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Chapter Text

“Hey Pops, I’m back.” Ace flew up from the ground, landed on the ship's railing and smiled and talked to Whitebeard.

“You came back sooner than I expected. What 's up? Does this island have nothing for you to explore?” Whitebeard said to his youngest son.

“No, this island has many interesting things, Pops. It's just that I met a strange person, and he wanted to join our crew.” Ace replied.

“Gurararara, Of course it's possible, son.” Whitebeard replied with a smile, “Why don't you bring your new friend here so we can meet?”

“Okey dokey, Pops!” Ace said and rushed back to town.

“Our little brother looks so happy.”

Thatch slowly approached Whitebeard with a tray of food in hand.

“That's exactly what I wanted when I adopted Ace. He and all my children deserve the best.” Whitebeard smiled.

Then, he looked down at the tray of food in Thatch's hand with a questioning look.

“What are you going to do with all that?” he asked.

“Just testing a new cinnamon rolls recipe, Pops. I was going to let Marco taste it.” Thatch replied. Then he looked around to find the person he had just mentioned, “Speaking of which, where our Mom? Where is your wife, Pops?”

Thatch's face was now showing a clearly teasing attitude, and his target was Whitebeard.

“Cough… cough…” Whitebeard immediately choked on his wine after hearing the names Thatch used to call Marco, “Marco doesn't like being called that.”

“He doesn't like it, but you do, right?!” As a veteran member of the prank club, Thatch of course did not miss the rare opportunity to tease his Pops, “Okay Pops, you don't have to hide it, we all know that the relationship between you and Marco has upgraded from father-son to husband-wife.”

“Gurararara, I know you all have noticed. It's just that my pretty birdy doesn't like being called Mom.” Whitebeard laughed loudly and said, “Marco also only likes to be called wife when the two of us are alone.”

“I will pay attention to that.” Thatch laughed then returned to his original topic, “But where is he?”

“One of Marco's log poses was broken during the last Marine raid, so he went to the island to find materials to make a new one.” Whitebeard replied.

.

When Ace returned, he saw the other members also returning, and it seemed like everyone had all the necessary items to continue sailing.

Ace looked around to find his Pops's figure and immediately found him standing with the commanders.

“Pops, this is the person I was talking about. He wants to join our crew.” Ace waved loudly.

Hearing his son's call, Whitebeard turned and saw Ace leading another person. It was a tall, somewhat rough, black-haired young man, looking around with wild eyes.

Whitebeard suddenly remembered a name when the young man was led back to him by Ace.

“What is your name, brat?” he asked.

Whitebeard's mind rang alarm bells when he saw this young man. So instead of agreeing immediately, he decided to ask his name first.

“Teach. My name is Marshall D. Teach.” the young man replied.

The whole noisy space at that time fell silent after the young man Ace brought over said his name.

Invisible tension gradually built up as the commanders all turned their attention here, some even placed their hands on their weapons as if if Whitebeard gave an order, they would definitely rush forward and kill him.

“What's up? What is the matter?” Ace also noticed the strangeness of his other brothers. He looked around and asked.

“Calm down, boys. It's just a name.” Whitebeard spoke to stabilize his children, but everyone noticed that his voice was as tense and serious as his children.

“Tell me Teach, why do you want to join our crew?”

“Marco!”

Chapter Text

“Tell me Teach, why do you want to join our crew?”

Marco's voice suddenly rang out from Ace's back, making him startled. He said as he separated Ace from him, and pushed him towards the other brothers.

Marco had just returned from town, carrying the necessary materials to repair the log pose, when he saw Ace bringing another person back. When he got closer, that young man said his full name.

“Marshall D. Teach is the source of all the suffering that Marco has been experiencing and will experience for the rest of his life.”

“Stop Pops from adopting Marshall D. Teach!”

Marco still remembers someone deliberately reminding him of this.

Previously, after he returned from that incident, he and Pops deliberately went to find the person with that name, but no matter how big the Whitebeard crew's information network was, they still couldn't find out information about that person.

Marco really didn't expect that person now standing in front of him, and was even brought back to see Pops by one of his younger brothers.

The surrounding space was almost silent for a long while after Marco's return. Almost everyone there could feel the growing tension at the port.

Luckily at first, when choosing a place to anchor the boat, Marco and Whitebeard both agreed to choose a rather deserted place, both not affecting the islanders and avoiding the eyes of the navy. And now that decision helped them avoid unrelated people being dragged into Whitebeard pirate's trouble.

Marco stared at Teach for a long time before speaking, “Let's say we agree to let you join our crew, which division do you plan to join?”

“I think I'll join Commander Ace's 2nd Division.” Teach glanced at Ace and replied.

“Grea….”

“You will be on 1st Division.”

Not letting Ace rejoice too soon, Marco interrupted his celebration and made his decision.

“What?! No, Marco, 1st Division is for navigators and medics. Teach isn’t a navigator, let alone a doctor!” Ace of course disagreed with the personnel coordination decision that Marco had just made.

“He will be in the 1st Division, under my control.” Marco said firmly, at the same time, he also turned to look at Whitebeard with a serious gaze, “Do you agree, P.o.p.s?!”

“If you have decided so, then it is up to you. Teach will join our crew and be a member of the 1st Division, under the control of the 1st Division Commander, Marco.” Receiving the other half's hidden signal, Whitebeard also nodded in agreement with Marco's decision. As for Ace, perhaps he and his remaining children would explain to the boy later.

.

.

“MARCO! Marco, where are you? We need to talk!”

The noisy atmosphere in the cafeteria was broken by a loud noise coming from the door. Ace rushed in with an unfriendly look in his eyes. As soon as he entered, he shouted Marco's name.

Hearing no response, Ace glanced around the room, searching for familiar figures. He saw Vista, Izou and Thatch were also there so he walked towards them.

“Where is Marco?” Ace asked the other three.

“If Marco isn't in the places he usually is, then he can only be in one place.” Thatch shook his head and laughed.

“Pops's room?” Ace asked doubtfully.

The response was a nod from the other three.

Having received the answer he needed, Ace was about to turn around and head to Whitebeard's captain's room when a crew member walked up to them.

“Commanders, Pops called everyone to his room to discuss.”

“We know.” Thatch answered for everyone. It seemed that except for Ace, the other three captains weren’t surprised at all by Whitebeard's sudden meeting.

The other crew member left after conveying Whitebeard's orders.

Signaling a kitchen helper to clean up after them, Thatch and the others stood up and headed to Whitebeard's room.

“Just in time! I have so many things I want to ask Marco!” Ace said in a determined tone.

The other three didn't say anything, just looked at Ace and shook their heads with a sigh. All three understood why Marco decided to let Teach be a member of 1st Division, but for the youngest brother, it was probably difficult for him to understand. However, considering the current situation, he's probably about to find out soon.

When the four of them arrived, they saw that the other commanders had also been called here. It seemed that everyone, except Ace, understood why this meeting was taking place.

“Close the door.”

Marco's even voice rang out after the commanders entered the room one by one.

As the door closed, the Whitebeard Pirates' high-level meeting officially began.

“Who wants to say first?”

Marco, as usual, chaired the meeting with Whitebeard's approval and support. As he said these words, his eyes seemed to wander towards Ace, and he guessed that his other brothers were thinking the same thing as him.

As expected, Ace immediately waved his hand to signal that he had something to say. Only when he received a nod from Marco did he speak.

“Marco, why did you let Teach join 1st Division? You know Teach is better suited for 2nd Division!” Ace said.

Sure enough, Teach's story was what their youngest brother was most curious about.

To Ace's question, Marco didn’t immediately answer, he just silently looked at him with a gaze that he felt was very strange.

It was a long time before Marco spoke, “Tell me, Ace, why do you want Teach to join our crew?”

Ace frowned slightly as his question wasn’t answered but still responded to Marco's question, “Didn't Pops always take in orphans and outcasts as his children?! Teach also…”

“I didn't ask why Pops took in the others, I am asking your reason.” Without waiting for Ace to finish his sentence, Marco interrupted, “Why do you want him to join us? What did he do to convince you?”

“I… find him interesting, and perhaps a good fit for our crew.” Ace scratched his head and said. He didn't know how to explain Teach, he just felt like he would be a good fit for the Whitebeard Pirates.

“Interesting? How interesting? What did you see in him?” Marco asked again. With a steady voice and serious attitude.

By this time, Ace had also realized that Marco seemed to have a grudge against Teach. But for what reason? The two had clearly never met before, why did Marco act so disliking Teach? According to Ace's memory, ever since he joined the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco was a very gentle older brother. Even for someone like Ace who wanted to assassinate Pops when he first joined, Marco had never shown such an unpleasant and distant expression like this.

“What did Teach do?” In a moment of distraction, Ace accidentally spoke out the question in his mind. It was only when he noticed everyone's eyes that he realized he had misspoken. But thinking back, this was also what Ace wanted to ask Marco.

Marco leaned his head against the armrest of Whitebeard's chair, trying to organize the words in his head before speaking, “I once had the chance to hear a prophecy about the future of the Whitebeard Pirates. A very dark and terrible future. The prophecy said that Marshall D. Teach was a dangerous man and that Pops shouldn’t let him join the Whitebeard Pirates.”

“That's just a baseless prophecy, Marco!” Ace expressed his disapproval of Marco when he learned that he was upset with Teach just because he heard an unfounded prophecy. “You aren’t the type of person to believe in such superstitions?! Not to mention, those are all stories of the future, who can guarantee that such things will actually happen?”

