"Hmph! Putting a bounty on me? The nerve!"
As soon as he opened TikTok and saw that he had become wanted across the entire network, Teach's pudgy face turned pale in an instant.
"Zehahahaha..." His laughter lacked its usual confidence. "These fools... they don't understand my dream at all…"
Before he could finish, over a dozen pursuit ships appeared on the horizon.
Teach leapt up in a panic. "Set sail! Now!" His crew scrambled to untie the ropes, while the pirates drinking in the island's tavern had already started comparing his face with the video on their phones.
Meanwhile, Ace was sailing at full speed in a small boat he'd temporarily borrowed.
As he scrolled through the nonstop stream of updated TikTok clues, a cold smile played across his lips. "Teach, let's see where you run this time."
Flames burst from the stern, sending the little boat slicing through the waves like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
The entire sea was boiling over because of that bounty video. Countless eyes were locked on their phones, hunting for the fat, gap-toothed man in black.
The favor of the Whitebeard Pirates was like a magnet, pulling in every greedy and ambitious gaze.
Teach was holed up in a damp cave on a remote island, water dripping from the mossy rock walls onto his newly bought phone.
His thick, stubby fingers clumsily swiped across the screen. The moment he saw:
#BlackbeardTeachBountyOrder#, beads of sweat instantly began rolling down his forehead.
"Zehahahaha..." His laugh came out dry and stiff. His fingers trembled violently. "W-What kind of joke is this…"
Onscreen, his wanted video had already surpassed 200 million views, and the comments section was flooded with death threats.
Suddenly, a freshly posted video caught his attention.
A tavern owner had secretly recorded him drinking yesterday, and the video clearly displayed the island's coordinates!
It had only been up for ten minutes, but there were already hundreds of replies claiming they were on their way.
"Damn it!" Teach bolted up, knocking over a nearby wine barrel.
He frantically packed his things while shouting to the crewmember standing watch outside the cave, "Laffitte! Get ready to set sail now! We've been found!"
Laffitte rushed in, leaning on his cane, face equally grim. "Captain, three unfamiliar ships just arrived at the harbor. They're all holding phones and comparing something…"
Teach clenched his teeth and shoved the phone into his chest. Dark energy erupted from his body, eating away at the nearby rocks with a sinister hiss.
He never imagined that this tiny metal rectangle would render him completely immobile in the New World.
"Interesting…" He forced a smile, but his eyes gleamed with vicious intent. "Once I get that power… I'll definitely… damn TikTok…"
Before he could finish, cannon fire rumbled in the distance.
Teach didn't dare hesitate. He fled in a panic with his men toward a hidden small boat.
As the boat silently slipped away from the shore in the dead of night, Teach glanced back.
Lines of torchlight were already forming along the coastline.
Every single pursuer was holding up a phone, the glow of the screens dotting the darkness like a terrifying sea of stars.
For the first time, he truly grasped the terror of this new era...
"Faster! Take the most remote route!" Teach roared at the helmsman, secretly thankful that he'd learned how to use a phone.
At least now, he could use TikTok to track his enemies' movements ahead of time.
That thought made him chuckle wickedly. "Zehahahaha... Let's see who's playing who!"
...…
Inside the massive banquet hall of Onigashima,
Kaido leaned lazily on his throne, drunkenly jabbing at his phone screen.
His eyes were bloodshot with drink, but also gleamed with boredom.
When he scrolled to Whitebeard's bounty video, his dragon-like pupils suddenly shrank. Two streams of white mist puffed from his nostrils.
Onscreen, Whitebeard's grand face looked a little tired, but his eyes still radiated an unquestionable authority.
"Kuhahaha..." Kaido took a swig of hard liquor. The alcohol ran down his chin with a soft drip.
"That old man Whitebeard, he can't even control his own son!" There was disdain in his voice, and provocation in his gaze.
He angrily swiped across the screen with his thumb and left a haughty comment:
[Your own crew has a traitor, Whitebeard. How pathetic can you be?]
Still feeling unsatisfied, he clicked the report button and slammed down repeatedly on the "Violence and Gore" option.
After all that, he tossed the phone to Bao Huang beside him. "Watch and learn. That's how you trash-talk that Whitebeard geezer."
At the same time.
On the Moby Dick, Marco was scanning the comments section for any leads on Teach.
His eyes were sharp, his fingers moving quickly over the screen.
When he saw Kaido's comment, blue flames erupted from his body. His voice was seething with fury. "Pops! That bastard Kaido actually dared to—"
Whitebeard raised a hand, signaling Marco to calm down.
He took the phone and glanced at it. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward, and he shook his head with a chuckle. Murakumogiri tapped gently on the deck beside him with a low thud.
Under Marco's shocked gaze, Whitebeard, still hooked up to an IV, lightly tapped the screen and typed a reply:
[Kaido, be my son!]
And he even attached a photo!
The moment that reply went up, TikTok exploded.
The like count shot past a million almost instantly.
In the comments, pirates from all over the world lost their minds:
>"Yonko beef going public!"
>"Whitebeard Pops is too savage!"
>"Kaido, you better clap back!"
---
On Onigashima, Bao Huang trembled as he handed the phone back. "B-Boss, Whitebeard replied to you…"
His voice quivered, eyes filled with unease.
Kaido narrowed his eyes and read the reply. Then, with a deafening roar that shook all of Onigashima, he screamed: "WHITEBEARD!!!"
Dragon scales flared across his skin, and his eyes blazed with boundless fury. "I'm gonna kill you!!!"
King quietly took two steps back, watching Kaido lay waste to the banquet hall in rage.
There was a helpless look in his eyes, but also a faint trace of amusement. It had been a long time since Kaido had taken such a hit to the ego.
At this rate, a showdown between Kaido and Whitebeard was inevitable.
Back on the Moby Dick, Whitebeard was sipping sake, watching the skyrocketing views and comments on TikTok with a hearty laugh. "Gurararara... Seems I'm not too old to handle these new toys!"
This online clash of Yonko shook the entire New World.
Countless pirates refreshed their screens over and over, awaiting Kaido's next move.
And in the middle of it all, the most miserable person was Blackbeard Teach, who now realized, with growing dread, that the chaos he'd triggered had doubled the number of bounty hunters on his tail...
(To be continued.)
***
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