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"But..." Ace clenched his fists, flames flickering between his fingers.
"Idiot!" Marco interrupted him. "We have TikTok now! The whole sea will help us find that traitor! What are you running around alone for!"
The screen was suddenly pushed aside by a large hand, and Whitebeard's imposing face appeared. "Gurarara... My foolish son, come home!"
His laughter made the phone tremble.
Ace's tears finally welled up, sparkling in the desert sun. "Pops... I..."
"I can't go back yet. I haven't found Teach's."
Ace pulled his eyebrows together slightly, genuinely confused, unable to fully grasp Marco's intention for a moment.
After all, he had just learned to use TikTok, and his way of thinking hadn't changed yet.
"Could Marco be planning to use TikTok... to find Teach?" Ace muttered to himself.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had realized something crucial, and he slapped his thigh. "So that's it!"
He quickly turned to Marco, his eyes shining with determination. "I understand! I'll find Teach as soon as possible and take his picture!"
After speaking, he nodded seriously. On the other end of the video, Marco smiled. "Good, as long as you get a picture of Teach, come back right away."
"Got it."
Ace then hung up the call.
"Luffy!" Ace turned and hugged his brother tightly. "I have to go!" His voice held reluctance, but more so, determination.
Luffy grinned, his rubber arms hugging Ace back tightly. "Go ahead! We have TikTok now, we can video call anytime, anywhere."
"Right, I'll be going then."
Ace released the hug, adjusted his orange cowboy hat, and waved goodbye to the Straw Hat crew.
His figure gradually faded into the scorching desert, eventually becoming a small black dot that disappeared into the rolling heat waves.
...
Seven days later, at a remote small town port on the border of Alabasta,
"TEACH!!!" Ace's roar echoed throughout the port.
He stood near a pile of collapsed wooden railings, the flames in his hand lighting up the dark port.
Across from him, Blackbeard Teach's face, missing several teeth, looked particularly scary in the firelight.
"Zehahahaha... Isn't this Captain Ace?" Teach cackled sinisterly, dark energy swirling around him.
Ace wasted no words, quickly pulled out his phone, and with a "snap," took a picture of Teach.
The moment the flash went off, Teach instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, his face full of confusion. "What... What kind of new weapon is this?"
He had expected Ace to attack, not pull out a metal block and flash it at him.
"Scumbag, your good days are over." Ace sneered, his fingers rapidly operating the phone.
As the notification for successful photo transmission sounded, Marco's video call request immediately popped up.
"Well done, Ace!" Marco's voice came from the phone. "Pops wants to talk to you!"
The screen switched, and Whitebeard's imposing face appeared. "Gurarara... You did well, Ace. Now, come back!"
Ace's eyes felt slightly warm. He gave Teach one last cold glance. "Your good days are over, Teach."
Teach stood at the stern of the ship, laughing wildly, dark energy swirling around him. "Zehahahaha... Captain Ace, catch me if you can!"
His ship slowly sailed away from the port, the black pirate flag flapping in the wind.
Teach ran without hesitation!
When unsure of the opponent's strength, escaping was the best option!
"Damn it!"
Ace stood on the dock, his fists clenched tight, flames uncontrollably shooting out from between his fingers.
He stared intently at the receding ship, his eyes burning with anger and frustration.
"Damn it..." Ace punched a nearby wooden crate, which instantly turned to ash.
He had clearly caught up to Teach, yet he still let him get away.
The nearby port was empty, not even a small boat was available.
"Ace!" Marco's voice came from the phone. "Come back! Pops has his plan."
Ace gritted his teeth and stubbornly shook his head. "No! I absolutely cannot let Teach get away! I can't let Pops owe this favor!"
His voice was filled with stubbornness. "I must personally finish off this traitor!"
On the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick, Whitebeard rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly. "This foolish son..."
Marco also rubbed his forehead, a headache coming on. "Ace, why is he so stubborn..."
But the plan had to continue.
They were going to issue a bounty notice for Teach!
...
The next morning, the entire sea was awakened by an explosive video.
On the TikTok trending list, a video marked with a "Hot" tag soared at an amazing speed, even briefly pushing Kaido's Devil Fruit lottery out of the top spot.
Topic:
#Whitebeard Pirates Offer Heavy Bounty for Traitor Blackbeard Teach#.
The video detailed Teach's crimes and showed his photo. Anyone who captured Teach alive and handed him over to the Whitebeard Pirates would receive a favor from the Whitebeard Pirates!
In the video, Whitebeard sat upright in the captain's chair on the Moby Dick, Murakumogiri standing beside him.
His voice, like muffled thunder, echoed in the video. "I, Whitebeard, hereby declare that anyone who captures Blackbeard Teach alive, the Whitebeard Pirates owe them a favor!"
Informants, once verified, would be given a bounty!
But no one cared about the bounty. Everyone wanted a favor from an Emperor!
With the simultaneous "TikTok Boost" promotion by the 43 pirate crews under Whitebeard's command, the video's view count skyrocketed like a rocket.
In just one hour, it passed 100 million views, and the comments section exploded.
"A favor from Whitebeard?! That's worth way more than 500 million Berry!"
"All hands on deck! We'll dig three feet deep to find Blackbeard!"
"Teach is finished now. You think you can mess with an Emperor and still sail the seas?"
In every corner of the New World, countless pirate crews were stirred into action by the news.
What was even more crazy was that even some Marine branches secretly started searching, after all, that was a favor from an Emperor!
Receiving it anonymously wouldn't be impossible.
Sengoku was so angry he smashed three teacups in his office, roaring about thoroughly investigating discipline issues within the Marines.
...
Blackbeard Teach was currently resting on an unnamed island, and had also figured out what that blocky thing Ace had used was.
A phone!
A new gadget that had recently emerged on the sea!
"Zehahahaha, I never thought such a convenient thing existed."
He had already learned how to use it and even registered a TikTok account. However, during the real-name verification, he tried to be clever but was detected by the system. Only after a ban warning did Teach become honest.
"Damn it, my account was almost banned!"