Chapter 263: Is That All?

Blackbeard hesitated not a moment; using the momentum of being kicked away at light speed by Kizaru, he leaped straight into the sea, preparing to repeat his old trick of escaping by diving in.

At this point, Blackbeard finally realized his identity as a member of the D. family had absolutely been exposed.

Otherwise, the Navy would never have dispatched two Admirals in succession to capture him.

An Admiral... that is treatment reserved only for Little White Hair; what merit did a newcomer like him, who had just set sail, possess?

Furthermore, Lafitte was most likely a traitor.

Lafitte appeared at the southern port of the Sorbet Kingdom precisely because Blackbeard had previously mentioned the Blackbeard Pirates' next plan while in the West Sea—

To travel to the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Sea to recruit crew members.

What a wretched state!

Blackbeard was at a loss for tears; wherever Little White Hair went, he encountered powerful crew members, whereas wherever Blackbeard went, he encountered Navy Admirals.

How could the difference between people be so great?

He regretted it from the start; how had he lost his mind and left the Whitebeard Pirates to set sail?!

If he were still with the Whitebeard Pirates now, under the protection of Father Whitebeard, he would absolutely not be in such a wretched state.

Fortunately, he had escaped once again.

Before Blackbeard could even feel relieved, a tall purple fish-man suddenly appeared behind him, swimming faster than Arlong.

"It's over, Warlord Tiger!"

The Navy is truly well-prepared.

For a pirate newcomer like him who had just set sail, they spared no effort in dispatching the fastest Navy Admiral and the fastest-swimming Warlord Tiger.

Damn it!

I'll remember this grudge!

The Navy and the Warlords all deserve to die!

Although Blackbeard exerted every ounce of his strength, the fish-men are the sea's favorites, especially a fish-man like Tiger with such extensive experience at sea.

It was only a matter of time before Blackbeard was captured alive.

The sudden change of events that occurred in the blink of an eye made Arlong and Lafitte stop their attack with perfect understanding.

Lafitte silently made up his mind: He couldn't stay with the Blackbeard Pirates; just how big a hole had Blackbeard dug to cause the Navy to dispatch two Admirals?

The last time it was Akainu; Lafitte could still escape relying on his flying advantage.

But now facing Kizaru, who in the sea doesn't know that Navy Admiral Kizaru is the fastest man, except that he cannot go underwater...

"Mr. Admiral, I don't know them."

Lafitte had just attempted to jump into the sea when Kizaru kicked him at light speed, causing him to vomit blood uncontrollably.

Immediately after, Arlong, whose pupils were shaking, saw a footprint growing larger and larger rushing toward his face, impossible to dodge.

Boom~

Having finished off Lafitte and Arlong with two kicks, Kizaru waved his hand, and the main force Navy troops lying in ambush near the port surged forward in a flood.

Using the latest model of Sea Prism Stone handcuffs from Wano, they took the two downed pirates into custody.

Only then did Kizaru look out at the sea surface.

"Prepared so thoroughly, if Blackbeard escapes again, it would make no sense."

The last time the Navy was unprepared, the Blackbeard Pirates' fish-man Arlong caught them off guard, allowing Blackbeard to escape alive.

This time the Navy brought the strongest fish-man Tiger, and they also captured the Blackbeard Pirates' fish-man Arlong alive; without fish-man crew members, where could Blackbeard flee?

However, minute by minute passed.

Warlord Tiger still did not surface, and especially as a vortex strangely rose on the sea surface, Kizaru's unease grew thicker.

Did Blackbeard escape again?

"Interesting," Kizaru said with a grim face.

Blackbeard is indeed a descendant of the D. family; did he truly receive the sea's protection?

Could it be that Davy Jones is not yet dead?

Kizaru realized: He must make time to go to Wano to ask that guy Seven about the grievances and entanglements between Imu, Joy Boy, and Davy Jones.

To avoid being completely in the dark like now, having no idea what actually happened beneath the sea surface.

