Except cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Why hadn't anyone stopped him yet? What were Ace and Teach even talking about?
He was running out of material! What else was he supposed to say? Boss really should've given him a script. How much did Boss expect him to know? Did Mock look like a scholar?
After some unknown stretch of talking, Mock, as if he'd forgotten his lines, fell silent. The cold sweat on his forehead grew more visible, but he maintained his posture, not letting the mask slip.
So what was he supposed to say now? Was anyone going to stop him? And what was wrong with the World Government and Marine HQ, were they that useless? They still hadn't intercepted the signal?
Enough already.
Then, in an instant, Mock seemed to think of something else. His eyes darted around, he took a deep breath, and he shouted, "And there's that whatchamacallit,-"
The words weren't finished.
*Bzzzt-mew~*
A sharp signal tone rang out.
"-, that thing is really real,-"
A piercing signal tone blasted through Marine HQ as well, and the image on the screen vanished in an instant.
Sengoku froze, then regained his composure. "Did we finally intercept the signal?"
"We intercepted it, all right." Tsuru hung up her Den Den Mushi, her expression unreadable. "But it wasn't our Technology Department."
"Not our Technology Department? Then who? Forget it, it doesn't matter who. As long as it's been intercepted." Sengoku frowned, then sighed. "Maybe the World Government handled it. I'll ask later. Right now, we've got more important things to do."
His eyes lingered, conflicted, on the snow-fuzzed projection screen.
The man's final words had been cut off, and his pronunciation was sloppy, but by now, the whole sea probably understood what Mock had been about to say.
One Piece.
Sengoku shook his head, his voice heavy with weariness. "The great chaos is coming again."
Just as Sengoku had predicted, once Mock's words spread, the sea had indeed grown very busy.
Although the broadcast had ended, the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates still stood frozen in shock.
"The world will be submerged? Is what Mock said true? He's not just lying to us, is he? How would he even know something like that?"
"Obviously his father, the Pirate King Roger, told him!"
"So... are those secrets really true? What do we do?"
"Gurararara. True, false, does it even matter to us?" Hearing his sons argue, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, let out his signature laugh. He smiled at them. "All we need is to sail together as a family. Even if the world really does end, Pops will be right there with you. We are family!"
"Pops is right. This has nothing to do with us. Everyone just carry on." Marco shooed the crew away, then sighed. "Mock really went and stirred up trouble again. Though..."
He looked at Whitebeard, worry on his face. "Pops... after what Mock just pulled, the World Government will never let him get away with it. Shouldn't we do something?"
"I don't know. Maybe the kid has his reasons." Whitebeard shook his head cheerfully. He gave Marco a pointed look. "That kid's ambitions are bigger than any of us realized."
"Ambitions?" At Whitebeard's words, Marco found himself thinking back to that day he'd invited Mock to soak his feet. A faint smile crossed his face.
That day...
Under the guise of foot-soaking, he'd once again invited Mock to join the Whitebeard Pirates. He'd even gone so far as to say he'd willingly step aside from the Second-in-command spot and let Mock take it.
He'd been turned down.
The Whitebeard Pirates were one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, a top-tier crew standing at the very pinnacle of these waters. It felt disloyal to put it this way, but becoming Whitebeard's Second-in-command meant a real shot at captaining the Whitebeard Pirates someday.
Marco knew that if something unexpected happened, the one fit to lead wouldn't be him, nor any of the other crew.
He even suspected that if Pops really passed, their whole family might just fall apart. A Captain's role isn't something just anyone can fill. And if Mock joined, he'd be the most qualified.
Yet Mock turned him down without a second thought.
Without even a flicker of hesitation. That said it all.
Deep down, Mock had absolute confidence that he would stand at the summit of the sea, that he would lead his own crew to become the new Emperors of the Sea, and beyond that, the Pirate King.
At that thought, Marco sighed again and shook his head. "Pirate King. Mock. They really are alike."
