One Piece : Rise of Thunder King

You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04

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The fact that Saatchi had obtained a Devil Fruit and decided to use it was quickly forgotten by the pirates at the banquet.

At most, they wondered what kind of power the Devil Fruit would grant him.

However, Blackbeard's eyes flickered with excitement.

He had joined the Whitebeard Pirates years ago for one reason: to find the Dark-Dark Fruit. This crew had the highest chance of possessing it. For twenty long years, he had hidden his ambition, biding his time.

Now, the Dark-Dark Fruit was finally within reach, but it wasn't in his hands yet. The thought of someone else using it made him restless, as if ants were crawling under his skin.

He glanced around at the crew, then made up his mind. He needed to see the fruit with his own eyes. Only then could he feel a little more at ease.

Blackbeard grabbed a bottle of rum and stood up, heading toward the kitchen.

"Teach, where are you going?" Ace's voice called from behind after he had barely taken two steps.

As a member of the Second Division, led by Ace, Blackbeard had a fairly good relationship with him.

Nearby, Luffy also turned to look at him. Though Blackbeard seemed friendly, Luffy genuinely considered him a friend. Two dreamers, both determined to chase their goals, naturally formed a bond.

"Ah~ I'm just going to take a pee. Zehahahaha! Keep having fun!" Blackbeard replied with his signature laugh, sounding bold and honest. He waved casually and left the banquet.

In the kitchen, Saatchi—the captain of the Fourth Division and the head chef of the Whitebeard Pirates—was busy organizing the preparation of a massive feast.

The Moby Dick, a ship capable of holding thousands, was bustling with activity. Feeding such a large crew during a banquet was no less than a battlefield for the kitchen staff.

Without enough stamina, the chefs couldn't keep up with the demands of the hungry crew on deck. As long as one person wasn't satisfied, their work wasn't done.

This was precisely why Saatchi hadn't eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit yet.

He was a chef.

It was his responsibility to prepare food for Whitebeard, and he wouldn't leave his post until the banquet was over. Only after the feast was complete could he even think about trying the fruit.

Behind the kitchen door, Blackbeard stood silently, his hulking figure blending into the shadows. His eyes lingered on the Dark-Dark Fruit sitting on a cabinet, then on the busy Saatchi. After a moment of hesitation, he quietly turned and left.

This would be his last day as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Today marked the beginning of his dream coming true.

Soon, he would be on his way to becoming the most powerful man in the world.

The thought filled him with ambition and excitement. Yet, as he walked away, another figure flashed through his mind, and his plans wavered for a moment.

"Hmmm… that guy is strong too. Should I make his Devil Fruit my second choice?"

After considering the man's strength and age, Blackbeard decided against it. His current plan—centered on Whitebeard's crew—was safer and more reliable.

Everything had been carefully planned based on his deep understanding of Whitebeard's personality.

Blackbeard glanced back at the kitchen one last time, at Saatchi, who was busy preparing food.

With determination burning in his eyes, he turned and left quietly.

The banquet continued until late into the night before finally coming to an end.

Looking at the empty and messy kitchen, where most of the food supplies had been used up, Saatchi let out a deep sigh of relief. A satisfied smile spread across his face.

"That was one tough battle," he said to himself.

The kitchen staff was utterly exhausted. Saatchi thanked the chefs from both his ship and the other ships for their hard work, then told them to head back and rest.

Although Whitebeard's Moby Dick was massive, it didn't have enough space for everyone to sleep.

Saatchi decided not to stay aboard, especially since he was still thinking about the Devil Fruit. He figured it would be better to return to his own ship, which wasn't far away.

More importantly, he wanted to eat the fruit and test its powers. Doing so on the Moby Dick might disturb his crewmates and Whitebeard, so heading back to his own ship seemed more practical.

What Saatchi didn't realize was that his love and concern for his crew would cost him his life.

As he left the Moby Dick alone, he failed to notice the shadowy figure trailing him through the dark night.

A while later, Saatchi returned to his ship. After taking a bath, he went to his captain's quarters with the Dark-Dark Fruit in hand.

He carefully took the fruit out of its bag, his expression cautious but filled with anticipation. "It must be a powerful ability! Please let it be something amazing," he muttered to himself.

Just as he was about to eat the fruit, he heard footsteps outside his door.

"Huh?" Saatchi turned his head toward the sound. "Teach?"

"Zehahahaha, it's me, Saatchi," Blackbeard said as he entered, his tone cheerful but his face cold and menacing. His eyes were sharp and filled with malice, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Saatchi, unaware of his friend's dark intentions, smiled and paused before eating the fruit.

The door creaked open, and Blackbeard stepped inside, wearing a deceptively simple expression.

"What brings you here, Teach? Couldn't resist your curiosity?" Saatchi asked with a grin, happy to see his old friend.

"Ah! Yeah," Blackbeard replied, his gaze fixed on the Dark-Dark Fruit.

