder, Teach would flee with the fruit in hand.
And that single act of betrayal was the spark that would ignite a chain of catastrophes — ultimately serving as the fuse for the War of Marineford.
Because after Teach's escape, Portgas D. Ace — the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and the man destined to die at Marineford — would set out alone to hunt Blackbeard down.
And the unthinkable would happen. Ace would be defeated by Blackbeard.
Teach would then use Ace's capture as a bargaining chip to secure a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And he'd succeed. Smoothly, effortlessly joining their ranks.
What followed was the legendary War of Marineford — the first full-scale, head-on collision between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marine Headquarters in history.
In the end, Edward Newgate — captain of the Whitebeard Pirates — would fall in battle.
And Blackbeard would steal his Devil Fruit power from his corpse.
Recalling the broad strokes of One Piece's storyline, Ryū understood the gravity of the situation. This wasn't some abstract plot point anymore — it directly concerned the life of a member of the Dimensional Chat Group.
No matter what, Whitebeard was one of them.
And no matter what — Ryū was not going to let a group member die to a predetermined plot.
RawrSoFierce:
"I think I've got the picture. Blackbeard killed one of your sons to steal the Dark-Dark Fruit, then fled. @Edward Newgate — that's what happened, right?"
Edward Newgate:
"Yes. I never imagined Teach would actually… *sigh.*"
Edward Newgate:
"If he truly wanted the Dark-Dark Fruit that badly, all he had to do was ask. I'm his old man — was I really going to say no?"
RawrSoFierce:
"One more thing — that kid on your ship called 'Ace.' Has he gone after Blackbeard on his own yet?"
Edward Newgate:
"No, not yet. But the boy is drowning in guilt right now."
RawrSoFierce:
"Good — that's a relief. Because if Ace goes after Blackbeard alone, then in the not-too-distant future, you — the Strongest Man in the World — will die at Marine Headquarters. And Ace, your sworn son, will die with you."
Kaguya-sama:
"!!!"
The Little Wandering Planet:
"!!!"
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"!!!"
The instant the word "die" appeared in Ryū's message, the entire chat fell silent.
Anyone old enough to understand the world knew exactly what that word meant.
In the near future, Whitebeard was going to die?
Because of a man named Marshall D. Teach?
The news was staggering. Incomprehensible.
They'd all known each other for less than a day. But somehow — maybe because fate had drawn them together in this chat group — the members had already bonded as if they'd been friends for years. Half a day of chatting, and they were already bantering like old companions.
And now the Admin was telling them that one of those companions was going to die.
How could that not be terrifying?
For Kaguya Shinomiya especially — a girl from a slice-of-life world — the concepts of killing and death were things that existed at an almost abstract distance from her everyday reality.
But now, death felt impossibly, suffocatingly close.
A strange, oppressive weight settled over the entire chat group.
Silence.
Whitebeard — the man at the center of it all — said nothing.
Somewhere on the azure waters of the One Piece world, the old pirate looked at the sons who had gathered around him on deck.
Then at Ace, whose face was twisted with self-blame.
A cold, sharp fury flashed through Whitebeard's eyes. Blackbeard had shattered every last shred of trust between them. The man had murdered Thatch — and if the Admin's words were to be believed, he'd been planning to take Ace's life too.
Whitebeard didn't place much value on his own life. He was in his seventies. He'd lived long enough.
But if he hadn't joined the Dimensional Chat Group… Ace would have almost certainly done exactly what the Admin described. The boy would have chased Blackbeard alone, been captured, and delivered to Marine Headquarters.
And that would have triggered a war that shook the entire world.
A war where both Ace and Whitebeard would die.
Marshall D. Teach. Blackbeard. What a fine Blackbeard indeed.
Whitebeard's gaze drifted to Thatch's body, laid out on the deck in solemn stillness.
He didn't say a word. Even as their captain, he didn't know what to say in a moment like this.
The silence was suffocating.
Kaguya-sama:
"Um… Admin-dono, since you know Newgate-san's future, you must have some way to deal with this situation, right?"
RawrSoFierce:
"As long as Ace doesn't chase Blackbeard — or at least doesn't go alone — then in theory, the War of Marineford shouldn't happen."
RawrSoFierce:
"If Blackbeard killing Thatch was the fuse, then Ace getting captured is the bomb. Cut the fuse, defuse the bomb."
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden:
"If only we had enough Points… if a real war breaks out, this one could transfer over and lend a hand."
Kaguya-sama:
"I'm just a girl from a normal world… at a time like this, I feel so powerless…"
Edward Newgate:
"It's alright, little Kaguya. The thought is what counts. @RawrSoFierce — thank you, Admin. If you hadn't warned us, Ace would have walked right into Teach's trap."
Whitebeard's gratitude toward Ryū was genuine. It may have been just a few lines of text in a chat window, but to Whitebeard, those words had saved Ace's life.
And his own worthless old life along with it.
Edward Newgate:
"@Kaguya-sama @The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden @The Little Wandering Planet — thank you all for your concern as well. Don't worry. Now that I know what the future holds, I won't be dying at the hands of a traitor like Teach."
[System Notification: Due to a special event occurring in group member Edward Newgate's world, the Dimensional Chat Group has successfully triggered the "Group Quest" function! The "Group Quest" function is now unlocked!
When undertaking a Group Quest, Dimensional Transfer does not require Points — however, the number of participants is limited.
For full details, tap here → [Link]]
A pop-up notification materialized over the chat interface, immediately seizing Ryū's attention.
But the other members were still chatting away, seemingly oblivious.
Which meant the System Notification was only visible to him — the Admin.
"A Group Quest function… a newly unlocked feature, huh? Looks like something has happened in Whitebeard's world that even I — with my knowledge of the storyline — didn't anticipate."
Ryū tapped into the "Group Quest" section. Sure enough, a quest was already waiting.
And when he read its contents, even he froze.
"This quest… heh. Now things just got interesting."