"Gurararara. They really are, both reckless fools!" Whitebeard nodded, his signature laugh rumbling forth. A nostalgic look settled in his eyes. He shook his head. "Though I never expected Roger to be this reckless."
To just spill all those secrets.
Even he had been stunned.
As a father, that was completely irresponsible.
"You're still a fool, just like before. Mock..." Whitebeard fixed his gaze on the sea, a flash of intent in his eyes. "Will he become the hope you spoke of, Roger?"
Wano Country.
"Worororo! That's exactly what I'd expect from a madman like Roger's son!" Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates, Yonko of the New World, Kaido, the King of Beasts, let out his unique laugh. "The world is going to be submerged. That's not what I expected!"
He turned to the crewman beside him, the one in the mask and goggles-and-helmet rig, the one with the black wings.
"King, what do you think the kid's really after? Dropping a secret like that, right now, for everyone to hear?!"
"I don't know." King the Conflagration, Lead Performer of the Beasts Pirates, shook his head at his captain's question. "But the sea is about to descend into chaos."
"Let it!" Kaido's eyes flashed. The corner of his mouth curled. "Chaos is the only way we make the dream real. The only way we drag those so-called 'gods' down from above!"
"...If that's the plan, isn't it too soon?" King paused. "We aren't ready."
"Worororo, so what? The sea never runs short of surprises, that's what makes it fun!" Kaido let out his booming laugh. "It's a shame Joker got himself caught so fast. Talked big about an alliance, and a few days later, gone. He became a joke himself." He looked at King again. "Tell me, do artificial Devil Fruits even exist? Or was that fool stringing me along?"
"I don't know."
"Forget it. Not worth the effort. That clown got my hopes up and delivered nothing. If I ever see his face again, it'll be too soon." Kaido waved it off, then stroked his bearded jaw. "What if I went and invited Mock to join us?"
His captain's suggestion hit King with open disbelief. He frowned. "Him and the Whitebeard Pirates, they seem close."
"But I heard he never joined Whitebeard. Worororo, Roger's son, all right." Kaido laughed again. "That's a man with ambition."
"So, Captain, you really mean to invite him?"
"Of course. And besides..." Kaido grabbed his gourd and took a long swig. His voice dropped, thick with implication. "Do you think that brat can become Joy Boy everyone's whispering about?"
At the same moment,
"Rayleigh. Is any of what he said real? And stop drinking, I've never seen you this drunk before. That's new."
"Mmmnn... who knows?" Rayleigh was slumped over the bar, a drink in one hand, as if Shakky's words had never reached him. His face was flushed, his voice loose and cheerful. "What was the captain thinking? Telling a kid that many secrets..."
He spoke. Then-
*Thud.* The wine glass wobbled in his grip and hit the counter. Rayleigh was gone. Mumbling to himself, "Right, Roger? You idiot. He really is your son."
--**--**
"Why would Captain Roger do this? Did he become a fool in his final moments? Telling a kid all that? Stuff even I never knew."
"Fool or not, I can't say." On the Red Force, Benn Beckman put the Den Den Mushi away, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he glanced at Shanks, whose face was frozen in pure shock. "But I do know the sea just got a whole lot more chaotic. The world is heading somewhere no one can control anymore."
He blew a smoke ring. "That's the son of your legendary captain for you. Barely in the New World and already making world-shaking moves. So, care to tell me what your legendary captain was really planning?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know either!" Shanks smacked his own head, grimacing. "If the kid keeps this up, the World Government will never let him go. Damn it, did captain have some kind of plan? It doesn't add up!"
"So even you don't know. Well. I'm getting more curious about your former captain's son." Benn Beckman's expression sharpened with genuine interest. "What's your move, then? Are we sailing to rescue the son of your former captain?"
"Ahh... Set a course for those waters. The Red Force moves. What else can I do, he's captain's son. Can't let the Marines actually take him. And more than that..." Shanks sighed, then lifted his head slightly, his gaze drifting over the sea with a distant, heavy look. "Right now... isn't the time for chaos."
Luffy... he must be close to setting sail himself.
===============
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