Chapter 26

It could be said that as long as Ace said he accidentally used too much force, then Ace would have nothing to worry about.

Saying they were hunting Ace, the Magic Council was actually more likely wanting to contact Ace and the force behind Ace, the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Alright."

"Since I need to cooperate with the investigation, there is no other way."

Ace looked at Lahar, whose mouth was twitching, and stood up with a dumbfounded smile.

However, just as Ace stood up, the smile on Ace's face completely froze.

I don't know when, a burly, sloppy man slowly walked out from the corner of the entrance, with an exceptionally honest smile on his face.

"Blackbeard."

"Marshall D. Teach."

Looking at the figure he had been thinking about day and night, Ace narrowed his eyes slightly: "I didn't expect that you, a traitor, would dare to appear in front of me."

"Speak, Teach."

"Why did you kill Thatch?"

At this time, Ace's voice was unprecedentedly flat.

But everyone present, especially those who had just heard Ace tell the past, could clearly feel how huge the anger was hidden under Ace's flat tone.

Thatch was the former Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

He was also a good friend of Ace.

"Mr. Lahar."

"He is really scary; hurry up and handcuff this guy."

Blackbeard Teach completely ignored Ace, who had a flat expression, looked at Lahar in front of him, and said: "Now that the accuracy of the news has been confirmed, how should I collect the bounty for hunting Ace later?"

"I..."

"Teach, I am asking you!"

Looking at Teach, who still didn't answer him directly, Ace could no longer guarantee the flatness of his expression; his expression became distorted like Natsu's just now, and he roared: "Why did you kill, Thatch?!"

A deafening sound came from Ace's mouth.

And by this time, the smile on Teach's face gradually became flat.

Looking at Ace, who was looking at him with great anger, Teach said faintly: "No reason."

"Just because that guy Thatch was in my way."

Teach’s words could be said to have deeply stung Ace’s heart.

Before this, although Teach had killed Thatch and fled the Whitebeard Pirates, deep down, Ace had been unwilling to believe what Teach had done; Ace had wanted to catch up to Teach and ask for the truth.

He wanted to know why Teach would suddenly turn his blade against a good partner of so many years.

"You bastard!"

"What exactly do you take your partners for?!"

Before Ace could say or do anything else.

The moment Teach’s voice fell, Natsu charged fiercely toward the spot where Blackbeard Teach was located.

At this moment, Natsu was truly consumed by rage.

Seeing Blackbeard Teach be so dismissive, killing a partner simply because of the answer "you were in my way," Natsu was truly furious.

Boom!

Amidst everyone’s stunned gazes, Natsu passed straight through Blackbeard Teach’s figure and slammed a heavy punch into the street behind Blackbeard.

"Interesting."

Teach looked toward Natsu and said, "Just like Ace, both of you use fire?"

From beginning to end, Blackbeard Teach was merely an illusion created by Aizen Sosuke using his Mirror Flower, Water Moon. Although Lin Cheng could also have Aizen simulate the five senses, there was no need.

Today, it was only necessary for Blackbeard to make an appearance here at Fairy Tail and have a brief exchange.

"Bastard!"

"I’m definitely going to beat you into the sky today!"

Natsu, refusing to believe it, swung another punch at Teach’s body.

Without any surprise, Natsu’s fist passed straight through Teach’s body; there was no physical sensation at all.

"Natsu, don't waste your effort."

"If I’m not mistaken, this should just be an illusion."

Not far away, Mirajane watched Natsu, who was trying hard to punch Blackbeard Teach away, and said with some seriousness, "There is no physical form; you won't be able to hit him, Natsu."

At the same time, Lahar also felt that things were becoming somewhat complicated.

Or rather, Lahar had finally come to his senses at this moment, realizing that he seemed to have been used as a pawn.

Although it seemed he hadn't actually played any substantial role.

"An illusion?"

Seeing that Blackbeard Teach’s figure was an illusion, Ace took a deep breath, tried to calm the anger in his heart, and said, "So, you suddenly ran over to find me—what is your purpose?"

"Purpose?"

"Ace, are you asking me for my purpose?"

Watching Ace struggle to calm his inner rage, Teach chuckled twice and said, "Isn't it you, Ace, who has been searching for me all this time?"

"Seeing how hard you were working to find me, I took some time to come and see you."

"No matter what, Ace, you are my good brother."

"However, if you really want to know if I have a purpose, it’s not that I don't."

Having said this, Blackbeard Teach’s tone paused slightly.

As if waiting for Ace to ask on his own.

"What purpose?"

Ace looked at the pausing Teach.

Seeing that Teach’s face had shown no expression of guilt from start to finish, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Join my crew, Ace."

"Aren't we good friends?"

Teach looked at Ace and laughed loudly, waving his large hand, and said, "Now that I have obtained a brand new power, I have the confidence to compete with Old Man."

Boom!

A pillar of fire completely engulfed Teach’s figure.

Rolling heat waves spread from the center of the pillar to the surroundings. After a month, the members of Fairy Tail once again felt the terrifying power of Ace, which was enough to instantly kill a Wizard Saint.

Although Ace’s attack had no effect on Blackbeard Teach’s phantom, there was no doubt that Ace’s attack had clearly established his stance.

"What a pity."

"But, that’s just like Ace."

Watching Ace, whose face was extremely gloomy and who no longer spoke to him, Blackbeard Teach chuckled twice and said, "Then, let’s end it here for today; we’ve caught up enough."

"If you can find me, Ace, let’s have a good chat then."

Saying this, Blackbeard Teach’s figure disappeared under the gaze of everyone present.

Not far away, Aizen Sosuke also slowly put away the Mirror Flower, Water Moon in his hand and turned to leave.

The atmosphere in the Fairy Tail guild was somewhat oppressive.

Although this was only their first encounter with Blackbeard Teach, they had already obtained quite a bit of intelligence through the conversation between Blackbeard Teach and Ace.

At the same time, everyone understood the extreme pain Ace was feeling at this moment.

"Haha, I think I accidentally broke the guild that everyone worked so hard to build."

Before the members of Fairy Tail could say anything, Ace regained his smile and said to Erza beside him, "I’m canceling the mission request I posted earlier."

"The bounty from the mission request will be used to pay for the repairs to the guild, as well as the compensation for those three mages."