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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 170: r1
"Be your subordinate?"
The sudden voice left Ace and Nami stunned. Ace was still immersed in the words, while Nami was the first to react, staring blankly and asking, "You... you can talk?"
"How can you talk?"
Ace's mouth fell open as he looked at the giant beast before him, his expression filled with disbelief.
"It's not that difficult."
Xiaqiu looked down at the two of them and slowly said, "Ace, what is your answer?"
"Answer?"
Upon hearing this, Ace sighed and asked, "If I refuse to be your subordinate, will you kill me?"
"Your question is invalid."
Xiaqiu sneered and said, "If I hadn't appeared, Blackbeard would have killed you. In other words, I saved you; you owe me a life."
Ace took a deep breath and replied, "You're not wrong."
Without this giant beast, he would already be dead.
Xiaqiu continued, "Moreover, if I hadn't sent my subordinates, how would Nami have been rescued? How would Blackbeard's men have been held back?"
Ace suddenly realized and asked, "So you're the president that Christmas mentioned?"
"Not just Christmas."
Xiaqiu said coldly, "I also sent additional people. Otherwise, with just your subordinates and Christmas, how could you possibly hold these people off?"
Ace was somewhat surprised. "So that's how it is."
Xiaqiu continued, "Without me, both of you would be dead for sure. But do you think this is the only outcome?"
"What do you mean?" Nami frowned.
Xiaqiu snorted and said, "Blackbeard's plan is not to kill you; it's to send you, Ace, to prison in exchange for a position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Being sent to prison is still better than death, right?" Ace said with a bitter smile.
Nami shook her head. "That's impossible. The position of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is already filled. Even if they hand over Ace, they won't be able to gain that position. Their current target is Jinbei. They plan to unite with the Rebels from Fishman Island to attack Jinbei, causing a loss among the Seven Warlords of the Sea and then replace him."
"They're planning to go after Brother Jinbei?" Ace was somewhat astonished.
Ace had a very good relationship with Jinbei; they had become acquainted through mutual experiences and were both part of Whitebeard's Pirate Crew, someone they could trust with their families.
"So Blackbeard really has this idea."
Xiaqiu nodded and then said, "If they send Ace to Naval Headquarters, he will definitely become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Why is that?" Nami asked in confusion.
Xiaqiu explained, "Because Blackbeard has an agreement with the Naval Government. They will use Ace as bait for a public execution at Marineford to lure Whitebeard in and seize the opportunity to kill him."
"This..." Nami found it hard to believe upon hearing this.
"Ace shook his head and said, 'Dad won't fall for their tricks, and they can't kill him.'
'With Whitebeard's regard for you, how could he not come to save you?'
Xiaqiu snorted and replied, 'I admit that Whitebeard is still the strongest man in the world, but he's old, and his strength is no longer at its peak. With the entire Naval Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea combined, how could they not kill Whitebeard?'
'But the Four Emperors won't just sit back and watch. How could they allow that to happen?' Nami asked, puzzled.
Xiaqiu answered, 'G has always coveted Whitebeard's territory. Kaido has had many conflicts with Whitebeard. Only Red can assist, but he will likely be too preoccupied himself. Once war breaks out, Whitebeard will undoubtedly die.'
'If they rashly go to war, their losses will be immense. I don't believe they would do that,' Ace replied.
Nami chimed in, 'Your assumptions are all based on the highest probabilities of each scenario, but the problem is that there are too many guesses. Each guess builds on another, increasing uncertainty. At least the benefits of doing this are too few; Naval Headquarters wouldn't start a war with us over it. If Ace really gets captured, they'll probably execute him secretly. That way, they save face with Dad and avoid provoking us into war.'
'Is that so?'
Xiaqiu laughed and said, 'What if we add that Ace is Roger's son?'
'How do you know?'
This statement made Ace stiffen, looking at Xiaqiu in disbelief.
'This...'
Nami knew this information but had never told anyone else. In the Spade Pirates, only a handful were aware of this secret.
Xiaqiu snorted and said, 'Publicly executing Roger's son and killing Whitebeard, the symbol of the old era—this reason is enough for Naval Headquarters to go to war with Whitebeard.'
At this point, Xiaqiu smiled and added, 'Of course, this is just an agreement between Blackbeard and the Naval Government. Whether it succeeds is another matter entirely; as for the consequences of what Blackbeard intends to do, we can choose not to consider them. But the key point is that I saved you and Nami along with eighty-three others.'"
"I understand what you mean," Ace sighed and said, "So you want me to become your subordinate."
"That's right," Xiaqiu replied. "I need a subordinate to help me, and your strength is impressive enough to meet my requirements. So, what do you think?"
Ace was the most suitable candidate. He possessed the strength of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and at just twenty years old, he still had room for growth.
The battle between him and Blackbeard was the perfect opportunity for him to get involved.
Xiaqiu had no intention of waiting for the Marineford War; there would be countless corpses there, but very few belonged to the strong. Only Ace, Whitebeard, and a handful of commanders would be worth anything.
However, the scale of the war was too massive. At the start, the tremors caused by Whitebeard tilted Marineford, and then Aokiji froze the seawater. Just the ice blocks lifted by Jozu were several dozen meters high.
Could he break through the ice to get above?
Moreover, would those around him allow him to feast on those corpses?
Thus, Xiaqiu resolutely took action, killing Blackbeard while hoping that Ace would join his ranks.
Ace hesitated for a moment, furrowing his brow as he asked, "If I refuse, will you kill us?"
Xiaqiu smiled and said, "I will simply return everything to its original state."
The meaning of this was clear; if Ace was unwilling, Xiaqiu would kill him. He certainly wouldn't let a powerful force slip away from him.
Upon hearing this, Ace asked again, "So how should we report this to Dad?"
"Just tell him the truth," Xiaqiu replied. "I killed Blackbeard and saved you. Working for a benefactor like Whitebeard shouldn't be a problem for you."
"Alright."
Ace nodded and said, "I can be your subordinate, but I hope you agree to one condition."
"What is it?" Xiaqiu suppressed the joy in his heart and looked at Ace.
Ace replied, "You must release Nami and Hachi."
"Huh?"
Nami was slightly taken aback, then said, "Ace, I want to stay here with you..."
"You have to leave."
Ace interrupted her, looking at her intently. "Aren't you planning to join forces with the Fishman Island Rebels to assassinate Jinbei? You and Hachi will go to Fishman Island, tell Jinbei about this, inform Dad, resolve the situation, and then he can send you back."
"Okay, okay."
Upon hearing Ace's reasoning, Nami felt the urgency of the matter and nodded. "I will leave with Hachi."
Ace turned to Xiaqiu and asked, "I wonder if you agree?"
Xiaqiu thought for a moment. Nami was an excellent navigator; she would be very useful in his plans, but there were alternatives.
Xiaqiu said, "I can agree to that. Once they are treated, they can leave."
Ace looked at Xiaqiu and added, "Also, there are some things I won't do for you, like killing indiscriminately or harming the innocent."
"Don't worry."
Xiaqiu smiled and said, "Anyone I ask you to kill is worth killing."
"Then I am willing to become your subordinate," Ace replied earnestly.
"Then I look forward to your performance."
Xiaqiu said with a smile, "You all stay put for now. I'll have the doctor come to treat you and take you away from this island. But before that, I have some things to do."
With that, Xiaqiu swallowed the corpse of Blackbeard and walked off into the distance.
Her subordinates were still fighting, and she didn't know how it would turn out.
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