Chapter 1 The Prison

A prison.

A dim prison.

Mad Eye had been in countless prisons, but this one on the Queen Anne's Revenge was clearly different, otherwise... it wouldn't be able to hold a character like Mad Eye.

Dong—dong—

Suddenly, a very distinct sound of footsteps rang out.

It cut through the sound of the surging waves, changing from light to loud, from far to near, entering Mad Eye's ears.

Mad Eye didn't need to look to know that the person coming was Blackbeard.

"Are you here to humiliate me?" Before the other party could stand still, Mad Eye had already asked.

"I... don't have the capital to humiliate you." The next second, Blackbeard's figure walked out of the shadows and appeared in the not-so-bright light.

Mad Eye raised his head and glanced at the other party; through the prison bars, he saw a face with a complex expression.

"The winner is king, the loser is bandit," Mad Eye continued, "'Victory', isn't that capital?"

"Victory?" Blackbeard repeated those two words, sneered, and asked back, "What victory? What did I win?"

Mad Eye did not answer this question.

"Fame?" Blackbeard denied as he spoke, "I'm already the overlord of the Chaotic Sea, what kind of fame do I still need?" He paused, "Wealth?" He revealed a disdainful expression, "Let's not talk about your ship, and everything on it, has already sunk into the sea... even if it didn't sink, the only thing on that ship that could interest me is the ship itself."

Speaking of this, his smile grew even stronger, but the smile revealed a hint of sarcasm: "Heh... taking a step back, even 'the pleasure of killing' and 'the sense of accomplishment' are things I failed to obtain; what is the meaning of such a 'victory'?"

"Then what are you here to find me for?" Mad Eye replied, "Don't tell me you're planning to let me out to fight you one-on-one?"

"Ha!" Blackbeard chuckled dryly and lowered his eyes to look at Mad Eye's right shoulder.

At this moment, below that shoulder... there was no longer an arm.

"Let's wait until your hand grows back," Blackbeard shook his head and muttered.

"What do you mean? You're still planning to let me live?" Mad Eye's expression changed slightly as he tentatively asked.

"Yes." Blackbeard replied calmly.

"That joke isn't funny," Mad Eye said, and he indeed did not smile.

"When have you ever heard..." Blackbeard also put away his smile, looked at the other party with condescending eyes, and said in a deep voice, "...Blackbeard joking?"

Mad Eye was stunned, then, he was silent, he thought...

More than ten seconds passed, and Mad Eye understood: "What do you want to get from me?"

"Just answer a few questions," Blackbeard replied.

"Hmph..." Mad Eye's attitude was still very bad, "I can't guarantee that I'll tell the truth."

But Blackbeard didn't seem to care about this, he ignored the other party's "ungrateful" reaction and directly asked: "Red Ring... is he still alive?"

This "Red Ring" he mentioned was also a notorious pirate; as far as Blackbeard knew, the Brown Algae was supposed to be Red Ring's ship, not Mad Eye's.

"So that's what you want to ask..." Mad Eye thought for a while and replied, "He's dead."

"You killed him?" Blackbeard followed up with a question.

"What? You want to avenge him?" Mad Eye answered the question with a question.

"Not necessarily." Blackbeard used an ambiguous answer to kick the ball back.

"Heh..." Mad Eye sneered, "Whatever... anyway, you're no match for 'him'."

"'Him'?" Blackbeard's eyes sharpened, and he continued, "Is this 'him' you speak of... the one who killed Red Ring?"

"That's right." Mad Eye replied, "There's no need for me to hide this from you... anyway, many people have seen it, and it won't be long before the news spreads throughout the Chaotic Sea..." He paused for a second, recalling, "About two days ago, I and a few of my men were drinking in a tavern on Jifei Island, and Red Ring was also there; at dusk, 'he' came... wearing a monk's robe, like an invisible ghost; the moment 'he' walked into the tavern, the season seemed to change... into winter." Speaking of this, Mad Eye swallowed, "'He' entered the door and walked straight to Red Ring, saying something in a volume that only the two of them could hear; I don't know the specifics of the conversation, I only know that... Red Ring immediately flew into a rage and prepared to directly kill someone in the tavern."

"But... the one who died in the end was Red Ring himself?" Hearing this, Blackbeard interjected.

Mad Eye nodded slightly and continued: "I've never seen such a person... if 'he' can still be considered a 'person'." He shrugged, "In my judgment, his power is at least at the same level as the Demonic Sword Yan Emperor that Feng Bujue took out before, or even stronger... so, when 'he' turned Red Ring into dust and then walked up to me and asked me 'if I was interested in becoming the captain of the Brown Algae', I answered 'yes'."

"You're trying to say..." Blackbeard continued, "The reason you led the pirates to attack me was actually 'his' intention."

"Ha! Hahahaha..." As soon as these words came out, Mad Eye burst out laughing, "Stop trying to flatter yourself, Blackbeard. In 'his' eyes, you... I... are all small characters. The fact that I met you today was purely a coincidence, and attacking you... was also my idea; 'he' only expressed his approval after I proposed this idea."

"Then... what was 'his' original 'purpose'?" Blackbeard asked again, "And... where is 'he' now?"

"Tch... I'd like to know too," Mad Eye said indignantly, "Just before the attack started, that guy suddenly found an excuse and ran into the cabin, and I haven't seen him since. As for 'his' 'purpose'... do you think he would tell me? The only thing I know is that the place he wants to go to... is Chew Demon Island."

The words "Chew Demon Island" came out, and Blackbeard immediately fell into deep thought.

Blackbeard spent a moment organizing his thoughts before speaking again: "Last question..." He paused for half a second and asked, "What exactly was that cannonball you initially fired?"

"Ha?" Mad Eye was stunned when he heard this, and it took him a few seconds to react, "Oh... you mean that one. That cannonball was created out of thin air by 'him' not long before it was fired; according to him, it was 'a pre-buried ambush for the sake of insurance'." He spread his hands and continued, "But other than flying particularly far... I couldn't see anything special about that thing at all."

"Hmph..." Blackbeard sneered when he heard this and muttered, "I see..."

"Listening to your tone..." Mad Eye sensed something, "Is there something wrong with that cannonball?"

"Of course there's a problem, and it's a very serious problem..." Blackbeard replied, "Half an hour ago, I sent my first mate to the bottom of the sea to check on the situation with that cannonball." His face darkened, "As a result... he hasn't returned yet."