Chapter 287: Reputation Can Still Continue to Decline

Blackbeard fell into confusion.

Blackbeard completely gave up struggling.

Facing Akainu and Kizaru the previous two times, he could still jump into the sea to escape; this time facing Kuzan, a user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, even jumping into the sea had become a luxury.

Especially now, his whole body was wrapped in Sea-Prism Stone chains, and the chains were engraved with "Made in Inazuma".

His own failure was indeed hateful, but Bai Mao's success made Blackbeard feel even worse.

Clearly, when the Whitebeard Pirates and the Luo Jie Pirates first met, Blackbeard alone could match the trio of Bai Mao, Red Nose, and Red Hair.

Yet now he had become a prisoner.

Even a guy like Red Nose could become the second-in-command of an Emperor's crew, living freely in the New World under the protection of his father, the Golden Lion.

Though Red Hair's name was not yet prominent, he had also formed the Red Hair Pirates and sailed freely across the seas.

Bai Mao had even become a Celestial Dragon and the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma; his Morning Star Crew was full of talented people, and he was hailed as the most successful pirate in two hundred years.

Even the Sea-Prism Stone chains the Navy used to imprison criminals were produced in Inazuma.

One could imagine just how powerful Bai Mao's influence was, and just how wealthy Inazuma was.

Blackbeard seemed to have accepted his fate as several Navy soldiers carried him into the ship's Sea-Prism Stone prison.

When Red Nose was publicly executed by the Navy, Bai Mao led the Morning Star Crew to personally go to Marineford to rescue him; now, Blackbeard... who would come to rescue him?

The Embers on the Old Man's ship?

Blackbeard laughed at his own absurd thought.

It was true that the Emperors came from the Rocks Pirates, but they would never be Heavy on Emotion like Bai Mao.

Even though Blackbeard was hostile toward Bai Mao, he still had to admit that Bai Mao was truly Heavy on Emotion.

To rescue his former comrades, he had actually dared to personally go to the Navy Headquarters and fight the Navy's three Admirals, Sengoku, Garp, and other high-level combatants.

But in the eyes of the Emperors, loyalty and righteousness were nothing.

If Whitebeard, the Golden Lion, Big Mom, and Kaido were Heavy on Emotion, the Old Man Rocks would not have died in God Valley back then.

If they were Heavy on Emotion, how could they have chosen to scatter when the Old Man was isolated and had no help?

The more Blackbeard thought about it, the angrier he became.

They were all pirates, and Bai Mao had previously been an Emperor of the Sea... yet comparing the Emperors to Bai Mao, why was the gap between pirates so huge?

Indeed, there were gaps even among the Emperors.

The Navy warship cut through the waves and moved forward, and Blackbeard's heart grew heavier and heavier.

The World Government knew his identity as a member of the D family; they definitely would not let him go. Most likely, they would not imprison him in Impel Down but would execute him directly.

"So... is this the end?"

A person's dreams do not end, but a person's life will eventually come to an end one day.

Blackbeard had already foreseen his fate.

"I... I'm not willing!"

If he hadn't seen that Bai Mao, in just a few short years since setting sail, had already achieved terrifying accomplishments, Blackbeard would not have made the decision to leave the Whitebeard Pirates.

It was all Bai Mao's fault, that bastard.

If it weren't for Bai Mao... he should still be playing house with the Whitebeard Pirates right now.

How could he be facing execution like this?

Old Man Whitebeard, come save your son!

Brothers of the Whitebeard Pirates, I beg you, come save your brother!

Blackbeard screamed madly in his heart: Your brother doesn't want to die yet; your brother still has unfinished dreams.

But Blackbeard also understood that even if the Whitebeard Pirates went to the new Marineford with their strength, they probably wouldn't be a match for the Navy.

Just Garp alone could stop the Old Man.

The other division commanders facing the Navy's three Admirals had absolutely no hope of winning.

