Chapter 842 Territory Ownership
"Marco! Were you ambushed by the Blackbeard Pirates? How come you were completely wiped out?"
While eating, Vic was not idle either. He asked Marco about what happened. He still had some doubts in his mind. In the original work, Marco and the others were able to escape from Blackbeard who had obtained the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. How come they are unable to do so now when facing Blackbeard who has the power of a single fruit?
Wick was very curious about this. He thought that Blackbeard had lost the ability of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, so he was more cautious when facing Marco and the others and adopted a sneak attack approach. Otherwise, it would not make sense.
"It's not an ambush! They were the ones who found this place. Both sides were evenly matched, but Teach's fruit ability was too tricky. It completely suppressed other fruit abilities. We didn't dare to fight him in close combat. In the end, I lost my temper and was provoked by his words. It was me who hurt everyone!"
Marco took a few breaths before speaking in a bleak voice. This battle with the Black Group made him realize their strength. Without his father Whitebeard, their strength instantly dropped several levels, which made him very disappointed!
Blackbeard may be the first person to set his sights on their territory, but he will definitely not be the last. There may be stronger groups of the Four Emperors taking action in the future. Their days will not be easy. It will be difficult for them to defend the territory left by their father!
"Blackbeard's fruit ability is indeed a bit abnormal, especially for fruit ability users. If you encounter him in the future, don't compete with him with his fruit ability. It's best to use physical skills and domineering. If you see that the situation is not right, get away quickly. After this incident, Blackbeard should not harass you again in a short time, but you still have to think clearly about how to go on in the future!"
Vic not only reminded Marco and the others, but also Rebecca and the others that Ace was also full of confidence at the beginning, but finally fell into the hands of Blackbeard.
Vic didn't want Rebecca and the others to meet the evil guy Blackbeard, but as for meeting other people, he didn't care much. Vic also mentioned the situation of Marco and the others, hoping that they would pay attention to this issue.
"I know it's hard for us to defend the territories left by Dad with our strength, but there are places in these territories that Dad cares about, and we can't give them up no matter what. As for other territories, we don't care much about them, but we don't want to give them to that bastard Teach, Vic! What do you think we should do?"
Marco was self-aware enough to know that they couldn't defend such a large territory by themselves, so he had already made plans for the worst. Except for the island that his father cared about, all the others could be abandoned. They could discuss the follow-up after Ace returned from his training.
But after this battle, his feeling became clearer. As long as the territory was not given to Blackbeard, everything else was fine. In his heart, he preferred Vic and Red Hair.
But when making the decision, he still wanted to test it out to see whether Vic came here for territory or for other reasons. Anyway, he always felt that Vic's arrival was too coincidental, and the implication of Vic's words was a bit obvious, which made Marco a little alert. One must be on guard against others, otherwise after driving away the wolf of wealth, you will only welcome the tiger.
"The most suitable person should be the red-haired guy. He has strength and reputation, and he treats the islands on his territory very well. You can ask the red-haired guy to take over temporarily and return it after Ace comes back.
Given Red Hair's character, he won't keep it for himself. It depends on whether he agrees. You should have his contact information. No matter what the result is, give it a try."
Vic is very sensitive to emotions, which is due to the strength of the body's bioelectricity when emotions change. Although Marco's speech and expressions were very natural just now, Vic could still sense his emotional changes.
Vic was not angry. This was human emotion. His appearance was indeed too coincidental, and it felt like he was repaying a favor.
Although he could have just ignored the war and taken the territory from Blackbeard later, why not take it without sacrificing his reputation? This speculation is also very logical.
Although it's a bit complicated, the intrigues and deceptions in the world of pirates are normal. But no matter what Marco speculates in his mind, Vic has no intention of restraining his hands and feet. What he said is the most appropriate plan at the moment.
"This... Will Redhead agree to this? He doesn't really care about the things on his territory!"
Marco didn't expect Vic to be so frank and not even mention any other ways. This made him feel a little ashamed in his heart. Others came all the way to save you, and you made malicious speculations about your savior?
However, Marco knew Shanks' character quite well, and was a little unsure whether he would agree to this matter. After all, this was a very important matter.
If Red Hair really agreed, he would occupy most of the New World alone, which would definitely attract more challenges and intensify the friction between him and the other two Four Emperors. This would be a completely thankless task for Shanks, and there was no need for others to agree to it as their friendship was not at that level yet.
"Just ask first. If that doesn't work, you can pay a price. Your territory has always been the largest among the Four Emperors. It won't be a big deal to hand over some of your territory to him when the time comes!
You don't need them to help you when you have troubles. You can solve them by yourselves. If you encounter problems that you can't solve, just ask Red Hair to help. I won't stand idly by if I can help you. Try contacting him first!"
Vic considered the territory as a burden that could not bring him much benefit. With Ban's intelligence system, the territory was already useless to him.
Given Shanks's personality, territory is not important to him. As a guide, he must reach a higher status and obtain more resources so that he can provide Luffy with the greatest help when he needs help in the future.
As a price, he needs to put out fires everywhere and suppress those guys who want to invade his territory and challenge his status. This is also very tiring. Vic doesn't want to be such a person, and he is not sure whether Red Hair will agree to Marco's request.
"Okay! Let me try!"
Marco accepted Victor's suggestion, walked aside and called Shanks on Den Den Mushi, but he came back after a while looking frustrated. Everyone knew from his expression that the deal had not been reached, so no one asked him anything.
"The red-haired guy didn't agree, but he said I could come to him anytime if I needed help. He also told me to be extra careful of that guy Teach. I told him everything that happened yesterday, Vic! Guess what the red-haired guy said?"
Marco looked at Vic with burning eyes. Shanks did reject him, but he made a suggestion, which was to give the territory to Vic temporarily. With Vic's strength, no one could snatch it away. Anyway, the two of them gave each other advice, and they trusted each other very much, and were also somewhat afraid of trouble.
"Didn't you negotiate with him?"
Vic could probably guess something, but he didn't say it out loud. Even when facing Marco's scorching gaze, he didn't look at him directly. Anyway, he had an indifferent attitude. He didn't want to carry the burden on himself.
“We talked about it, but he refused and suggested you. I told him about your timely rescue, and he said you wouldn’t take advantage of someone’s misfortune. Tiqi wanted to run away when he saw you, saying that it would be easy for you to get the territory, and there was no need to put on a show!
Now thinking about your style of doing things, I realize that I was being petty and too sensitive to the ups and downs recently. Sorry, Vic!"