Ling Huan looked at the doorway, then at Chengzi who was sitting up straight on the bed, and asked with some confusion, "The people outside are all fine, do we need to be like this?"
"Of course, we do," Chengzi said. "Our purpose is different from theirs. This place is just a temporary base for us. The most important thing is to complete the mission in the infinite world quickly. These people are just pawns we are using."
At this moment, Chengzi's face was no longer the same as before. All that could be seen now was coldness and rationality.
"The people in this world use a type of energy fluctuation called Observation Haki, which is similar to radar and can even hear our conversations. So, only by pretending to be drunk like this, and with the help of certain items, can we safely discuss our next plan."
"Alright, alright, planning always gives me a headache. Chengzi, can't you be a bit more straightforward?"
"What's the use of being straightforward? As long as we can survive, it doesn't matter if it's underhanded."
"Fine, anyway, my brain isn't as good as yours. What should we do next? I'll listen to you."
Ling Huan was very clear about his own role. He only needed to be a firm executor. As for strategies, he would leave them to Chengzi.
Chengzi said, "Our mission is to influence this world as much as possible. The deeper the influence, the greater our reward. Ace being captured cannot be kept secret. Whitebeard will surely know about this soon. Given his personality, he will never give up on his foster son. At that time, he will definitely lead everyone to attack the Navy fiercely to rescue Ace. Whitebeard's injuries have already recovered. He will surely be able to break through Impel Down and cause a huge impact on this world."
After hearing what Chengzi said, Ling Huan asked strangely, "My ability can restore Whitebeard to his peak strength in a short period of time. Why don't you let me..."
Chengzi waved his hand, interrupting Ling Huan's words, and said, "No, Whitebeard is not stupid. We can't reveal such a thing all at once. Otherwise, if our purpose is too obvious, we will be suspected. However, I have already hinted at your ability to Whitebeard. As for whether he will use it, that depends on him."
The banquet outside was still going on. Whitebeard, after the earnest persuasion of two nurses, put down his wine jug. If he couldn't drink wine, he could at least eat meat. Large chunks of meat entered Whitebeard's stomach.
"Old Pops, eat slowly, there's plenty of meat."
Seeing Old Pops eating so heartily, his sons were all happy.
Others might not know, but those who had been with Old Pops for a long time knew best that Old Pops' health was declining day by day. He suffered from illness every day and relied on drinking large amounts of alcohol to relieve the pain.
Although alcohol could temporarily numb the nerves and relieve pain, it was just drinking poison to quench thirst.
Now, looking at him, it had been an unknown time since Old Pops had eaten meat so happily.
As the banquet was proceeding, a messenger bird flew past the ship, and a newspaper landed on the deck.
A pirate picked up the newspaper, took a glance, and his eyes widened like copper bells.
"Old Pops! Something terrible has happened, Old Pops!"
"Hmm?"
Whitebeard put down the meat in his hand and looked at the scurrying pirate. "Why are you so flustered? Has the sky fallen?"
"Old Pops, you should take a look at this first."
Taking the newspaper, Whitebeard glanced at it. He first trembled, and then a powerful King's Haki erupted from him.
"Old Pops?!"
Most of the pirates fainted under Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki. Only a few captain-level figures were struggling to stay conscious.
They didn't understand what had happened so quickly.
"Ace has been captured."
After calming down slightly, Whitebeard said in a deep voice.
"What!?"
Upon hearing this news, everyone present was shocked.
They had witnessed Ace's strength. How could he have been captured so easily?
But the newspaper was already out, with a large picture of Ace on the front page, with the background of Impel Down prison.
"Old Pops, don't rush." Marco quickly calmed Whitebeard down, fearing that his Old Pops' emotions would erupt again and knock everyone unconscious.
Marco said, "Old Pops, it's too coincidental that this newspaper appeared. Could it be a trap by the Navy?"
Whitebeard, whose emotions had stabilized, waved his hand. "No, this newspaper doesn't belong to the Navy. That big white bird wouldn't spread false news for the Navy."
The disappearance was confirmed, but the next problem arose: who captured Ace?
With Ace's skills and the powerful Mera Mera no Mi, Ace had far surpassed his peers as soon as he set sail. And recently, there had been no major actions from the Navy.
One should not underestimate the Four Emperors. Shanks, Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard all had their spies in the Navy. Although they could not access core secrets, capturing Ace would definitely involve a great deal of action. Why hadn't their informants sent back any intelligence?
"Teach."
Just as everyone was pondering, Whitebeard slowly uttered two words.
Hearing this name, everyone present turned grim. Sudan Novel Network.
If there was one thing that was the greatest pain for the Whitebeard Pirates, it was Teach.
A shameless traitor who mercilessly killed his own brother to steal a Devil Fruit and escaped from the Whitebeard Pirates to act alone. He was the one who truly crossed Whitebeard's bottom line.
But what surprised everyone was that Whitebeard did not execute such a traitor. He even prevented other crew members from seeking revenge on Teach. Only Ace, in his anger, disregarded all obstruction and embarked on the path to hunt Teach alone.
"You mean Teach defeated Ace and handed him over to the Navy? How is that possible?"
It wasn't just Marco who didn't believe it; other crew members also had doubts.
In their eyes, with Teach's despicable nature and his reliance on sneak attacks to win, how could he possibly be Ace's opponent?
It wasn't strange for these people to have such thoughts. After all, when Teach was still on the ship, he was a low-profile person. He often relied on sneak attacks to defeat opponents in battle, and he even yielded the position of division commander to Ace.
How could they easily believe that such a person had the strength to defeat Ace?
Whitebeard sighed and said, "The 'D.' clan, none of them are simple."
"Old Pops, we can't abandon Ace."
Marco couldn't understand what Old Pops meant by "the 'D.' clan." But it didn't matter. What mattered was that Ace was their brother, and they absolutely couldn't watch him suffer and do nothing.
"That's right, that's right! It's just Impel Down, let's go kick their asses!"
"Charge into Impel Down and rescue Ace!"
Seeing the battle-ready crew members, Whitebeard made a decisive statement. "Ace is my son, and I will not abandon him. Namul, you immediately gather the other division commanders and quickly assemble here. Marco, although the possibility of error is very small, you still take your division and investigate the specific news of Ace's capture."