Thinking that the Old Man probably wouldn't come to save him, Blackbeard lay on the ground and completely gave up struggling.

Tired. Let it all be destroyed!

New World, Elbaf waters.

Donghai Dihuang Captain's Cabin.

After receiving the newly organized intelligence on recent years from Morgans, Saint Saint Saiwen briefly glanced through it. When he saw the report on the Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, Saint Saint Saiwen couldn't help but sigh.

There are gaps between pirates as well.

Or rather, there are gaps between Kozuki and Kozuki.

Saint Saint Saiwen realized: he had previously misunderstood Moria, and at the same time, Kozuki Oden's reputation could still continue to decline.

Previously, Saint Saint Saiwen thought that the battle between Moria and Kaido in Hachinosu was a pirate invasion of Wano Country. Who could have imagined that according to the intelligence organized by Morgans—

Moria went to save Wano Country.

Moria drifted to Wano Country when he was young, was taken in and raised by the people of Hachinosu, and was given the name Kozuki because of his powerful strength.

After setting sail to form a pirate crew and gaining a little fame, he learned that Kaido had invaded Wano Country.

To save the people of Wano Country, Moria immediately led his comrades back to Wano Country and fought a great battle with Kaido in Hachinosu.

In the end, only Moria survived; out of shame and unable to face his elders, he left Wano Country.

The people of Hachinosu thought Moria had died and built a tomb for him.

And at this time, Kozuki Oden was still on the streets of Flower Capital... dancing naked.

Who was the true man and who deserved the name Kozuki was clear at a glance.

Combining the above intelligence, Saint Saint Saiwen finally understood: why Moria had such an obsession with collecting shadows to build a zombie army and defeat Kaido.

This was because—

Even with only Moria left, he still did not give up on saving Wano Country.

No wonder Moria was so excited when he first heard the Morning Star Crew was going to attack Wano Country; he finally saw hope for his homeland's liberation.

"As expected," Saint Saint Saiwen couldn't help but boast to himself.

"My judgment is as good as ever; every crew member I invited is, just like me, a being brimming with charisma."

Using Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Moria in this context is an insult to the true man, Moria.

Even though he spent many years with Oden in the Luo Jie Crew, Saint Saint Saiwen still looked down on Oden as an idiot.

If any normal-minded person had faced Kaido and the Beasts Pirates invading Wano Country,

they wouldn't just ask the Luo Jie Crew or the Whitebeard Pirates for help; at the very least, they would have lent a hand when Moria resisted Kaido, right?

You must remember, at that time the Luo Jie Crew had not yet disbanded, and Whitebeard was still at his peak; going to just one of them would have been enough to drive Kaido away.

Yet, Oden did nothing.

He continued to dance naked in Flower Capital, indulging his own emotions, and even pinned the hope of Wano Country's founding on his foolish son Momonosuke and his retainers.

However, looking at it from another angle,

it is a good thing Oden was foolish enough; otherwise, how could Saint Saint Saiwen and the Morning Star Crew have taken Inazuma back from Kaido's hands?

"If there were more idiots like this on the Grand Line, Inazuma's territory could perhaps grow even larger."

Unfortunately, an idiot like Oden, across the Four Seas and the Grand Line, is a one-of-a-kind case.

"Captain, we have arrived at Elbaf."

"Good."

Within Saint Saint Saiwen's Observation Haki perception, Uncle Jabra, who had received the news in advance, was already sitting on the Elbaf coast, waiting for a long time.

And standing beside Jabra was a colossal figure; it was none other than the Giant Prince Loki, who had found a new hammer.

The Giant Clan worships the War God Elbaf; as a prince of the Giant Clan, Loki possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Giants, making his battle lust far stronger than that of ordinary giants.

Especially the experiences of being defeated by Saint Saint Saiwen multiple times in recent years, which Loki has always regarded as a humiliation.

"Little Bai Mao, take this hammer!"