Marco narrowed his eyes at Ace when he heard his words.

“You think he is a good person?” Marco asked. His tone also became a bit colder.

“Yes! At least Teach hasn't done anything to harm our family yet!” Ace said firmly.

“Ace…”

Thatch was about to advise Ace but Marco signaled him not to say anything.

Marco took a breath and slowly said, “I have seen the results.”

Ace said nothing, just tilted his head and looked at Marco in confusion.

“The result of the prophecy, I witnessed it with my own eyes.” Marco looked straight at Ace and said, “It's not as baseless as you think.”

“But…”

Prrr… Prrr…

Chapter Text

Prrr… Prrr…

The sound of denden mushi suddenly rang out in the tense atmosphere, causing everyone in the room to pay attention to it.

That sound came from Pops's denden mushi, but it was an old one that Pops had used before. After that incident, along with a few other reasons, Pops used another denden mushi, but the old one was still there.

Although it is no longer used, Pops's old denden mushi is still carefully preserved by him, and placed on the nightstand. Occasionally, a few members came into Pops's room and still wondered about the old denden mushi, but Pops didn't answer, he just said, Marco wanted it that way.

“Hey Pops, I left my denden mushi in the other world.”

“I left it in that person's room.”

“I hope one day that person will use that denden mushi and call us.”

Since that incident, that old denden mushi had never been touched, but now it received a call.

When he discovered the old denden mushi was ringing, Marco felt his heart beat faster and he also felt himself trembling as he looked at Pops.

Needless to say, Whitebeard also understood Marco's mixed emotions at this time, because he was also surprised when the call came.

Marco took a deep breath and then reached out to pick up the receiver.

“I’m here.” Marco said.

“Uncle Marco?”

Beyond Marco's expectations, coming from the other side was a girl's voice.

“Wait, it can't be Uncle Marco. Uncle Marco is here, right?!” the girl spoke again, “Hey mister, who are you?”

“I…”

Marco hesitated for a long time, unable to say a complete sentence. He didn't know how to answer the girl's question, nor what to say next. There are many questions in his mind. He really wants to know who that girl is? How are things over there? And he wanted to know even more, how is that person doing now?

“Aya, what are you doing here?”

At this moment, a young voice rang out on the other side, promptly saving Marco's situation. However, just a few seconds later, Marco suddenly realized that this second voice was very familiar, or rather, he had just heard the same voice not long ago, right next to him.

It seemed that not only Marco recognized this voice, but almost everyone present in the room at that time recognized it.

“P…!!!!”

Ace was about to ask, but suddenly Thatch rushed to cover his mouth.

Ace was about to struggle free when his eyes were met by the expressions of disbelief, hope and pleading from the other brothers.

What are they expecting?, Ace really wants to know.

“Uncle Seb!” This is the girl's voice, “Look, I found a denden mushi in here.” As she said that, the girl named Aya gave the denden mushi she found to the person named Seb.

--

“Aya?” Thatch still kept his position covering Ace's mouth, tilting his head as he spoke, “Why is this name so familiar?”

“The only girl who survived after Sphinx Island was attacked by the Buster Call that that person had mentioned.” Izou reminded.

“Ah, so it's that girl.” Thatch nodded, remembering.

Buster Call?!!!, Ace looked at his brothers in surprise, but it seemed like no one was going to explain to him.

--

“Denden mushi?” Seb went to Aya, picked up the denden mushi, looked at it and said, “It look old.”

“I found it stored in this drawer.” Aya said, “Also, the person on the other side sounds a lot like Uncle Marco!”

“Really?” Seb raised his eyebrows and tried to talk to the other, “Hello.”

“I’m here.”

Seb opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Aya after hearing the voice on the other side. As the girl said, the voice on the other side was exactly like Marco's.

--

On this side, throughout the process of Seb and Aya talking to each other, Marco never disconnected. He was still waiting to confirm the speculations in his mind.

“Who are you? And may I help you?” Seb asked.

“I want to speak with Marco.” Marco said.

“Marco? He’s….”

“What have you been doing here for so long, Ed? Didn't I tell you to go call Aya down for breakfast? Ray-san is about to come pick her up.”

Before Seb could answer Marco, a third voice rang out. And this voice, Marco knew. It’s him.

“Uncle Marco, someone is looking for you, and that person has a voice very similar to yours.” Aya quickly ran to Marco's side and said.

Marco reached out to support Aya, but his eyes were still glued to the denden mushi in Seb's hand, “Where did you find it?”

“Aya found it.” Seb replied. He also soon realized that Marco's mood had changed when he saw the denden mushi in his hand.

Taking a deep breath, Marco turned to look at Aya with a smile and said.

“Aya, why don't you go downstairs and get ready and wait for Ray-san to come pick you up?! I want to talk to Ed privately, okay?!”

“Okay.” Aya nodded and then went downstairs, leaving private space for the two adults.

After Aya left, Marco slowly closed the door and approached him.

“It's connected, right?” Marco said and received the denden mushi back from him.

He nodded. He then tried to leave but was stopped by Marco.

“Why don't you stay here and listen together, Edward?” Marco said as he motioned for the man named Seb, now also known as Edward, to sit in the chair next to him.

Edward of course did not refuse. Partly out of curiosity, partly because his intuition told him that he needed to be with Marco right now.

As soon as Edward sat down on the chair, Marco took the denden mushi and went to sit on his lap. He even found a suitable position for himself and leaned his entire body on his lap.

“I heard you wanted to talk to me? I'm here.”

--

On the Whitebeard pirates side.

As soon as the name ‘Edward’ was uttered, Whitebeard couldn't hide his surprise and moved a little closer to Marco.

“When that child was still here, when we are alone, he used to call me by the name Edward.” Whitebeard spoke in a low voice to Marco.

Marco of course understood what Whitebeard was trying to say. But he saw Pops's grave in the other world with his own eyes, that person named Edward couldn't be Pops.

“I heard you wanted to talk to me? I'm here.”

While he was still confused, the voice he was waiting for came from the other side.

“Do you still remember who I am?” Marco asked.

“Of course I still remember. You’re Phoenix Marco. First Mate and First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Edward Newgate's first son.” The older Marco replied, “And you are also me but in the past, and in another world.”

Marco's purpose in deliberately revealing his identity and that of the other person was because he wanted to announce: The first part is to inform Edward, who is the person he is talking to, the person with the same voice as him; As for the latter, he wanted to inform the people on the Moby Dick who he was. Even though he wasn't there, he knew that there were many people around that person, and certainly his captain was also by his side right now.

Sure enough, just as the older Marco predicted, Edward behind him was very surprised by the information he had just received. He gently turned him around to make him face his eyes, but then he didn't know what to ask when he met Marco's eyes and occasional smile.

Understanding that his lover had many things he wanted to ask him, Marco took the denden mushi away, then leaned over and whispered in Edward's ear.

“A lot happened before you returned.” he said, “After this, I will tell you everything.”

Edward nodded and continued to listen with Marco.

--

On the side of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Ace was the only one who reacted with surprise at the information transmitted by the other side. He turned to ask his brothers, but no one was willing to explain to him. On the contrary, they all felt happy and relieved when they received the news.

At this point, Ace couldn't stay silent anymore, he wanted to hear an explanation right now.

He tried to wiggle out of Thatch's hand and screamed loudly.

“What's going on here? Who is he?” Ace said.

The whole room fell silent after Ace's scream. Only then did Marco remember that there seemed to be someone in the room who didn't understand what was going on.

“Yo, did you find Ace?” older Marco asked.

“Yeah, we found him.” Marco said, “Even though he's a bit noisy and often causes trouble, we still love him.” Marco turned to look at Ace and said.

Ace finally escaped from Thatch and Vista's grasp. He slowly approached Marco with a serious expression.

“Who is he?” Ace asked again.

Marco's attitude when facing Ace is equally serious. He looks like he's returned to the time of Ace's assassination before.

“As he said, he is me, but from the future in another world.” Marco answered.

“Prove it.” Ace said.

“He wants you to prove it.” Marco relayed Ace's words to the other person.

“Why do you all want me to prove it?” Although the words were meant to be complaining, everyone still realized that the older Marco didn't seem upset at all.

He leaned on Edward's shoulder and thought for a moment before speaking.

“I guess everyone in the room already knows who your biological father is, right Ace?” older Marco asked.

“Everyone at the commander level and above knows this.” Whitebeard was the one to answer.

“Which means I can't use that detail anymore.” Marco exclaimed. Then, he suddenly thought of something and spoke up, “Hey Ace, Luffy isn't your only brother, right? Besides Luffy, you still have another brother. That person was about the same age as you, had yellow hair, and was from the nobles of the Goa kingdom in the East Blue.”

Ace's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the details described by the person on the other side. This was something he had never told anyone on the crew.

Seeing Ace's expression, everyone in the room understood that what the older Marco had just said was the truth.

“How do you know that?” Ace asked. His question was also a confirmation of everyone's guess, “How do you know about Sabo?”

There was no answer, only a small chuckle came through.

“You might want to go to Baltigo, Ace. There's a surprise waiting for you there.” older Marco said.

“Baltigo? Why do I have to go there?” Ace asked.

“Do you know Monkey D. Dragon?” he asked.

“Leader of the Revolutionary Army?” Whitebeard said.

“Luffy's father?” Ace said.

What?!!!