He didn't sit down. If he sat at the table, it would create an obstacle between him and Saatchi. Even though Saatchi wasn't as strong as him, he could still react quickly enough to dodge a fatal blow in that situation.

So, Blackbeard casually wandered closer to Saatchi, rum bottle in hand, and stood behind him, feigning curiosity about the Devil Fruit.

"I wonder what kind of power it will give. Are you really going to eat it, Saatchi?" Blackbeard's voice wavered slightly.

Deep inside, he struggled with his feelings. Though he was ambitious, Saatchi had been a good friend to him. A small part of his heart hoped for a different path.

"Yeah, I've made up my mind," Saatchi said firmly. "I've hit a plateau. It's been so long since I've made any progress in my strength. If I don't grow stronger now, my abilities will start to decline as I get older. I don't have Whitebeard's monstrous physique to rely on."

Saatchi's face was serious as he spoke.

He hadn't always thought this way, but seeing Ace—who wasn't particularly strong at first—grow rapidly with the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit had lit a fire in him. Under the influence of King Arthur's example, Ace's strength had surpassed Saatchi's, leaving him feeling anxious.

When Saatchi witnessed King Arthur defeating Kaido, it struck him hard. For the first time, he felt like he was getting old and falling behind.

Kaido, after all, was a monster—one of the Four Emperors. Only Whitebeard could stand on equal footing with him.

The other two Emperors were powerful, but even they didn't match Kaido's brute strength.

Even Whitebeard could only defeat Kaido with great difficulty, never delivering a truly decisive blow.

But then, a young man appeared, matching Whitebeard's strength almost on the same level.

Since the legendary battle between King Arthur and Kaido, many members of the Whitebeard Pirates had been training harder than ever, driven by determination to grow stronger.

Ace, too, had pushed himself, rapidly increasing his strength in response to this new era.

Everyone understood a simple truth: King Arthur was still in his twenties. While Whitebeard was known as the strongest man in the world, he was already aging.

There was no real comparison between them. King Arthur was still growing, and though his power might develop more slowly now, his peak potential was terrifying.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard's strength was declining. Without daily medical treatments—like back infusions, oxygen, and cutting down on his drinking—his power might have already dropped significantly.

The crew couldn't bear to see Whitebeard pushed to his limits in battle again and again. They knew that if no one strong enough rose to support him, it would only hasten his decline—a reality none of them wanted to face.

Even if another Emperor-level fighter couldn't emerge immediately, having a powerful second-in-command could at least lighten the burden on their father.

Hearing Saatchi's determination to eat the Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard realized what he had to do.

"Then go ahead and eat it. I'm curious to see what ability this Devil Fruit grants you. I hope it's something strong!" Blackbeard said calmly, as he subtly adjusted his position behind Saatchi.

"Yeah, me too!" Saatchi replied with a smile, picking up the Dark-Dark Fruit with excitement.

But then—

Clatter!

The Devil Fruit slipped from his hands and rolled onto the floor.

A sharp pain shot through his chest. Saatchi's strength drained away as he looked down in disbelief at the knife protruding from his heart.

"Why... why?" Saatchi's voice trembled as he turned to Blackbeard, his good friend and crewmate.

He couldn't comprehend the betrayal. He had always trusted Blackbeard completely, considering him family. That trust, that familiarity, was why he had never been on guard. And now, it had cost him his life.

"Sorry, Saatchi," Blackbeard said darkly, his face shadowed by grim determination. "I joined Whitebeard's crew for one reason: to find a Devil Fruit.

A Devil Fruit I've dreamed of for so long. And now that it's finally appeared, I had to do this. You should've given up your claim to it."

Saatchi's lips twisted into a bitter smile as he glanced at the Dark-Dark Fruit lying on the floor.

"For a Devil Fruit... Teach..." Saatchi whispered weakly, his eyes filled with sadness and disbelief.

Shing!

The knife pierced deeper into his chest, and Saatchi's face contorted in pain. His vision blurred, but his voice rang with anger and despair.

"Dad won't let you get away with this, Teach!"

"I know," Blackbeard replied coldly, his expression growing more unhinged. "That's why, once I've eaten this fruit, I'll leave! I'm sorry, my friend, but for the sake of my dreams and ambitions, I had no other choice."

With Saatchi's death, the tragedy unfolded in silence.

In the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates, defenses were relaxed. No one dared to attack them, so they didn't use Observation Haki to monitor their surroundings.

But this time, betrayal didn't come from the outside. It came from within—from someone they trusted as family.

Blackbeard bent down and picked up the Dark-Dark Fruit, his hands trembling with excitement. He decided not to eat it immediately. It was safer to wait until he was far from Whitebeard's fleet.

Later that night, under the cover of darkness, a lone figure untied the ropes of a small boat. Silently, he lowered it into the water and set off into the vast sea, vanishing into the night.

From this moment forward, the world would come to know the name Blackbeard—a pirate destined to shake the world to its core.