'No, I don't!'
The moment Cyrus finished speaking, Blackbeard, now sitting up, felt genuinely speechless.
Although Cyrus said it that way, Teach did not believe he had any real right to refuse.
Of course, he could refuse, but the consequences of refusing were impossible to predict.
For all he knew, he might get cut down on the spot.
But Blackbeard truly had no idea why Cyrus had set his sights on him.
Teach's mind raced through his memories, confirming again and again that he had never had any interaction with Cyrus.
Forget meeting face to face—they had not even crossed paths indirectly.
Even so, Blackbeard did not believe a single word Cyrus had just said.
Short on crew members?
Wanted him as a crewman?
With Cyrus's status and strength, if he wanted to recruit crew members, would he really need to personally come looking?
The deck of the Rose Hunter fell silent.
Under everyone's gaze, fine beads of sweat began appearing on Blackbeard's forehead.
Of course, the greatest pressure came from Cyrus, who was sitting there.
Although Cyrus's expression was calm, Blackbeard understood that Cyrus's attitude from this point on would depend entirely on his answer.
"I understand."
Blackbeard did not think too much, nor did he have many choices.
He directly chose to lower his head.
On the way here aboard the Moby Dick, he had thought about leaving the Whitebeard Pirates and joining the Hunter Guild if Whitebeard lost.
Now, although the result seemed similar, the situation was actually very different.
"A smart choice."
Cyrus nodded slightly.
"Then, from today onward, you are a trainee crewman aboard the Rose Hunter. A trainee combatant, trainee logistics hand, and trainee odd-job worker."
Cyrus said this with a smile.
The corner of Blackbeard's eye twitched violently as he listened, but he did not dare voice any objection.
"Understood."
No matter how enormous the ambition in his heart was, Blackbeard hid it properly for now.
He felt that he had to figure out why Cyrus had set his sights on him.
Even though he had ambitions, he had never shown them. Not even the people within the Whitebeard Pirates had been able to notice.
He did not think Cyrus knew about them either.
So for now, he would lie low and find out exactly why Cyrus was targeting him.
Then Blackbeard turned and left, heading to the other end of the ship to clean the deck.
He felt that he needed to get out of Cyrus's line of sight first.
The pressure was simply too great.
After Teach left, Robin walked to Cyrus's side and looked at him curiously.
"There's a legend on the sea that Devil Fruits possess wills of their own and actively choose their users."
Seeing Robin's expression, Cyrus also noticed the curiosity on Issho and Baby 5's faces, so he smiled and explained.
"So he'll become the user of a Devil Fruit in the future?"
Issho had long since stopped being surprised by anything Cyrus did.
Blackbeard Teach was actually quite strong. Capturing him this time had taken Issho some effort as well.
However, Issho was certain that Teach was not currently a Devil Fruit user.
That was why he said this after hearing Cyrus's words.
"Probably."
Cyrus nodded.
What he had just said was part of this world's underlying rules, something analyzed from a perspective beyond this world.
After all, the Nika Fruit was like that.
And the Dark-Dark Fruit also seemed destined to fall into Blackbeard's hands.
That coincidence was a little too excessive.
If the Dark-Dark Fruit appeared in the future, there was a high chance it would still appear before Blackbeard in some way.
In that case, keeping Blackbeard near him gave Cyrus better odds than simply having the Hunter Guild search blindly.
Of course, sending people to search for it still had to be done at the same time.
"But a person can only eat one Devil Fruit. No matter how strong your body is, it shouldn't be able to contain two Devil Fruit powers," Robin reminded him.
From the history she knew, no one had ever possessed the abilities of two Devil Fruits.
At most, there were Devil Fruits that had several different abilities bundled into one.
"I know."
Cyrus nodded when he heard that.
Then he stood and tossed the sword in his hand to Baby 5.
"We haven't found the thing yet, so there's no point talking about this for now. During my fight with Whitebeard, I saw another new combat technique. I'll be thinking it over for a while."
After saying this, Cyrus returned to the cabin.
Robin, Issho, and Baby 5 exchanged looks.
