One Piece: Get Stronger by Watching Battles

Zhou Ze was stunned for a while before he reacted.

Blackbeard?!

The mission is complete?!

Ace?!

Zhou Ze's mood instantly plummeted. Could it be Ace? In the end, had nothing changed?

"Major General, we..." Mike waited for a long time but did not hear Zhou Ze's order. He cautiously approached and asked softly.

Zhou Ze sighed, "Let's go and meet up with Vice Admiral Onigumo."

Zhou Ze hesitated. His first thought was Ace, but he also had a glimmer of hope that things might have changed. In the end, he decided to go and check first.

Because Zhou Ze and Onigumo had a very tense argument on Enies Lobby, he didn't bother to look at Onigumo's expression and ended up just following behind Onigumo's warship at a distance.

The route was heading east from Water Seven. As they passed more and more islands, Zhou Ze's mood became increasingly gloomy, because the course was heading towards Jaya Island.

This seems to suggest that the great pirate with a bounty of over 1 million that Blackbeard captured was Ace.

"Major General, Vice Admiral Onigumo's ship has stopped." Mike suddenly spoke up, interrupting Zhou Ze's thoughts.

"Stopped? Which island is ahead?" Zhou Ze was taken aback and quickly asked.

"It's Panaro Island, Major General!"

"Panaro Island, Panaro Island, Panaro..." Zhou Ze muttered twice, then suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, his face turning deathly pale.

"Major General, what's wrong, Major General!" Mike quickly helped Zhou Ze up.

Zhou Ze finally remembered the island. He only remembered that Luffy and Blackbeard had met on Jaya Island, and he also knew that Ace had caught up with Blackbeard on a certain island, but he couldn't remember the name of that island at all.

The reason I remember Jaya Island is because it's the origin of Skypiea, and it's also where Blackbeard uttered the famous line, "A man's dream never ends."

"I'm fine, go follow them." Zhou Ze shook his head.

Zhou Ze and Onigumo stood side by side on the dock. Because of their previous conflict, the atmosphere between them was somewhat tense, and even the surrounding marines dared not breathe, all of them looking nervous.

"Hehehe, Lieutenant General Onigumo, oh, and Major General Zhou Ze, how are you!"

"Fate is truly unpredictable; we meet again!"

Just then, a boisterous laugh came from the corner of the street connecting to the dock.

Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, turned out of an alley.

"Blackbeard, where's the person you said you captured?"

Seeing that Blackbeard was alone, Onigumo said in a deep voice, "You should know the consequences of deceiving the Marine Headquarters and the World Government."

Zhou Ze could tell from Onigumo's words that he didn't care much about Blackbeard, which represented the thoughts of almost all the Marines.

After all, Blackbeard had been an unknown pirate for decades, without even a bounty.

Zhou Ze sighed inwardly. Blackbeard was planning to deceive everyone; his ambition was the whole world!

"Hehehehe, don't be in such a hurry. You two are both renowned naval commanders, and I'd like to get to know you better!"

Blackbeard laughed again and pointed to a scar on his chest.

"Especially Major General Zhou Ze, the gift you left me is still here!"

Zhou Ze scoffed dismissively, "I wouldn't mind giving you more gifts like this."

"Major Admiral Zhou Ze, I am one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, we are allies! Are you sure you want to attack me? Hehehe!"

Blackbeard laughed triumphantly.

“Blackbeard, I need to remind you that you are not a Shichibukai until you hand over to us a great pirate with a bounty of over 1 million.”

Onigumo spoke before Zhou Ze could. He knew what Zhou Ze had said at the Seven Warlords meeting and was worried that Zhou Ze would take action directly, which would be difficult to handle. So he spoke first.

Zhou Ze's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, but he had no choice but to give up when he heard Onigumo speak. He stared at Blackbeard, his tone icy.

"I'll give you 10 seconds. If you still can't see him, huh!"

Blackbeard didn't care at all, "Major General Zhou Ze's aura is truly imposing, as expected of him..."

5 seconds

Zhou Ze ignored Blackbeard and frantically channeled his inner strength, his aura gradually rising, causing the air to become restless.

3 seconds

Zhou Ze gripped the hilt of the knife, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash his full power.

"Wait, I'm scared of you, Basas, bring the person out here!"

Judging from Zhou Ze's rising momentum and increasingly cold tone, Blackbeard realized that Zhou Ze was really going to draw his sword, and decisively chose to back down.

Zhou Ze hesitated for a few moments before slowly releasing his grip on the hilt of the knife. He had genuinely wanted to disregard the consequences and stab Blackbeard.

With a sigh, Zhou Ze looked toward the street corner.

Shabas appeared carrying something covered in a black cloth.

