The moment Blackbeard Teach's large backside sank into the throne carved with the emblem of the Blackbeard Pirates' three-skull flag, he rudely slung one leg over the armrest and began kneading his sore ankle with a rough hand.
Finally given a moment of rest, his thoughts drifted back to everything that had happened over the last few days.
What exactly had led them into this miserable state?
On the first day, Admiral Teach led Shiryu, Van Augur, Catarina Devon, Diamante — Donquixote Doflamingo's envoy — and a contingent of forces in a surprise raid on Winterfell Snow Island.
Up to that point, everything had gone smoothly.
Then things went straight downhill.
On the morning of the second day, they were attacked by Davy Jones and the Whitebeard Remnants.
The "Corrupt King" Pizarro was killed. The rest escaped using Van Augur's teleportation to Autumn Island.
But barely a few hours after arriving, they were ambushed again.
This time they lost Champion Burgess, Death God Doc Q, and the Crescent Hunter Devon.
So they abandoned Autumn Island as well, fleeing with the Teleport-Teleport Fruit to yet another "safe" island.
Yet everyone, like frightened birds, remained on edge. Over the next two days they kept teleporting, never staying on any island longer than half a day.
Losing four commanders in a single day was an enormous shock to the Blackbeard Pirates.
At last, they returned to their headquarters — Bloodlust Island, immediately issuing orders to recall surrounding pirate forces and fortify the seas around it.
Teach rubbed his aching ankle vigorously, then beckoned a maid to remove his boots and massage his foot through his foul-smelling socks.
He tapped his lip with a finger, deep in thought.
How did Davy Jones do it?
As far as Teach knew, the Whitebeard Remnants had barely three hundred people left — and Davy Jones's main force was still several days' sailing away.
How did they crush my forces with just three hundred?
True, most of those three hundred were monsters who had crawled out of mountains of corpses, and they had elites like Ace, Marco, Jozu, and Vista…
But the real decisive factor was the ambush.
They had somehow reproduced his own surprise-attack tactics — slipping past his scouts and defensive lines not once, but twice.
Their ships could sail underwater, and clearly not through coating — but through some other craft or ability.
That alone rendered all of Teach's surface defenses meaningless.
He couldn't think of a solution. His head throbbed.
Another thought struck him.
How did Davy Jones know we teleported from Winterfell Snow Island to Autumn Island?
How?
Sitting on the throne, enjoying the maid's foot massage, he narrowed his eyes at the several figures seated at the long table below.
Diamante, Shiryu of the Rain, Van Augur, Lafitte, and Vasco…
They had departed with ten people. Only six had returned alive.
Thinking carefully — from "Giant Battleship" Sanjuan Wolf to Devon — all five deaths seemed inextricably linked to Davy Jones.
Teach had modeled himself after Rocks. Yet before he could even reach his own "God Valley War," he had already lost arms and legs — all because of the same man.
Could it be… Davy Jones is my natural enemy?
Teach actually believed in fate somewhat.
Back under Whitebeard Newgate, he had secretly decided:
If the Dark-Dark Fruit never appeared in his lifetime, it would mean his ambition was doomed. He would give up — settle down, and obediently live as Newgate's adopted son.
But fate shifted, and the Dark-Dark Fruit appeared.
If it hadn't, perhaps he would've sailed with Newgate to Marineford and died there — or become just another member of the Whitebeard Remnants today.
A fated enemy?
Maybe not.
But a troublesome enemy — definitely.
He could see through Devon's Nine-Tailed Fox disguise at a glance, and kill her effortlessly.
No wonder his bounty had surpassed Kaido the Beast — making him the foremost of the Four Emperors.
Teach refused to let this shake his resolve.
Suddenly, he slammed his foot down on the maid's body, kicking her off balance.
"Ah!"
She tumbled down the steps, snapping her neck. After a few whimpers, she stopped moving.
Hearing the commotion, everyone turned and saw the dead maid. Knowing Teach was venting his anger, they all looked toward the throne.
"Diamante," Teach growled, eyes dark as he stared at Doflamingo's envoy, "what does the Joker say?"
Now, in the New World, there was only one "Joker" — Doflamingo.
Buggy was no longer "the Clown," but the "Thousand-Fold Trickster."
Diamante lifted the brim of his oversized hat, his demeanor nowhere near as confident as it had been on Winterfell Snow Island.
He hesitated before forcing a smile.
"Blackbeard, I was just about to speak to you about that."
He stroked the two vertical tattoos on his face, his eyes shifting slyly.
"I told Doffy what happened. He agreed to send reinforcements to help cover our retreat — so that our alliance can safely escape Davy Jones's clutches."
Things were indeed moving in an uncontrollable direction.
Doflamingo had chickened out.
This Diamante — who had previously urged Teach to retaliate against Davy Jones — had instantly changed his tune the moment he witnessed Devon's gruesome death.
How flexible.
Safely escape Davy Jones's clutches?
Didn't that mean abandoning all the vast territory Teach had fought so hard to seize — and retreating to Doflamingo's side like a pet?
If he really did that, even the commanders he had gathered around him might no longer follow him.
"You tell Doflamingo this clearly."
Teach's voice grew firm, waggling his finger, eyes locked onto Diamante.
"We live or die together. Davy Jones's next target might very well be him."
Diamante's thick lips twitched. After a long moment, he stammered,
"Then… I'll negotiate with Doffy again."
Dragging his chair back with a scrape, he stood, took out his Den-Den Mushi, and stepped outside.
Good. He's gone… now I can speak to my own men.
Teach swept his serious gaze over the table. Everyone shifted uncomfortably.
"Davy Jones couldn't have known we were on Autumn Isle for no reason."
He voiced the question that had been buried in everyone's minds for days.
Shiryu was polishing his warden's cap with a white handkerchief. Hearing this, he glanced at Teach, then returned to polishing, asking calmly:
"Blackbeard, are you saying there's a Davy Jones spy among us?"
He flicked the hat's brim and placed it back on his head.
"You sent Diamante away because you suspect him?"
"No. Not him." Teach shook his head. "I don't think it's a spy. It feels more like some sort of ability — just like their ships sailing underwater without coating. Something unusual."
Shiryu recalled the ships rising from beneath the sea — still unsettling.
"I've heard rumors," Shiryu murmured, "that Davy Jones's power isn't from a Devil Fruit at all… but something older. More sinister…"
"Maybe. But no matter what he's using to track us, there must be conditions," Teach said. "Van Augur — you were the first of us to encounter him…"
Van Augur's left eye was still bandaged.
He no longer felt hatred — only lingering terror.
He was one of the people who persuaded Devon to disguise herself as Kuro and ambush Davy Jones.
Their plan had been simple: Devon would severely wound Davy Jones; then they would teleport in and attack together.
But Devon died instantly — at first contact.
He couldn't help but feel lucky.
Had he teleported everyone in at that moment… would any of them still be alive now?
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