Chapter 266: Whitebeard Reappears
By the time the giant dog, which had gained several sizes, had crossed the wilderness to reach the town and returned to the castle via the uninhabited spiral passage on the surface of the Treasure Tree Adam, it was already noon the next day.
The first moment it arrived at the castle gate, the giant dog's four legs instantly gave out, and it collapsed onto the steps in front of the gate. The entire dog lay sprawled on the ground, its tongue hanging out as it panted continuously.
THUD—
From the dull sound of its round body making contact with the ground, it was not difficult to tell that this thing was solid.
Louis, however, acted as if he hadn't seen any of this, leaping directly off its back and landing on the ground. As the giant gate was slowly pushed open, he disappeared from the giant dog's sight without a backward glance.
"..."
Louis walked along the passage, which was wide enough for giants to walk side-by-side, and went straight into a room deep within the castle.
After casually pushing open the door, Louis strode inside. What met his eyes was Yelena, who had been waiting for a long time.
Yelena stood by the window in a long dress. The black skirt billowed in the cold wind, and the sun shone on her snow-white hair, plating it with a pale gold.
As if noticing his return, she turned slightly, showing him her smooth, flawless profile and a pair-of-tempered-ruby-like eyes.
"You're finally back." Yelena's gentle gaze fell on the tall man in front of her. "Louis..." she said distantly.
"Yeah." Louis strode into the room and casually closed the door. "I haven't looked after that dog Holden left behind for a while, and it's gotten a lot fatter. I had nothing better to do, so I took it out for a walk."
Louis explained that at night, the dog, after eating and drinking its fill, had snuck out of the kitchen and had run head-on into him as he was passing by. And Louis, upon seeing its round body, had been at a loss for words. Since he had nothing better to do, he had dragged it out for a walk.
"The dog Holden left?" Yelena heard this and said thoughtfully, "Goldberg and the other chefs are still spoiling it too much."
It was clear that she, too, had seen it go into the kitchen to be fed by the chefs more than once. She also knew that the source of its having gained several sizes in just a few short years was the continuous feeding from Goldberg and the other chefs.
Louis went directly to the window and sat bolt upright in a chair in the center of the small garden, meeting her eyes. "Have Jibril and the others already left with the Avant Heim split bodies?"
Ever since Yelena and Uta's uncoordinated teleportation had failed near Fish-Man Island, dropping them into the deep sea, Louis had put the matter of scattering Avant Heim's split bodies throughout the world on his agenda. He planned to place them on some of the important islands in the Four Seas and the Grand Line to act as coordinates, so that if a special incident occurred, he would have enough time to react and decide whether to intervene.
In the end, he had decided to dispatch Jibril and Raphael to set out on two routes to complete this matter.
"Little Jibril set out at dawn." Yelena pulled out a chair, sat down elegantly, and raised a hand to tuck a strand of white hair behind her ear. "I'm not too sure about Raphael, but I imagine it's about the same."
The Flügel had always had extremely high enthusiasm for his missions and would complete them at all costs. This was true even for Jibril, who seemed to be quite disrespectful to him.
"They've already left?" Louis heard this and became thoughtful.
While he was thinking, Yelena lowered her eyes, brewed a pot of black tea, and then poured a cup for herself and him. After a moment, she picked up the teacup with an elegant posture, her scarlet eyes once again falling on his face.
"Louis... the Whitebeard Pirates have appeared."
"When?" Louis's interest was piqued.
"Just yesterday." Yelena took a light sip of the tea, a hint of reminiscence in her eyes. "According to the report from the pirate captains under us, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, a man named Teach, appeared on Sphinx Island. He led a group of pirates and defeated a supernova who had come, having heard the legends of Whitebeard. This incident was photographed by a reporter from the World Economic News Agency and published in the newspaper. The World Government has issued a bounty for him, called 'Blackbeard' Teach, for 300 million Berries."
"Blackbeard Teach... the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates." A subtle change came over Louis's expression.
Neither of these terms was unfamiliar to him, but the two combined... was quite interesting.
"Blackbeard Teach actually became the Second Division Commander? Then again, he's one of the oldest members of the second division. It's not strange for him to be promoted by Whitebeard."
Louis also picked up his tea, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He was thinking about the changes this had brought about, and what impact these things would have.
Yelena looked at his pensive appearance, a hint of confusion in her eyes. She frowned. "What? Are you very concerned about this? Or is it that you know this person, Teach?"
Her words brought Louis back from his thoughts. "Yes," he replied softly. "I do know this person, Teach. He is far from as simple as people think. The bounty the World Government has set for him... it's not even a fraction of the threat he poses to them."
"Not even a fraction—"
Yelena's tea-drinking motion paused, and a subtle change came over her expression. She had never thought that a pirate who seemed so insignificant in her eyes would receive such a high evaluation from Louis.
Then, she searched her mind for any intelligence related to Blackbeard, but in the end, she found nothing.
Just then, Louis, seeing the confusion in her eyes, spoke up. "If you ever go up against him, you can't let your guard down. That scar on Shanks's face... it was left by that same Teach."
"..."
Hearing this, Yelena's pupils constricted. Only then did she truly realize this person's potential threat. Although the scar on Shanks's face had been there long before he had reached his peak, by the same token, this pirate, who had been able to leave a scar on his face, had also not reached his peak.
"In that case, this pirate is perhaps also a potential top-tier fighter?" Yelena put down her teacup and lightly stroked her fair chin. "Such a level of strength... yet he didn't make a real move back when the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with us a few years ago."
Gradually, Yelena's brow raised slightly, and she also realized that something was wrong. "In other words, even the near-destruction of the Whitebeard Pirates wasn't worth him going all-out?"
