Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

As Reina walked, he recounted his encounter with Blackbeard's crew and expressed his lingering concerns.

“That guy Teach… he’s been hiding in the New World all this time? Still trying to mess with us? Hmph, he’s no match for Dad!” Vista said, his face full of murderous intent.

“Don’t underestimate him! He must have been prepared a long time ago, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to suddenly recruit such crew members. The Replication Fruit isn’t so easy to obtain!” Reina shook his head and said.

“Understood, I will contact Sky Island immediately!” Vista nodded and replied.

On the other side, after receiving Vista's message, Skypiea immediately sent someone to relay the message to Whitebeard.

"Is that so? So... Reina has already returned to Crescent Moon Island? In that case, let's head back too!" Whitebeard chuckled after hearing the report.

"Hmph~ That guy Teach... he actually dares to scheme? It's infuriating!" King Gudo said with a disdainful look on his face.

"Hmph! In the end, this world is all about strength; schemes and tricks don't work!" Jozu, who rarely speaks, said at this moment.

"By the way, Dad, what else did Reina say when he came back? Since Teach dared to attack us, he must have some help! Otherwise, he alone... even if he had some schemes, he couldn't fight us!" Marco asked, squinting his eyes.

"Gurararara... I don't know!" the white-bearded man replied with a laugh.

"Ugh! This is a real headache..." Marco rubbed his head and said, "There are only a handful of pirate crews that can fight us! If you want to know... you can find out by doing some research!"

"Hmm... do you want to go, Marco?" Fossa asked Marco from the side.

Marco nodded and said, "Well, although my mobility isn't as good as Reina's, it's better than all of yours, so it's most suitable for me to go!"

"Then be careful!" Whitebeard nodded, acknowledging Marco's words.

“Hey... Dad, wait! Now that we know Teach is plotting against us, if Marco still acts alone, wouldn’t he be too easy to be tricked?” Captain Curiel of the Tenth Squad stepped forward to object.

“Curiel, strength is the only thing that determines everything!” Marco, who was already gathering his subordinates, said with a smile.

With Whitebeard's permission, Marco led his first combat squad away in another whale-headed sailing ship.

On Xuan Yue Island, a special "guest" arrived at this time.

“Perospero…what are you doing here?” Vista asked Charlotte Perospero, who was sticking out her tongue and pretending to be a gentleman, with a displeased expression.

"I've come here with sincerity, to clear up the misunderstanding between our two pirate crews! Lick lick..." Perospero said with a smile.

"You? If you want to quell our anger, have Charlotte Linlin come here in person!" Vista replied calmly.

"Hehehe... Call Mom over? To see you? Do you think you're qualified? Whitebeard isn't on Xuan Yue Island right now, is he? Let Reina come out. He should be very interested in the information I brought today! Lick lick..." Perospero seemed very familiar with the situation on Xuan Yue Island, and said with a strange laugh.

“It seems you know our situation very well!” Vista said, squinting.

“Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have come!” Perospero readily admitted.

"Hmph! Come with me!" Although Vista was a little annoyed, he couldn't really drive the other party away, so he had no choice but to take him to Xuan Yue Island.

When Perospero followed Vista into the main building's reception room, his expression turned rather grim.

Although Reina was sitting here waiting for him, the meeting room was just an ordinary meeting room, not the luxurious one at all.

Perospero, who had been to Xuan Yue Island before, naturally knew the difference.

"Oh, it's Perospero! What brings you here today?" Reina, who was sitting in the second seat, did not stand up when he saw Perospero enter, but asked with a smile.

He naturally saw the other person's expression and knew why the other person was acting this way.

Speaking of which, Perospero, as the envoy of the Big Mom Pirates, is qualified to go to that luxurious conference room, but since the two sides are currently in a state of hostility, Reina naturally won't go there.

"Hehehe... lick lick... I've come here for Teach's sake. I wonder if Lord Reina is interested?" Perospero adjusted his mindset slightly and said with a smile.

"Hahaha..." Upon hearing Perospero's words, Reina suddenly burst into laughter, then stood up and said to Perospero, "So it was you who had been cooperating with Teach all along! Perospero, if it weren't for the fact that we've had dealings before, and if it weren't for the fact that you're Sister Lingling's son, I would have made sure you didn't leave Xuan Yue Island today!"

As Reina spoke, he released his full aura, causing the Whitebeard Pirates members around him to take a few steps back. Perospero's expression also changed as he tried his best to resist Reina's aura.

