Chapter 446: The Truth
A day later, Marco and the others sailed around Saint Ding Island, arriving at the port of Raki Raki Town, where they successfully rendezvoused with Ian and Ace.
Ian, Ace, and their group of six brought the Blackbeard Pirates, tied up like dumplings, to the port to welcome Marco and his crew.
After receiving Ace's message and learning that Teach had been successfully captured, the Whitebeard Pirates dispatched four division commanders to assist with the escort.
They were: First Division Commander Marco, Third Division Commander Diamond Jozu, Fifth Division Commander Flower Sword Vista, and Eighth Division Commander Fish-Man Namur.
If Ace, the Second Division Commander, were added, then the team responsible for escorting the Blackbeard Pirates would consist of five commander-level figures.
This was something Ian had specifically requested, which was why the Whitebeard Pirates treated this escort mission with such seriousness.
In truth, even though Teach had killed Thatch and defected, the Whitebeard Pirates still hadn't fully grasped how dangerous Teach was. In many people's eyes, Teach was just a brute—strong, but not particularly outstanding in strength. This was mainly because, during his time with the Whitebeard Pirates, he had always seemed harmless enough.
If Ian hadn't insisted, it was likely that Marco alone would have been considered more than enough...
Even so, when they met Ian, Vista greeted him and then complained a bit, saying, "Ian, I was on vacation, you know! Just because of your words, the Old Man sent me here too. You'd better treat me to a good drink!"
Ian smiled at them and replied, "Drinks are no problem, but I need to warn you: I'm not exaggerating when I say that Ace and I almost fell into Teach's hands. You must be extremely careful when escorting him!"
"Is... is that so?" Marco and the others were taken aback. They looked at Teach with renewed caution.
Walking up to Teach, Marco crouched down, looked him in the eye, and said through gritted teeth, "Teach, do you realize how much the Old Man is hurting because of you?"
But Teach remained silent, staring straight back at Marco.
From Teach's eyes, Marco caught a hint of madness and couldn't help but shiver. He instinctively stepped back, feeling that the Teach before him was utterly unfamiliar—completely different from the Teach he remembered.
He had changed! Marco realized this immediately, but what had caused that change, he had no idea.
Turning around, Marco asked Ian, "Ian, are you coming back with us? The Old Man would like to see you..."
Ian thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I have things to do. With you and Ace escorting him, as long as you're careful, there shouldn't be any trouble on the road. So I won't go with you."
Ian did have business to attend to. Two days earlier, while waiting for Marco and the others to arrive, he had received a Den Den Mushi call from Fujitora. Fujitora told him that Marine Admiral Aokiji had come looking for him.
Aokiji's visit was about the Pacifista.
Since only Aokiji knew that Ian's Dragon Hunter Pirates' base was on a Sky Island, the Marines had sent Aokiji as the liaison to contact the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
During the call, Fujitora informed Ian that Marine Headquarters and the World Government had finally agreed to Ian's proposal to trade Germa technology for the Pacifista!
Originally, the Pacifista were a secret weapon of the Marine Science Unit and should never have fallen into anyone else's hands. But when Ian submitted the trade condition—Germa technology in exchange for the Pacifista—it caused a split within the Marines.
The split was mainly between Marine Headquarters and the Marine Science Unit. Headquarters, led by Fleet Admiral Sengoku, was firmly opposed to the deal. However, the Marine Science Unit was eager to acquire Germa's technology and argued persistently. They claimed that since the Pacifista needed field testing anyway, it didn't matter who did the testing, and they used this as an excuse to debate the matter with Headquarters.
As for the World Government, they remained silent, simply watching the two subordinate departments argue.
But after a period of contention, a sufficiently influential figure finally stepped forward to speak: the Marines' most valued scientist, Dr. Vegapunk.
For reasons unknown, according to Aokiji's account, Dr. Vegapunk openly supported the trade. As the Marines' top scientist, his words carried weight, and everyone had to take them seriously. In the end, Sengoku relented and approved the deal, though he stipulated that only one Pacifista could be handed over.
