Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
Uchiha Chiga leaned back in his office chair, bored out of his mind as he flipped through the stack of dull documents on his desk.
A sharp knock echoed at the door.
Kalifa entered, a newspaper in hand. She laid it gently on his desk and said, "Boss, something's happened with the Whitebeard Pirates."
Chiga picked up the paper, his eyes narrowing at the bold headline sprawled across the front page:
> Shocking Upheaval! Internal Strife in the Whitebeard Pirates!
Chiga raised an eyebrow. Blackbeard, he thought immediately.
Sure enough, the article centered on Marshall D. Teach, a former member of the Second Division. According to the report, Teach had slaughtered the entire Fourth Division over a Devil Fruit and then defected from the crew. He was now going by the name Blackbeard and had formed his own pirate crew.
Notably, the paper praised the Devil Fruit he had obtained, claiming it was powerful enough to make Blackbeard capable of challenging the Four Emperors. However, it gave no specific details about the Devil Fruit's abilities.
Chiga smirked. It must be the Yami Yami no Mi—the Dark-Dark Fruit. Teach wouldn't go this far unless it was that one.
The timeline had accelerated slightly, but the outcome remained the same. Teach still got the fruit he'd obsessed over. What changed was his ruthlessness. In the original story, he only killed Thatch. This time, he wiped out an entire division.
Kalifa noticed Chiga's grin and furrowed her brows.
"Boss… don't you find this article a bit suspicious?"
Chiga looked up, curiosity piqued. "What do you mean?"
"It feels... exaggerated," she said. "They're hyping this Devil Fruit too much. No fruit is that valuable once it's eaten. Kill the user, and the fruit reappears randomly in the world. Finding it again is nearly impossible."
She paused, pushing up her glasses.
"As far as I know, you're the only one who's ever figured out a way to extract Devil Fruit powers directly."
Chiga chuckled softly, amused by her concern.
He knew where she was going with this. She suspected the newspaper was bait—an intentional lure aimed at him.
All fear stemmed from insufficient strength—and right now, there wasn't anyone in the world he feared. Not even Imu.
Besides, whoever wrote the article had unknowingly done him a favor. Without it, he wouldn't have known that Teach had already secured the Yami Yami no Mi, one of the rarest fruits on his target list.
"Whatever the motive behind this leak, I want that Devil Fruit."
He stood up and stretched.
"Kalifa, I'm leaving Marineford for a while. You'll handle operations in my absence."
Kalifa sighed, pushing her glasses again. Even if you didn't say so, I'd still be the one doing all the work.
Still, she quickly composed herself and nodded.
"Understood, Boss. I'll handle everything."
Chiga gave her an approving glance, then pulled her gently into a light embrace. He kissed her softly, and in the next instant—blink—he vanished.
West Blue — A Small Kingdom.
On a crumbling street, a tall, lean man in a black top hat was surrounded by nervous soldiers. Their weapons were raised, but none dared approach him.
The man stood calm and composed. His cane tapped idly against the cobblestones.
He was Lafitte, the infamous "Demon Sheriff"—and one of the earliest recruits of Blackbeard's growing crew.
Despite the standoff, it wasn't Lafitte who looked worried—it was the soldiers who were drenched in cold sweat.
One finally shouted, "Lafitte! Your violent abuse of power has caused public outrage. By order of His Majesty, you are hereby expelled from the kingdom!"
Lafitte gave a bemused smile, adjusting his hat.
"Did I go a little overboard? How troublesome."
The soldiers' patience snapped.
"Overboard?! You destroyed an entire street! Do you know how many civilians died because of you?!"
Lafitte tilted his head lazily. "They were just too weak. Not my fault."
He twirled his crimson-tipped cane.
"You monster! I'll drag you back to the dungeons myself!"
Several soldiers lunged at him with swords drawn.
A flash of cold steel tore the air—and then silence.
Lafitte stood back where he had begun, sheathing his cane-sword with elegance.
The soldiers who had attacked froze mid-step. A moment passed—and then blood erupted from their bodies as they crumpled to the ground.
The remaining soldiers paled with terror.
Lafitte's voice was calm but mocking.
"It seems I'm not welcome here. Well then… I'll take my leave."
He turned on his heel.
But a booming, raspy voice interrupted him.
"Zehahahahaha! What an amusing guy. Leaving so soon? At least hear me out."
At the far end of the street stood several men, casting long shadows in the dying sun. At the front was a large, shaggy man with missing teeth and a ragged coat—Marshall D. Teach, now Blackbeard.
Beside him were his first recruits:
Jesus Burgess, the brute of a helmsman,
Van Augur, the cold-eyed sniper,
and Doc Q, the sickly doctor, slumped on his horse.
Each had a dangerous aura.
Lafitte turned back, curiosity glittering in his crimson eyes.
This… was about to get interesting.
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