"Hoo~" Perospero took a deep breath and said to Reina, "Now that I'm here, don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

"If I didn't want to hear what news you have to share, do you think you'd even be talking to me?" Reina slowly sat down, gradually withdrawing his imposing aura, and said.

“Alright, then I’ll be frank. Teach has indeed been hiding with us, but we don’t plan to continue cooperating with them now, so I can tell you all his information. However, in exchange, the matter between our two pirate crews needs to be settled! I wonder if Lord Reina can make that decision?” Perospero found a seat and said softly.

"Hehehe... You really have some clever ideas. You were thinking of cooperating with our traitor Teach to see if you could get any benefits from us! Now that you see that Teach is doomed, you want to betray his information in exchange for our forgiveness? From beginning to end, you've only taken the benefits without giving anything in return?" Reina said with a light laugh.

Perospero smiled noncommittally and said, "Intelligence is also a form of strength. Of course, we paid a price, you just don't know it! *licks*"

“Tell me, where is that guy Teach now? If you want our forgiveness, just giving us information won’t be enough. If you can bring Teach here tied up, then the feud between our two pirate crews can naturally be wiped clean!” Reina shook his head and said.

“Then we can’t possibly tell you about Teach’s information for free. In fact, with our information, you’ll have a much better chance of capturing Teach. The intelligence capabilities of our Big Mom Pirates… I believe Lord Reina has heard of them!” Perospero said with a hint of pride.

On this vast ocean, when it comes to intelligence gathering capabilities, the Big Mom Pirates are undoubtedly number one among pirates.

“Then tell me about your intelligence first!” Reina said after thinking for a moment.

So Perospero recounted all his previous collaborations with Teach and told Reina that Teach had personally gone to the first half of the Grand Line to check on the situation of his subordinates.

He wasn't afraid of Reiner going back on his word. At Reiner's level, face was extremely important. If he were to lose face over something so trivial, who would dare to cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates in the future?

After all, he represents not only himself, but also the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Hmph! That guy just ran away when he saw things were going wrong. How could he possibly check on his subordinates' situation!" Reina immediately knew Teach's plan after hearing that Teach had already headed back to the first half of the Grand Line.

"So you saw Teach retreating, so you planned to sell him off, right?" Reina asked, glancing at Perospero.

"Of course, after all, we have no reason to fight to the death with your Whitebeard Pirates, do we?" Perospero said with a light laugh.

"Alright, I can let bygones be bygones the attack on our Xuan Yue Island, but you have to return what you took from us. Also... don't mess with us again!" Reina's words were an agreement to reconcile with the Big Mom Pirates. After all, having more friends and fewer enemies would make things easier in the future.

Although the Big Mom Pirates aren't exactly friends yet, once they reconcile, they won't be enemies anymore.

"Back then, you took even more treasure from our Kingdom of Worlds, and we didn't ask you to give it back!" Perospero's face was quite unpleasant. Back then, Reina tricked them and robbed a lot of treasure from the islands on the border of the Kingdom of Worlds.

"Since you're unwilling... then let's return to a state of hostility!" Reina said nonchalantly.

Chapter 209 Robin's Expectations

"Reina, what do we do now? Should we go to the first half of the Grand Line?" Vista asked after Perospero left.

“Although I really want to leave now, Teach probably didn’t go there!” Reina thought for a moment and said, “He probably guessed that the Big Mom Pirates had ill intentions towards him, which is why he left in a hurry!”

"So the intelligence sent by the Big Mom Pirates was useless?" Vista asked, frowning.

“No, at least let us know that Teach can’t do anything to us on his own right now, otherwise he wouldn’t have sought cooperation with the Big Mom Pirates! Let’s wait until Big Brother comes back!” Reina shook his head and said.

A few days later, the Moby Dick docked in the bay of Crescent Moon Island, and Whitebeard returned with his crew, bringing the island back to life.

"So that means he's disappeared now?" Whitebeard pondered for a moment after hearing Reiner's report and said.

“That’s right, so Marco can come back!” Reina nodded and said.

"Yes! Send someone to contact Marco and tell him to come back!" Whitebeard nodded and said.

But before Reyner and Whitebeard could finish their conversation, a crew member ran up to Whitebeard and said, "Father, we just contacted Captain Marco. Apparently, he learned from the Big Mom Pirates that Teach is heading to the first half of the Grand Line, so he's going with him!"

“This guy…” Reina was speechless. He didn’t expect Marco to run over there too. This was clearly a clue that Teach deliberately left behind, just to make them run around for nothing.

