One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

This is the Warring States period, the former Admiral Sengoku, now the naval admiral of this era.

Chapter 618 Teach: Hey! It's one of us!

As Rorschach expected, less than ten days after Blackbeard sent someone to Marineford to volunteer for the last Shichibukai spot, news of Ace's defeat and capture reached Marine Headquarters.

Although Garp was involved in the Ace issue, Sengoku's decision was still decisive and he readily agreed to Teach's request, allowing Blackbeard to use Ace as a pledge of allegiance to become the last Shichibukai.

The atmosphere in the office was heavy.

Sengoku swept his imposing gaze across the people in the room.

"We must get to Tassan Island as quickly as possible and bring Portgas D. Ace back secretly. I don't think I need to explain what his capture means. Until we are ready for the Whitebeard Pirates, the news of Portgas D. Ace's capture must be kept strictly confidential!"

"Garp!"

He looked at Garp, who was clenching his fists tightly, his eyes red-rimmed, and gritting his teeth without saying a word, and said sternly, "You're not going anywhere. You're staying in Marineford, do you hear me?"

Garp's eyes were filled with pain as he looked up at Sengoku, his voice hoarse as he said, "Sengoku, let me go to Tassan Island. I will bring Ace back with my own hands..."

"No!" Sengoku refused decisively. "This is an order! As long as you still consider yourself a naval officer, obey orders!"

Garp's lips trembled as he stared at Sengoku's stern gaze for a long time. In the end, he deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping back on the sofa as if he had aged decades in an instant.

Granny Crane looked at Garp with pity in her eyes, sighed, and ultimately said nothing.

Aokiji, who was sitting next to Garp, was silent for a while. Just as he was about to get up, he saw Sengoku turn his head to look at Rorschach, who was sitting to his left.

Aokiji was startled, and then he heard Sengoku's voice.

"Rorschach, you go there. Kizaru isn't here, and you're the fastest in Marineford. Get to Tassan Island as fast as you can and bring Fire Fist Ace back from Blackbeard."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the office turned their attention to Luo Xia, who was slowly getting up.

"No problem, leave it to me."

Rorschach nodded calmly, took the record pointer from Vice Admiral Tsuru, and walked towards the door under Garp's watchful gaze.

"Brother Luo Xia! I'm going too!"

The lark gave chase, but found nothing.

A gust of wind swept across the balcony outside the door, and Luo Xia's figure had vanished.

Sengoku ignored the dejected Garp and looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru.

"Once Rorschach brings the men back, we'll immediately begin preparing to gather manpower and get ready for war!"

On Tassan Island.

Lafitt looked at Ace, who was bound by several sea stone handcuffs, and the weight in his heart finally lifted. He then turned to look at Blackbeard, who was eating grilled fish.

"Teach, I'm starting to believe what you mean by fate. I never imagined our plan would take such a turn for the better at the critical moment when it was about to fall apart. It seems that the Straw Hat Pirates are not only not our enemies, but we've actually benefited from their misfortune by capturing Ace, whom the Navy wanted even more."

Teach stuffed the charred fish in his hand into his mouth and chewed it up without thinking.

Hearing Lafitte's words, he grinned and looked at Ace, who was covered in blood, his head drooping, and his eyes filled with despair.

"Hahaha, Laffitte, you're right. If the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't woken me up, I would have completely forgotten how important it is to the World Government that Captain Ace is the son of the Pirate King. Trading the Pirate King's bloodline for a Shichibukai spot is a huge win for them. Thinking about it that way, we're actually the ones who are at a disadvantage."

"Luffy?"

Ace's eyes regained focus, and he laboriously raised his head to look at the smug Blackbeard.

Blackbeard continued eating the grilled fish. His body, covered in charred marks, was healing at a visible speed as he ate. In the blink of an eye, the charred skin peeled off and new, tender skin grew back.

Without looking up, he said, "That's right, Captain Ace. Before you came, we went to see the Straw Hat Pirates, the Straw Hat Boys that you keep bragging about on the Moby Dick."

"Luffy...what happened to him?!"

Ace gritted his teeth and, with a sudden burst of strength, lunged towards Blackbeard's direction. The sea stone chains binding him rattled loudly, startling Blackbeard so much that he dropped the grilled fish he was holding and fell flat on his backside on the sand.

Just as Ace lunged forward two meters, Kelly Van Cleef stomped heavily on his head and slammed him to the ground.

"Behave yourself, Fire Fist Ace! You should know your place. You are now a prisoner of the Blackbeard Pirates."

Kelly Van Cleef grinned maliciously, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of tormenting the strong.

"Tell me! Teach! What happened to my brother Luffy?!"

Ace ignored Kelly Van Cleef's words, his eyes red and his neck stiff as he stared intently at Blackbeard.

Blackbeard felt uneasy under the angry gaze and moved a little further away. He then picked up the fallen grilled fish, blew off the grit, took a bite, and mumbled:

"Of course he's fine, you don't need to be so nervous, Captain Ace. Hahaha, if something had happened to your brother, I wouldn't have needed to lay a hand on you, right?"

Well, it's okay to tell you. We did plan to capture your brother and the others to make a deal with the Navy.

But that blind man on your brother's ship was just too strong; he almost wiped us all out.

Blackbeard glanced at Ace and said mockingly, "Ace, your brother's pirate crew is too strong. We can't handle them, so we have no choice but to capture you as a bargaining chip. I suppose, given your personality, you'll feel fortunate, won't you?"

