Some were even more unfortunate, getting pierced through vital points, bleeding profusely, and lost their breath.
Can't stop it!
Even though Teach wanted to use his powers to cover himself in darkness and absorb Sage's abilities, a fist is just a simple fist. It contained the power of every punch reaching the limits of Haki, giving Teach no chance to retaliate; he could only be thrown into the air.
"You..."
Bam bam bam!
"This..."
Bam bam bam!
"Bastard!"
Buzz!
Boom!
Sage's punching motion suddenly halted as his fists hit the air, causing a brief shockwave. Teach disappeared from in front of him, and instead, a corner of the fortress ahead suddenly trembled, revealing a hole.
It wasn't Van Augur's instant teleportation; that guy had joined the battlefield and was clashing with Renedia, dodging others' attacks at the same time.
Sage's gaze fell downwards, spotting a familiar magic array below. The only difference was this magic array didn't have a '5' mark, just an ordinary magic array.
A magic array for summoning and teleportation.
"Oh..."
Sage looked over, chuckling, "So this is where your confidence lies, King. Who gave you your power? That thing hiding on the Void Throne, just like a mouse, just like the World Government itself, being a mouse?"
As for Teach, why say so much?
Blocking one of his attacks was enough to be proud of?
He hasn't even unleashed all his means yet.
Defending against his Tenmago Fluctuation isn't something to be proud of. The simplest way to deal with Teach isn't even from afar but with relentless attacks he can't resist through body techniques.
Abilities can be absorbed, energy can be absorbed, but his fists and Haki aren't easy to absorb.
What's more, in his current form, he has 'Adaptive Haki' inherently, every punch is at maximum Haki power; he doesn't even need to adjust, just keep punching, and like when he first met Teach...
Break apart.
Of course, he won't let Teach die; this guy is to be researched for now. Once Vegapunk gets his body and thoroughly studies this physique's secrets, that's when he dies.
However, he didn't expect this kind of 'surprise' would be given in this way.
A magic array...
What is this supposed to be?
"Ze ha ha ha ha..."
Rubble flew from the corner of the fortress, revealing Teach's hand clawing the corner, slowly showing his form.
His whole body was covered in blood, his head seemingly drenched in it, his mouth missing a few teeth, and the crooked crown on his head was long shattered, making him look utterly pathetic.
"It really hurts, different from before, this time it really hurts, Sage... I initially thought that with your ability, at least I could restrain you a bit, but now it seems that's not the case at all. Instead, I can't contain you. Truly my good Aibo! Although we developed together, you surpassed me so much in such a short time, not only in mind but also in strength, you're truly formidable!"
Hearing this, Sage sneered, "You just figured this out on your first day, Teach? Too arrogant. Was it because I acted too quickly last time that you got the wrong impression or what? You should understand my strongest aspect..."
He clenched his fist strongly, the air cracking with sound, "is my body techniques! But you, joining the Divine Knight Order? You, a pirate, how could you fit in there? Being a king was something, now you're directly becoming a Heavenly Celestial Dragon? The D Clan can also become Heavenly Celestial Dragons?"
"Ze ha ha ha ha, that's none of your concern, though it hurts, it's not unbearable... My Dark-Dark Fruit power can absorb any damage, though I can't elementalize, I don't need to, you still can't kill me!"
Teach extended his hand again, dark smoke exploding, "Here, according to your plan, is already a cage, I can wait until your stamina runs out, then slowly deal with you! Come on, Aibo! Let's continue!"
The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit is strong, besides being able to attract 'demons', it can't elementalize.
Everything has a price, not being able to elementalize seems weak, unable to match those top Logia-type powers fifty-fifty.
Even Sage himself is weak against Logia-types, not exactly restrained, but the opponent's advantage is too obvious; if they want to escape, no one can stop them, similarly, if they don't want to die, no one can stop them either.
Though the Dark-Dark Fruit isn't a Logia-type, the trade-off for not being able to elementalize is the ability to absorb any damage, be it fire, thunder, wind, slashes, or strikes...
Instead of causing harm, hitting him only leads to pain Teach can barely endure.
Regarding bodily harm...
Sage could see, aside from all the blood, his body was still intact.
Haki's power can't be said to have no effect, but his ability and power seem to forcefully neutralize this part.
"That's not right... there's something else, very strange, your Haki and ability can really neutralize my maximum level of attack repeatedly? Even if I don't see injuries, it doesn't matter, I'll know what you've gained after a few more rounds of beating you."
Sage stepped forward, shattering the magic array underfoot, simultaneously reaching to his side, and the golden bracelet transformed into a pirate saber with a sawtooth back.
"Let's experiment a bit more, if a fist can't hurt, how about slashes? I've always been curious if your Dark-Dark Fruit can heal your injuries or if I just can't split you open?"
Swish!
The moment the words fell, Sage's form flickered, darting into the air, raising his hand to unleash a massive Soaring Slash.
The mark of a Sword Master, he wasn't.
But releasing pure externalized Haki with an instrument was no problem at all.
The Soaring Slash is essentially an enhancement in swordsmanship and compressed Haki. Removing the former, Sage is fiercer than anyone with the latter compression.
Shhhhhh!!
The massive slash tore through the entire fortress, the incline sliding down; before it could fall onto Teach below, Sage swung several intersecting slashes, straight towards Teach.
"Aeroquake!!"
Teach clenched his left fist, striking forward with power of vibration, shattering the Soaring Slashes into pieces, dispersing them in the vibration.
"Oh? After suffering such a huge loss, you didn't run at the first encounter with my attack, instead, you counterattacked; should I commend your courage or should I say you have no brains?"
During the gap in his punch, Sage had already flickered to Teach's side, with a menacing expression, swinging his blade at Teach's neck.
"Dark Acupoints!"
Teach's eyes widened, his other hand quickly reached out, a spiraling dark vortex appearing in his palm, using suction to draw in and halt Sage's blade, keeping it from approaching.
"My attack is omnidirectional."
Sage smirked, without moving, the beadstrings around his neck ignited, forming a circle of flame behind his head. As it triggered, a massive flame burst forth, overwhelming Teach; the enormous pillar of fire even engulfed his entire body.
"Pain! It's killing me!"
In the flames, Teach howled in agony, but was soon suppressed by darkness.
"How about lightning?"
As the flames lingered under the darkness, Sage's voice rang out, followed by several thick lightning bolts, once more drowning Teach.
It didn't descend from the sky, just purely, relying on the Homiez linked with Sage, directly releasing thunderbolts.
Under the jolt of the lightning, Teach's hand manipulating his ability slightly stiffened, and seizing this opportunity, Sage moved his arm, the blade trailing Teach's arm upward, slicing his neck with a swift cut.
Splurt!
The sound of cutting into flesh was heard, but there was no decapitating injury.
The blade penetrating Teach's neck was enveloped by darkness, then cut through the darkness, emerging from the other side of Teach's neck.
Teach instinctively clutched his neck, releasing a hoarse, peculiar sound, like his vocal cords were severed, his expression etched with intense pain, his face turning a ghastly shade; but soon after, he returned to normal.
Thud.
Teach collapsed to his knees, panting heavily, sweat mingling with the drying blood, dripping onto the ground.
"Truly undying..."
Sage gazed coldly at Teach, moving the saber to transform back into a bracelet.
His hands rose and fell in a circular motion, creating arcs, "then... reduce to ashes!"