In fact, the Pacifista were still in the testing phase at that point, as Bartholomew Kuma's modification hadn't been fully completed. That was why Sengoku had been able to give in so easily.
Moreover, there was a significant secret behind this matter that Aokiji didn't know and couldn't reveal.
Regardless, when Aokiji found Fujitora, he explained the situation. Fujitora didn't dare delay and immediately relayed it to Ian. According to the Marines' requirements, Ian had to go to Marine Headquarters in person to complete the transaction.
So, Ian needed to return to Marine Headquarters next and couldn't participate in the escort.
He couldn't explain this to Marco and the others, but they were understanding and didn't press further. After resting for a while, they set off with the Blackbeard Pirates in custody.
Watching the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet sail away, Ian still felt something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Still, he wasn't too worried about the escort. He knew that with Marco and the others there—unlike when Ace was alone—the escort should go smoothly.
So, he could only shake his head and temporarily set aside his doubts.
…………………………
After the fleet set sail, Teach, who was tied up and sitting on the ship's deck, suddenly burst into loud laughter.
His laughter immediately put Marco and the others on alert. Flower Sword Vista drew his twin swords and pointed them at Teach, saying, "Teach! What trick are you trying to pull? I'm telling you, don't think you can escape. Namur came with us this time specifically to prevent your escape. You should know what happens when a Devil Fruit user falls into the sea and encounters a Fish-Man in this vast ocean, right?"
Fish-Man Namur clenched his fist at the right moment, asserting his presence.
But after laughing, Teach shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to escape! Where could a one-armed man like me run to?"
"Then why are you laughing?" Marco asked, puzzled.
"I'm just laughing at this damn fate!" Teach laughed again. "Fate is truly the most unpredictable thing..."
Ace and the others exchanged glances, confused about what Teach meant.
After laughing, Teach fell silent and closed his eyes, resting on the ship.
Seeing this, Marco and the others had no choice but to let it go.
However, with his eyes closed, Teach wasn't sleeping as Marco and the others thought. Instead, he was sorting through his plan in his mind.
"The first step is a success!" Teach thought to himself. "Laffitte seems to have completed his task, and the Marines have cooperated. That kid Ian didn't join the escort. Now, it's up to me..."
Just as Laffitte had said when explaining to Sengoku and Akainu, Teach had indeed allowed himself to be captured on purpose.
In fact, the moment Teach set foot on the port of Raki Raki Town and saw Ian and Ace, he realized that his Blackbeard Pirates might not escape this time.
The reason was simple: they had just survived a shipwreck and were exhausted. Fighting Ian and Ace in that state would not end well.
However, the Blackbeard Pirates' crew were all cunning veterans. When they realized the situation was against them, their first thought was self-preservation.
They knew Ian could fly, so trying to escape by sailing away would be suicide. Ian would likely destroy their ship and leave them to the Sea Kings. So, fleeing by sea wasn't an option. They had to fight Ian first and see how it went.
But Teach had managed to buy some time through conversation.
It was during this delay that the Blackbeard Pirates' navigator, Laffitte, had already taken action.
If anyone had noticed Laffitte's movements at the time, they would have seen him constantly twirling his cane in his hands!
To the uninformed, it might have looked like Laffitte was nervous, but that wasn't the case. Laffitte was actually a master of hypnosis, and twirling his cane was his method of inducing it!
As a master, his hypnosis was hard to detect. At the time, Ian and Ace's group of six had their eyes mostly fixed on Teach, and Laffitte was standing right beside him. His cane-twirling naturally fell into the periphery of Ian and the others' vision!
So, without realizing it, even Ian and Ace had been hypnotized by Laffitte!
During the hypnosis, Laffitte implanted two suggestions in Ian and the others.
The first was: Don't kill Teach!
The second was: If the Blackbeard Pirates have five members, then one of them must be Laffitte!