“This is incredible!” Marco exclaimed excitedly.
“Incredible, my ass!
You can fly, so of course you weren’t scared.
The rest of us nearly died!” Vista grumbled as he wrung the seawater from his clothes.
“Pops, the Moby Dick is badly damaged!” “Most of our supplies were soaked in seawater, and nearly all of them are unusable,” Rakuyo reported as he emerged from the wrecked ship.
Although they had successfully climbed the waterfall, Whitebeard’s power had been too violent and difficult to control, causing them to overshoot.
The Moby Dick now lay stranded on the beach.
All three masts were broken, and several holes had been torn through its hull.
“We need to replenish our supplies and repair the ship.
We’ll have to stay here for at least a week,” Rakuyo estimated.
“I’ll go find supplies,” Marco volunteered.
“No.
We know nothing about this island, and you’re still an apprentice.
You can’t go alone!” Whitey Bay objected.
“I can fly, and I’m stronger than you now,” Marco retorted confidently.
After obtaining his Devil Fruit ability, Marco finally had the confidence to argue with her.
He was no longer afraid of the violent woman.
Even before eating the fruit, he had ranked among the five strongest people aboard after Whitebeard.
Now, with the power of the Phoenix Fruit, he could be considered the strongest of Whitebeard’s sons.
The boost granted by a Mythical Zoan was truly immense.
The Phoenix possessed extraordinary endurance, making it exceptionally difficult to defeat.
Even against someone stronger than himself, Marco could easily hold them back.
“Enough.
Stop arguing,” Rakuyo said, stepping between them before a fight could break out.
“Don’t worry about finding supplies yet.
First, let’s see what can still be salvaged from the ship.” Everyone began rescuing as many supplies as possible.
Whitebeard remained seated, watching his sons work while his far-reaching Observation Haki monitored the surrounding area.
“Where’s Teach?” Thatch suddenly asked.
“Why does he always disappear whenever there’s work to be done?” Vista said fiercely, deciding that he would definitely beat Teach up later.
Teach had improved so quickly since joining the crew that Vista knew he needed to act soon.
In a few more years, Teach might be the one beating him—perhaps even hanging him up and thrashing him while he was helpless to resist.
Vista’s expression suddenly changed.
“Wait.
He didn’t fall into the sea while we were climbing the waterfall, did he?” “No.
I saw him earlier,” Jozu replied.
“He went into the forest.” His words reassured the others, who immediately began discussing how they would gang up on Teach later and teach him a lesson for always avoiding work.
Teach was currently wandering nearby, genuinely curious about the country.
Wano was the world’s only source of Seastone and the homeland of the powerful samurai.
Too lazy to help with the work, he had simply gone exploring.
However, he remained within the range of Whitebeard’s Observation Haki, staying close enough to the beach that he could be called back whenever necessary.
The forest was still just a forest.
A few of its plants differed from those found elsewhere, but there was nothing particularly surprising about it.
Teach estimated that the others had probably finished sorting through the soaked supplies by now.
It was almost time to return and face the beating that awaited him.
He knew they would settle the score with him for slacking off.
“Kozuki Oden should still be here around this time…” As Teach walked, he thought about the immensely powerful samurai who would eventually become Whitebeard’s sworn younger brother.
Teach had no intention of involving himself with Oden for now.
He was not yet qualified to interfere with someone that strong.
In the future, however, Kozuki Oden’s two children could be carefully exploited.
Kaido of the Beasts was not the only one who coveted this country.
Teach of the Blackbeard Pirates wanted it as well.
“Outsider!” A thunderous shout interrupted his thoughts.
An extremely tall man dressed as a samurai charged toward him with two swords in hand.
Damn it.
He had only been thinking about Oden, and now Oden had appeared?
Judging by that charge, was the man trying to kill him?
As the samurai—presumably Kozuki Oden—rushed toward him with unstoppable momentum, Teach felt a flicker of panic, followed by intense anger at his own weakness.
Had he possessed Whitebeard’s strength, he would have killed anyone who dared approach him with such hostility.
Aside from Whitebeard, this was the strongest person Teach had ever encountered.
It was also his first time directly facing someone so powerful.
As Teach’s emotions surged, a deafening explosion came from the distance.
“Boom!” An irresistible slash tore through the forest toward Kozuki Oden.
Everything in its path was destroyed.
The earth and trees split apart, leaving behind a bottomless ravine.
“Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Waterfall!” Teach was now certain.
This damned man really was Kozuki Oden.
Teach watched coldly as Oden rapidly swung his two renowned swords, coating them in Armament Haki.
A powerful slash flashed through the air and collided with the attack coming from afar.
Oden’s slash resisted for only a moment before shattering.
“Ah!” Unable to evade the remaining force in time, Oden crossed his two blackened swords in front of himself.
The terrifying attack sent him flying.
He tumbled repeatedly across the ground, smashing through one tree after another.
“Teach!” Whitebeard followed directly behind the slash, striding toward him.
“Teach, who is that man?” The towering Whitebeard stood protectively in front of his son and stared at Kozuki Oden, who lay in the distance.
Whitebeard had noticed when Teach left the others and wandered into the forest.
He had merely smiled at the brat’s laziness and paid it no mind.
If Teach could make his brothers tolerate his behavior, that was his own ability.
The matter was between his sons, and they were no longer small children.
Whitebeard would not interfere with who could win the others’ respect or who had the ability to lead them.
He had even been smiling as Marco and the others discussed beating Teach once he returned.
Then Kozuki Oden entered the range of his Observation Haki.
The strength of the newcomer’s presence immediately caught Whitebeard’s attention.
Whitebeard was not afraid of him.
Defeating the man would only take a few exchanges.
What alarmed him was the direction in which that presence was moving.
The instant Whitebeard realized Oden was charging directly toward Teach, he became furious.
He knew that someone of Oden’s strength could kill Teach in only a few moves.
There had been no time to consider why the stranger was attacking his son so aggressively.
Teach was in danger.
In his rage, Whitebeard unleashed a blow that tore open a bottomless ravine more than a thousand meters long.
The attack had even sent one of Wano’s strongest warriors tumbling helplessly across the ground.
“I don’t know,” Teach replied with a puzzled expression.
“He suddenly appeared with two swords and charged at me as though he wanted to kill me.” Every word was deliberately chosen to provoke Whitebeard further.
Kozuki Oden had left an extremely poor first impression on Teach, so he had no intention of saying anything in his defense.
Had Teach possessed enough strength, he would have killed Oden and seized Wano Country immediately.
Unfortunately, he was still far from being Oden’s match.
But he would remember this debt.
Whitebeard said nothing.
He simply walked toward the fallen Kozuki Oden, his fury evident in every step.
Someone had tried to harm his son right under his nose.
If he could tolerate that, he would not be the great pirate Whitebeard.