Needless to say, the information Ace just said made everyone who was listening to the conversation between the two very surprised.

On the Moby Dick ship, Ace's brothers were surprised by Luffy's terrible status.

“Speaking of which, both of them have the last name Monkey D.” Izou said.

“Meaning, Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp has a son who is the Leader of the Revolutionary Army, and a grandson who is a pirate.” Vista said.

“Poor man.” Thatch exclaimed.

--

On Edward's side. He was also surprised, but not because of Luffy's status but because of something else. Before drifting to Spring Island and meeting Marco again, he had read the same name in the newspaper, and it coincidentally was also related to the Revolutionary Army.

Edward wanted to ask out loud, but was afraid he would ruin the surprise that Marco was deliberately hiding. He just gently pulled his hand, and signaled him to look at him.

With just one look, Marco immediately understood what Edward was wondering right now. He pushed denden mushi away again, and whispered the answer in his ear.

“Ace still doesn't know Sabo is still alive, and is currently the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. Many years ago, I saw him visit Ace's grave.” Marco said softly.

--

“Hey you! You still haven't answered my question? Why do I have to go to Baltigo? And what does that have to do with Monkey D. Dragon?” Ace asked again.

“Baltigo is the base of the Revolutionary Army. When you have free time, go there to find Monkey D. Dragon. As I said earlier, there is a surprise waiting for you in Baltigo.” Marco answered.

“Again, why?” Ace still wanted to know why the other person wanted him to go to Baltigo so much.

The other side was silent for a moment then spoke up.

“My youngest brother is dead.” older Marco said, “And when he died, he had a lot of regrets, not regrets about what he had done, but regrets about the things he hadn't done yet. And one of those things is related to the Revolutionary Army.” Marco said slowly. Thinking about the appearance of the blond young man who came here many years ago.

“I don't want y…… anyone to regret anymore.”

Chapter Text

Silence quickly filled the room after older Marco's recent words.

Ace was about to go forward and ask more, but Marco wouldn't allow it.

“Guys, can you help me take Ace away?! Pops and I want to talk to Marco privately.” he said.

And so, despite Ace's constant protests, he was still dragged away by his other brothers.

Waiting for the door to be completely closed and the noise outside to completely disappear, Marco returned to the denden mushi and continued talking to the other person.

At this time, Whitebeard also gently hugged both him and denden mushi and let him sit on his lap.

Marco smiled slightly at him then spoke, “Are you okay? Sorry for making you remember unpleasant things.”

“I'm fine.” older Marco said, “With Edward by my side, I will definitely be fine.”

“Speaking of which, who is the Edward you're talking about?” This is the question that Marco and Whitebeard both want to know.

From the other side came the soft laughter of the older Marco, he said, “Why do you ask a question that you already know the answer? Don't you recognize his voice?”

“I saw his grave with my own eyes. That couldn't be him.” Marco said.

The other person was silent for a moment and then spoke again.

“He promised he would return to me.” he said.

“Huh?” Marco didn't understand why the other person mentioned this.

“He said, as long as I wait patiently, he will definitely return. You know, he's not a broken promise, right?! And finally, after 22 years, Edward has truly returned.” older Marco said, “Maybe this is really hard to believe for you, but it really happened. Like before, the fact that you and I could change places was also very unbelievable.”

Hearing the other person recall the previous incident, Marco burst out laughing, “You're right, there are many unbelievable things but it's not impossible.”

The other person also laughed.

Then, the older Marco suddenly asked.

“You have something to say to me, right?” he asked.

Marco silently arranged his words before speaking, “Remember the letter you left me before we switched back? On it you wrote 3 things I must do. First thing, find the young man named Portgas D. Ace and adopt him; Second thing, talk to Ace about his biological father. We have done both of these things.” he said, “As for the last thing…”

“You've met Marshall D. Teach, right?”

While Marco was still hesitant and didn't know what to say next, the other person immediately spoke up. His voice cracked every word when mentioning that person's name.

“Yeah, he wanted to join the crew, Ace was the one who led him there.” Marco said.

A silence fell over the space at both ends. On the side of Spring Island is the silence of repression, trying to control one's emotions; On the Moby Dick side, there was a silence of helplessness before the youngest brother's determination to protect the traitor who would destroy his family in the future.

“Where is he now?” The mature Marco asked. His tone was heavy and cold.

“I allowed him to join the gang, not in 2nd Division but in 1st Division, under my control.” Marco said.

A soft chuckle of amusement came from the other end of the line after Marco's words.

“Impressive!” The older Marco had words of praise for his younger self. It seemed that, if given the same opportunity as Marco, he would make the same decision, “So how are you going to deal with him?” The older Marco asked.

“If he wants to possess the Yami-Yami no mi, then I will help him fulfill his wish. But if he still wants to greedily take Edward's Gura-Gura no mi, then I will definitely make him regret ever thinking about it.” Marco said, his eyes revealing an undisguised killing intent, “That bastard must have known well, every devil fruit ability comes with an inevitable curse.”

“Everyone in the four seas should know what happens to fools who dare lay a hand on Whitebeard's crew.”

.

.

“Guys let go of me! I haven't finished talking to Marco yet!”

Ace was dragged out by his brothers, despite his desire to return to argue with Marco.

“Enough, Ace! Let those two talk!” Thatch quickly stepped forward to stand in front of Ace when he saw him about to go back to Pops' room.

“Do you guys really believe the words of the guy who claims to be Marco from the future?! You guys believe such an absurd and baseless story?!” Ace turned to look at his brothers and questioned.

“I also wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen that person standing in front of me at that time.” Izou said.

“That Marco's expression at that moment when he learned that the man named Marshall D. Teach wasn’t a family member is something I can never forget.” Thatch said with a sigh as he recalled the scene on the deck that night, “He laughed and then cried, then laughed and cried again, like a crazy person, but also very pitiful.”

“Although he didn't say what he experienced in the other world, based on his feelings at that time, we understood a bit.” Vista continued.

“Plus, when Marco returned, he said there were a lot of graves there, we could already guess most of the story behind it.” Jozu added.

“I know this sounds unbelievable but it really happened, right on this ship.” Izou said with a serious look, “All the commanders, except him and Marco, had met ‘that Marco’. A Marco from the future, where he had lost everything he cherished.”

Thatch crossed his arms over his chest and continued Izou's words, “When Marco left, he left behind three messages about the future. Two of them came true. The other is still happening.”

“Both Pops and Marco agree that, in order for our family to not end up in Marco's shoes, we need to do as he says.” Jozu said.

Ace really wanted to retort, but when he saw his brothers' serious and not joking attitude, he somewhat faltered. Somewhere inside him, he felt affected by their seriousness. A doubt gradually arose in his heart as he thought about his encounter with Teach.

Could it be true, as they say, that Teach is a bad guy, and that my meeting with him wasn’t a coincidence at all?!

Chapter Text

In the following days, Ace began to accept Marco's decision to let Teach be a member of 1st Division. He stopped bothering Marco and gradually returned to his normal activities. However, Ace had been silently observing Teach all these days. He still didn't believe the story of the future Marco, but the serious attitude of Marco and the other commanders really swayed him.

So, these past few days, Ace has been secretly following Teach. However, contrary to everyone's warnings, Teach was a completely normal member. Despite his appearance leaving a bad impression, he quickly integrated with everyone. This made Ace somewhat hesitant. He didn't know whether to listen to what his brothers said, or to listen to what he was seeing.

Until one day, when Whitey Bay and her crew visited Pops.

When Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitey Bay had already split off to form his own crew and was now an ally of the Whitebeard Pirates. He had also heard that Whitey Bay was one of the first members of the crew. If you exclude Marco, Whitey Bay was considered the big sister of everyone.

“Yo, Marco! How are you and Pops doing? Still as sweet as ever?!”

As soon as she stepped onto the ship, Whitey Bay quickly walked up to Marco and asked about her younger brother's situation.

Although he is considered the older brother of the crew, Marco still sees Whitey Bay as his older sister. To him, she was both an older sister and a teacher. The basic medical knowledge she taught him in the past was the foundation for him to develop into the doctor he is today.

However, despite all the love and respect, Marco still couldn't stand her teasing about his relationship with Pops.

“Bay! I told you not to say such things in public!” Marco said. But he couldn't hide his face of shame and embarrassment when faced with his sister's teasing.

Marco's half-hearted grumpiness only earned Whitey Bay a bright smile. Just like Whitebeard, she also wanted her little brother to always be happy and free to do whatever he wanted.

“Gurararara, you're always noisy when you come back, aren't you, Whitey Bay?!” Whitebeard's hearty laughter echoed, mixed with the smiles of his children, making the atmosphere more cheerful than ever. “Our crew just got a new member, why don't you stay here for a few days and celebrate with us?”

“New member? Who is he? Which division is he from?” Whitey Bay nodded in agreement with Whitebeard's suggestion and then looked around and asked.

“The black-haired guy is standing with the 2nd Division member over there.” Marco pointed at Teach and said, “The one we have been looking for.” Marco deliberately said the last sentence very softly, just loud enough for him, Whitebeard and Whitey Bay to hear.

“Oh?! Is that him?!” Whitey Bay smiled as usual on the outside, but her feelings inside were completely opposite. “2nd Division?” she asked.

“No, 1st Division.” Marco replied.

Whitey Bay heard that and said nothing, just raised his eyebrows and looked at Marco, then burst out laughing.

“Impressive, this kid!” She smiled and said to Marco.

