After finishing his explanation, Ace continued calmly.
"Teach was patient. He had a plan for everything. He stayed on our ship for decades just to wait for the Dark-Dark Fruit. That kind of patience isn't normal."
"He was ambitious. Ruthless. If killing Thatch helped him move forward, he wouldn't hesitate."
Ace paused.
"But the one we faced at Marineford was different."
Everyone listened in silence.
"He was high-profile. Arrogant. He didn't bother hiding his strength. Sometimes he helped the Marines. Sometimes he helped us. He even pushed Luffy to awaken."
"There was no clear goal. No long-term calculation."
Ace's voice lowered.
"He was playing."
"He watched people struggle. He stirred conflict with a few words and split the Marines from the inside. He tested everyone's choices."
"That's not Teach."
Marco frowned slightly.
"You're saying…"
"I'm saying Teach might have died the moment he swallowed that fruit," Ace said. "And what's wearing his body now is something else."
The deck fell quiet.
At that moment, a small black flame flickered into existence beside Ace. It shaped itself into a hand.
Then it gave him a thumbs-up.
And vanished.
No one spoke.
Whitebeard's face darkened.
"You think this is funny?"
He slammed his naginata down, and the surrounding sea churned violently. Waves rose high before crashing back down.
From somewhere distant came a faint laugh.
—
On the Red Line, Xiao was watching through a projection of dark aura.
He chuckled.
"As expected, you can't underestimate them."
He had tried to imitate Blackbeard's behavior as closely as possible.
But imitation was still imitation.
Blackbeard planned everything. Even chaos served a purpose. Marineford in the original timeline had been his masterpiece. He aimed for Luffy but accidentally caught Ace instead, turning that mistake into an even greater opportunity.
Within a year, he rose from obscurity to the ranks of the Seven Warlords, then ascended to the throne of the Four Emperors. That wasn't luck. That was calculation.
Xiao was different.
He enjoyed improvisation. He preferred pushing events in the moment, watching people react.
That difference in style was what Ace noticed.
It wasn't power that exposed him.
It was temperament.
—
With Marineford over, the world entered chaos.
The Navy was weakened. The Red-Hair Pirates were in turmoil. Whitebeard was gravely injured.
Ambitious newcomers flooded the seas.
Pirate crews rose and fell. Nations shifted alliances. The balance of power grew unstable.
For Luffy and his crew, however, this became a quiet period.
After realizing their lack of strength, they decided to separate for two years and reunite later at Sabaody.
Everyone pursued growth in their own way.
Meanwhile, life for the Celestial Dragons on the Red Line remained unchanged.
They indulged themselves as usual, distant from the suffering below.
Xiao had no urgent matters. His subordinates handled military affairs. Government issues barely concerned him.
He had planned to enjoy a peaceful stretch of leisure.
That peace didn't last long.
The Da Luo Arena reopened.
"So soon?" Xiao muttered.
Within a few months, it had activated twice.
The void between worlds was clearly unstable.
"Looks like another cluster," he said.
Beside him, Sebastian Shaw frowned slightly. "Vampires this time? There are too many types to count."
Blade. Van Helsing. Twilight. Castlevania. Holy knights. Different worlds, different systems.
The variety made prediction difficult.
A bell-like sound echoed.
Four fragments of Da Luo energy emerged from Xiao's body and shot upward. In the void, they collided with four others.
They fused into a blazing sphere that hovered above the Arena.
The space transformed.
This time, there was no simple stone platform.
Instead, an enormous ruined city materialized.
Collapsed buildings stretched as far as the eye could see. Broken streets. Shattered towers. Dust-filled air.
It was vast—comparable to a capital.
Outside the city, figures began to appear in waves.
Tens of thousands.
Allies, subordinates, blood relatives—teleported to one side.
On the opposite side, another army assembled.
Neither Xiao could see the other's formation.
The fourth Da Luo battle had begun.
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