Aboard the Moby Dick, Teach, Marco, and Vista sat side by side against a large crate, their bodies covered in bandages after the fierce battle.
The crate had been taken from the Red Wolf Pirates’ ship as part of the spoils.
The three sat on the deck, watching the others carry various supplies over from the enemy vessel.
“Whitey Bay, bring me a plate of cherry pie from the kitchen.” Thatch had been working in the kitchen before the battle.
Had they not encountered the Red Wolf Pirates, Teach would have eaten the pie long ago.
At the moment, only Teach’s right hand could move freely.
His left arm had been injured in the fight, and the other wounds across his body made it difficult for him to move.
Marco and Vista beside him were in much the same condition.
Whitey Bay happened to be nearby, so Teach could only ask her.
“Call me Big Sis!” She still had not given up on getting Teach to address her that way.
“Big Sis!” Teach did not hesitate for even a moment.
He considered himself a schemer, and knowing when to bend was an essential quality.
Besides, they were family.
He was younger than her and currently weaker than her, so naturally, he was the younger brother.
Hearing Teach finally call her Big Sis delighted Whitey Bay.
She immediately began acting like a caring older sister.
She squatted in front of Teach with the cherry pie, showing no impatience as she watched him eat it piece by piece.
Teach then shamelessly ordered her to bring him all kinds of food.
Since he had already paid the price of calling her Big Sis, he naturally intended to get his money’s worth.
Marco and Vista could only watch enviously.
They wanted to ask Whitey Bay to bring them something too, but every time they were about to speak, her fierce glare silenced them.
Teach’s good fortune did not last long.
Once Whitey Bay had satisfied her desire to play the caring older sister, she stopped waiting on him.
With a wave of her hand, she leaped onto the Red Wolf Pirates’ ship to see what treasures were aboard.
She had not participated in the previous battle.
The women aboard Whitebeard’s ship were not combatants.
Whitey Bay, however, was an absolute brawler.
That was probably why, despite joining the Whitebeard Pirates so early, she eventually formed her own pirate crew and became one of Whitebeard’s affiliated captains.
She was also someone who could not stand sitting idle.
Watching Whitey Bay leave so gracefully, Teach pouted, feeling that he had gotten the worse end of the deal.
The three stared blankly at everyone bustling around the two ships.
They had suffered the worst injuries in the battle and could do little but sit there.
“Pops, I found something good!” Rakuyo emerged from the Red Wolf Pirates’ cabin carrying a small box.
He leaped back onto the Moby Dick and headed toward Whitebeard, who sat in his usual seat at the center of the deck.
As Rakuyo passed the injured trio, he winked and said mysteriously, “It’s time to divide the spoils.
Hurry up and follow me!” “What did you find?” The three supported one another as they struggled to their feet and followed him.
“A Devil Fruit!” Rakuyo then looked at Teach regretfully.
“It has nothing to do with you, Teach.
It isn’t the fruit you want.” Whitebeard had already ordered everyone aboard to keep an eye out for the Dark-Dark Fruit.
The Whitebeard Pirates had also issued a bounty through the underworld in the name of one of the three greatest pirate crews in the world.
Anyone who presented the Dark-Dark Fruit could name their price and would also earn Whitebeard’s friendship.
The money alone was tempting, but the friendship of Whitebeard, a great pirate widely regarded as the strongest, held an irresistible appeal for some people.
“Pops, what kind of fruit is this?” Rakuyo opened the box and presented the strange fruit to Whitebeard.
It resembled a cluster of greenish-blue bananas, with feather-like patterns covering its surface.
“Jozu, go to my room and bring me the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia,” Whitebeard ordered.
Jozu hurried away and soon returned with a book.
Whitebeard took it and began flipping through the pages.
He had obtained the encyclopedia during the God Valley battle, the final battle of the Rocks Pirates.
It had once belonged to the Celestial Dragons and contained records of an enormous number of Devil Fruits.
It could be said that every known fruit was recorded within it.
After searching for a while, Whitebeard finally identified the fruit and announced happily, “The Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Phoenix!” “A Mythical Zoan!” Rakuyo exclaimed.
“An ability even rarer than a Logia.
What incredible luck!” Mythical Zoan users were extraordinarily rare.
The most famous user of such an ability on the seas was currently Marine Headquarters Admiral Sengoku the Buddha.
Whitebeard continued reading from the encyclopedia.
“Like other Zoans, this fruit greatly enhances physical strength and speed.
Since it is a bird model, it also grants the ability to fly.” “Its Mythical Zoan power allows the user to produce blue flames and grants extraordinary regeneration.
The encyclopedia also says those flames may be able to heal other people’s injuries.” Whitebeard looked at Teach, Marco, and Vista, then glanced at the sons who had gathered around them.
“The three of you defeated Red Wolf, the strongest enemy.
You can decide among yourselves who gets this fruit.” The crew generally followed the rule that whoever defeated an enemy had the first claim to their spoils.
In a large battle, however, it was often difficult to determine who owned what.
Teach, Marco, and Vista had defeated Red Wolf, but they had been too injured to search the enemy ship themselves.
That did not mean everything Rakuyo found automatically belonged to him.
The crew could only divide the spoils afterward according to each person’s contribution, with those who contributed the most receiving the first choice.
Teach stared at the Phoenix Fruit.
He wanted it.
In his opinion, the ability suited him extremely well.
If Whitebeard gave him this fruit, Teach might even abandon his future plan to obtain the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Unfortunately, Whitebeard clearly intended for Marco to have it.
Marco was the ship’s doctor, and the Phoenix Fruit suited him perfectly.
“I already have a Devil Fruit I must obtain.
I don’t need this one.” Teach could only give it up regretfully.
He could not compete with Marco for it anyway.
More importantly, he did not want to reveal that his abnormal body might allow him to consume more than one Devil Fruit.
Vista rested his hands on the two renowned swords at his waist and said confidently, “I have my own swordsmanship!” His swordsmanship was indeed highly unusual.
Whenever he wielded his swords, flower petals materialized around him, making it resemble a Devil Fruit ability.
“Thank you, Vista!” Marco looked earnestly at the two of them.
“Teach, I’ll help you find the fruit you want!” “Hahaha!
Then I’ll be counting on you!” Teach laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Eat it quickly,” Vista urged expectantly.
“Let’s see if it can heal our injuries.” Under everyone’s gaze, Marco swallowed the fruit whole.
His expression immediately changed as he fought the urge to vomit.
Suddenly, blue flames erupted from his body.
Beneath the flames, his wounds began healing at a visible rate.
The fire grew more intense until it completely enveloped him.
Marco’s body slowly transformed.
His arms lengthened and expanded into wings, his legs became thinner, his feet turned into talons, and his head extended into a long beak.
It was a complete Zoan transformation.
A phoenix formed from blue flames appeared before them, seeming almost without physical substance.
Marco flapped his wings and slowly rose into the sky.
His movements were awkward at first, but he quickly adapted.
Before long, he was circling freely above the Moby Dick.
Many of the crew watched him with envy.
Even Whitebeard could not fly so freely through the air.
Like the sea, the sky was something people yearned to conquer.
Many had conquered the sea, but only a handful had ever conquered the sky.
The greatest among them was the great pirate Golden Lion.
His vast fleet was currently at the height of its power and could be considered the strongest pirate force on the seas.
The Whitebeard Pirates had recently received news that Golden Lion was searching for the great pirate Roger, hoping to recruit him as a subordinate so they could conquer the world together.
Teach secretly laughed when he heard the news.
He knew Golden Lion would soon fall from the peak of his life into ruin.
The rest of his life could be summed up in three words: He went mad.