Chapter 266: Stirring the Seas Again
"Come to think of it, you've been staying on Crow Island for two years. I'm afraid your reason for leaving this time isn't just for Fishman Island, right?" Whitebeard asked suddenly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mio grinned coldly, raising a bottle of wine to his lips.
"Gurarara, looks like the New World's about to get lively again," Whitebeard laughed heartily.
Mio didn't respond. He simply drank in silence, but his eyes drifted toward a certain crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates—not far off, a fat but burly man.
He wore a turban, had thick black hair, and an ugly, rugged face. He was a familiar figure to Mio.
Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach.
In the original timeline, he was quite a significant figure. If nothing else, his ability to endure twenty years aboard the Whitebeard Pirates for a single Devil Fruit was staggering. That kind of patience was terrifying.
As Mio's gaze swept over Blackbeard, a subtle smile formed at the corner of his mouth—only to vanish moments later.
He was wary of Blackbeard, but that was it. Even if Blackbeard managed to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit, he wasn't a real threat. Mio wasn't like other Devil Fruit users—he wasn't afraid of seawater. The fruit's usual advantages meant little against him.
On the deck, Mio and Whitebeard continued drinking and chatting. Their talk circled around the state of the New World—alliances, rivalries, shifting powers.
Meanwhile, the Black Glory sailed alongside the Moby Dick, both ships heading toward the first half of the Grand Line. It wasn't a bad arrangement—good company, good drinks, and mutual respect.