Chapter 455: Dreams Don

Hearing this, Sachi's face darkened with reluctance; he wanted to refuse outright, but seeing the resolve in Blackbeard's eyes, he slowly nodded.

"Tichi, I… I'll try…"

As the Whitebeard Crew's chef, Sachi was one of the few on the Grand Line with Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's Den Den Mushi number, since it made exchanging culinary insights easier.

Not long after, Sachi ended the Den Den Mushi call.

"Tichi, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen will be here shortly—hurry and eat more while it's still hot."

"Alright." Blackbeard smiled and picked up the cherry pie.

But the cherry pie, once sweet and soft, bringing him joy with every bite, now tasted strangely bitter in his mouth.

Blackbeard couldn't tell whether the moisture sliding into his corner of the mouth was saliva clinging to the lingering flavor—or tears of regret.

Just as he had once said: dreams don't end, but people do…

When a man dies, his light goes out.

Once breath is gone, his new bride Charlotte Lingling, his unborn child, his dream of becoming King of the World—all of it vanishes into nothing.

Nothing remains.

Years from now, who will remember Blackbeard?

Probably no one will remember.

After all, who remembers a failure?

Worse still, he didn't even have the right to stand before Bai Mao.

Former King of the World Wang Yimu, though banished by Bai Mao eight years into the future, had at least ruled as King of the World for eight hundred years.

And Blackbeard? He was nothing.

As Blackbeard wept, chewing the cherry pie he once loved most, he suddenly noticed time itself had been paused, as if someone had hit a stop button.

Sachi, separated by the seastone railing, the remnants of the old era imprisoned in other cells, and the Den Den Mushi constantly monitoring the prison—all froze in place, like stone statues, utterly motionless.

Then, ripples spread across the space.

From the ripples surged dark mist, gradually coalescing into a black throne; upon it sat the figure Blackbeard had longed for—Bai Mao.

This sight left Blackbeard speechless.

"You ate the Yami Yami no Mi?"

"Yeah, I couldn't resist." Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen didn't hide it.

More precisely, with the Devil Fruit power—the Nika form of the Gura Gura no Mi—Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had already transcended the usual limits of Devil Fruit consumption.

Moreover, not only was the Nika form's origin Devil Force, but the black mist of the Yami Yami no Mi was also part of Devil Force.

"That's wonderful." Blackbeard's eyes gleamed with an inexplicable light.

"Everything I've begged for twenty years and never obtained… everything I've fought tooth and nail for—yet for you, it's effortless."

In truth, Blackbeard envied Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen—so much he nearly died of envy.

He had a handsome appearance, carried Lunaria blood, yet lacked the Lunaria drawbacks that would expose his identity.

Unlike him—black and fat.

And when Bai Mao was nine, he became Roger's chef purely through his exceptional cooking skills.

Back then, Blackbeard had joined the Whitebeard Crew only after kneeling and pounding his head against Whitebeard's feet until he was accepted as an intern.

After that, the gap only widened.

Bai Mao encountered Mihawk, Master Tenghu, Big Mom, Jin Ni… even the legendary pirate Shichibukai, Golden Lion, was brought under Bai Mao's command.

Even Lafitte, the most trusted confidant Blackbeard had gathered over years at sea, was Bai Mao's man.

After a moment of reflection, Blackbeard wiped the tears from his eyes, as if ashamed to weep before Bai Mao.

"Bai Mao, I want to ask you something."

"Mm, go ahead. I'm listening."

Honestly, Blackbeard hated Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's tone—ever since childhood, it had always been like this, as if he controlled everything.

But now, the gap in status and power was too vast; even if Blackbeard had ten thousand grievances, he had to swallow them.

"Suppose," Blackbeard hesitated.

"If after leaving the Moby Dick, I had joined the Morning Star Crew instead—would you have taken me in?"

Facing imminent public execution, Blackbeard wanted only one answer before death—a question not truly important, but one that might ease his heart.

One that would let him believe his failure was simply because he'd chosen wrong.

Hearing this, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen smiled.

"No. I would've rejected you outright."

"Why?" Blackbeard couldn't understand.

"We've known each other since childhood. Though not as close as Red-Hair or Red-Nose, I never revealed any ambition back then—why refuse me?"

"Was I just too weak at the time?"

Blackbeard had assumed Bai Mao had simply had too high standards and hadn't seen through his hidden strength.

"It has nothing to do with that," Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen paused.

"There's a saying in our hometown: look at a child at three, and you'll know his whole life. From the first day I met you, I knew exactly what kind of man you were."

"Someone like you isn't fit to be a friend. And if you were your father, Rocks, I might consider taking you in—but not you."

At these words, Blackbeard's world collapsed.

"So that's… it."

The last shred of hope was crushed by Bai Mao's own hand; Blackbeard abandoned all desire to live.

"Thank you for letting me die with clarity."

The space rippled once more; Saint Saint Saiwen looked at Blackbeard, as if bidding farewell.

"Is there anything you wish to say to Rocks? I can convey it for you."

Blackbeard stood frozen, completely unable to grasp the meaning of those words.

"I have matters to attend to in the past timeline; I will likely encounter Rocks. If you have anything you wish to say to him, I can convey it for you."

Blackbeard finally understood: Little Bai Mao could actually traverse time and space, and would even meet his living father, Rocks.

"Losing to a fellow like you... is no injustice."

"Tell my father for me: the Davi clan has left descendants."

"Farewell, brother Teach."

With those words, Saint Saint Saiwen vanished from Blackbeard's sight, and the time and space that had just been paused returned to normal.

Everyone except Blackbeard remained utterly unaware that this timeline had just been paused; this circumstance made Blackbeard feel somewhat better.

Losing to Little Bai Mao, such a non-human, nearly godlike opponent, was truly, truly, truly no injustice.

Father, Mother, your son will meet you very soon.

Our family shall never be separated again.

When Blackbeard reined in his wandering thoughts and saw the mist gathering in Sachi's eyes, his heart warmed.

"Brother Sachi, thank you for coming to see me. Return quickly; if you are discovered, it will have a bad effect."

Blackbeard sincerely, from the depths of his heart, thanked Sachi for his arrival, making his failed life, at its final hour, less desolate.

"Teach, after I bury you tomorrow..."

Blackbeard slowly shook his head.

"Brother Sachi, after cremating my body, scatter it into the West Sea; I am homesick."

After years away, finally able to return home, finally able to reunite with Father and Mother, and with a good brother to see him off, Blackbeard suddenly realized his life had actually been quite splendid.

At least... it was not a journey in vain.