One Piece: Lightning's Heir

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The newcomer was none other than one of the few living legends of the sea—Patrick Redfield, "Red the Aloof."

At this moment, Redfield was still in his prime, yet to consume the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. His pure physical prowess was nothing short of astonishing.

Taking the full force of both Whitebeard's and Arthur's fists, his body merely trembled. He had weathered the storm with his sheer physique...

Though Arthur knew Redfield must have been shaken, he halted his attack.

The momentum of the fight had been shattered. There was no point in continuing.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!" The Red Count's face was cold, his intervention having completely disrupted the duel.

The three of them stood in the center of the battlefield, a tense, triangular standoff.

"Gurararara! Red! Are you looking to join this little brat at the bottom of the ocean??" A man as overwhelmingly dominant as Whitebeard would never back down before achieving his goal.

"Save the tough talk, old man..." Arthur sneered. "If this keeps up, you'll be the one in a casket!"

"Enough! Have either of you considered the consequences of continuing this fight??"

Redfield was a man of supreme pride. It was completely out of character for him to interfere in someone else's duel. However, the consequences of this battle were far too severe. Every pirate on the seas would face a terrible reckoning.

"Consequences?? Hahahaha, are you joking??" Arthur suddenly burst out laughing. "The only consequence is death, isn't it?? Is there a worse outcome than that?? YOU FOOL!"

As long as he was satisfied, the lives of other pirates meant nothing to him.

'After I'm gone, let the world drown for all I care. I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me!' That was Arthur's creed.

The worst that could happen was death. As for the other pirates... he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Your lives are none of my concern either!" Redfield leaned on his cane—a weapon in disguise—an inexplicable wickedness in his aura.

"However... I have to consider my own interests!"

For a man whose entire philosophy was built on solitude, interfering with others was already an incredible act.

"Whitebeard, if you want to fight, we can continue. But if you die or are incapacitated, with Sengoku and Garp watching like vultures from the sidelines, what will happen to your sons?? Are you going to let those fledglings, who haven't even grown up yet, go head-to-head with two legendary Marines??"

Whitebeard's pride wouldn't allow him to retreat, but Redfield's words struck his deepest vulnerability.

His greatest concern was his sons. If something happened to him before they were ready to stand on their own, without a leader, they would be scattered, or worse, captured.

The Moby Dick sailed through the turbulent waters, docking at the edge of the shattered island of Alasolan.

Whitebeard glanced at his worried sons on the deck and suddenly fell silent.

"Gurarararara! Lightning brat, you can keep your head on your shoulders for now!" Having made his decision, he turned and walked away without a second thought, leaving his back exposed to Arthur.

The proud Whitebeard had no fear of an attack from behind, and the equally proud Arthur would never allow himself to strike an opponent's back.

The battle was over—or rather, the duel had been postponed.

"When the new era comes, there will be another, greater struggle for supremacy. The next time we fight head-on... I will not lose to you again!" Arthur watched impassively as Whitebeard boarded the Moby Dick to the cheers of his sons.

Suddenly, his eyes fixed on the bow of the ship. Standing there was a man, over ten feet tall, somewhat heavyset, with several pistols tucked into his waistband and a wide, gap-toothed grin.

His round, simple-looking face seemed to be fixed in a foolish smile.

'It's him! Marshall D. Teach!' A smile slowly spread across Arthur's face. Disregarding Whitebeard, he suddenly shouted.

"Marshall D. Teach?? I'm not mistaken, am I??"

"Hmmm??" The Moby Dick, which was about to turn and leave, came to a sudden halt. Everyone on board turned in unison to stare at Arthur.

Whitebeard picked up his wine gourd again, glancing sideways at Arthur before taking a quiet drink, saying nothing.

He always gave his sons enough personal space and freedom.

Teach scratched his head, a shrewd light flashing in his small eyes, hidden behind a simple and honest expression. "Thunder God Arthur, I am indeed Marshall D. Teach!"

"Teach... Whitebeard is getting old, he's lost his ambition. Are you just going to wait on this ship for what you want??" Arthur's words were insane—he was trying to poach Whitebeard's crew right in front of him.

"How about it?? Come and follow me. I can get you what you're looking for!"

He didn't explicitly state what Teach wanted. It was a dream... just like Arthur's, who had once gambled everything on the Knock Up Stream for the fruit he coveted.

With his secret suddenly exposed, Blackbeard Teach felt a flash of panic, but he quickly composed himself.

He had analyzed the situation on the seas and concluded that the Whitebeard Pirates had the highest chance of finding the Dark-Dark Fruit. That was why he'd been playing the part of a loyal crewmate for so long.

Besides, with Whitebeard's character, he would never doubt one of his own sons over a few words from Arthur.

"Zehahaha... haha! Pops is great to me, and the commanders are like my brothers. Besides, I don't have any ambition! So, I'm sorry! ZEHAHAHAHAHA!" Teach scratched his head and laughed foolishly.

The sight of his gap-toothed mouth was utterly comical.

"No ambition, you say?? Hahahaha!" Arthur's shoulders began to tremble as he burst into wild, unrestrained laughter. "Then stay ambitionless forever! Rot on this ship until you die! As for that thing you want—I'll be taking it for myself!"

There was a time when he had greatly admired the character of Blackbeard.

Throughout the world of One Piece, Teach's conviction was on a level far beyond anyone else's.

To achieve his goals, he would kill his own comrades, even his own "father."

In this world, victory belongs to the living!

A man who could say such a thing would even kneel and beg for his life.

Undeniably, everything Teach did was for his dream. No matter his actions, his goal was always pure—to become the Pirate King. He was just like Luffy, but his methods were the complete opposite.

The biggest difference between Arthur and Teach was that Arthur would never kneel, and he would never kill a comrade—unless that comrade betrayed him first.

'Stay ambitionless forever. Now that I'm here, the name Blackbeard can just fade into history...' Arthur muttered to himself as he watched the Moby Dick sail away.

The Dark-Dark Fruit—the nemesis of all Devil Fruit users. Something so dangerous, even if it were left to rot, could not be allowed to fall into the hands of someone with such monumental ambition.

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