New World, Leaf Island.
The town's residents fled in panic as a massive figure flew backward from the distance, slamming into a nearby house and reducing it to rubble.
A black bear, several meters tall, burst from the collapsed building, letting out an enraged roar that made ears ring painfully.
A figure flickered into view, appearing instantly before the enraged beast.
It was Bege.
"Zack Ray, user of the Zoan-type Bear-Bear Fruit, Model: Black Bear," Bege commented coolly. "Your actual strength doesn't live up to that bounty of yours. A fruit like the Black Bear is wasted on someone like you – pearls cast before swine."
While traveling, Bege had encountered the Black Bear Pirates and engaged them in battle. The giant bear before him was their captain, Black Bear Zack Ray, a Zoan user possessing the relatively powerful Black Bear fruit, with a bounty of 400 million Belli. However, during their brief clash, Bege assessed Zack Ray's overall strength to be worth 300 million at most; his inflated bounty was clearly earned through slaughtering civilians and weaker Marines.
"Capone Bege! We have no grudge! Why are you attacking me?!" Zack Ray roared furiously.
Bege curled his lip in disdain. "I kill who I want, when I want. Why waste breath asking why?"
Zack Ray glared, eyes burning with rage. His thick, muscular arms gripped a massive spiked kanabo lying on the ground. He charged, bringing the heavy club crashing down towards Bege.
Swoosh! Bege vanished, reappearing directly in front of Zack Ray and lashing out with a powerful, heavy kick.
BOOM! Zack Ray crossed his thick arms defensively, managing to block Bege's attack. His face twisted into a snarl as he swung the kanabo in his right hand down towards Bege again.
Bege instantly coated his fist in Armament Haki and punched the incoming club. CRACK! The impact shattered the ground beneath Bege's feet, the fracture spreading several meters wide. Zack Ray's physical strength was considerable.
"Die!" Zack Ray roared again, raising the kanabo high, the muscles in his right arm bulging as he brought it down with vicious force.
Bege swiftly dodged. The kanabo slammed into the ground, pulverizing an area ten meters wide.
Zack Ray looked up, but in the next instant, a pitch-black right foot appeared behind him, striking his lower back with lightning speed. Like a cannonball, Zack Ray was launched violently backward, crashing through house after house in a chain of destruction.
Amidst the wreckage, Zack Ray coughed up blood incessantly. His right side was a mangled mess; the kick had effectively crippled that half of his body.
"Demon Dragon! You can't kill me! I serve Lord Kaido!" Zack Ray screamed in terror as he saw Bege calmly approaching.
"Kaido?" Bege shook his head slightly. First one of Big Mom's lackeys, now one of Kaido's. It seemed he was destined to clash with the future Emperors.
Just then, Zack Ray gasped for breath. His Zoan healing ability began rapidly knitting his wounds back together. He tried to scramble to his feet and flee.
Bege stepped forward, planting his foot firmly on Zack Ray's head and smashing his face directly into the ground, shattering the earth beneath. Zack Ray's face became a bloody pulp.
Bege applied more pressure with his foot, grinding Zack Ray's face further into the dirt, tearing flesh from bone. The agony was too much, and Zack Ray quickly lost consciousness.
Only then did Bege glance towards the distance, where Moria was leading the crew in cleaning up the remaining members of the Black Bear Pirates. It was a one-sided slaughter; although the Black Bear crew had several pirates with bounties over 100 million, they stood no chance against Moria and the others.
Before long, the several hundred members of the Black Bear Pirates were either killed or captured. Moria approached Bege excitedly, carrying handfuls of writhing shadows.
Bege kicked Zack Ray's unconscious body towards Moria. With a sinister cackle, Moria used his giant scissors to snip off Zack Ray's shadow, then casually crushed the pirate's head underfoot.
"Bege, we got quite a few strong shadows this time!" Moria grinned, pulling out dozens of the most potent shadows from the collected batch and presenting them to Bege.
Bege chuckled, taking the strongest ones, then surveyed the devastated town with a shake of his head.
Suddenly, Bege's gaze froze. He looked towards a building in the distance and spotted a sturdy-looking young man staring blankly in their direction, a snot bubble inflating and deflating from his nose. A short, elderly woman quickly grabbed the dazed youth and pulled him inside the building, out of sight.
Crucially, Bege noticed a symbol on the old woman's clothing that bore a striking resemblance to the Whitebeard Pirates' mark.
Bege's expression turned thoughtful, then his eyes lit up with realization.
"Moria, you handle the cleanup here. I'll be back shortly," Bege instructed, before striding purposefully towards the building where the pair had hidden.
Inside the house, the old woman was furiously scolding the blank-faced young man.
"Are you stupid?! That's the Demon Dragon, the great pirate with an 850 million bounty! How dare you just stand there staring at them?!"
The young man sniffled, responding in a dull, simple tone, "Mom, my dad is Whitebeard. He's the strongest pirate on the sea. I'm Whitebeard's son! I'm not afraid of some Demon Dragon guy."
Smack! The old woman slapped the young man across the face. He flinched, looking wronged.
"Idiot!" she hissed. "You might be Whitebeard's son, but you're still young! You can't beat the Demon Dragon yet! When you're older, then you won't have to fear him. Right now, we need to focus on staying alive!"
The young man nodded blankly.
"Edward Weevil! My little brother! There you are!" A cheerful, surprised voice suddenly echoed through the quiet house.
The old woman and the young man spun around quickly, seeing a figure standing in the doorway.
"Demon Dragon!" The old woman trembled violently, scrambling to hide behind the large young man.
Bege strode towards the simple-minded youth, his face radiating false joy. "Weevil! Where have you been all these years? I've searched high and low for you!" he laughed heartily.
The young man stared blankly at Bege, bewildered. "You're… my brother?" He turned uncertainly to the old woman. "Mom, do I have a brother? You never told me I had a brother."
Bege beamed at the old woman. "Mother Bakkin," he said smoothly, "Weevil is my little brother, isn't he?"
A fierce, intimidating aura pulsed from Bege. The simple-minded young man instinctively tensed, warily watching Bege.
"Y-you… How do you know my name is Bakkin?" the old woman stammered, cold sweat beading on her forehead, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at Bege.
Bege's eyes narrowed slightly. His guess was correct. This blank-faced young man was indeed the future Warlord of the Sea, the man known as Whitebeard Jr. – Edward Weevil. And the old woman was Miss Bakkin, his self-proclaimed mother.
Edward Weevil wasn't bright; his intelligence was low, and he was incredibly naive, following Miss Bakkin's every word. An idea sparked in Bege's mind.
He would replace Miss Bakkin. He would become Weevil's "older brother." If successful, Edward Weevil – a man possessing monstrous strength – would become one of his most loyal and powerful commanders.
That was the true reason behind this sudden, unexpected family reunion.
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