"Whitebeard's defeat means the situation in the New World will change again. There will definitely be other pirates trying to seize territory during this power vacuum," Robin said.
"We must establish Hunter Guild branches on each island as quickly as possible," Issho said in a low voice.
Even if they did not have enough manpower right now, the name of the Hunter Guild already carried a certain deterrent force.
At the very least, it would help prevent some of the coming chaos.
"Mm. But we still need people."
Robin nodded, then frowned.
"But Cyrus intends to hand Whitebeard, Big Mom, and the others over to the Marines."
Just thinking about that gave Robin a headache.
She could tell why Cyrus wanted to do it.
Cyrus was only one person.
He could not keep watch over powerhouses like Big Mom forever. If Cyrus left, those powerful figures might obey the rules and accept their loss.
But there was an even greater chance they would stir up trouble again.
If that really happened, then aside from Cyrus, no one could restrain them.
So throwing these troublesome figures to someone else was indeed a decent choice.
However, doing so would inevitably give the Charlotte Family and the Whitebeard Pirates other ideas.
"How will the Marines handle them?"
Issho turned toward Robin, his expression serious.
Clearly, he also understood what kind of impact this matter would bring once it was done.
"I don't know. Perhaps they'll handle them like the Pirate King, Roger. Or perhaps they'll throw them into Impel Down."
Robin shook her head.
"If it's something the chairman wants to do, then we only need to obey his orders."
Baby 5, on the other hand, looked as though this was only natural.
Hearing this, Robin nodded.
"This old man will handle the ship."
Issho did not say anything more. He moved directly to the bow and took over control of the ship from Robin.
The fleet sailed back into Totto Land's waters, heading toward Whole Cake Island.
The news of Whitebeard's defeat also reached Morgans.
Looking at the series of photographs brought back by the News Coo, there was no surprise in his eyes.
Before Cyrus set out, Morgans had already been able to predict this result.
However, what he was thinking about now was whether he should immediately report this news.
"Perhaps I should wait until that guy comes back and ask for his opinion."
Morgans raised a wing and rubbed beneath his beak, muttering to himself.
…
Alabasta, Hunter Guild.
"So you're saying there may be someone on Little Garden who matches the pirate we're looking for?"
Kuina asked with surprise on her face.
"Someone only saw that there was one more person on Little Garden. However, they did not approach. The situation on Little Garden is special. The two giants on the island are pirates, but they were members of the Giant Warrior Pirates from a hundred years ago.
"They have been fighting on that island for a century, and they once had contact with the chairman. It would not be appropriate for us to disturb them too casually."
The one answering Kuina was a female artificial human sent by Germa as support.
She gave Kuina the information with a completely expressionless face.
"I see."
Kuina nodded.
"We'll go take a look. Do you have a Log Pose for Little Garden?"
"Yes. There are many Log Poses pointing to Little Garden. But those two giants are not weak, and they have had contact with the chairman. I do not recommend coming into conflict with them."
"Don't worry. Our target is that pirate, not the two giants."
Kuina immediately replied.
Besides, pirates from a hundred years ago who had stayed on the island ever since? That kind of thing could only prove that the sea was vast and full of strange wonders.
After receiving the Log Pose, Kuina swept her gaze around.
There were many Hunters inside the Hunter Guild branch.
Most were either asking for information or submitting completed missions.
After taking a deep breath, Kuina turned and left.
She had the intelligence and the Log Pose.
Next came bringing that guy back.
However, just as Kuina left and prepared to reunite with Zoro and the others, she suddenly sensed a powerful slash shooting into the sky.
Kuina froze. Then her expression changed, and she stamped both feet down hard, her body turning into an afterimage.
A few breaths later, Kuina stopped, one hand gripping the hilt of her sword as her eyes widened.
Zoro and a group of Hunters were sprawled all over the ground. Judging by the way they could still groan, their lives were not in danger.
But the only figure still standing there…
Kuina lowered her body slightly.
Her eyes turned into vertical slits as she fixed them firmly on the man carrying the black blade on his back.
The World's Greatest Swordsman.
Dracule Mihawk.
Why was this man here?
And why had he already crossed blades with Zoro and the others?