Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"What? A traitor? That can't be right, can it? Just because Ace's identity was leaked, we're the ones with the problem? That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Marco frowned and said.

Ace remained silent. He had fought with Teach before, and Teach recognized him because he had reported the information to Reina. So he didn't know which side to take.

He shared Marco's thoughts, somewhat unwilling and reluctant to believe Reina's speculation.

“Of course, I’m not saying there’s a traitor among the captains. Just like I said, the information might not have been leaked from our side, but the chances of that are extremely small! That’s why I made this arrangement, which can both eliminate the traitor and avoid hurting everyone’s feelings!” Reina nodded and said.

"But how do you know that just a Logia-type Devil Fruit shouldn't be enough to lure Teach here? Oh... so that's why you spread the news about the One Piece?" Marco said, feigning sudden realization, then shook his head and said:

"That's not right! Only you and Dad know this information, we don't! What are you planning to do?"

“This fruit is called the Dark-Dark Fruit, and it’s a fruit that Teach is determined to get! Even among Logia-type fruits, it’s quite unique! So I’m sure that as long as he gets the news, he’ll definitely come back. And to make him think he has an opportunity, I specifically held the auction in Golden City. Otherwise, if it were held on Crescent Moon Island, I doubt he would have the guts!” Reina said with a smile.

"As for the news about the so-called One Piece... it's just to add some excitement to the auction and delay Teach so he doesn't take the item and run away!"

“I see…” Marco and Ace nodded in sudden realization.

Chapter 322 Chess Match

“But now… because the captain is off guard, Teach probably already knows that we’re using Devil Fruits to lure him, right?” Marco said, scratching his head after hearing Reina’s explanation.

“That’s right, the fruits you’ve obtained are all fake. The real Dark-Dark Fruit has always been in my hands. If no problems arise by tomorrow, then I’m almost 80% certain that Teach already knows I’m setting a trap!” Reina nodded and said.

"So what do we do now?" Ace asked anxiously.

He had just accidentally told Marco that he possessed the Dark-Dark Fruit, and he believed that if Marco used this trick, he could fool almost everyone.

Firstly, no one suspected their companion of having any problems, so they wouldn't be on guard against this level of information leak. Secondly, the other party was caught off guard and it was too easy for them to obtain this information.

“There must be a way to salvage this, right? For example, you could collect all the fruit later and then distribute it all over again?” Marco suggested.

“No, this level of feint can’t possibly fool the opponent!” Reina shook his head and said.

"But...but I still don't believe it...how could anyone betray Dad!" Ace shook his head, unable to accept it, and said.

“We have a lot of manpower now, and no one can guarantee that there won’t be any people with ulterior motives trying to sneak in. This is even after we haven’t recruited many people in the past few years. If there are any spies, they are basically from the pirate crews under our command!” Reina said with a wry smile.

He had discussed this issue with Whitebeard before, but Whitebeard didn't take it seriously at all.

"So...it's very likely that we were tricked into revealing information without our knowledge?" Marco asked, frowning.

“Very likely!” Reina nodded and said.

Faced with this result, Ace finally felt a little better. If a captain-level comrade had really betrayed them, it would have been a huge blow to the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Then why don't you just say so? If you ask... you should be able to find out who accidentally leaked it, right?" Ace asked, sounding somewhat naive.

"First of all, we can't completely rule out the possibility of spies. If we say it directly, we'll alert them, and it will also be a blow to our morale. You must have felt very uncomfortable when you heard this news, right? If I say this without any evidence, wouldn't I be hurting everyone's feelings?"

"And it's very likely that someone leaked it while drunk, and they don't even remember it themselves. What can we do then?" Reina shook his head and said.

When Ace thought about how he felt when he first heard the news, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

He was filled with admiration for Reina's thoughtfulness.

"So what? What should we do now?" Marco asked, starting to get impatient.

“Don’t worry… let me think. I didn’t expect it to be like this either. It was my mistake!” Reina shook his head and said.

So Ace and Marco quieted down and didn't disturb Reina's thoughts.

"If I were Teach... what would I do?" Reina closed his eyes and thought carefully.

"If he discovers this trap... he'll likely abandon the plan, but he won't give up the Dark-Dark Fruit... so he'll probably make his move after the auction, either buying the Dark-Dark Fruit directly or following the buyer and double-crossing them! The advantage of doing this is that he can still glean some information about the final One Piece..."

With his eyes closed, Reina began to talk to himself, but neither Ace nor Marco disturbed him; instead, they listened to his analysis.

