In the New World, aboard the Dawn.
Kirk watched as Sali and Wyper's groups departed one after another. After tossing aside the portrait of Marshall D. Teach, the version with fluffy curly hair, a thick beard, and missing teeth, he immediately contacted Ash.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Everyone said they never saw Marshall D. Teach, and there is no sign that someone accidentally killed him."
"Alright, I understand."
As early as the day after the battle, while sorting through the corpses aboard Whitebeard's flagship, the Moby Dick, along with its three accompanying ships, Ash had specifically searched for Blackbeard Teach's body.
Unfortunately, he found nothing.
At the time, Ash guessed that unless something unexpected had happened, that scheming black fatso had probably sensed danger and escaped early.
Still, to be safe, Ash instructed Kirk to show Teach's portrait to every member of the Dawn Faction who had participated in the battle.
The result turned out exactly as expected.
Ash did not mind.
After all, Blackbeard possessed extraordinary talent when it came to collecting Devil Fruits. Giving this ambitious man time to build his own Pirate Crew would make things easier for Ash in the future, especially when it came time to collect Devil Fruits all at once.
The only uncertainty was whether Teach would still obtain the Devil Fruit destined for him.
With the Whitebeard Pirates collapsing early, and Tsuki never obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, the future had already changed significantly.
Still, Ash did not care much.
To him, Teach was merely a useful pawn. If he proved valuable, Ash would let him continue growing. If not, eliminating him later would be simple.
Either way, Teach had no chance of becoming a real player in this lifetime.
Meanwhile, Big News Morgans had clearly learned his lesson.
After reporters died during the previous battles involving two Yonko, Morgans no longer dared to risk his life.
The day before, while the Dawn Faction cleaned the battlefield, they wiped out six or seven Pirate Crews trying to watch the battle or scavenge for leftovers.
Not once did they spot even a feather from Morgans.
As promised, the World Economy News Paper released a special edition the following day, supposedly covering the fierce battle between the Dawn and the Whitebeard Pirates in full detail.
There were even photographs.
The problem was that the so called battle photos only showed a quiet stretch of sea and a barren island where most of the trees had already been flattened.
Near the shore were obvious traces of campfires.
People around the world saw the image and immediately thought:
Campfire marks?
Then the Dawn probably really stopped there.
As for the so called battle details written in the paper...
According to Morgans, Heavenly Emperor Ash and Whitebeard fought an earth shattering duel so intense that the weather changed, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach.
Translated into plain language, it meant:
We saw absolutely nothing, had no photos, and made up the details.
Still, that did not stop people from reading enthusiastically.
Morgans wisely avoided offending Whitebeard and Ash directly. Instead, he shamelessly turned his attention toward famous figures like the Division Commanders and the Ten Demon Saints.
For example:
Marco the Phoenix versus Youki.
According to the article, Marco suddenly unleashed the legendary Phoenix Ultimate Secret Technique, Seven Injuries Fist, a move so devastating that one side suffers seven injuries, and everyone suffers seven injuries!
The article dramatically declared that Marco feared no damage because of his regenerative flames.
"A terrifying move capable of destroying everything!"
Yet Youki supposedly remained completely unfazed.
He calmly raised his palms and activated the Grand Feng Shui Shift Technique, redirecting the force of Marco's attack effortlessly.
At the same time, countless afterimages filled the battlefield, making it impossible to determine which figure was real.
Marco reportedly frowned before stomping his foot dramatically.
"Pops! Lend me your strength!"
Apparently, Marco was calling upon Whitebeard's spirit.
Ash nearly burst out laughing after reading that section.
Good grief.
Morgans truly had no courage to offend Whitebeard or Ash, so he simply redirected all his nonsense toward everyone else.
Naturally, intelligent people knew the article was mostly nonsense.
That did not stop them from enjoying every ridiculous word.
...
Back aboard the Dawn.
"Sooner or later, I'm going to make that damn bird pay for this!"
Youki slammed the newspaper down, visibly furious.
His outrage immediately triggered laughter from everyone nearby.
With three Yonko now effectively gone, the Dawn's journey through the New World became unusually smooth.
Sometimes fortune worked that way.
Once things started going your way, good news arrived one after another.
The day after Ash returned to the Sabaody Archipelago, the New Beast Pirates sent word that they had gathered three new Devil Fruits, all Zoan types.
Unique Mission: Devil Fruit Collection Count [75 / 500]
Before the excitement settled, another call arrived.
Sali, who had returned to Skypiea to familiarize himself with his Devil Fruit Awakening, contacted Ash again.
According to Dicken, three somewhat famous Pirate Hunters from the East Blue had come to join.
The message had been relayed twice, but details remained vague.
Ash thought for a moment, changed clothes, retrieved the mask Dicken had made for him years ago, disguised himself, and headed to Twin Cape.
At Twin Cape, the Daly brothers' group had become even more obsessed with training after witnessing Sali's Devil Fruit Awakening.
The entire crew trained like madmen.
When they noticed Ash arrive in disguise, none of them made a fuss.
They simply nodded in greeting before returning to their brutal training.
Ash ignored the muscle obsessed maniacs.
He had come for only one reason.
To see whether the three Pirate Hunters from East Blue were the people he suspected.
Leaving the resting area, Ash headed toward the strait and soon spotted Dicken standing beside three men.
The moment he saw them, Ash almost laughed.
The arrivals were none other than Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku.
Dicken immediately understood Ash's intentions after seeing the disguise.
Since Ash clearly did not want outsiders learning about the relationship between the Dawn Faction's ships, Dicken wisely said nothing.
Trust took time to build.
Even the bounty hunter from West Blue who joined over two months ago was still under observation.
Dicken quickly explained why the three men had come.
Ironically, the reason traced back to Sali and Wyper.
Over the past two months, the two had divided the Four Seas and Paradise between themselves to train their recruits.
The result was another massive purge.
The seas, which had finally become peaceful after two years, were swept clean once again.
Pirates in East Blue had practically disappeared.
Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku originally survived by collecting bounties.
Now, East Blue had become so clean it looked like the Marines had scrubbed it spotless.
Unable to make a living, the trio had no choice but to head to the Grand Line in search of opportunity.
Ash chuckled after hearing the story.
"Take them in and train them properly."
He paused, glancing at the green haired swordsman.
"Especially that moss head. In the future, he'll become a top tier swordsman who possesses all three forms of Haki."
Since all three specialized in blades, having them spar against Daz Bones would benefit everyone involved.
Sharpening one another through battle was the fastest path to growth.
Having indirectly pushed Monkey D. Luffy toward joining a boy band while casually recruiting both his future navigator and vice captain, Ash found himself in an excellent mood.
He immediately decided to head to Gourmet Island and reward himself with a proper meal.
===
Get access to the entire catalog on Patreon, where all chapters are conveniently organized into collections.
If you prefer not to pay for a monthly membership, this is a more affordable option that gives you access to the content you want.
(Buying the collection gives you access to all chapters in it.)
Search for "_Zeph" on P@treon to get started.