"He can really endure."
Kong Tai nodded, buttoned up the last button of his shirt, stretched his body, and continued speaking.
"It's easy for someone to indulge their desires, but difficult to suppress them, especially when that suppression lasts for decades. It's even more remarkable that no one knew about his ambition for decades without him revealing himself."
He paused slightly. "No, someone must have known."
At this point, Kong Tai thought of the red-haired man. That guy had fought with Blackbeard. Even if he didn't know Blackbeard's ambition, he must have known that Blackbeard was hiding within Whitebeard's pirate crew with some kind of purpose.
As for whether Whitebeard knew.
Kong Tai thought that Whitebeard probably did. During the Summit War, he had said things about Blackbeard's character to him.
Given Whitebeard's concern for his family, and Blackbeard's strength to fight Shanks, he should have known. However, Whitebeard trusted his family too much, not expecting that Blackbeard, who grew up in Whitebeard's crew and was watched over by him, would betray and kill the family members he had been with for decades for a Devil Fruit and his ambition.
"Who?"
Kong Tai stepped forward, picked up the moon-white robe from the hanger, casually put it on, turned to look at Kuina, who was already dressed and looking at him with curiosity, and smiled, "Do you still remember the flag of the Red-Haired Pirates and the three claw marks on Shanks' face?"
"Shanks?"
Kuina touched her chin with her right hand, pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked with doubt, "He has three scars, the same as the three scars on their flag."
"You don't mean to say that the scars on Shanks' face were left by the person you're talking about, do you!"
"Yes! You guessed right, they were indeed left by that guy."
Kong Tai confirmed Kuina's guess.
"To be able to leave wounds on Shanks' face, then that guy's strength must not be underestimated!"
"I don't know about that."
"Uh..."
Kuina looked at Kong Tai, feeling a bit speechless. "Is there anything you don't know?"
"What are you thinking! I don't know everything, you know."
Kong Tai glanced at Kuina, turned around, picked up the wine gourd from the desk, and hung it at his waist.
Kong Tai indeed didn't know Blackbeard's current strength.
Although that guy could leave permanent scars on Shanks' face, Kong Tai didn't know when these scars were inflicted.
However, it could be roughly guessed that it was before Roger was executed.
Because only then would Blackbeard have a reason to attack Shanks.
After all, given his ambition, he wouldn't fight Shanks without a cause.
Another point that proved Shanks' scars were left a long time ago was the Red-Haired Pirates' Jolly Roger.
A pirate crew's Jolly Roger wouldn't change, and the Red-Haired Pirates' Jolly Roger must have been like that from the start.
That was when Shanks formed his pirate crew, not long after Roger's execution.
Therefore, Shanks' wound must have been inflicted on Roger's ship.
Moreover, Blackbeard's age was the same as Shanks and Buggy. To be able to leave a permanent scar on Shanks' face while fighting against Shanks and Buggy combined was enough to show his talent.
Although childhood talent couldn't be compared to adulthood, he couldn't be that weak.
Therefore, although Blackbeard's overall strength at this time shouldn't have reached the level of an Admiral, his physical strength must have been monstrous.
Kong Tai picked up the Wado Ichimonji from the table, turned and handed it to Kuina, while he himself hung the Zankon at his waist.
Then Kong Tai walked to the window, pushed it open, and the warm sunlight shone on him, making him squint comfortably.
Through the tall jungle, standing here, he could see the vast sea in the distance, shimmering and reflecting crystalline white light.
The sea was vast enough to accommodate the ambitions of anyone in this world.
As for Blackbeard, to be honest, Kong Tai didn't feel as much dislike towards him as he did towards truly wicked pirates.
This guy should actually be considered a charismatic figure. If not for the Devil Fruit he had always dreamed of, which appeared before him as if guided by fate, perhaps that guy would have remained a nobody in Whitebeard's crew for a lifetime.
He had ambition, perseverance, dreams, and the determination to lie in wait for a lifetime for them.
Kong Tai didn't know why he was like this, but from the fact that he could read the Devil Fruit encyclopedia at a young age, his family background must have been extraordinary.
Because only the truly powerful factions in this world would have Devil Fruit encyclopedias.
Kong Tai, who had been sailing for so long, had never even seen one, which showed its rarity.
Of course, this was only because Kong Tai wasn't interested in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia and hadn't really searched for it.
If he wanted one, he could see it anytime from many places.
For example, Doflamingo's Dressrosa, Gild Tesoro's, or directly from the World Economic Journal, or Charlotte Linlin's Whole Cake Island...
As long as he wanted, he could see it anytime.
For ordinary people, this was something unattainable, but for him, it was within reach.
Similarly, Blackbeard's background could not be ordinary.
Indeed, in this world, anyone whose name contained "D." was never simple.
As for what "D." meant, Kong Tai had asked Sauro last night, but Sauro had no answer to this question either.
D...
D for dark, D for dawn, D for laughter, D for sorrow, D for dreams.
Dawn and darkness.
Sorrow and joy.
Perhaps the former Ancient Kingdom actually represented the dawn of this world, but later, for some reason, this kingdom became something feared as darkness by people.
This led to the war of the twenty kingdoms uniting to overthrow the Ancient Kingdom.
If the Ancient Kingdom at that time represented the dawn, then it couldn't have been inhabited only by giants.
There should have been giants, giants from Elbaf.
There should have been special races like the Lunarians, to which King belongs, and many more.
And of course, there should have been humans.
Perhaps this human race was the lineage of "D."
The World Government, the Celestial Dragons, and the nobles were not afraid of giants or special races, but they detested the lineage of "D."
Was it because they feared their comeback and bringing true dawn to this world, just as they had once dragged the lineage of "D." down from their pedestal?
Was it because the lineage of "D." was human, not other races?
Then what was this dawn that the residents of Shandora, the fish-men of Fish-Man Island, the minks of Zou, the samurai of Wano, and all the downtrodden, oppressed, discriminated against, and exploited people looked forward to so much?