The situation of the Whitebeard Pirates at that time was extremely tragic. Whitebeard himself was missing. Even in that situation, this Teach had not used his true strength. For this situation... besides the Whitebeard Pirates not being "worth" him exposing such power, Yelena couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation.
"Is he... hiding in the Whitebeard Pirates because of some special ambition?" Yelena lowered her head, her eyes thoughtful. "The Whitebeard Pirates are not a very wealthy crew... so did he join them to replace Whitebeard?"
At this moment, Yelena firmly committed the great danger of this person, Blackbeard Teach, to memory, preparing to mention it to her subordinates.
"Perhaps," Louis replied. Blackbeard's goal was the Dark-Dark Fruit, and after that, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit that Whitebeard possessed. If you had to say he was trying to replace Whitebeard, that would be correct.
Yelena heard him and nodded thoughtfully. She then raised her head, her scarlet eyes once again meeting his. "Louis, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates has appeared. This also means that Whitebeard himself will also be active on the sea. Those few people in the dungeon... can they also be put to use?"
In the last war, she had defeated many and had even captured two of them alive, bringing them back to Terra. Originally, she had planned to hand them over to the Marines after Whitebeard reappeared, to make him and the Marines fight. But this wait had lasted for several years.
Louis was taken aback. "I'd almost forgotten about those two if you hadn't mentioned them. Are they still alive?"
Yelena nodded. "After I saw the news, I made a trip to that dungeon. Their spirits are still quite good." She clearly remembered the ferocious looks in their eyes, as if they wanted to tear her to pieces. But she didn't care. With her current strength, even if the Whitebeard Pirates were at their peak, she could easily annihilate everyone except Whitebeard.
"So, what are you planning to do with them?" Yelena looked at him and couldn't help but joke, "Are you going to throw them to the Marines again? Repeat the same thing you did with the Big Mom Pirates?"
Louis rolled his eyes. "The Marines would have to be out of their minds to go through that a second time. The last incident already taught them a rather painful lesson."
"Then what are you going to do with them?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Louis pondered for a moment and then gave his answer. "Let's just keep them locked up for now."
If he just killed them, it would mean the nutrients he had used to keep them alive for several years would have been wasted. If he handed them over to the Marines, and they were in turn secretly executed, they still would not have served their proper purpose. For a moment, Louis also couldn't think of any other use for them. Therefore, he would just keep them locked up for now.
"I see." Yelena heard him and had no objections.
Then, Louis said thoughtfully, "That 'Fire Fist' Ace who defeated Hanafuda... has there been any news of him recently?" Hanafuda had been defeated for some time, but Ace, the victor, was nowhere to be found, which made him a little puzzled.
However, not long after his voice fell, Yelena said something that he had not expected. "Fire Fist Ace? When he was being chased by several people from the Beasts Pirates, he was rescued by one of the leaders of the Flying Pirates, Ochoku. I heard that Ochoku wants him to join the Flying Pirates. But Fire Fist Ace seems to be quite reluctant. He has escaped many times and has caused quite a bit of trouble on Hachinosu."
"..."
Hearing this, Louis's expression became abnormally excited. His brain felt like it had been thrown into a washing machine and spun. In the end, only one thought remained.
"What the hell?!"
Fire Fist Ace hadn't joined the Whitebeard Pirates, but had instead been intercepted by Ochoku of the Flying Pirates? Louis couldn't imagine how Ochoku and the Golden Lion, two guys who weren't short on "sons," would conquer Roger's son.
And... in that case, would the Summit War still happen? Or... would the pirate side of the Summit War be switched from the Whitebeard Pirates to the Flying Pirates?
Then, Louis gradually calmed down, and a special thought rose in his heart. "I should find a time to have the Golden Lion repay his favors."
Although if Fire Fist Ace joined the Flying Pirates, the Summit War would most likely not happen, if it did, Louis wasn't sure if the Golden Lion could keep his little life. To prevent him from kicking the bucket before he had repaid his favors, Louis felt it was necessary to have him repay them as soon as possible.
But... what should he use the favors for? To make him work like a beast of burden, to join the ranks of expanding Terra? Or have him attack Marine Headquarters and smash it into the sea? Or... smash Mary Geoise to smithereens?
Louis felt that all of these things were good. And so, he began to wonder how he could use two favors to make the Golden Lion do all three things at the same time.
Yelena saw this and did not interrupt, but just quietly watched his pensive expression.
After a long while, Louis shook his head, temporarily ceasing to think about these things. "Forget it. I'll think about these things after Jibril and Raphael have spread Avant Heim's teleportation anchor points all over the world."
Then, Louis put down his teacup, turned, and walked into his room, heading straight for the bathroom.
Yelena sat in the center of the garden, her left hand propping up her cheek, her right hand gently swirling the black tea on the table. "You're going out again?" she asked idly.
"No. I'm going to take a bath."
After staying in the jungle all night, it was inevitable that he would be stained with dirt and water. He had to clean up.
Then, Louis closed the bathroom door. In the spacious little garden, only Yelena was left.
"..."
Soon, hot steam rose in the bathroom. The steam covered the entire room, and the vision became hazy. In the huge bathtub, Louis, his pale-golden hair loose, soaked half his body and his wings in the steaming hot water.
Click—
A few minutes later, the bathroom door was opened again. A tall figure, wrapped in a pure white bath towel, strode into the steam-filled room with bare feet.
Louis slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. Yelena walked into the bathtub with light steps. Her rounded, slender legs moved gently, and the steaming surface of the water rippled, shattering the reflection of the light. As she walked, her scarlet eyes stared at Louis. She raised her pale, slender hands, tied up her smooth white hair, and walked straight toward him.
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