Chapter 323: The Manifestation of Influence
Due to Teach's departure and the ensuing commotion, the Whitebeard Pirates overlooked one thing: the Devil Fruit that originally belonged to Thatch was gone!
The Dark-Dark Fruit, which had been bitten once and left in Thatch's room, had been sucked into a black hole by Teach when he tested his ability. So at this moment, no one realized that Teach had already become a Devil Fruit user. Everyone's impression of Teach still remained as it was before.
Thus, right after Whitebeard's treatment was completed and his emotions had stabilized slightly, several division commanders stepped forward, volunteering to pursue Teach.
It was at this moment that Ace stepped up and said to Whitebeard, "Old Man, let me go after Teach! He was a member of my division after all. Since he did this, it's my duty to bring him back!"
The influence Ian had caused was finally manifesting. Although Ace, as in history, volunteered to Whitebeard to pursue Teach, his emotions were not as agitated as they had been in the original timeline.
This was because his relationship with Teach wasn't that close. So, Teach's act of killing a comrade didn't make Ace feel a strong sense of betrayal. He simply wanted to seek justice for his friend Thatch now.
When a person is calm, they tend to consider things more comprehensively.
Hearing Ace's request, Whitebeard was silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it, Ace. I don't know why, but this time, I have a bad feeling about this..."
The bad feeling was one thing, but more importantly, Whitebeard suddenly thought of Ian for some reason!
Although history has its inertia, the butterfly effect Ian caused was beginning to show. Whitebeard suddenly recalled the scene when Ian tried to assassinate Teach. He remembered Ian's smiling words when faced with his questioning: "You'll find out later..."
Now, thinking back carefully, Ian had been good to everyone else in the Whitebeard Pirates, but he had always been wary of Teach. During their fight, he even suddenly developed murderous intent and tried to kill Teach.
Could it be that back then, that brat Ian had already sensed something?
Judging by how Teach killed Thatch, that bastard Teach had definitely been planning this for a long time, not acting on impulse. Otherwise, Teach wouldn't have specifically sought out Thatch for drinks and gotten him drunk. This meant that everyone had been fooled by Teach's honest and simple appearance before.
Especially recalling the punch Teach threw during his duel with Ian—the immense force that sent Ian flying—this made Whitebeard even more certain that Teach had been hiding many things!
Damn it, back then because of Roger's matter, after discovering that Teach's name also contained a "D," he had kept him in the crew all this time. Yet now, he realized that he had never truly seen through Teach as a person! How strong was he? What were his true intentions?
Back then... he had wronged Ian!
Whitebeard let out a deep sigh, a hint of regret stirring in his heart. Had he punched too hard back then?...
He wanted to stop Ace from pursuing Teach, but Ace shook his head and said, "Let me go, Old Man!"
Whitebeard looked at Ace's determined eyes and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Alright, you can go, but you must promise me one thing!"
"Tell me, Old Man!" Ace nodded.
"Before you pursue Teach, I want you to find Ian first!" Whitebeard said. "Whether it's to join forces with him or to seek his advice, promise me! Find him first!"
Ace was stunned, then a happy smile spread across his face. "No problem!"
Marco and the others also looked at Whitebeard in surprise. They never expected to hear Ian's name from Whitebeard Old Man's mouth again.
In fact, since Teach was severely injured last time, no one had dared to mention that name in front of Old Man. Although because Teach survived, the Whitebeard Pirates didn't attack the Dragon Hunter Pirates, everyone knew that Ian had hurt someone from the Whitebeard Pirates, and Old Man was displeased. So, out of consideration, even Marco and Vista didn't dare to bring up Ian in front of Old Man. Occasionally, when drinking and thinking of Ian, they could only keep it in their hearts.
Ace was even more so. He and Ian were brothers, and the territory Ian had secured as a Warlord wasn't far away, right in the New World. But considering Old Man's feelings, Ace didn't dare to go find Ian and could only obediently stay on the ship. Last time, when Ace went to Wano Country, he had a chance to stop by Travira Island to see Ian, but he didn't because of this reason.
But now, Old Man had voluntarily brought up Ian and told Ace to find him first. This meant that Old Man had finally let go of his grudge against Ian!