"So under what circumstances would I intervene? First, I need to be 100% certain of the Dark-Dark Fruit's authenticity! Second, I need to ensure my own safety and have enough time to retreat!" Reina opened his eyes and said directly, "Then I must create those conditions for him!"

"Isn't that too risky? Wouldn't it be safer to just wait until the auction, have someone buy the Dark-Dark Fruit, and then wait for Teach to make his move?" Marco said when he saw that Reina had opened his eyes.

“That’s certainly safer, but… the matter of the traitor will just be left unresolved! If this matter isn’t dealt with properly, it might be detrimental to our future!” Reina shook his head and said.

"But if we deal with Teach, then the problem of the traitor will be solved, right?" Ace asked, puzzled.

“If that person can betray us once, they can betray us a second time… so if we don’t find them, they will always be a hidden danger!” Reina shook his head and said.

"So what are your plans?" Marco asked directly.

“Tomorrow morning, I will use Tesoro’s request as an excuse to take back all the fake Devil Fruits, and then take out the real ones and have them appraised by Tesoro’s appraiser in front of you! After that, I will store all the treasures, including the Dark-Dark Fruit, in Tesoro’s warehouse, and the captains will take turns guarding them!” Reina stroked his chin and said.

“What if the mole isn’t the captain?” Ace asked.

“Even if it’s not the captain, it must be someone closely related to him. After receiving the news, they will definitely choose the time when the captain is guarding the gate, trick the guardian, and then steal the Dark-Dark Fruit!” Reina said with a smile. “At that time, his identity will be exposed! Our goal is just to confirm the other party’s identity. As long as we find the traitor, Teach will have no chance of escaping in this Golden City!”

“I see… In that case… I suggest that the two captains be paired up, and their time slots be staggered. Each captain will be on duty for two hours, but one of them will be on duty with the previous captain for the first hour and with the other captain for the second hour! As for how to form the teams, that will be decided by drawing lots, and it will not be announced to the public. Everyone will only know their own duty time, which will be safer!” Marco said after thinking for a moment.

Reina glanced at Marco and said, "Okay!"

"It seems so complicated!" Naive Ace didn't notice anything from Marco's suggestion, but Reina was different; he understood why Marco did it.

In fact, Marco had begun to suspect the captain, which is why he made this suggestion. This would make things more realistic, and staggering the timing would also protect the captains who weren't spies, because you have no idea who will be guarding the treasure with you.

This makes it much more difficult for Blackbeard to take action.

That evening, Blackbeard, having received the intelligence, indeed did not take the fake Dark-Dark Fruit. Just as Reina had guessed, he planned to make his move after the auction. Although that might fall into Reina's trap, with an inside man, he could still catch them off guard.

The next morning, Reina announced that he would retrieve the treasure and hand it over to the Golden City for safekeeping.

"To ensure the safety of the treasure, captains, come up and draw lots! The lot shows your assigned time to guard the treasure. Just go to the entrance of the Golden City warehouse according to the assigned time! After today, the auction will be tomorrow!" Reina said with a smile.

The captains did not refuse. Even the Golden Emperor Tesoro could not give an answer as to how many forces were lurking in the Golden City.

Because of the information about the One Piece, countless pirates and people from various forces have come over in the past three days. Therefore, Tesoro's security personnel alone are basically not enough to protect the treasure vault. This is only because the information about the One Piece is not here. Otherwise, Reina would probably have to personally join the defense list.

The day before the auction began, at noon, Blackbeard Teach returned to the same room, where a man in black was waiting for him in the shadows.

"What intelligence do you have? Why did you call me over in such a hurry?" Teach plopped down opposite the man in black and asked.

“Yes! Reina has collected all the treasures and stored them in Tesoro’s treasury. Before storing them, an appraiser examined the authenticity of the Dark-Dark Fruit, and the appraiser has already recognized that the fruit is indeed the Dark-Dark Fruit!” the man in black said calmly.

"Hahaha... It seems... he's realized I've seen through his plan! As expected of Reina, he's not so easy to deal with! So, have you figured out the location of the vault and the guards?" Teach said with a loud laugh.

Now Ia has gone from being secretive to being explicit, clearly telling Teach that what you want is right here, and it's up to you to see if you have the ability to take it!

"The captains draw lots to allocate their defense time. My time is from 3 PM to 5 PM! And because the captains' times are kept secret, I don't know when the other captains hand over their shifts! This is a map of the treasure vault!" The man in black handed a slip of paper to Teach and said softly.

“I understand. Get ready! Just act according to the situation. Once we succeed, we’ll leave immediately!” Teach made the decision immediately after looking at the map in his hand.

"Aren't we going to wait for the auction? This is obviously a trap set by Reina!" the man in black asked, somewhat surprised.

