"The Marines are here! Everyone, get ready!" the lookout shouted from his perch, telescope in hand.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Pirates lined the deck on both sides as Whitebeard strode forward, each heavy step echoing across the Moby Dick. His great bisento, Murakumogiri, gleamed in the sun, the wide white cape on his shoulders billowing with the emblem of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Gurararara!" His laugh boomed like thunder. "I haven't stretched these old bones in a while. Time to remind the Marines what it means to cross Whitebeard!"
"Target the warship!"
"Charge!"
"Ha! Just a few Marines nothing to fear!"
The crew shouted over one another, brimming with fighting spirit. Even Teach, standing among them, calmly polished his Hell Blade, a glint in his eye.
It had been two years since he'd joined the crew, and Teach had blended in seamlessly.
Life aboard wasn't the dull routine he once imagined... it was drinking, feasting, sparring, and learning.
He trained constantly, pushing his body and mind. Vista and even Kozuki Oden taught him swordsmanship without holding back, and Teach soaked up everything, mastering one- and two-sword styles before carving out his own techniques.
The Moby Dick carried more than just weapons — it carried knowledge.
Manuals, drills, and exercises, even the Marine Six Powers.
Few bothered with them, but Teach studied them obsessively, focusing on Shigan to sharpen his claw strikes and Geppo for aerial combat. Each new move added another layer to his arsenal.
Nights, when others slept, he trained... diving into the sea to harden his body under crushing water pressure, fighting the ocean itself. Monsters weren't born, he told himself.
They were made.
And the seas were full of monsters.
Teach had seen it already, the Marine hero Garp chasing pirates into the New World, Sengoku leading fleets, and the three rising stars; Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.
Future Admirals, all Logia users, already shaking battlefields. Teach had taken note of every one of them.
The lookout's cry yanked him back to the present. A Marine warship loomed ahead, blocking their path.
"Vice Admiral Thomson, the Whitebeard Pirates are approaching fast. Orders?" an adjutant stammered.
Thomson took a long drag from his cigarette, eyes narrowing. "Retreat. Buy time. Signal nearby fleets. We can't handle Whitebeard head-on." His tone was steady, but inside he knew the truth; against the man with the Gura Gura no Mi, the so-called Strongest Man in the World, a single misstep meant annihilation.
On the Moby Dick, a pirate yelled, "Pops! The warship's trying to run!"
"Gurararara! Children, full speed ahead!" Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri against the deck. A deep quake rippled through the sea, and suddenly the Moby Dick shot forward, propelled by towering waves he had summoned himself.
Teach's eyes gleamed. This is the power of the Gura Gura no Mi… turning the sea itself into an oar.
On the Marine ship, panic spread. "Why are we slowing down?"
"The currents! They've reversed!"
"They're catching up!"
"Silence!" Thomson barked. "This is Whitebeard's doing! If we can't flee, then fight! Justice will not falter! For justice!" His voice cut through the chaos, though sweat rolled down his back.
At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Kong slammed his desk into splinters. "Whitebeard again?!" His voice shook the room. "Who's closest to Thomson?"
"Vice Admirals Rona and Janson, sir. Fifteen and twenty minutes out."
"Good. Send them. Then notify G-1 Branch. Sengoku is to depart at once. Whitebeard's grown too bold, it's time we cut him down."
The New World was a storm brewing with three names; Golden Lion Shiki, Whitebeard, and Roger. The Marines needed to remind the world where true power lay.
When the summons reached Sengoku, he rose without hesitation. "Understood. All forces, prepare to sail." Beside him stood Tsuru, calm and sharp-eyed, and behind them, three young Rear Admirals; Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.
"Oh my, oh my," Borsalino drawled, his striped suit as gaudy as his grin. "Facing Whitebeard already? How scary."
"Quit joking," Sakazuki snapped, his jaw tight with fury. "Pirates don't deserve to live. We'll crush them here!"
Kuzan said nothing, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.
Within minutes, ten warships with thirty thousand Marines surged from G-1 Branch under Sengoku's command.
Back on the front line, the Moby Dick crashed alongside Thomson's warship. Pirates leapt aboard with wild cheers, blades clashing against Marine sabers.
Vista sought out the enemy swordsmen, while Kozuki Oden vaulted down with Enma and Ame no Habakiri flashing. "Leave this one to me!" he called, grinning as he faced Thomson directly.
Thomson's stomach sank. A samurai… and this one's Oden of Wano? His legend had already spread, a monster in human form.
Behind him, Oden's retainers; Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and Izo, who tore into the fray with savage delight.
Whitebeard didn't move. He simply watched, arms folded, as his sons cut loose. This was their tempering ground.
And Teach? He slipped past the chaos, blade dripping with the blood of a Marine captain, into the ship's interior. He knew warship layouts by heart.
His Observation Haki spread like a net, and he found what he sought; a hidden compartment beneath the captain's desk. Inside, treasure, manuals, and two Devil Fruits. His grin widened. He even found a detailed Marine Six Powers manual, complete with notes on the forbidden art of Life Return.
Priceless.
But before he could claim them, his Haki flared. A Marine huddled in the shadows, whispering frantically into a Den Den Mushi.
"Headquarters! The situation is critical — we're being overwhelmed! Whitebeard is unstoppable! Vice Admiral Thomson can't hold out! Please, hurry—"
The reply crackled through: "Hold on. Reinforcements are en route. Sengoku himself leads the fleet. Justice will prevail... you'll be heroes!"
The Marine's eyes blazed with renewed courage. "For justice!" he cried, seizing his rifle.
And then, for him, the world spun. He stared in disbelief at his own body on the floor before darkness claimed him.
Teach slid his blade clean with a smirk. "How could I let you hold on?"
He tucked the manual into his coat, leaving the Devil Fruits where they lay. The warship would sink soon enough — better they vanish into the sea than risk discovery.
But inside, his thoughts burned. So the Marines are coming with everything they've got? Sengoku himself, and those three future Admirals too…
His grin widened. The stage was set.