After a long while, Tiger surfaced from the deep sea with a depressed expression, paying no heed to his clothes soaked through.

"Mr. Borsalino."

"Down there... something strange happened."

Tiger lowered his voice: "Just as I was about to catch Blackbeard, a vortex suddenly rose in the sea and directly swept Blackbeard away."

Kizaru blinked his eyes, digesting this extremely unusual, even bizarre, situation.

It seems Kuzan must be sent personally.

If Kuzan makes a move, he will freeze the entire sea area around Blackbeard first, leaving no chance for escape.

"You've worked hard, Mr. Tiger."

"The sea is so vast; unreasonable accidental situations are also within reason."

A man that two Navy Admirals couldn't catch; Kizaru became increasingly interested in Blackbeard.

"The main responsibility lies with me."

If Kizaru hadn't kicked that kick, but instead captured Blackbeard alive on the port shore, such an accidental situation would never have occurred.

"Lock these two up first; I'll go to the nearby sea area to try my luck."

After giving the instruction, Kizaru turned into light and vanished.

Leaving only a group of Navy elites to take Lafitte and Arlong back to the Navy warship and lock them in a special Sea Prism Stone cage.

Almost at the same time, in the deep sea area.

In the surging whirlpool, Blackbeard's eyes turned white, his consciousness on the verge of collapse from drowning.

"Is my dream... ending here?"

At this moment, Blackbeard's vision flashed repeatedly with the blurred images of his father and mother.

He had originally possessed a happy and complete family: a powerful father, a gentle and beautiful mother, and kind grandparents who doted on him...

Yet during the God's Valley incident, his family was destroyed, leaving only him and his mother to rely on each other.

After his mother passed away, seeking revenge, Blackbeard knelt before Whitebeard, constantly kowtowing and begging, pleading with his father's former subordinate to take him on as an intern.

Scenes of the past flashed back one after another.

Until the image froze on the encounter between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Luo Jie Pirates; that battle lasted three days and three nights.

As an intern of similar age, Blackbeard faced Luo Jie's crew's cook, Bai Mao, the intern Shanks, and the red-nosed man alone.

In that battle, not only were three of his teeth kicked out.

It also made Blackbeard discover: the red-nosed man of the Luo Jie crew had actually been staring at him for three days and three nights.

"Truly... ending... here..."

"I... cannot accept... it!"

Just as Blackbeard's consciousness collapsed, a faintly visible Sea King octopus blew a bubble, wrapping Blackbeard's entire body inside it.

Accompanied by oxygen carrying the scent of the sea flooding his nostrils, Blackbeard lay in the bubble, gasping for air in great gulps.

The feeling of being able to breathe, of being alive, was wonderful.

"Zehahahaha~"

As the saying goes, those who survive a great calamity will surely have good fortune later; Blackbeard believed his luck was finally about to arrive.

However, the giant octopus blowing the water bubble merely extended his life, showing no sign of continuing to help.

Blackbeard gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath before the bubble burst, and used both legs and arms to swim toward the horizon.

This must be a test from Ancestor Davey!

If he passes Ancestor's test, there will surely be a vast reward; the light novels published in Inazuma are all written that way.

Blackbeard's face turned bright red, and finally, with his last breath, he surfaced to the sea.

At just one glance, Blackbeard became even more depressed.

Let alone a reward.

Last time, Arlong could still take him to a deserted island for refuge; this time, it was just the vast ocean.

Moreover, the only two crew members of the Black Crew: the fish-man Arlong and the traitor Lafitte, if nothing unexpected happened, were most likely already captured alive by Kizaru.

Thinking of this, Blackbeard finally broke down.

How unjust fate is!

Is setting sail this difficult?!

Why is it that after Bai Mao set sail, everything went smoothly, while he, Blackbeard, faced disaster upon disaster after setting sail, and the crew members he had so hard recruited... were all gone.

The red-nosed man has become a Warlord's Vice-Captain, and Shanks has the Shanks Pirates!

And he... has nothing.