It seems that not only the older version of Marco, but also his older sister, was pleased with his decision.

A party to celebrate the new members and welcome Whitey Bay's visit was quickly held with the participation of all members of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The party lasted until midnight, when more than half of the participants were drunk and fell asleep on the deck. Only a few commanders and Whitebeard were still sober, especially Marco. He was still sober even though he had drunk quite a bit with everyone.

“Using the Phoenix's regenerative powers to sober up is unfair, Marco~~!” Thatch said drunkenly as he clung to Marco as he sat leaning against Whitebeard's huge chair.

“That's right~~ Marco~~ that's cheating~~!” Ace also walked up to stand next to Thatch with his face red. It seemed like he had also had quite a bit to drink.

“We need someone who is still sober enough to keep an eye on everyone, to keep them from falling off the boat, right?!”Marco said with a smile. As he spoke, he glanced at Whitebeard to keep an eye on and monitor the amount of alcohol he drank today.

After publicly revealing and confirming his relationship with Whitebeard, Marco became even more strict in monitoring Whitebeard's daily alcohol intake. In recent years, under Marco's supervision, Whitebeard has gradually been able to quit drinking and his health has also improved. However, he sometimes turns a blind eye to let him drink freely, like today. Even so, he still has to supervise him, to prevent him from drinking too much.

“If you're drunk, go back to your room and rest. I don't want to wake Namur up to get you two up if one of you falls into the water. Especially you Ace, don't forget you're a devil fruit user too.” Marco said. Sincere advice from a brother, and also a doctor.

“But I don't want to go back to my room~~ I can still drink~~!” Thatch and Ace hugged each other and screamed. This made Marco feel a bit of a headache because of their drunken stubbornness.

Marco then glanced around the deck and stopped at Teach. Seeing that he was still conscious, he spoke up.

“Hey Teach, can you take these two still-conscious captains back to their rooms for me?! I have to stay and watch Pops and the others.” Marco suggested.

“Of course, commander.” Teach said then stood up and pulled Thatch and Ace away.

Teach had only taken a few steps when he heard Whitey Bay's voice, telling the story of her recent discovery of the island.

“You found a devil fruit inside a temple on the island? Really?” Haruta's voice rang out with a surprised look.

This information made Teach's steps stop for a few seconds. He slowly walked towards Thatch and Ace's room, trying to listen to Whitey Bay's story about the mysterious devil fruit.

“That's right.” Whitey Bay nodded, “It looks like a large, pale purple grape covered with swirly teardrop-like patterns and a few green leaves on top.”

“According to your description, it is indeed a devil fruit.” Marco said, “Did you bring it here?”

“Of course.” Whitey Bay nodded and replied, “I left it in Pop’s treasure room. If you want to see it, I will take it out for you to see tomorrow.”

The other members were all very excited after hearing Whitey Bay's story.

Behind them, where no one could see, Teach was extremely surprised by the information Whitey Bay brought. However, he still tried to suppress his emotions. He had been waiting for this opportunity all this time, he couldn’t be careless at this time.

Finally, the thing he had been searching for all this time, had appeared.

Logia Devil Fruit.

Yami-Yami no mi.

Chapter Text

That night, when everyone was asleep and only a few people were left on the ship to keep watch, a dark figure stealthily walked to the treasure room.

The dark figure looked around to make sure no one was there before slowly opening the door and entering. After a moment to get used to the darkness in the room, he slowly searched for the chest containing the devil fruit that Whitey Bay had mentioned last night.

“What are you doing here…” Thatch's voice suddenly rang out as light enveloped the room, “…Teach?”

Yes, the dark figure that waited until midnight and then sneaked into the treasure room was Teach. He wanted to go and see if the devil fruit that Whitey Bay found was really the Yami-Yami. He just didn't expect that his intention would be exposed as soon as he did it. Thatch, the Commander of the 4th Division was standing right behind him and asked him about the purpose of coming here at this hour.

“C…Commander Thatch…” Teach stuttered when he saw Thatch, at the same time, his mind immediately thought of how to explain his situation.

“Are you also curious to see the devil fruit that Whitey Bay just found?” Before Teach could think of a reason to justify himself, Thatch smiled brightly and came to stand beside him.

“Huh? Could it be…” Teach opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Thatch.

“Well… you're not the only one curious about that devil fruit.” Thatch said while pointing behind to show Teach that besides the two of them, there were still two other people who also came here at this hour because of that devil fruit.

“Exposed!” Haruta and Ace grinned as they poked their heads out from behind a large chest.

Ace and Haruta later joined Thatch and Teach.

Seeing two more commanders appear, Teach silently assessed the current situation and then smiled and went along with the reason Thatch had given earlier. After all, curiosity isn't a crime, right?!

The four of them then split up to find the chest containing the devil fruit that Whitey Bay mentioned.

“Didn't Whitey Bay say she left it in here? Why can't we find it?” Haruta tiredly leaned against a chest and said.

“Are you sure she said she left it in here, Haruta?” Ace stood on a large crate to get a better look around the room and asked Haruta.

“I'm sure of it! Whitey Bay said it herself! No mistake!” Harura said.

“Shh! You two be quiet! If Marco finds out we're here at this hour, he'll tie us up and use us as fish bait for Pops!” Thatch hissed softly to remind his two companions.

“Know that too, ha?!”

The truth is, Thatch is a crow's mouth, saying good things is not effective, saying bad things is extremely effective. As soon as he mentioned Marco, the older brother appeared and leaned against the entrance.

“Marco!” Marco's sudden appearance successfully startled the four people in the room. Everyone became confused, not knowing how to react.

Marco narrowed his eyes dangerously at the four people standing in the treasure room, then asked, “May I ask what you guys are doing here at this hour?”

The four looked at each other, then the remaining three all pushed Thatch forward.

Thatch looked at his brothers with a sorrowful gaze, then smiled and looked at Marco, “The thing is, we couldn't sleep so we decided to do some exercise.”

“Exercise? In the treasure room?” Marco raised his eyebrows at Thatch and the others. Obviously he didn't believe the reason Thatch had just given.

“Well…” Thatch scratched his head, not knowing how to explain.

On the opposite side, Marco looked around the room and the faces present, then sighed.

“If you guys are looking for the devil fruit that Whitey Bay found, I've already taken it.” Marco said, “It's in Pops' room. Whitey Bay refused to eat it, so Pops is planning to ask everyone tomorrow if anyone wants to have this devil fruit. If no one wants to eat it, Pops will put it back in the treasure room.”

“I see! No wonder we couldn't find it!” Haruta spoke up.

“If you guys have nothing else to say, go back to your room before I get angry.” Marco said seriously.

Marco's brothers saw that he was about to get angry so they quickly left and ran back to their room.

“Are you curious to see that devil fruit too, Teach?” As Teach passed Marco, he asked him a question.

“Yes. I was just curious.” Teach scratched his head and quickly walked away.

Marco said nothing, just silently watched Teach's figure until he disappeared from sight.

Quietly spreading his haki around a bit to make sure no one else would come near this room, Marco closed the door to the treasure room and locked it carefully. After finishing everything, he turned and went back to his room, pulled out the large chest under the bed, and took out a smaller chest. Carefully opening the small chest to check the item inside, he then pushed the large chest back to its original place and took the small chest with him to Whitebeard's room.

Inside Whitebeard's room, the lights were still on and there were a few people there.

“So, is our youngest brother still willing to defend the-kind-new-member he met?!” Marco entered the room, closed the door carefully and asked the people inside.

“Nope.” Thatch replied with a small smile and looked at his youngest brother Ace who was standing beside him with an extremely unsightly expression, “He's on our side now.”

“Good plan, Marco! Things are going well so far.” Haruta standing next to Ace also spoke up.

Marco didn’t reply, just smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the three guests who coincidentally were present in the treasure room earlier. Perhaps Teach would never have thought that the presence of three commanders in the treasure room tonight wasn’t a coincidence but a pre-arranged plan.

[An hour ago, after Teach had brought him back to his room, Thatch had opened his eyes as soon as the door closed. His expression was completely sober and showed no signs of intoxication.

Thatch leaned against the door, waiting for the footsteps around him to completely disappear, then quietly opened the door and walked to Ace's room.

When Thatch opened the door and went inside, Haruta was already waiting there and he had also woken Ace up.

“Go, to the treasure room.”]

“Haven't seen in years, you've gotten smarter! Love can really change people!” Whitey Bay laughed teasingly at Marco.

Faced with Whitey Bay's teasing, Marco could only smile shyly and walk over to stand next to Whitebeard. At this time, Thatch, Ace and Haruta also began to notice the small chest in Marco's hand.

“What is that Marco?” Ace asked curiously.

Marco didn't answer, just silently opened the chest in his hand so everyone in the room could see what was inside.

“Devil Fruit? Is this the devil fruit that Whitey Bay found?” Thatch ran back to take a closer look and asked, “But didn't you say it was in Pops' room? Why are you carrying it from outside now? Was it really still kept in the treasure room when we pretended to go there to look for it?”

“Who said it was kept in the treasure room?” Whitey Bay suddenly asked her brothers.

“It's you! This evening, you were the one who said you left this devil fruit in the treasure room.” Haruta was the one who answered.

“No no no, I didn't say I put this devil fruit in the treasure room. I said I put it in Pops' treasure room.” Whitey Bay smiled in response to Haruta's words.

“What's the difference?” This time it was Ace's turn to wonder.

