The next day, as the sun slowly rose from the horizon, a shabby ship appeared on the outer sea of Arabasta. On this boat, hung a tattered flag with a distinctive three-skull pattern side by side, indicating that this was the ship of the Blackbeard Pirates.
However, at this moment, the members of the Blackbeard Pirates were lying on the deck of the ship in a mess. Teach, Van Augur, Lafitte, Burgess, and Doc Q, all had a looking pale and weak expression, as if on the brink of death. It was a stark contrast to their once-energetic demeanor when they first set sail on the Grand Line.
So, why did the Blackbeard Pirates end up in this state? It all began after they left the Drum Island. Although they were ahead of Ace and his crew and missed their encounter at Drum Island, the Blackbeard Pirates faced a perilous storm on the fourth day after leaving. It was no ordinary storm, but a unique and devastating one.
As luck would have it, the Blackbeard Pirates encountered a sea storm in the sea area they were passing through. If it was just a storm, it would have been fine, but at that time, a volcano suddenly erupted under the sea surface!
A large amount of volcanic ash from the seafloor was ejected with the volcanic eruption, mixed with countless large and small volcanic rocks. These volcanic elements then got combined with the raging storm.
Can you imagine a weather phenomenon where rocks and mud fall from the sky like a landslide?
In the midst of the storm, the Blackbeard Pirates were hit by a deluge of sulfur-scented rain, along with a massive amount of mud that rained down on their ship. The ship was battered and almost buried under the mud, but if it wasn’t for the Blackbeard, who used the power of his Dark-Dark Fruit to absorb the mud and stones that rained down on them, the story of this notorious pirate world might have ended early…
The Blackbeard Pirates were navigating through a treacherous storm, enduring the stench of strong sulfur that made their eyes and noses run. They desperately steered their ship in search of a place to dock, hoping to avoid the strange mudslide storm.
Perhaps it was fate that led them to finally find the nearest patch of land amidst the storm. When the land appeared, Teach and his crew were so excited that they didn’t even care what kind of land it was and immediately docked their ship.
As they set foot on the barren island, they quickly realized that they had made a grave mistake. The land was barren and desolate, devoid of any shelter or sustenance. But the urge to find solid ground had been too great to resist.
This was a subconscious behavior of sailors in stormy weather. Even though there was no place to shield them from the mudslide storm, they still sought the safety of solid ground. Teach, being a Devil Fruit user, was also afraid that the ship would be destroyed, causing him to fall into the sea and perish.
They managed to find a hiding spot, weathering the storm for over two hours before it finally dissipated. As they emerged from their temporary shelter, the crew looked like a group of beaten and exhausted pigs.
Exhausted and hungry, they longed to return to their ship for a hot meal and a warm bath. But as they approached the shoreline, their hopes were dashed to pieces. Their ship was nowhere to be found.
Not a trace of it remained, not even debris from the storm. They had anchored the ship securely before leaving it, and yet it was gone. It was impossible for it to have been destroyed without leaving any evidence behind.
“Where the hell is my ship!?” Teach stared at the sea in disbelief. It couldn’t be that someone had stolen their ship amidst such a storm, right?
Just then, Lafitte noticed something strange. He turned to Teach and said, “Captain, have you noticed… the island we’re standing on seems to be moving?”
The group was startled by Lafitte’s words and looked down at their feet. Compared to the surrounding objects, they realized that the island was, in fact, slowly drifting away.
Teach was taken aback. Had they accidentally climbed onto the back of a sea monster?
The five of them stood still for some time, watching for any signs of movement from the “sea monster” beneath their feet. It appeared that the island’s movement was merely caused by the flow of the ocean current.
Suddenly, Van Augur recalled a story he had heard on this very route. “Captain, do you remember the legend of the ‘Island Eater’? They say there’s a giant creature along this path that’s so massive it can swallow entire islands whole. And when it excretes, the feces become so massive that they form floating islands on the sea, drifting away with the ocean current…”
As he spoke, Teach finally pieced together the puzzle. “Are you saying that this island we’re standing on is the ‘Island Eater’s… feces?”
Van Augur nodded. “There’s no other explanation, so that’s probably it. Our ship didn’t drift away; we ‘drifted’ away with the island!”
That explanation made sense as to why their ship was nowhere to be found. It should have still been anchored where they left it, but they had unwittingly left with the drifting island two hours ago.
Two hours wasn’t long, but lost at sea, they had no idea which direction the island was drifting, and thus had no clue where their ship was located. They were stranded without food, water, or any supplies on this drifting pile of “poop,” and the thought made Teach feel sick. The mere thought of it was enough to make him feel like they were all doomed.
As sailors, the worst thing they could encounter was precisely this kind of situation, and unfortunately, Teach and his team had just fallen victim to it.
As a result, they ended up waiting for over ten days!
This was why the Blackbeard Pirates left Drum Island before Ian and the others but still ended up falling behind them.
During those ten-plus days, the Blackbeard Pirates were in their most miserable state. There were no plants or animals on this “poop” island, so Teach and the others could only catch fish from the sea and use Van Augur’s rifle to shoot birds flying overhead to provide food.
Food was secondary, the most critical issue was drinking water. They dug many holes on the poop island, hoping to collect some fresh water when it rained.
Fortunately, the Blackbeard Pirates survived after more than ten days, but they didn’t encounter any passing ships. However, the poop island was blown back, and they were excited when they saw a ship in the distance. But when they got closer, they found that it was their original ship!
Although it was beaten up and broken, the ship was still afloat and stayed in place due to the anchor. In the end, the Blackbeard Pirates found their ship again, but Teach wished they hadn’t.
Why? Because after more than ten days, all the food and water stored on the ship had gone moldy and rotten, and the entire ship was filled with a stench.
It was better not to have found it at all…
During their time on the poop island, Teach and the others only had sporadic access to food. Now that they had found their ship, there was no food or water to speak of. At this moment, the hearts of all the Blackbeard Pirates were filled with despair.
The specter of death loomed over even the normally indomitable Doc Q, who now appeared more wan and frail than ever before.
But with no other option available, Teach and his crew continued to navigate towards Alabasta. “Dammit, the first thing we’ll do when we get to an island is feast until we can’t eat anymore!” The five members of the Blackbeard Pirates, who were all thin and emaciated due to hunger, shared the same thought.
It was in this near-death situation that the Blackbeard Pirates finally caught sight of their destination. As they saw land in the distance, every member of the crew summoned up the last vestiges of their strength and stood up to gaze at the island ahead of them.
Upon reaching the port, Teach couldn’t contain his excitement and shouted, “Quick, disembark! I’m going to take every scrap of food in this city!”
However, as they excitedly jumped off the ship, ready to make a mad dash towards the city, a group of people suddenly appeared before them with the sound of jingling bells.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Teach! Long time no see!” Ian, ever the same with his Senbonzakura resting on his waist, stood straight with a smile on his face as he looked at Teach, who resembled a starving African refugee. “What’s wrong with you? Have you been on a hunger strike?”
Teach felt as though he had just been struck by lightning. This was the last thing he wanted to hear, especially at a time like this, when his crew was starving and weak.
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