Chapter 392: Blackbeard

New World, Punk Hazard.

Inside the Vegapunk Laboratory, Blackbeard, undergoing full-body transformation, suddenly asked out of nowhere.

"Old Vegapunk, why is it so quiet today? Where did everyone else in the lab go? And what's going on outside?"

After over a year of living together, Blackbeard and Vegapunk had grown mutually appreciative, becoming confidants—transformer and transformed.

Vegapunk opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Having been immobilized for a year and a half, Blackbeard's only hobby was devouring gossip.

How could he miss this unusual scene?

"Old Vegapunk, I thought we were already friends. Shouldn't friends be honest with each other?"

At these words, Vegapunk sighed.

"Everyone else in the lab… has been locked up by Borsalino. The noises outside? Over a hundred giants are moving, hunting, eating…"

"What?!" Blackbeard's eyes widened.

He'd thought it was just ordinary gossip, but turned out he'd stumbled onto a colossal secret—massive, earth-shattering.

"Why did Borsalino arrest them? How did giants end up in Punk Hazard? Has the World Government already taken down Elbaf?"

"Sigh." Vegapunk kept sighing.

"Old Vegapunk, I beg you," Blackbeard looked at Vegapunk with the pleading eyes of a petty, lovesick woman: "Please, tell me!"

Gossip was his only pleasure during his long, agonizing transformation.

"Saint Saint Saiwen Saint has rebelled."

Vegapunk dropped a bombshell: "Borsalino is Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's man. He just helped King Harald free the Big Hammer Crew, who had been frozen in ice."

"Those hundred-plus giants outside are the very Big Hammer Crew who built Noah's Ark."

Not long ago.

Upon hearing Borsalino's confession, Vegapunk had reacted exactly as Blackbeard did now.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

How could a Marine Admiral be Saint Saint Saiwen Saint's man?

And King Harald? The Kingdom of Elbaf is the world's strongest nation—how could it submit to Saint Saint Saiwen?

Yet all of it was true.

"Old Vegapunk, are you teasing me? Borsalino and Harald are both Bai Mao's men—how could this be?"

Blackbeard knew.

His father Rocks and Harald were like brothers. Before Rocks went to the God Valley, he had repeatedly invited Harald to join him, staying for years in Elbaf.

Harald had refused even his brother's invitation, and afterward went to Marine Headquarters to cut off his own horns, choosing to serve the World Government.

How could he possibly rebel alongside Bai Mao?

Besides, Admiral Borsalino was a Marine prodigy cultivated for years—his loyalty to the Marines was unquestionable.

And when Borsalino joined the Marines, Bai Mao was still begging for food in the East Blue,

utterly impossible to be Bai Mao's man.

Vegapunk stuck out his tongue.

"Tichi, though it sounds utterly unbelievable, it's true. Today, I tried to report on the Peacekeepers to Satan Saint, but I couldn't reach him at all."

"If I'm not mistaken, Mary Geoise has already erupted into battle."

"This…" Blackbeard was stunned, elated, and furious.

Stunned by Bai Mao's decisiveness—he could've waited patiently, yet chose to rebel now.

Elated because finally someone had stormed Mary Geoise; with the Morning Star Crew's strength, they'd likely cripple the World Government.

If Bai Mao failed, how wonderful that would be.

Before Bai Mao's defeat, the Holy Land Mary Geoise would be destroyed, and the Celestials would suffer countless deaths.

The blood debt of the Davie clan had finally been repaid, in part.

But if the World Government won, the Morning Star Crew, Wano, Elbaf—all would be exterminated.

Saint Saint Saiwen Saint, Blackbeard's greatest threat, would likely be gone.

Furious because if Bai Mao succeeded, he'd become King of the World, and the entire world would fall into his grasp.

Then what was all Blackbeard's effort worth?

What was all those years of playing house on the Moby Dick, searching for the Dark-Dark Fruit, worth?

What was enduring Vegapunk's transformation for revenge against the World Government worth?

Blackbeard felt the sky had collapsed.

He frantically prayed: mutual destruction.

Let Bai Mao and the World Government destroy each other, then he'd seize the chaos, recruit a new fleet of pirates, rebuild the Blackbeard Pirates, grow stronger, and reclaim glory.

Yet for some reason, Blackbeard couldn't shake the feeling: Bai Mao wouldn't lose. Bai Mao would win.

"Old Vegapunk, do you think he'll win?"

Vegapunk shook his head.

"I don't know."

"The World Government has ruled for eight hundred years. Its depth has never been tested—it has countless Marines, Impel Down, CP agents, and over 170 allied nations…"

"Even if Saint Saint Saiwen Saint wins, this sea will plunge into chaos."

Hearing this, Blackbeard's mood improved slightly.

If the sea remained as it was now—with the World Government unshaken, the Marines dominating the four seas, and the Four Emperors ruling the New World—where would there be room for Blackbeard?

As the saying goes: heroes emerge in chaotic times. Only when the sea is utterly in turmoil can he snatch victory from the flames.

Only then can it grow strong.

But all of this has one prerequisite: escape from Beigapangke's laboratory and gain freedom.

However, when Blackbeard looked at the black Lou Stone chains wrapped around his body, his only good mood vanished instantly.

"Old Be, let me go."

"As you said, the sea is about to plunge into total chaos—why not join forces? We could still carve out a place for ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Beigapangke shook his head.

"Tichi, I cannot yet give you a precise restoration. Give me some time—I need to think carefully."

What a joke.

With Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen here, why would I ever join you?

If it weren't for coordinating with Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's next moves, I wouldn't bother talking to you this much.

Beigapangke didn't understand: though he had not yet fully completed Blackbeard's transformation, after fusing the Lunaria and Giant bloodlines, he had already seized complete control over Blackbeard's vital core.

But Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had other plans.

Faced with his future boss, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, though reluctant to let go of Blackbeard's extraordinary physique, Beigapangke made no hesitation and chose to cooperate.

Upon hearing this, Blackbeard exhaled in relief.

Beigapangke had not outright refused—this meant there was still room for negotiation; it was just a matter of whether he could fool the other side.

"Fine, I'll wait for you."

Beigapangke patted Blackbeard on the shoulder and turned away silently.

"Tichi, don't think too much."