At this moment, only Thatch was still pondering over Whitey Bay's words and what Marco had said earlier to trick Teach.

“Pops's treasure room…” Thatch rubbed his chin and muttered, then his eyes suddenly caught the scene of Whitebeard smiling and watching Marco's figure beside him. Only then did he understand the hidden meaning behind Whitey Bay's words, “Marco's room? You kept that devil fruit in Marco's room?!”

“Exactly, brother!” Whitey Bay smiled and nodded, “Marco's room is a room where the owner is often absent, but no member dares to casually enter and rummage around. In terms of safety, it is second only to Pops' room.”

After listening to Whitey Bay's explanation, Ace suddenly remembered the little plan Marco had made tonight to let him witness Teach's true nature. He looked at Whitey Bay and Marco standing next to Pops and silently sighed in his heart.

As expected, the first children to accompany Pops, their way of looking at things and handling problems is also very different.

“So what are you going to do next, Marco? We can't let this devil fruit fall into Teach's hands.” Thatch asked Marco, who had passed the devil fruit to Pops and was currently poring over the devil fruit encyclopedia in his hand.

Marco didn't answer right away, just silently stared at the page about the Yami-Yami no mi's abilities.

“Yami-Yami no mi, a devil fruit that allows the user to control darkness and its unique property of gravity. Similar to a black hole, the user can absorb things inside a vortex. It seems that it doesn’t completely compress and annihilate that which is sucked in as an actual black hole would do, but rather creates some form of space where things are stored. In addition to the previous abilities, this fruit somehow has one unique and frightening ability that separates it from all other Devil Fruits: the ability to absorb and completely nullify the powers of other Devil Fruit users by simply touching them.¹” Marco didn’t answer Thatch's question, instead he read aloud a description of the Yami-Yami no mi's powers.

(1. Source: One Piece wiki/Yami-Yami no Mi)

Thatch, Ace, and Haruta all gasped when Marco announced the ability that the Yami-Yami no mi grants to its user. Even Whitey Bay couldn't hide her surprise. Only Whitebeard didn't seem surprised at all at this information.

After confirming that everyone in the room had digested the information just now, Marco turned the page containing the image of Yami-Yami no mi around for everyone to see.

“Congratulations, Whitey Bay! You have found the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Yami-Yami no mi.” Marco said as he placed the image of the Yami-Yami fruit on par with the devil fruit in the chest in his hand.

An emotional silence gradually spread throughout the room. Everyone in the room was now looking at the devil fruit in Marco's hand.

“Does anyone want to eat it?” Whitebeard asked. He spoke for the first time after Marco brought the devil fruit to his room.

“I won't.” Whitey Bay said.

“Not me.” Haruta also had the same thought as Whitey Bay.

At this moment, Marco suddenly noticed Thatch, who was still silent and hadn’t yet given his opinion.

“Do you want to eat it?” Marco held the devil fruit towards Thatch and asked.

“Why do you think I would want to eat it?” Thatch answered Marco with another question.

Marco was silent for a moment and then replied, “Red Hair said, you are the original owner of the Yami-Yami no mi. Teach took it from you.”

“How? How did he take it from me?” Thatch narrowed his eyes. Half out of curiosity, half out of caution.

Marco was silent, saying nothing, his eyes also turned away, avoiding Thatch's gaze. It seemed like he was refusing to answer this question.

At this moment, Thatch suddenly remembered the eyes of the older Marco when he came here and looked at him. His eyes were like looking at a friend he hadn't seen for a long time. In those eyes, there was mostly relief, but at the same time, there was also a bit of regret. Combined with Marco's request just now, he suddenly thought of a possibility.

“I'm dead, right? The first one?” Thatch asked.

Marco remained silent, refusing to answer Thatch's question. But his evasive attitude was enough for everyone in the room to guess the answer.

At this moment, Ace suddenly thought of something. If Marco hadn't stopped Teach from joining the 2nd Division at first, and later, when Teach killed Thatch for stealing the Yami-Yami no mi, with his personality, he would definitely have gone to find Teach to avenge Thatch. But with the information about the Yami-Yami no mi just now, Ace had a feeling that he would most likely lose. Then Ace couldn't help but frown when thinking about what would happen if he was caught by Teach.

“Don't worry about what happened to you in the other world. Let's just worry about what happens in this world.” Marco finally spoke up, “Just answer do you want to eat it?”

Thatch looked at the devil fruit in front of him and said, “I'm not sure. But if I eat it, what about Teach? We don't know what he'll do if we take away what he wants.”

“Don't worry about that. I have a plan for the situation where you eat the Yami-Yami no Mi. But if you decide not to eat it, I have another plan for that too.” Marco said, his tone quite relaxed, “Besides, we are pirates, greed and taking what we want is in our nature.”

Thatch's mood eased a bit after hearing Marco's assertion that it would be fine if he decided to possess the Yami-Yami no Mi's abilities, however, all things considered, he was still hesitant to think about eating it.

“I don't think I'll eat it.” Thatch shook his head and said, “Its power is great and powerful, but I won't give up the chance to save my brothers when they fall into the water just because of it.”

“Suit yourself.” Marco nodded in response.

Feeling that the atmosphere had become less tense than before, Whitebeard spoke up again.

“What are you going to do with it, Marco?” he asked.

“I will give this devil fruit to Teach.” Marco replied.

“WHAT?!”

Everyone in the room, except Whitebeard, was surprised by what Marco just said.

“No, Marco! This Devil Fruit is too dangerous if it falls into Teach's hands!” Ace objected.

“That's right, Marco! You can't give this to Teach!” Thatch and Haruta also agreed with Ace.

Whitey Bay didn't say anything, but she also squinted her eyes and stared at her little brother.

Marco suddenly turned to look at Whitebeard and asked, “What about you?”

“I trust you.” Whitebeard laughed and said.

Whitebeard's words successfully caused the blush of embarrassment to reappear on Marco's face. He cleared his throat slightly to calm down before speaking.

“If Teach wants this devil fruit that much, then I'll give him his wish.” Marco said, “But I will also remind him of the curse that any person who possesses the power of a devil fruit must bear.”

“Every power comes with a price!”

Chapter Text

That night, Marco clearly told everyone in the room about his plan, so that they could cooperate with him in the special play tomorrow.

.

.

The next morning, after breakfast, Whitebeard gathered his children and placed the Yami-Yami no Mi in the center.

When he saw that everyone was gathered, Whitebeard spoke up, “As you know, this is the devil fruit that Whitey Bay just found during her previous exploration of the island. She refused to eat it, so I wanted to find another owner for this devil fruit.”

There was quite a stir after Whitebeard's announcement. Most of them were talking about the power this Devil Fruit gave them, and were curious to see who would be chosen to possess it.

“What is its power, Pops?” Vista asked.

This was also the question of the people present on the deck. When Vista's question was raised, all eyes turned to Whitebeard.

Whitebeard didn’t speak, just looked at Marco, signaling him to answer on his behalf.

Receiving Whitebeard's gaze, Marco took a step forward and spoke, “This devil fruit is called Yami-Yami no mi, a Logia type devil fruit. If you eat it, you will gain the ability to control darkness. This Devil Fruit is also known as the ‘Strongest Devil Fruit of the Logia type’.”

Marco finished speaking and walked around holding the devil fruit so everyone could take a closer look. At the same time, he also silently observed Teach's expression.

Teach's attitude at this time was still normal, nothing unusual. If he hadn't been warned about Teach beforehand, Marco might have trusted him. If he hadn't witnessed his family's dark future with his own eyes, he might have thought Teach was just an ordinary person with no ambition.

Marshall D. Teach. He hides his emotions too well. Even though right before him was the devil fruit he had always hunted, he hid his desire to obtain it.

After letting everyone on deck see the devil fruit in his hand, Marco put it back in the chest and leaned against Whitebeard's chair.

“Anyone volunteer?” Marco looked around and asked.

Everyone looked at each other, there were still a few whispers here and there, but absolutely no one answered Marco's question.

“If no one volunteers... then draw lots.” After waiting for a while without anyone expressing interest in possessing this devil fruit, Whitey Bay made an offer.

Whitey Bay took out several small pieces of paper, one of which had the Whitebeard Pirates' flag drawn on it. Next, she asked someone to bring a box and put all the pieces of paper in it. Finally, she shook it up to mix it all together and brought it before everyone.

“Whoever picks up the piece of paper with our flag drawn on it will get this devil fruit.” Whitey Bay said, “But, as we all know, one person can’t possess two devil fruit powers at the same time, so those who already possess devil fruit powers, please stand aside.”

Feeling that Whitey Bay's idea was reasonable, everyone also started to move according to the suggestion she had made earlier: Those who don’t possess devil fruit abilities take a step forward to prepare for the draw; Those who already possessed devil fruit powers stepped back to make way for their brothers.

To be fair, Marco suggested that everyone who participated in the draw would draw a ticket and hold it in their hands, then they would open it together to see who had drawn the lucky ticket.

When everyone had a ticket in their hands, they looked at each other for a moment and then opened their tickets at the same time. Then, the entire deck immediately erupted in gasps of surprise as they looked towards the member who drew the lucky ticket, the Commander of the 4th Division - Thatch.

Even Thatch couldn't hide his surprise as he looked down at the piece of paper with the crew's flag drawn on it in his hand. It seemed that luck was smiling on him today.

“Then… this devil fruit is left to you.” Marco said then gave the chest containing Yami-Yami to Thatch and asked everyone to disperse and return to their work.

