"Talk…?"
Blackbeard rolled the word around in his mouth, the thick muscles of his rugged face twitching with suspicion.
His gaze locked onto the man before him—the former admiral who looked half-asleep, yet radiated an unfathomable depth—and his mind raced, sifting through everything he knew about Kuzan.
One of the Navy's ultimate powers. A man who upheld "Burning Justice." Defeated in his bid for Fleet Admiral after the Paramount War, losing to Sakazuki… and then vanishing from the Navy altogether, his whereabouts unknown.
And now, here he was—appearing in Blackbeard's own stronghold in the most domineering, openly hostile fashion imaginable.
"Kuzan!" Blackbeard's voice rose sharply, edged with both accusation and probing intent. "What exactly is your position now?!"
He stepped forward, his presence swelling. The invisible pull of the Dark-Dark Fruit spread outward, distorting the air itself as he tried to seize back control of the moment through sheer pressure.
"You're a former Admiral—'Aokiji'! Gern Reginald Sigmar has already led the Navy into total independence, tearing ties with the World Government!"
His voice grew sharper, almost biting.
"If you really care about your so-called 'justice'—about the future of the Navy—then shouldn't you be heading straight back to New Marineford right now?! Reclaim your position and help that man reinforce his 'New Justice'?!"
It was blunt. Direct. And it struck at the very question the entire world had been asking.
Given Kuzan's past, there was no reason for him to remain detached from a transformation of this magnitude.
At Blackbeard's words, something flickered behind Kuzan's round sunglasses—a brief, dark shift that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Then—
"Heh…"
A low chuckle escaped him. His shoulders shook slightly, as if he'd just heard the most absurd joke imaginable.
"You pirates really do say the strangest things…"
The laughter stopped abruptly.
The lazy expression on his face hardened in an instant.
"Justice? The Navy?"
Kuzan leaned forward slightly, his gaze piercing straight through Blackbeard.
"Open your eyes, Marshall D. Teach."
Before the words had fully settled—
BANG!!!
With a deafening thud, Kuzan slammed his right leg down onto the heavy wooden table in front of him.
The layer of frost coating the surface fractured instantly. The frozen juice cup bounced slightly from the impact.
And then—
In Blackbeard's stunned gaze, Kuzan reached down and grabbed his own right leg—just below the knee.
"Crack!!!"
A sharp, brittle snap echoed through the hall.
He tore it off.
Cleanly.
No blood. No flesh. No bone.
The cross-section was smooth—gleaming, crystalline ice.
What he held in his hand was not a limb of flesh, but a meticulously crafted prosthetic made entirely of ice.
With a dull thud, Kuzan tossed the severed "leg" onto the table. It rolled once… twice… and came to a stop right in front of Blackbeard, radiating an intense, bone-chilling cold.
"My leg…"
Kuzan's voice dropped, heavy and cold.
"…was taken at Punk Hazard."
He lifted what remained of his real limb—nothing but an empty stump below the knee, scars stark and undeniable.
"By that bastard Sakazuki… he didn't hesitate for a second."
His jaw tightened ever so slightly.
"He fought like killing me wouldn't matter at all."
Then, just as suddenly, he leaned back again, returning to that slouched, lazy posture—yet the chill in his words only deepened.
"And you're telling me…"
"…to go back to a Navy filled with his people… now following Gern Reginald Sigmar's 'independence'?"
He let out a faint scoff, shaking his head.
The rest went unsaid—but it didn't need to be.
Hatred. Ideological conflict. A severed limb.
There was no going back.
Blackbeard narrowed his eyes.
His sharp gaze moved between Kuzan's face, the empty stump of his leg, and the frozen prosthetic on the table.
His mind spun rapidly, dissecting every word, every nuance.
The loss of Kuzan's leg—he'd heard the rumors. The duel at Punk Hazard had shaken the world, even if its details were buried.
Kuzan had lost.
Lost his leg.
And left the Navy.
That much was fact.
As for everything else…
It fit.
The detachment. The faint disdain for the current Navy. The unwillingness to return.
When Kuzan left, the Navy had still been under the World Government. Gern Reginald Sigmar hadn't yet risen.
Now, everything had changed.
And Kuzan… no longer belonged anywhere.
More importantly—
The power he had just displayed was undeniable.
Freezing the entire perimeter of Hachinosu in an instant.
Neutralizing Avalo Pizarro. Sanjuan Wolf. And now… Samuel Kronos.
Three top-tier commanders—gone without resistance.
That overwhelming force was real.
And the way he had entered—crushing Blackbeard's stronghold, holding his crew hostage to force negotiation…
It matched perfectly with a man who had lost his place in the world—and begun walking his own path, unconstrained.
A former Admiral.
Alienated from both the Navy and the World Government.
Possessing terrifying strength.
Blackbeard's heart began to pound faster.
His crew was powerful, yes—but as Samuel had said, true loyalty was scarce. Most followed him for profit… or fear.
If he could bring someone like Kuzan into the fold—
Even temporarily—
The value would be immeasurable.
Not just in combat power, but in influence. In deterrence. In shaking the balance of the entire sea.
As for the risks…
Blackbeard licked his lips.
When had he ever feared risk?
Playing with fire. Grabbing treasure from the flames.
That was his way.
"Zehahaha…"
The gloom on his face melted away, replaced by a wide, exaggerated grin.
"I see… I see now, Kuzan!"
He strode back to his seat and dropped heavily into it, eyes burning with intensity.
"A broken leg… a grudge that runs to the bone! That magma bastard Sakazuki—and the Navy that sided with him… yeah, I get why you wouldn't go back!"
In an instant, Blackbeard's tone shifted—sympathetic, almost conspiratorial.
Then, just as quickly, it sharpened into something more dangerous.
"I think… I understand what you came here to talk about."
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his presence pressing down like a storm.
"Look at you. Alone. With power at the very top of the sea—but nowhere to use it."
"The Navy won't take you back. The World Government? You wouldn't bother with them."
He spread his arms wide, a grin splitting his face.
"And this ocean… the only place that can give you a stage… a place to take back what you've lost… from Sakazuki… from anyone you hate…"
"Zehahahahaha!!!"
"…is right here."
"Hachinosu!"
"My island is a fortress! Easy to defend, impossible to conquer!"
"My powers—the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit—are enough to stand against any Admiral!"
"And my crew…" His eyes flicked briefly toward the frozen Samuel, then toward the ice-bound town outside. His eyelid twitched. "…well, they're all top-tier fighters too!"
"But more importantly—"
Blackbeard's grin widened to its limit, revealing the gaps in his teeth, eyes blazing with greed and madness.
"I'm not afraid of chaos. I welcome it."
"What do you want, Kuzan?"
"Revenge? To tear apart the Navy and the World Government?"
"A new place to test your ideals? Or just somewhere strong—and free—to exist?"
He opened his arms as if embracing the entire world.
"I, Marshall D. Teach… can give you all of it!"
"Join my crew! No—better yet… with your strength, we can be partners!"
"Equals!"
"We'll share this sea… and the treasures of the future!"
His voice dropped, thick with temptation.
"Just think about it, Kuzan…"
"Together, we can shake the very foundations of the New World!"
"That so-called 'independent Navy'… the Four Emperors' balance… the World Government itself…"
"We'll crush them all beneath our feet!"
"And the leg you lost… the humiliation you endured…"
Blackbeard's eyes gleamed with savage promise.
"…we'll repay it a hundredfold."