"But..." Ace clenched his fists, flames flickering between his fingers.
"Idiot!" Marco interrupted. "We've got TikTok now! The whole sea can help us find that traitor! What are you running around alone for?!"
Suddenly, a massive hand shoved the screen aside, and Whitebeard's commanding face appeared.
"Gurahaha... My foolish son, come home!"
His laughter was so loud it made the phone tremble.
Ace's tears finally welled up, sparkling beneath the desert sun.
"Pops... I..."
"I can't go back yet. I haven't taken a picture of Teach."
Ace furrowed his brow, still not fully understanding Marco's intention.
After all, he'd just learned how to use TikTok. His mindset hadn't caught up yet.
"Could Marco be planning to use TikTok... to hunt Teach?" he muttered to himself.
Then his eyes lit up, like he'd just unlocked a whole new Gear Second.
"So that's it!"
He turned back to Marco, eyes gleaming with determination.
"I get it now! I'll find Teach and snap his picture as soon as I can!"
Marco smiled from the other end.
"Good. Once you've got the picture, come back immediately."
"Got it."
Ace hung up the call.
"Luffy!" Ace turned and hugged his brother tightly.
"I have to go!" His voice was filled with reluctance—but even more with resolve.
Luffy grinned wide, hugging him back.
"Go ahead! We've got TikTok now. We can video call anytime, anywhere!"
"Right. I'm off, then."
Ace released him, adjusted his orange cowboy hat, and gave the Straw Hats a final wave.
His silhouette slowly disappeared into the desert, shrinking to a black dot in the heat-hazed horizon.
...
Seven days later.
At a small port town on Alabasta's border.
"TEACH!!!"
Ace's roar shattered the silence of the harbor.
He stood beside a shattered wooden railing, the fire in his hand lighting up the shadows of the port.
Across from him, Blackbeard Teach's crooked, toothless grin twisted in the firelight.
"Zehahahaha... Ace? What a surprise." Teach cackled, dark energy swirling ominously around him.
Ace didn't waste a word. He whipped out his phone and—snap!—took a picture of Teach.
The flash lit up the dock. Teach instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, completely bewildered.
"What... What kind of new weapon is that?!"
He'd expected fists—not flashing metal bricks.
"Bastard, your days of hiding are over." Ace sneered, fingers flying over the screen.
Just as the photo upload confirmed, Marco's video call popped up.
"Well done, Ace!" Marco's voice came through the phone.
"Pops wants a word!"
The screen shifted again—Whitebeard's massive frame filled the camera.
"Gurahaha... Well done, Ace. Now, come back!"
Ace's chest felt warm. He gave Teach one last icy glare.
"You're finished, Teach."
On the other side, Teach stood at the stern of his ship, laughing wildly. Dark shadows coiled around him like snakes.
"Zehahahaha... Ace, try and catch me!"
His ship slowly pulled away from the port. The black Jolly Roger flapped violently in the wind.
He ran without hesitation.
When you're not sure how strong your opponent is? You run.
Run.
"Damn it!"
Ace clenched his fists. Flames shot from his hands, scorching the dock.
He glared at the retreating ship, eyes burning with rage and frustration.
"Damn it..."
He slammed a crate beside him. It burst into flames and disintegrated into ash.
He'd caught Teach—yet the man had slipped through his fingers again.
The port was empty. Not even a small boat remained.
"Ace!" Marco's voice rang from the phone.
"Come back! Pops has a plan!"
Ace gritted his teeth, shaking his head.
"No! I won't let Teach get away! I won't let Pops owe this favor!"
His voice was hoarse but firm.
"I have to take him down myself!"
Aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard rubbed his temple with a sigh.
"This foolish son of mine..."
Marco rubbed his forehead, already feeling the migraine.
"Ace... Why is he always like this..."
But the plan couldn't stop now.
It was time to put a bounty on Teach.
...
The next morning, the entire sea exploded.
A single video went viral across TikTok.
On the Hot List, a video marked #1 Trending blazed upward at record speed, even knocking Kaido's Devil Fruit raffle stream out of first place.
#WhitebeardPiratesBountyOnTraitorTeach
The video laid out Teach's crimes, plastered his photo across the screen, and dropped the biggest reward of the year:
A favor from the Whitebeard Pirates.
In the video,
Whitebeard sat on his throne aboard the Moby Dick, Murakumogiri planted beside him.
His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"I, Whitebeard, declare: whoever captures Blackbeard Teach alive, the Whitebeard Pirates owe you a favor!"
Verified tips would be rewarded too.
But nobody cared about the Berries.
Everyone wanted that favor.
Forty-three pirate crews under Whitebeard's banner launched simultaneous TikTok Boost campaigns.
Within one hour, the view count exploded past 100 million. The comments were pure chaos:
> "A favor from a Yonko?! That's worth more than 500 million Berries!"
> "All hands on deck! We're turning the sea upside down for this guy!"
> "Teach is finished. You think you can betray a Yonko and still sail free?"
---
Across the New World, countless pirate crews jumped into action.
What shocked everyone more—even some Marine branches secretly joined in.
After all, who wouldn't want a Yonko's favor? And if they claimed the reward anonymously...
In Marineford, Sengoku smashed three teacups in a row, roaring about investigating internal discipline violations.
...
Meanwhile, Blackbeard Teach was lying low on an unmarked island.
He finally figured out what that metal block Ace had flashed was.
A phone.
A new gadget taking over the seas.
"Zehahahaha, never thought something so convenient existed."
He'd already figured out how to use it and even registered a TikTok account. But during real-name verification, he tried to cheat the system and got hit with a warning ban.
"Damn it. I almost got banned!"
(To be continued.)