While everyone was going back to work, in a hidden corner, a gaze was silently following Thatch's figure and the chest containing the devil fruit in his hand.

.

.

That night, when everyone had gone back to their rooms to rest, and only a few people remained on night duty, Thatch took Yami-Yami with him, went up to the deck to cool off and carefully think about his upcoming decision.

Thatch never thought he would have the chance to possess a devil fruit. Before, when he saw his other brothers possessing devil fruit powers, he felt that they were very cool and strong, but when he thought about having to trade his swimming ability for that power, he felt it wasn't worth it. I mean, he's a pirate, right?! Being a pirate but not being able to swim, isn't that a huge disadvantage?!

But today, Thatch has the chance to possess a devil fruit. It's not even a normal devil fruit, it's a Logia type devil fruit, it's even known as the strongest devil fruit of this type. A great deal of power is being placed in his hands.

Thatch's hesitation didn’t come from self-doubt. Being a member of the Whitebeard Pirates himself, one of Pops's children, one of the sixteen commanders of the most powerful pirate crew in the pirate world today, he didn't know if he lacked anything, but he certainly didn't lack confidence. As a commander in a pirate crew, Thatch always had more than enough confidence to face any situation.

Thatch's hesitation comes from the price that comes with the powerful abilities the Yami-Yami no Mi grants.

Every power comes with a price. Those are the words that Marco once said. And that was the sentence that occupied Thatch's mind all day.

When Whitebeard gave Thatch the Yami-Yami no Mi, he also said very clearly, Thatch's drawing of the lottery was a matter of luck, however, becoming the new owner of this devil fruit wasn’t a compulsion but a choice. Thatch was the lucky one to draw the lottery, but that doesn't mean he's bound to possess this Devil Fruit's powers. He still has the choice of whether or not he wants to eat it. If he decides not to eat it, Pops will join Marco and Whitey Bay in choosing another owner for it. Thatch was free to choose the outcome he most desired.

Thinking about whether or not to eat the Yami-Yami no Mi kept Thatch from resting comfortably. He just sat there on the deck in the dark and scratched his head thinking about the devil fruit placed next to him. He was completely unaware that another dark figure was silently approaching him from behind with a sharp knife in hand.

A gunshot rang out in the dark night, accompanied by a scream of pain and the sound of metal falling on the deck, breaking the silence that had reigned on the deck at that moment. Immediately, Thatch stood up with the devil fruit in hand, and turned his back to the dark figure that had just stealthily approached him. Immediately after that, the lights on the deck were also lit so that everyone present could clearly see the face of the person who wanted to attack Thatch.

Whitebeard quickly approached with Marco in his phoenix form sitting on his shoulder, silently assessing the man who had just broken the rules he had set for anyone who wanted to join his crew.

Marco left Whitebeard's shoulder, transformed back into human form, and landed on the ground, standing a few feet away from the traitor. He put his hands in his pockets, his cold, emotionless eyes looking down at the person who was sitting on the ground, groaning, holding his bloody hand.

“Good evening… Marshall D. Teach!”

Chapter Text

At midnight, somewhere in the New World, on the deck of the Whitebeard Pirates' ship Moby Dick, the lights were lit brightly. All the Commanders and members who have been with the crew since the early days are present here.

At the center of the deck is the newest member of the crew and assigned to the 1st Division, Marshall D. Teach.

Tonight, after being discovered by the commanders that he intended to assassinate the Commander of the 4th Division - Thatch, Teach was captured by other commanders and tied up with special chains.

Marco wanted to judge Teach in front of everyone so that later no one would gossip or say anything about Teach's disappearance.

“Anything to explain, Teach?” Marco asked after seeing Whitey Bay bring out the denden mushi in Pops' room.

Teach now completely revealed his true nature. He no longer had his usual friendly attitude, but instead had a gloomy and calculating look in his eyes.

Teach looked around and stopped in front of Marco, “How did you find out? I'm sure I hid it well.” He spoke, his eyes fixed on Marco.

Teach was certain that the plan to ambush him tonight was Marco's work. Using his crew members as bait to lure him into a trap wasn’t Whitebeard's usual style. To carry out tonight's ambush, the mastermind behind the plan must not only be smart, but also have enough voice and power to give orders to other commanders. In the entire Whitebeard Pirates, he could only think of one person: the No. 2 of the Whitebeard Pirates, the 1st Division Commander, Phoenix Marco.

“The truth is, we didn't figure out your intentions.” Marco signaled Haruta to go arrange the transceiver and communication equipment right on this deck and then replied to Teach.

“What?!” Teach's eyebrows furrowed even more at Marco's answer.

“You heard right, we didn't discover your intentions, we were warned about your intentions.” Marco said slowly.

Teach was silent. Anger filled his eyes. At this moment, he was wondering which of his comrades out there had accidentally revealed his plan to the Whitebeard Pirates.

“Who warned you?” Teach asked. He wanted to know the name of the first person he would kill after he got out of this.

“You will meet that person soon.” Marco said and walked towards the denden mushi that was placed on the table next to Whitebeard's chair.

At this time, on the table where Whitebeard's denden mushi was placed, besides his denden mushi used for communication, there was also a recording denden mushi next to it, and there was a special denden mushi used to connect the two together. This way, when Marco uses Whitebeard's denden mushi to call someone, he can see who is talking to him. If the person on the other end of the line also prepared similar connecting devices, they would also be able to see Marco.

What Marco was about to do wasn't just make a normal call. Marco wanted to call one peson, and let him see the results of Marco’s plan.

“Do you want to see us deal with Teach? See him pay for what he did to our family?”

Once the devices and denden mushi were ready to connect, Marco walked up to the denden mushi and made a call.

Silence fell across the deck of the Moby Dick, until the sound of a call being connected rang out. The screen flashed a few times and then slowly showed an image of a person. Blonde hair, white shirt and red-rimmed glasses on his face. A figure all too familiar to the commanders who had the chance to meet him before.

After the image was connected, Marco didn't say anything, just stood still looking at the person gradually appearing on the screen.

Finally…

.

“What's wrong with Marco?” Ace stood with the other commanders, speaking to Thatch beside him.

“Don't worry, he's just overwhelmed.” Thatch shrugged.

“Why?” Ace asked again.

“Previously, during the switching place event, Marco only knew about the other person through the stories of us and the people on Spring Island. He had never met the other person, and had only recently heard his voice. This was the first time Marco had seen that person. Another Marco from the future of another world.” Thatch explained to Ace in a low voice.

Ace nodded in understanding and continued his guard duty.

.

“Is it connected?!” The voice of the older Marco rang out from the other side of the screen.

The two Marcos looked at each other in silence for a moment, then the other suddenly burst out laughing at Marco.

“They were right, your eyes still retained its light.” older Marco commented.

“And your eyes were already deep in darkness.” Marco replied.

“That's the price you pay for fighting the darkness.” older Marco shrugged and said. Then his eyes turned to the man tied up in the center of the deck, “Speaking of darkness, the sky is beautiful tonight, isn't it Blackbeard?! Oh, my fault, you don't own that name yet. I should still call you Teach, right bro-ther?!” He said while smiling mockingly at the traitor.

“What are you?” Teach growled in his throat as he saw another Marco lookalike appear.

“The one who will be defeated by you in the future if you succeed in stealing the Yami-Yami fruit tonight.” older Marco replied.

“Are you Marco from the future?” Teach asked again. He suddenly felt interested in this Marco. Like Marco, he also recognized the thick darkness in the eyes of the person on the screen.

“Yes and no.” older Marco said, “I do come from the future, but not the future of this world.”

Older Marco looked at Teach, chuckled and continued, “I was the one who warned them about you, and I was also the one who revealed your plans to them, so that they could stop you in time.”

“Shut up! What do you know!” When he learned that his plan was exposed by someone from the future, Teach could no longer keep his fake mask and growled at older Marco., “What's wrong with wanting the power to destroy everything! What's wrong with me wanting to take Whitebeard's place! That old man Whitebeard got everything! He is also the closest person to the great treasure One Piece after the death of the Pirate King! But he decided to give it up! I hate his weakness and his family games! Dreaming of having the power to stand above all is a normal thing in this pirate world, isn't it?!”

Teach's angry scream made Whitebeard's sons standing around him feel anger rising in their heads. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Whitebeard and Marco, as if they would rush in and kill this traitor if they gave the order.

“But you had fail miserably!” older Marco said calmly.

“You said had? So in your world, I did it, right? Are you saying that I successfully killed Whitebeard and took his place?” Teach interrupted as soon as he caught a crucial element in older Marco's statement, “What about you, Im-mor-tal-Pho-e-nix? What were you doing then? Can you just stand by helplessly and watch your respected captain been killed by me?”

Older Marco's frown made Teach feel that he had hit the nail on the head. He began to laugh. An evil laugh filled with hatred and cruel.

“Let me tell you a secret. The Gura-Gura and Yami-Yami aren't my only targets when I board this ship, even the Tori-Tori no Mi model Phoenix is also my target. However, I soon realized that killing you or waiting for you to die to take the power of the Phoenix would be too time consuming, so I let you go.”

The more Teach spoke, the louder he laughed, “What a shame, right Marco?! If I had taken your devil fruit power back then, you might have been able to reunite with your family by now! Even though I can't take your power, seeing you tormented by such guilt really satisfies me!”

“Shut your mouth, you bastard!” At this point, Thatch could stand it no longer. He drew his sword and angrily slashed Teach across the shoulder.