Blackbeard was right; Ace did indeed breathe a sigh of relief at that moment.

It's so good that Luffy is alright.

Thinking of what Blackbeard had just said, Ace couldn't help but smile with relief on his blood-stained face.

"Luffy, you've surpassed me too? Hehehe, I'm so happy for you. It's a pity I can't see you achieve your dream. I'm sorry, I broke my promise."

Blackbeard noticed the smile on Ace's face, shook his head, and sighed, "You really have a deep brotherly bond, Captain Ace. Even in your current state, you're still worried about your brother."

Then he changed the subject, grinning, "But I still advise you to think carefully about what kind of treatment you'll receive after joining the Navy. Also, what kind of expression would Dad have if he knew what you look like now? By the way, he'd definitely go to Marine Headquarters to rescue you, wouldn't you say, Ace?"

"Shut up! You have no right to call me 'Dad'!"

Ace glared at Blackbeard.

Blackbeard didn't care at all and continued to eat his fill of grilled fish.

"Oh dear, I really don't know how many people Dad will bring to attack Marine Headquarters to save you. I also don't know how many people will die. Ace, if I were you, I would rather end my own life now to avoid causing more brothers and sisters to die. Hmm, and Dad, I really don't know if his body can withstand the attacks of a few Marine Admirals. Hehehehe."

"Bastard! I'm going to kill you, Teach!"

Ace's eyes were bloodshot as he roared and twisted his body, which was being held down by Kelly Van Cleef, trying to bite Blackbeard's throat with his teeth.

"Hahaha, Captain Ace, calm down. You know you can't kill me. Even if I let you go, you still can't do it."

Oh, by the way, I reckon even if you take your own life now, your father and Marco, who care about you so much, will most likely still come to Marine Headquarters to demand your return.

So, you'd better not do anything foolish. Otherwise, you might miss seeing your father and the others one last time.

Blackbeard's loud laughter echoed across Tassan Island.

He felt extremely pleased with himself and in high spirits.

The most crucial part of the plan has been largely completed. Now, all that's left is to wait for the Navy to send someone to take Ace over, after which he can officially become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Then, using his status as a Warlord, he can recruit soldiers in Impel Down.

Blackbeard could already foresee a bright and promising future for himself.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a rumbling thunder came from the distant sky, tearing through the heavens and echoing over Tassan Island.

"Is it going to rain again? This awful weather at the amusement park is such a worry."

Van Augur looked up at the sky and then froze.

"What's worse is that all the houses on the island are gone, and we might end up getting soaked in the rain here, hahaha. If the navy hadn't said the deal would be done on Tassan Island, I would have already taken the ship Lafitte brought back and gone out to have some fun. Nobody would stay in this godforsaken place where there isn't even cherry pie or fine wine!"

Blackbeard looked up with a strange laugh, but the smile on his face froze.

"what happened?"

Noticing the blank expressions on Van Augur and Blackbeard's faces, Doc Q, Kelly Van Cleef, and Lafitte were all puzzled and couldn't help but follow their gazes to look up at the sky.

Ace, who was being held down by Kelly Van Cleef, suddenly trembled and let out a neurotic laugh.

"Hahaha, hahaha, Teach, didn't you say you dared to challenge him? Here he comes, here he comes!"

In the sky above Tassan Island, silver dragon-like lightning spread from the distant horizon, instantly enveloping the entire island and emitting deafening thunderclaps.

In Blackbeard and the others' sight, a tall, white figure, accompanied by gale and lightning, like a silvery humanoid phantom, crossed hundreds of meters of sea surface in the blink of an eye and shot into the sky above Tassan Island.

His iconic white military uniform, snow-white cloak of justice, long silver hair flashing with electricity, and a pair of eyes as blue as the sea clearly revealed his identity as a visitor from the future.

"Lieutenant General Lan Lin!"

When Lafitte saw Rorschach again, the pressure on him only increased. He felt that the man in front of him could only be described as unfathomable.

powerful!

Unparalleled power!

Being looked at by the other party is like being targeted by a predator at the top of the food chain.

Just by making eye contact with the other person, Lafitte had the illusion that his soul had been frozen.

A deep sense of apprehension flashed in Blackbeard's eyes, but he quickly concealed it well.

He forced a smile, opened his arms, and looked at Rorschach falling from the sky.

"Hahaha, I thought a Marine Admiral would come, but I didn't expect it to be Vice Admiral Lan Lin..."

"What? You look down on me?"

The first words that Rorschach uttered stunned Blackbeard.

He paused for a couple of seconds before quickly explaining, "No, that's not what I meant..."

"Then what do you mean?" Rorschach walked straight toward Ace, who was being stepped on by Kelly Van Cleef.

"What I mean is... Vice Admiral Lan Lin is certainly a strongman at the level of a Navy Admiral, hehehe, who in the world doesn't know your name, Vice Admiral Lan Lin?"

Blackbeard chuckled dryly.

Standing beside him, Van Augur and the others were on high alert, looking at Rorschach, who exuded a dangerous aura, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Rorschach's gaze swept over them one by one, finally settling on Kelly Van Cleef.

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and give me the person. Don't you have any sense of propriety, you little dwarf?"

Rorschach's calm tone instantly enraged Kelly Van Cleef, who glared at Rorschach and roared, "You white-haired navy bastard, who are you calling a dwarf?"

"Everyone here is taller than you. Who do you think I'm calling short?"

Rorschach's casual words ignited Kelly Van Cleef's fury.