However, Teach probably won't set a trap there, because he's running out of time and doesn't have any strong helpers. So this is just buying him time to escape. Marco's safety isn't a concern.

"Gurararara... It's good to go. Even if Marco faces Teach now, there's no need to worry! The children have all grown up! On the other hand, the island's defense system... needs to be put on the agenda!" Whitebeard said with a hearty laugh.

"Don't worry, brother. I'll go out and buy the necessary supplies right away. When I get back, I'll start building the defense system. However, weapons are still a big problem. If all else fails, we'll have to buy a large number of weapons from underground!" Reina nodded and said.

"Hmm, this haul is pretty good. Go check the warehouse yourself and see if there's anything you can use! Sachi, pass on the word that there's a banquet tonight!" After giving Reina his instructions, Whitebeard left him to his own devices. In any case, Reina managed the entire crew's daily affairs, except for battles, so he trusted him completely.

"Big brother..."

Upon hearing that Whitebeard wanted to hold another banquet, Reina was about to advise him to drink less, but Whitebeard raised his hand to indicate the bracelet on his wrist, and Reina stopped talking.

This was a secret known only to the two of them, because Reina had put pure gold inside the bracelet to slow down Whitebeard's aging process.

"Ginya, please take good care of my brother here!" After leaving the conference room, Reina found Ginya, Whitebeard's head maid, and asked her to take good care of Whitebeard's health.

"Don't worry, Lord Reina, I will take good care of my father!" Genia said with a smile.

As an orphan, she genuinely regarded Whitebeard as her father, so even if Whitebeard didn't like her requests, he wouldn't object.

On the other hand, there's the dream city of the desert superpower Alabasta – Rainland.

"Hehehe... I didn't expect there to be another space beneath the casino!" Nico Robin followed a waiter and arrived at the secret space located beneath the casino's "Rain Banquet".

"Guhahaha... Welcome... Nico Robin!" Crocodile, sitting in the main seat, greeted Robin with a smile as she entered.

“Oh…you know me?” Robin asked, looking surprised.

“Of course… the remnant demon of Ohara possesses the ability to decipher ancient texts. The only person in the world who can unlock the secrets that could destroy the world, the demon child… Nico Robin!” Crocodile said with a smile.

Robin stared blankly at Crocodile before her and asked, "Who are you?"

“Me? Crocodile!” Crocodile replied confidently.

"You're the Desert King Crocodile, with a bounty of 8100 million Berries? What's your purpose?" Robin was taken aback. She wasn't a newcomer who had just arrived on the Grand Line anymore; she understood the significance of the name Crocodile.

“You don’t need to know my purpose, just help me translate the ancient texts!” Crocodile said with a light laugh, a cigar dangling from his lips.

"And what will I get in return?" Robin asked softly.

"It's simple, I can protect your safety!"

"That's not enough, I want to see Whitebeard or Reina!" Robin said, a thought flashing through her mind.

"Huh? Whitebeard and Akame Reyner? What do you want to see them for?" Crocodile was taken aback, the names bringing back some rather unpleasant memories.

“You don’t need to know that. I just want to ask, can you do it? If you can… then after I see any one of them, I will unconditionally obey your orders!” Robin shook his head and said.

"What is your relationship with them?" Crocodile sensed something unusual and asked.

"Relationship? No, I have no relationship with them. If you insist on saying there is one... you'll find out when I meet them!" Robin was startled, realizing he had been a bit too hasty, so his expression showed a hint of hatred.

Sure enough, Crocodile relaxed upon seeing Robin's expression and said, "Don't be silly. If you're looking for revenge... the moment you make a move, you'll be dead! I don't want to lose you before I've even cracked the secret!"

"Phew~ Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless. I just want to find them and find out what happened back then. I won't do anything reckless!" Robin shook his head and said.

“Okay! If that’s all, I can agree to your request, but not right now. You’ll need to work for me for a while and prove your abilities!” Crocodile replied after thinking for a moment.

“Okay! But let me make this clear first, if the government finds out I’m here, you’ll be in big trouble!” Robin nodded and said.

He sensed a possibility from Crocodile, which is why he said that.

"Hahaha... Don't worry about those things here!" Crocodile said with a loud laugh.

So, Robin began working officially under Crocodile's command, and her talents were quickly recognized by Crocodile.

Meanwhile, Marco, who came from the New World, had just arrived in the waters surrounding Alabasta.

“Captain, according to the information from Dad, the first mate fought the enemy on a small island near Alabasta, and the Navy under his command was the 41st Division,” a crew member said to Marco.