Thatch's anger was shared by the commanders on deck, those who had the chance to meet older Marco at the previous switching place event, and they were the ones who saw his uncontrollable madness, as well as heard about the origin of that madness.

Despite the sharp pain in his shoulder and the red blood gradually soaking one side of his shirt, Teach still had no intention of stopping his deliberate attempt to deepen older Marco's pain, “Even though I'm about to die now, at least before I die I know that another version of me has successfully taken over everything! Then that's too satisfying for me!” Teach said as he turned to Marco, “Thanks for your call, bro-ther!”

Now even Ace, who had never met older Marco before, felt angered by Teach's venomous words. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted being the one to introduce Teach to everyone.

However, unlike the angry and hateful expressions of those present on the Moby Dick, the expression of the person sitting on Spring Island was completely opposite.

At Teach's mocking and joyful attitude when seeing others suffer, older Marco burst out laughing. From the initial soft laughter, gradually, he could no longer contain his emotions and burst out laughing.

His reaction was so strange that even Marco himself couldn’t explain why he reacted like that.

“What are you laughing about?” Teach asked, frowning.

“Nothing, it's just that your story is so funny that I can't control my emotions.” Older Marco said as he wiped away a tear that had just appeared in the corner of his eye from laughing too much, “Do you mean, if it were you, you would also deliberately let me live? If that's true, then I should thank you, right?!”

On screen, older Marco smiled towards Teach. However, the smile in it didn’t reach his eyes. Everyone could see clearly, in his blue eyes was a flash of undisguised danger.

Everyone almost forgot, even though Marco has long since retired, he is still a pirate, he is still the Commander of the 1st Division of the strongest Yonko of the old era. He is still a notorious pirate with a bounty of 1,374 million beli. He is Phoenix Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The smile on Marco's lips didn’t fade, this time it was more sarcastic and contemptuous, “Thank you for not killing me! Thank you for letting me live! Thank you for giving me the chance to watch you fail! Thank you for giving me the chance to protect Pops' legacy! Thank you for giving me the chance to change the past, and stop you from destroying my family again! Thank you for letting me have no more regrets! Thank you for giving me this opportunity, bro-ther!”

Older Marco's smile lasted a moment longer and then stopped. He sat up straight, put one hand on the arm of the chair and spoke. No more smiles, only cold eyes for the one who betrayed his family.

“Do you know what I've been through for the past 22 years? Do you think those petty provocations can affect me? If the strongest version of you, a Yonko who possesses the powers of two Devil Fruits at the same time of this world, was here, right in front of me, perhaps I would show some compassion and show a bit of a fearful expression!”

“But if it were you, a person who was arrested just as he was carrying out the first step of his plan, a person who does not possess the power of a devil fruit, a person who cannot ascend to the throne of the Yonko, a person with nothing, couldn’t threaten me!”

“You failed, Teach! Losing to someone you were supposed to defeat in the future. You are not the Yonko Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach, the one who will defeat me in a battle of revenge. You are Marshall D. Teach, a traitor whose plot has been discovered and will surely receive your punishment.”

“I just regret that I can't kill you with my own hands, but I in your world can do it for me, that's enough to satisfy me.”

Just as older Marco said, Teach's harsh words earlier had absolutely no effect on him. Compared to everything he had been through in his world, those words were nothing. The gaze that older Marco gave Teach was the gaze of an experienced pirate who had gone through, faced, and witnessed many battles. The look he gave him was the look of a commander with everything looking down at a common pirate with nothing.

“You…”

“Enough chit-chat. Your commander didn't call me today to reminisce about old times with you.” Seeing that Teach was still stubborn and wanted to say more, older Marco interrupted him and turned his gaze to Marco, who had been silently observing him since he started talking to Teach, “You said you wanted me to witness the end of this traitor, didn't you?!”

“Show me!”

Chapter Text

“Show me!”

As older Marco finished speaking, everyone's attention on deck turned to Marco and Teach.

Marco was now looking down at Teach. He gave him a smirk and signaled for Thatch to give him the devil fruit he had been holding all this time.

Thatch looked down at the devil fruit in his hand for a moment then handed it to Marco.

Signaling Thatch to step back, Marco took the Yami-Yami and moved a little closer to Teach, “You want it? Then come and get it!”

Marco said and transformed into his half-phoenix form, holding the Yami-Yami fruit and flying into the air. Almost at the same time, Teach broke the chains around his wrists and broke free, stretching himself to charge towards Marco.

Teach took out his tekko-kagi and covered it in armament haki then rushed towards Marco. He knew he could no longer hide his fighting ability, and wanting to take the Yami-Yami no mi back from Marco forced him to use everything he had.

However, no matter how Teach tried to attack Marco, he was still able to easily dodge all of his attacks. His phoenix flight ability and aerial advantage helped him somewhat overwhelm Teach. As older Marco said, Teach was still not a threat to him at the moment.

But, Teach wasn’t an easy opponent to deal with. He certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to rush into a battle with Marco without a backup plan. A sly smile appeared on Teach's face as he watched Marco fly higher and higher.

A blue flash of light in the night sky is always an easy target for a sniper.

In the darkness of the night, on a nearby island, a rifle was raised and aimed silently at the blue point of light above the Moby Dick. After identifying the target, a bullet was fired, cutting through the wind and flying straight towards the phoenix flying in the air.

Right at the moment the bullet was about to hit Marco, Whitebeard used his devil fruit ability and punched in mid-air, causing the air around the Moby Dick to crack, deflecting the bullet's path. He then expertly caught Marco as he lost his balance and fell unsteadily.

The smile on Teach's lips immediately disappeared when he realized that his ambush plot had been discovered by Whitebeard. He slowly backed away and began to think of a way to leave this ship when he saw Whitebeard standing up with an angry face.

“Attacking the phoenix in front of the old man was not a wise decision!”

A voice suddenly rang out across the deck after the bullet exploded in mid-air. Before the people present could react and find out who had just spoken, they heard Whitebeard speak.

“Ace, Namur, go get them!” Whitebeard dropped Marco off at Whitey Bay and ordered Ace and Namur to quickly head to the island where the bullet had just been fired. He then ordered the remaining crew members to wake up and steer the ship towards that island.

When the others went to carry out their assigned tasks, only a few people remained on deck. Most of them were commanders.

Seeing Whitebeard and the others getting closer, Teach stepped back and spoke, “Pops! I'm your son! Are you going to let them kill me!”

“Pops…”

Teach's scream was cut short as Thatch's blade swept across his throat.

Thatch skillfully twirled the sword in his hand and said with a smile, “Didn't I tell you?! Shut your mouth!”

Teach held his bloody neck, unable to utter a word, glaring at Thatch.

At this moment, Marco slowly approached, using his phoenix flame to heal the wound that Thatch had just caused on Teach, at the same time he didn’t forget to look at Thatch with a warning gaze, “What did I say Thatch?! I want to kill him myself!”

Thatch responded with a cheerful smile mixed with a bit of regret for his mistake.

Marco of course didn’t give Teach a chance to run away after healing his wound. His hand still held Teach tightly and his eyes didn’t leave the traitor's figure., “I will make sure you never leave Moby Dick… alive!”

Seeing that Whitey Bay had returned with the seastone chains, Marco took the Yami-Yami no mi and approached Teach, forcing him to eat it before letting the other commanders tie him up with the seastone chains.

As soon as he took a bite of the Yami-Yami no mi, when he felt the power of darkness in his body, Teach took advantage of the opening when the commanders spent a few seconds tying him up with the seastone chain, he broke free from the control and siege of the commanders and rushed towards Marco.

“You will regret giving me this power, Marco!!!” Teach said as he used his dark powers and pulled Marco towards him.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Just when Teach thought he had turned the tables, three gunshots rang out and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The coldness of the sea gradually invaded his body and all his strength seemed to be drained.

Teach collapsed to the middle of the deck once more time as he saw three streams of bright red blood flowing from his chest. His breathing became heavy and labored as he looked towards Marco, who was holding a gun with a smoking barrel in his hand.

“Sea…seastone bullets? But how?” The cold feeling of the ocean from the wounds on his body was like a warning to Teach about the material that made up the bullet that Marco had just used to shoot him.

“Surprised, right?! Weapons made from seastone are quite rare, but if you look hard enough, you can still find a large quantity!” Marco said as he turned the gun in his hand and walked towards Teach step by step, “You think I only planned to execute you after you joined the Whitebeard Pirates?! The truth is, I've been planning this for decades and was just waiting for you to appear!”

“After learning about my family's dark future, I swore to myself that no matter the cost, I must eliminate the scourge that is you, Marshall D. Teach!”

Thanks to the seastone bullets that Marco shot at Teach, causing him to fall helplessly to the deck, the commanders quickly tied him up with seastone chains and gave Teach full authority to Marco.

“Edward…”

Marco suddenly called Whitebeard by the name he usually used to call him when they were alone. This made not only Whitebeard but also the brothers around him look at him in surprise.

After returning from the switching event and after confessing his feelings to Whitebeard, when Marco and Whitebeard had confirmed their relationship, Marco never had any intention of hiding his love affair with Whitebeard from the other members. But that didn't mean he would actively use the private form of address when other people were present. So when he suddenly called Pops by the name Edward, his brothers were just as surprised as their Pops.

“Marco?” Although surprised, Whitebeard immediately responded to Marco's call.