Chapter 66 The Arrested One is Ace! (Bonus Chapter)

Zhou Ze's gaze locked onto Shabas the moment he appeared, or more precisely, onto the thing Shabas was carrying.

"Hahaha, Captain, I've brought him!" Shabas put the thing on the ground and shouted to Blackbeard with a loud laugh.

"Hehehehe, Shabas, now, let's show these two naval admirals who we've captured!"

Blackbeard laughed too, then looked at Zhou Ze and Onigumo, "I guarantee you'll be very surprised!"

Shabas ripped off the black cloth, revealing a cage underneath. Zhou Ze's mood plummeted the moment he saw the person inside.

Ace!

It was him again. Are there some things that can never be changed?

Zhou Ze felt suffocated and couldn't breathe properly.

Ace's hands were handcuffed with sea stone, his hair was disheveled, blood was still seeping from the corner of his mouth, and he was covered in injuries, which looked much more serious than Zhou Ze remembered.

The sudden brightness made Ace squint, and it took him a while to see everyone present, but they were surprisingly calm.

"Portgas D. Ace!" Onigumo exclaimed in surprise, looking at the man in the cage. "Blackbeard, you really surprise me!"

Zhou Ze just stared at Ace in silence. Was Ace already prepared to die, given his current appearance?

Did Ace, who spent his entire life searching for the meaning of his life, wanting to break free from the curse of having "demon blood" and yearning for the free sea, give up?

The marines were somewhat agitated when they saw Ace being captured, and Blackbeard became even more smug when he saw their reaction.

"Hehehehe, I said I would hand over a great pirate with a bounty of over 100 million to the World Government, and now I have done it!"

"Shouldn't the World Government give me what I want by now?"

Onigumo nodded. "Of course." Then he turned and ordered, "Bring Ace onto the ship!"

Blackbeard stepped back half a step, letting the marines take the man away, then looked at Zhou Ze and gave a sinister smile.

"Major General Zhou Ze, we are allies now, so let's put our past grievances behind us! Hehehehehe."

Zhou Ze glanced at him, then at Shabas, and said disdainfully, "An ally? Do you deserve that title?"

Shabas's smile froze on his face after being glanced at by Zhou Ze. After a long while, he finally snorted angrily, "Our captain is now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Do you still dare to lay a hand on us?"

Before Shabas could finish speaking, Zhou Ze drew his sword and delivered a flying slash.

"what"

Shabas let out a scream and was sent flying backward, crashing into a house.

"Boom!"

The house could not withstand the immense force and collapsed with a roar, burying Shabas under the rubble, and smoke and dust billowed up.

"Zhou Ze, you!" Blackbeard was shocked and furious that Zhou Ze would dare to make a move at a time like this.

Onigumo also looked at Zhou Ze with some dissatisfaction.

Zhou Ze sheathed his sword, his expression grim, his tone chillingly cold. "Ask me if I dare? What are you, Shabas, to talk to me like that?"

Zhou Ze's attack was incredibly swift; not only did Shabas fail to react, but Blackbeard and Onigumo were also caught off guard.

Not to mention the marines, when they came to their senses, they all looked at Zhou Ze in shock, and in an instant their eyes were filled with admiration.

This is truly the light of the navy! Their actions are truly extraordinary!

At this moment, Shabas also managed to get up from the ruins, and his eyes looked at Zhou Ze as if they were about to spit fire.

The knife wound had left a horrific gash on his chest, from which blood was gushing out.

Zhou Ze looked at Shabas with disdain.

"This slash is just a warning. If you dare utter another word of nonsense, we'll see if your neck is tough enough. You'll have to try!"

The other two members of the Blackbeard Pirates, Laffitte and Doc Q, emerged from the shadows upon seeing the unusual development.

Doc Q, acting as the ship's doctor, quickly treated Shabas's wounds, while Lafitte stood beside Blackbeard, watching Zhou Ze warily.

"Enough, Major General Zhou Ze, don't forget our mission." Onigumo stepped forward and stopped Zhou Ze in a deep voice.

Zhou Ze ignored him and instead looked at Lafitte with a mocking smile, "Mary Geoise, it seems you haven't remembered what I told you very well!"

"But it's alright, I'll make sure you remember this!"

After saying this, Zhou Ze flicked his cloak, turned around, and left.

Blackbeard was furious. The dark energy behind him surged wildly, and he almost couldn't contain himself. It took him a while to suppress the violence in his heart.

"Hehehehe, Major General Zhou Ze, I'm waiting!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ze paused, but continued walking towards the ship.

Ghost Spider was also annoyed by being left out by Zhou Ze.

"Now that the criminals have been handed over, the World Government will not go back on its word. Just you wait and see!"

Onigumo said one last thing to Blackbeard before boarding the ship and leaving.

……