So, similarly, Marco and the others recalled the words Ian had said when he left, and their expressions turned somewhat strange. Did Ian have the ability to foresee the future? Had he already seen through Teach's wrongness?
With this doubt, the other division commanders no longer competed with Ace for this mission. Teach was, after all, a member of the Second Division. As Ace said, as the commander, he had the responsibility to make up for the mistakes of his subordinates.
After some preparation, Ace set off on his small flame-powered boat. His first destination wasn't to follow the traces Teach had left behind, but to head toward Travira Island in the New World.
He planned to find Ian first.
Under Ace's control, the small boat, driven by thermal energy, spewed a burst of blazing white flame from its stern and sped away. Watching Ace's departing figure from the Moby Dick, Marco crossed his arms and asked Vista, "Have you noticed? Ace's flames seem a bit different from before?"
Vista stroked his mustache and nodded, "They do seem different. His flames are now leaning toward white, and the temperature seems higher! I wonder if his flames will eventually turn completely white?"
Marco curled his lip and said, "So what if they turn white? They're still not as good-looking as my blue phoenix flames!"
Hearing Marco's rare display of tsundere, Vista smiled slightly and made no comment...
After Ace left, the Whitebeard Pirates held a grand funeral for Thatch. Thatch was, after all, Whitebeard Old Man's son, and Old Man was deeply pained by his death. He could only honor Thatch in this way.
However, holding the funeral also meant that the news of the Fourth Division Commander's death spread throughout the New World.
At the same time, the name Marshall D. Teach became known to the world. But interestingly, when those interested tried to verify who Marshall D. Teach was, they were surprised to find that there was no wanted poster or photo of Teach!
That meant Teach's current bounty was zero!
This was truly unbelievable. A person capable of killing the Fourth Division Commander couldn't possibly be a small fry! Not to mention that Teach had been with the Whitebeard Pirates for over twenty years!
For such a person to remain unknown for over twenty years sent chills down the spines of many who learned this news.
Marshall D. Teach was either truly incompetent, or... he was an extremely deep and calculating schemer!
Wait and see the show! Such a major upheaval in the Whitebeard Pirates made many feel the prelude to a storm. They made no moves, simply watching and waiting...
Meanwhile, on the first half of the Grand Line, Ian was finally approaching Alabasta's capital, Saint Ding Island!
Saint Ding Island wasn't far from Drum Island, but rowing a small boat, Ian had spent a full four or five days to reach it.
Along the way, Ian encountered two abnormal climates. Just after leaving Drum Island, he faced a fierce blizzard at sea. Alone on the boat without warm clothes, he was almost frozen stiff!
Then, after leaving Drum Island, he encountered an extremely hot climate. Temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius made Ian want to strip naked and swim forward. At the same time, there was no wind on the sea, making Ian wonder if he had accidentally strayed into the Calm Belt!
This was the Grand Line. Without a Log Pose, Ian would have truly doubted himself and turned around.
Sailing the Grand Line was truly difficult... One day you're freezing like a dog, the next you're sweating like one...
Fortunately, Ian had a Log Pose, so he chose to trust it. As he gradually approached Saint Ding Island, the number of ships on the sea increased.
Alabasta's capital, Saint Ding Island, was a massive island. Located at a strategic point, it was very prosperous. Although it was a hot desert country, the grandeur of a thousand-year-old kingdom was unmistakable.
As soon as he docked, Ian's first action was to sprint onto the island, find a restaurant, kick open the door, rush to the counter, and say to the owner, "Water! Give me water!"
Due to the hot climate at sea, Ian had almost drunk all the water and alcohol he had brought from Drum Island. He had been without water for nearly a day. If he had arrived any later, Ian wondered if he would have died of thirst.
Seeming used to customers like Ian, the restaurant owner wasn't surprised. He laboriously carried out a wooden barrel and handed it to Ian.
Ian took it, pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and began to drink greedily, thoroughly enjoying it.
Since he was bare-armed and holding the barrel, the tattoo on his left arm was naturally visible. A man wearing a turban, sitting at a table to his left, saw the tattoo on Ian's left arm and his expression changed...