“What I'm about to do may hurt you. If you don't want to see it, just close your eyes.” Marco said as he pulled out a knife with a blade as cold as the bullets he shot into Teach.

Marco didn’t dare to look at Whitebeard. He was afraid of meeting the hurt gaze of witnessing one of his sons about to take his last breath. Even though Teach was a threat that needed to be eliminated, forcing Whitebeard to witness the execution of one of his sons was still too heartbreaking for someone who valued family as much as he did.

“Marco…”

Whitebeard called out, gentle and understanding, “You are my wife! And I don't want to miss a single second of your life!”

A smile quickly appeared on Marco's face after he heard what Whitebeard just said. It seemed like he had been worrying too much. No matter what he did, the person he loved would always choose to stand by his side.

Marco's smile completely disappeared as he turned back to look at Teach. He expertly twirled the knife in his hand and bent down to face him, “Any last words?” Marco asked, placing the blade right over Teach's heart.

“May the marines catch you and let all your skeletons rot in Impel Down!” Teach said through gritted teeth, “You bastards! I curse you all!”

“See you in hell, Teach!” Marco said and then stabbed the blade down into Teach's chest.

Teach only had time to scream in pain and then fell silent. Blood kept pouring out from his chest. No one came to treat him. Teach was killed by Marco's hand, ending all the threats he could have caused to the Whitebeard Pirates.

“Throw him into the sea!” Marco stood up straight and spoke. His tone didn’t carry any pity for the life he had just ended.

As everyone threw Teach's body into the sea, Moby Dick approached the island. At this time, Ace and Namur had also finished off Teach's men and returned to the ship. Seeing the blood stains being cleaned up by some crew members, the two of them understood what had just happened. Neither of them said a word, only going forward to signal to Marco and Whitebeard that they had completed their assigned mission.

When Ace remembered that they were still talking to another version of Marco and looked towards the screen, he suddenly discovered that behind older Marco, there were a few more people standing.

“Hey, wait, there is someone behind you, Marco!?”

Chapter Text

“There is someone behind you, Marco!”

Ace's words immediately drew everyone's attention to the screen. When they looked over, just as he said, there were several people standing behind older Marco.

Older Marco seemed to have also noticed their presence. He didn't say anything, just slightly curved his lips and accepted the glass of water offered by someone standing in the hidden corner of the denden mushi.

A chuckle rang out. The owner of the laughter was a man wearing a black cloak that covered his left arm and a sword hanging at his waist.

“Marco, who are they?” This is Whitebeard's question. He didn't feel any hostility from the people standing behind Marco, nor did his expressions suggest that they were acquaintances. However, out of caution, he still asked for their identities.

As Marco was about to answer Whitebeard, the man who had just laughed suddenly pulled out his sword and held it close to Marco's neck. His action surprised and worried everyone on the Moby Dick.

“His enemy.” The man pressed his sword closer to Marco and answered Whitebeard's question.

In contrast to the shock and anxiety of the people on the Moby Dick, Marco's attitude was extremely calm. He let out a helpless sigh and raised his head to look at the person holding the sword “threatening” him.

“If you want to kill me, you should stab your sword into my heart.” older Marco said. His tone didn't sound worried at all.

“You know I can't bear to do it to you!” he sheathed his sword and responded with a smile.

“It's Shanks.” Marco spoke up when he finally recognized the owner of the familiar voice just now, “He won't hurt him.”

Seeing the familiar yet strange face on the screen, Shanks smiled again and looked at the confident young man standing on the Moby Dick, “We meet again, pretty birdy!”

In return, he received a warning glance from both Marco.

Realizing that the people standing behind older Marco were most likely his acquaintances or friends, the people on the Moby Dick felt somewhat reassured.

“Oh! It's Ace! How nostalgic!”

A clear and innocent voice rang out, drawing everyone's eyes to the figure of another person standing beside Shanks.

Hearing this voice, Ace couldn't help but be surprised and quickly walked to stand next to Marco.

“Luffy?!!” Ace called out, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

Luffy heard his name called and walked forward, bowed his head, put his hands on the back of older Marco's chair and smiled brightly at Ace, “Ace looks so young now!”

Seeing the bright smile of the young man wearing a straw hat on the screen, Ace was even more certain that this was his beloved younger brother, it was just that this younger brother was now much older than him.

“What's with that wound Luffy? What happened to you?” Ace said as he pointed to the large X-shaped wound on Luffy's chest.

Luffy's smile suddenly stopped when he heard Ace mention the wound on his chest. The joy on his face also faded a bit. Only his eyes were still looking at Ace.

“It's so good to see you again Ace!” Luffy smiled slightly and said, “Hey Ace, I can now fulfill our dream: to live a life I'll never regret! I'm now freer than anyone else!”

Ace was truly happy to know that his foolish little brother would be able to fulfill the dream he always wanted in the future. It's just that, for some reason, he felt that Luffy's attitude and the words he said were somehow strange. It felt like there was an unusual story behind those words. Luffy didn't even tell him where the wound on his chest came from.

Ace was about to ask Luffy his question when he saw Luffy bend down and say something to older Marco before leaving. Just as he was about to call the kid back, another voice rang out.

“Are you Ace?”

An elderly man's voice rang out, pulling Ace's attention away from Luffy's figure.

“Yes, that is my name.” Ace looked towards the person who had just walked over and sat down next to Marco on the screen and replied.

It was an old man (perhaps even older than Whitebeard) with a calm appearance. On his face was a pair of round-rimmed glasses and a scar on his left eye. Despite his old appearance, Ace could still feel the domineering aura of a king on him. Judging by all the factors, he could guess that this old man had been a pirate when he was young. His bounty must be at least Marco's level.

Looking at the person sitting with older Marco right now, Ace suddenly thought of a name, but he didn't want to think about the people related to that name.

“Nice to meet you, Gol D. Ace.” Rayleigh looked at Ace for a moment then spoke. His eyes still carried a hint of a smile.

“Hey! You're wrong! My full name is Portgas D. Ace!” Ace spoke up in annoyance, correcting what the old man on the screen had just said, “My last name was never Gol D.!”

“I know you don't like using the last name you inherited from your father.” Rayleigh didn’t show any sign of being annoyed by Ace's grumpy and rude attitude, but on the contrary, he appeared unusually calm, “But the fact that Roger is your biological father is something you can’t deny. Everything about you reminds us of him who met and accompanied him.”

“People out there call Roger the devil, you see Roger as something you always want to deny, but for me and the crew of the Oro Jackson, Roger is the kindest and greatest captain! Just like you now see Whitebeard as your greatest captain!” Rayleigh said as he silently looked over at the spirit of the captain he was talking about standing next to the screen.

“If Roger were still alive, he wouldn't force you to join the Roger Pirates. He would let you do whatever you want, even if it meant letting his son join his arch-rival's pirate crew.” Rayleigh chuckled as he thought about Roger's reaction to this.

“...I know who you are.” Ace suddenly spoke up after hearing everything Rayleigh had just said to him. At this point, he was sure that the person sitting on the screen was the person he was thinking about.

“Really?” Rayleigh raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Previously, when I was looking for information about that damn old man, I also came across a lot of information about you. You are his Firstmate, Silvers Rayleigh.” Ace said. His attitude was less grumpy than before.

“Yes. I am the vice captain of the Roger Pirates, the one who has been with your father since the very beginning.” Rayleigh smiled and nodded, “To this day, he is more than just a captain to me. To me, he is more than a friend.”

“What kind of person is he?” Ace asked. His voice was hesitant.

Rayleigh smiled at Ace's question and replied, “He's someone you wouldn't be able to hate if you had the chance to meet him.”

After hearing that, Ace just hummed a few times and then stepped back to stand with everyone, leaving space for Marco to talk to himself. Rayleigh on the other side also didn’t linger any longer but stood up and left that place.

At this moment, there was only one person left beside older Marco. But that person, although he had been appearing on the screen all this time, was just sitting in a corner, and had never once spoken.

Marco could guess who that person was. It was just that if that person wanted to hide his identity, then he would respect his decision.

“Hey, Marco.” he called out.

“Hm?” older Marco took a sip of water and nodded in response to the younger man's call.

“Can I call you again later?” Marco asked. His tone was half hesitant, half expectant.

Hearing the younger man's question, older Marco was silent for a long while before speaking.

“I don't think so.” he said, “Our fate has ended here. I can make amends, no longer allowing myself to regret or feel sorry; you can also help your family avoid the darkest and worst future. That is enough. We don’t need to see each other anymore, nor do we need to remember each other anymore.”

“You not only save your family, but you also saved the most important person to you! You did great, Marco!”

Marco smiled serenely as he looked at his younger self. His gaze seemed to convey the ambitions he had to give up due to his fate. Looking at him now really reminds him of the past, of a free and carefree phoenix with eyes always filled with the light of hope.

“You're free, Marco! Free to be a proud Phoenix under Edward's protection! Free to be by Edward's side forever!” he said, his voice soft as if he was talking to himself, “As for me, I finally waited for my Edward to return! That was already too satisfying for me! I couldn't wait for anything more!”

Older Marco spoke slowly and sincerely. Each word he spoke was like a soothing balm to the wounded heart, like a cool stream that washed away all the tension of the younger man.

Marco told him that he wanted to use this call to show him the results he deserved. Then he also wanted to use this call to send him his final words. He wanted to give him the relief and freedom he deserved.

Goodbye and thank you.

Goodbye my past.

Thank you for changing our family's future.

THE END.