Night grew ever more somber.

A cold sea breeze carried a blanket of clouds, veiling the blood moon in the sky with a thin gauze.

The gradually dimming light seemed to presage something, an atmosphere of impending storm quietly enveloping the fractured Jumo Island.

At that moment, on the southern border of “North Island.”

"Now that you're here, why hide?" Blackbeard stood on a smooth rock, facing the sea, and spoke without turning his head.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Honghu to hear.

Seconds later, Honghu emerged unhurriedly from the forest behind them, adjusted his glasses, and calmly said, "It seems… I should thank you."

"Why?" Blackbeard answered his own question. "Because I didn't just 'yank' you out of the woods and crush you like I did with the trash from the Church of Illusory Demons?"

"That's right." Honghu shrugged in response. "For that."

"Don't get me wrong," Blackbeard continued. "It's not that I didn't want to do that, but that I couldn't."

"Which means…" Honghu keenly sensed the hidden information in his words, “…that move doesn't work on everyone."

"Isn't that obvious?" Blackbeard added. "If I could use it on anyone I wanted, I would have 'yanked' Mad-Eye over during the naval battle earlier today and ended the fight quickly."

"Hmm…" Honghu pondered for a second. "The activation conditions are related to the individual strength of the 'target,' right?"

"Correct." As Blackbeard spoke, he raised a hand and used his telekinesis to "suck" a stone from the ground into his hand. "I can freely control inanimate objects like this, as long as they aren't too big; as for living things… it depends on the strength of the energy they contain."

"Heh…" Honghu chuckled subtly upon hearing this.

"What are you laughing at?" Blackbeard asked.

"I just suddenly remembered…" Honghu replied with a smile. "When I was on the Queen Anne's Revenge, I vaguely overheard a conversation between a few sailors. One of them said… 'This ship is alive. It listens to the captain's orders. I personally saw the ropes on the ship move on their own and hang a guy who was about to sneak attack the captain, strangling him to death.'"

"Oh… that thing." Blackbeard said, "Indeed, I intentionally made some of the weaker sailors have that 'misunderstanding.' It helps them maintain their awe of me."

"Then… what about the higher-ranked members?" Honghu's gaze swept over the cadres around Blackbeard as he spoke. "They should be able to see that 'the things on the ship moving on their own' is all due to your power… How do you keep them in awe?"

"Simple." As Blackbeard spoke, he turned around and looked at Honghu. "My cadres… naturally know how strong I am better than those low-level sailors. And the clearer they are about my strength, the less likely they are to muster the courage to rebel against me."

"I see." Honghu nodded and adjusted his glasses again.

On the surface, Honghu was still calm and composed, but he was actually quite nervous and ready to face a sudden attack at any moment.

"Alright, enough chatting." Two seconds later, Honghu continued. "Since you, Captain, have discovered me and openly called me out, that should mean… there's still room for negotiation between us, right?"

Although they hadn't been in contact for long, Honghu had already determined that Blackbeard was a cunning old fox, so there was no need to beat around the bush with him.

It was easy to understand with a little thought… If Blackbeard wanted to get rid of Honghu, the "stalker," he wouldn't have even spoken to Honghu; a swift feint and a surprise attack would have been the most successful.

But now, Blackbeard was actively engaging Honghu, which meant that there was still room for maneuver.

"Heh… I remember, you're called 'Honghu'?" Blackbeard sneered and asked.

"That's right." Honghu's reply was neither humble nor arrogant.

"Alright, Brother Honghu…" Blackbeard suddenly changed his address to Honghu, which, in the latter's view, was definitely not a good thing. "I'll be frank with you… I still believe in you and that little brother 'Snow,' but I don't trust Feng Bujue." He paused, extended a hand, and made an inviting gesture. "As long as you tell me your 'real mission' and promise to cut ties with Feng Bujue… we can still cooperate."

Hearing this, Honghu's expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself, "What a terrifying guy… Compared to that unfathomable martial strength, this overlord of the Chaos Sea's attainment in strategy and scheming is the truly troublesome thing…"

"What?" Blackbeard pressed, not even a few seconds passing. "Does this still need to be considered?"

He was indeed a terrifying man. He knew that at this time, he needed to keep applying pressure to prevent the other party from having enough time and leeway to think.

"Ha! Hahahaha…" Fortunately, the person standing here was Honghu. "Good, that's exactly what I want."

The title of Wise General was by no means a false one; these few seconds were enough for him to calculate everything clearly.

"Oh?" Blackbeard was indeed a little surprised to see Honghu's reaction.

"Captain, to be honest…" Honghu put on a treacherous face. "I never considered Feng Bujue a companion from the start." He looked around. "There are no outsiders here… I'll tell you, I've wanted to kill him for more than just a day or two."

"Is that so…" Blackbeard wasn't stupid; these few words and acting skills were far from enough to convince him.

"Of course, it is." Honghu said, "Look, the fact that I'm here doesn't prove that Snow and I have already left Feng Bujue alone in that open space?"

"Didn't you agree to split up?" Blackbeard's reaction was extremely quick. He immediately and vigilantly thought of another possibility and asked.

But Honghu was also formidable. Even though his true intentions had been seen through and spoken, he still tried his best to control his expression… unflinching and responding fluently, "Hmph… Under those circumstances? Don't be ridiculous, Captain." He shook his head. "If it were you, would you agree to let your only two helpers leave when facing three powerful enemies, two of whom are Nine Gods level?"

"Hmm…" Blackbeard pondered for a moment. "Indeed, relatively speaking, the hypothesis that you and Snow took advantage of the fact that 'the enemies' target is only Feng Bujue' and took the opportunity to 'abandon Feng Bujue and run away' is the most reasonable."

"Of course, it is." Honghu secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and quickly responded.

Unexpectedly, the next second, Blackbeard abruptly changed the subject again.

"Too bad… I still don't believe you!" After saying that, Blackbeard suddenly swung his arm and threw the stone he had previously "sucked" into his hand forcefully at Honghu.