“We can’t wait any longer. This is the best opportunity. Because Reina is unsure of your identity, he made this arrangement, and this… is our chance!” Teach shook his head and said.

The man in black nodded, got up and left. Not long after he left, another man in black came in.

"What is it?" the man in black asked after sitting down.

"Do you know about the Dark-Dark Fruit being stored in the treasure vault?" Teach asked directly, getting straight to the point.

“I’ve heard about it, but only the captains know the specifics. I don’t know anything about it. Moreover, it seems that the captains received a warning from Reina and haven’t mentioned a word about this mission!” The man in black shook his head and said.

"What about Dad? Any movement?" Teach asked after thinking for a moment.

“No, my father just wanders around Golden City every day like us!” the man in black said, shaking his head.

“Okay, here’s the location and map of the treasure vault. Make a note of it, and then head to the treasure vault around three o’clock to see which captain is stationed there!” Teach handed the slip of paper he had just received to the man in black and said.

After carefully reading the note, the man in black returned it to Teach, saying, "Okay, I'll mark the corner later, and we won't meet again. It's too dangerous right now!"

"Hahaha... Don't worry, after this, whether we succeed or not, you and we will have nothing to do with each other anymore... From now on, you will be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, and I will be the captain of the Blackbeard Pirates! All our past favors will be wiped clean!" Teach said with a loud laugh.

Upon hearing this, the man in black immediately got up and left.

“Rainer, let’s see… whether you’re the better player or I am! The outcome is still uncertain! Hahahaha…” After the man in black left, Teach laughed and left.

Chapter 323 Taking Action

The day before the auction, at 3 p.m.

"Yo~ Captain Jozu? Captain Thatch? What are you doing here?" A member of the Whitebeard Pirates, holding a bottle of liquor and looking quite drunk, asked Jozu and Thatch, who were on a defensive mission.

"You've had too much to drink again, kid? Go back and rest, we have business here!" Sachi said with a laugh as he walked towards the crew member.

Meanwhile, Jozu stood expressionless on the ground, seemingly oblivious to his companion's greeting.

"Huh? Something's up? What is it? Come on, let's go for a drink... it's on me!" The member put his arm around Sachi's shoulder and said with a smile.

As for Joz's appearance, he didn't care, because Joz usually had the same expressionless face, even on the ship, so everyone was used to it.

"Alright, enough nonsense. I told you I'm busy right now. You go back first, and I'll come find you when I'm done here!" Sachi waved his hand, signaling the other person to leave.

"Alright then! Glug glug... Remember to come find me! Hiccup..." After taking another swig of alcohol, the member staggered away.

"Tsk tsk tsk... We've all been having a blast these past few days! I never expected Dad to be so generous, actually treating us to a meal!" Sachi said with a smile after returning to Joz's side.

“Yes!” Joz nodded in response.

He was never a talkative person to begin with, and after being tormented by Reina for so many years, although he was stronger than in the original story, he became even more taciturn.

"By the way... haven't you gone anywhere to play these past few days?" Sachi asked curiously.

Because in his opinion, even after so many years of being partners, he didn't seem to have noticed anything that Joz was particularly interested in.

“I went racing…it seems kind of fun! It’s just a bit tough on the car!” Joz said after thinking for a moment.

This was his first time experiencing motorsports. He was encouraged by his team members to participate once and found it quite interesting. He has already gone several times in the past two days.

"Racing? Ah~~ I heard it's very exciting, but also a bit dangerous, so you have to be careful!" Sachi was a little surprised. He didn't expect Joz to like racing. He had tried it once, and the accident rate was quite high. However, with their skills, even if they crashed, as long as they were careful, they wouldn't be in mortal danger, but injuries were inevitable.

“Not dangerous!” Joz shook his head and said.

Sachi was taken aback, then remembered that the other party was a user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, whose physical defense was extremely strong. This level of collision... indeed could not cause him any harm.

Where they couldn't see, one member drew a mark on the corner of the wall and then hurriedly left.

A moment later, several people shrouded in black trench coats walked over. After seeing the mark at the base of the wall, they said softly, "That's Diamond Jozu, and Fourth Division Captain Thatch over there!"

"Notify the captain, everyone else to take your positions and be ready to act at any time!" one of the men in black said softly.

After they left, another person sneaked over, made a rubbing of the mark at the base of the wall, looked around, and then left.

At that moment, not far from the treasure vault, Blackbeard Teach was waiting for something.

"Captain, Diamond Jozu and Sachi from the Fourth Division are over there now!" Lafayette said as she walked over a moment later.