Chapter 454: I Want to See Little White Hair

Marine Headquarters, New Marineford.

To be precise, this was Blackbeard’s third time arriving at New Marineford; each visit brought a different feeling, each more despairing than the last.

His first visit was many years ago.

At the time, the World Government deployed Admiral Garp, Marine Admiral Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji to capture Blackbeard alive.

But Blackbeard barely escaped death when the Four Emperors wreaked havoc on New Marineford.

At the same time his lineage as Rocks’ son was exposed, the Four Emperors gained a reputation for loyalty and righteousness.

His second visit was when he fell into Garp’s hands.

At that time, Blackbeard had just absorbed the Clive Pirates in the East Blue, and his Blackbeard Pirates reached their largest strength ever—only for Garp to shatter his dream of kingship with a single punch.

Not a single one of his thousands of subordinates survived; Blackbeard himself was captured by Garp and sent to Punk Hazard for modification by Vegapunk.

Now, this is the third time.

After waiting twenty years for the Dark-Dark Fruit, only to have it stolen by the traitor Lafitte, Blackbeard had once fallen into utter collapse.

In his despair, upon realizing Lafitte was Barzab Seven’s man, Blackbeard pretended to be insane to evade the United Kingdom’s scrutiny.

As long as he survived this crisis, Blackbeard believed he would one day have the vast ocean and boundless sky.

So what if he pretended to be mad?

Those who achieve great things do not cling to trivialities!

But Blackbeard never imagined the United Kingdom’s high command had no honor—they directly ordered his public execution alongside New Marineford.

Not even a sliver of room for negotiation was left.

He wasn’t even subjected to any trial—he was sentenced to death outright.

Worse still, his patrons—the Old Era Remnant Alliance—had been uprooted and would be executed alongside him.

New Marineford, Prison.

Inside the prison, entirely constructed of Sea-Prism Stone, the Old Era Remnants glared at Blackbeard with hatred, wishing to tear him apart and devour him alive.

“Eight years ago I said this guy was unreliable, but you didn’t listen—now look, we’re all dragged down by Blackbeard.”

“What’s the use of saying this now?”

“I even suggested we all defect to Saint Seven—why didn’t you listen?”

“We underestimated Saint Seven’s resolve.”

The Old Era Remnants had all assumed Saint Seven would spare them—never expecting he’d been waiting for them here.

Had they known, they’d have fought to the death back then—at least they wouldn’t be so humiliated now.

Familiar names finally made Blackbeard lift his head, sneering at the Old Era Remnants.

“Little White Hair is… sneaky, isn’t he?”

Blackbeard muttered to himself.

“Twenty years ago, Little White Hair and two others kicked out three of my teeth—just because I complained to my elders afterward, he held a grudge against me for twenty whole years.”

“Twenty years—

How many twenties does a man have?”

Hearing this, the Old Era Remnants fell silent; compared to Blackbeard’s tragic past, their own suffering seemed less unbearable.

At least they’d enjoyed eight extra years beyond those old nobles executed at the founding of the United Kingdom.

How many eights does a life contain?

And in their lifetimes, they’d enjoyed everything they should and shouldn’t have—perhaps their only regret was not joining Saint Seven sooner.

Had they boarded Saint Seven’s ship like Kobra did, they might still be nobles ruling from above.

Chingjiao, captured alongside the Old Era Remnants, heard Blackbeard’s words and sighed.

“This little thing… held a grudge for twenty years?”

“The Eight Treasures Club… the water army… no wonder.”

Chingjiao couldn’t understand: if Saint Seven was as petty as Blackbeard described, why did so many follow him?

Wouldn’t it mean constant vigilance just to be near him?

Surely not everyone who followed Saint Seven was a masochist… who enjoyed being abused?

The more Chingjiao thought, the more confused he became. Since he’d be executed tomorrow anyway, he might as well die with clarity.

“Blackbeard, if what you say is true, shouldn’t no one want to follow Saint Seven?”

The Old Era Remnants suddenly realized it too.

“That’s right.”

“If Saint Seven is this petty, how could the high commands of the navy, army, and air force, the Four Emperors, Elbaf… all follow him?”

Blackbeard’s smile vanished. He paused, then replied softly.

“He’s generous to his own people, kind to strangers—his pettiness is reserved only for enemies…”

At these words, both the Old Era Remnants and Chingjiao, who clung to them, were filled with crushing regret.

They should have joined Saint Seven earlier!

The boundless wealth and glory of being founding heroes had slipped through their fingers.

The Old Era Remnants suffered in silence—but Blackbeard’s suffering was known only to himself.

Looking back now, leaving Whitebeard’s crew was the worst decision of his life.

Had he stayed with the Whitebeard Pirates, relying on his past loyalty in defending the Hive Island for the Morning Star Pirates, and on Whitebeard’s relationship with Little White Hair…

He might not have become a department head like Marco, but at least he’d have had a place in the United Kingdom.

With that power, wouldn’t finding the Dark-Dark Fruit have been effortless?

Why would he now be a condemned prisoner about to be publicly executed, with not even a single person coming to see him before death…

Just then, a familiar voice pulled Blackbeard back to reality.

“Tichi, Tichi, I’ve come to see you.”

Blackbeard looked closely—the visitor was none other than Sachi, captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates and their chef.

“Brother Sachi… I…”

Seeing only Sachi had come, Blackbeard instantly realized: Whitebeard and the other division captains had completely abandoned him.

He was, after all, a traitor and rebel—while the rest of Whitebeard’s crew now held high positions in the United Kingdom.

They were no longer on the same path.

“Tichi, I made your favorite cherry pie.”

One sentence from Sachi brought tears to Blackbeard’s eyes—as if the buried grievances of years had finally found an outlet.

“Brother Sachi, thank you. If I’m reborn, I’ll repay your kindness.”

“Sigh.” Sachi sighed, taking from the food box a steaming cherry pie and a bottle of long-preserved liquor.

“Just made it in the Marine cafeteria—eat it while it’s hot. This is the old man’s precious dandelion wine—he saved it for the day Little Sister gets married…”

Blackbeard knew the “Little Sister” Sachi meant was Esterlu, Whitebeard’s beloved daughter.

It was said Little White Hair had named her.

And as for the dandelion wine—only Little White Hair brewed it to perfection across the entire sea.

Even the Sea-Prism Stone prison holding him was created by Little White Hair's Inazuma.

Realizing this, Blackbeard froze in shock for several seconds—then burst out laughing.

“How foolish I’ve been.”

Without realizing it, Little White Hair’s influence had seeped into every corner of life—and he’d somehow ignored it all these years.

Before the overwhelming tide of a unified sea, even Blackbeard’s crew—or Whitebeard himself, if alive—would be crushed to dust if they dared resist.

“Brother Sachi, I want to see Little White Hair.”