Austin's initial reaction to Blackbeard Teach's exaggerated provocation was nothing short of pure scorn and contempt.
As his expression grew ice-cold, Hancock, sensing the shift in his emotions, reluctantly stepped out of his embrace.
Austin's words struck Teach's forehead like a sledgehammer, shattering his ego and leaving his mind buzzing with humiliation. *Damn that Austin! How dare he speak to me like that!* Teach screamed internally. This whole ordeal was being broadcast to the entire world—where was he supposed to put his face now? Did he have no dignity left?!
Teach never expected Austin to insult him so bluntly, degrading him to something far worse than a mere clown. Even the pirate subordinates he had just broken out of Impel Down were looking at him with mockery in their eyes. Soon, their gazes shifted toward Austin, who stood high in the sky, glaring at him with rising fury.
"Zehahahaha! If that's how it's gonna be, let's just see about that!" Teach sneered, his smile revealing his missing teeth. "Let's see who the real clown is!"
Seeing his forced smile and the classic, sloppy look of a tenth-century pirate, Hancock, Rem, and Ram couldn't hide the disgust on their faces. Since Blackbeard Teach was begging for a fight, Austin naturally wasn't going to disappoint him.
Standing in midair, Austin took a step forward, walking calmly across the void like an peerless king gracefully marching toward his subjects.
The relaxed expressions on the faces of the Blackbeard Pirates quickly stiffened. They braced themselves, watching Austin's descent with utmost vigilance.
"You don't even dare to touch me?" Austin mocked, looking down at the Blackbeard Pirates from a height of a hundred meters with absolute arrogance.
"Ha! I'll go first!!"
Suddenly, San Juan Wolf, who had been hiding behind the Marineford headquarters fortress, launched a surprise attack.
The 180-meter giant lunged forward, thrusting his colossal fist straight toward Austin up in the sky. As a ruthless pirate of the Giant Race, San Juan Wolf's raw strength was undeniable. His fist tore through the air with terrifying force, compressing the very atmosphere around it!
Down in the bay, the Blackbeard Pirates smirked. This was only the first move. With San Juan Wolf initiating a surprise attack, even if it failed to severely injure Austin, it would still create the perfect opening for them.
Teach was a ruthless man who had endured decades on Whitebeard's ship just for a Devil Fruit; caution was hardwired into him. Even though he believed his power was now at the absolute top of the world, he remained highly vigilant against Austin. After all, the Espada Legion under Austin's command was terrifying, and Austin himself had already demonstrated the power of the White Dragon. His hidden strength was bound to be unfathomable.
Watching the giant wolf's sudden strike, Sengoku, Garp, and the Vice Admirals held their breath, knowing all too well how destructive that power could be.
"Don't you know that the bigger the ant, the easier it is to crush?"
Austin didn't even bother to look back as he felt the massive pressure of the oncoming fist. He calmly extended his hand, and a thin, flame-like wisp of black smoke rose from his palm.
"Shadow—Execution." Austin parted his thin lips, his voice dropping to a freezing temperature.
The gargantuan San Juan Wolf noticed the shadow of the nearby building twitch. Then, his own shadow seemed to plunge into itself. In the next instant, to his absolute horror, the massive shadows surged like tidal waves, morphing into colossal, razor-sharp blades that impaled him from every direction. Dozens of shadow blades transformed the giant into a literal hedgehog!
Even the arm he had used to punch was cleanly severed by a massive shadow blade, flying off into the distance.
"Arrgh! It hurts!! Captain!! It hurts! Help me..."
*Boom!*
Amidst his agonizing screams, San Juan Wolf's eyes rolled back into his head as he coughed up blood. His body resembled an erupting volcano, with geysers of blood spraying from the dozens of gaping holes torn into his flesh. As his massive frame lost consciousness, his knees buckled, and he collapsed heavily onto the Marineford fortress.
The Blackbeard Pirates were just about to make their move, but before they could even launch their attack, San Juan Wolf had been instantly neutralized!
Cold sweat poured down Teach's forehead at the sight, but he still forced a wild, crazed laugh. "As expected of you! But I am a dual-ability user now!"
"Men, attack!!"
"Quake Shock!!"
The void cracked, the atmosphere shattered, and a web of devastating fractures rapidly advanced toward Austin. Shiryu of the Rain slashed his blade, and the others unleashed a barrage of bullets and artillery.
"What a pathetic attack," Austin sneered. Facing the onslaught of the Blackbeard Pirates, he casually raised his arm and threw a single punch.
"King's Punch!!!"
*Rumble!!!*
A golden shockwave erupted, colliding with their attacks and completely swallowing them whole. Under the terrified gazes of Teach and his crew, the golden wave engulfed everything in its path!
*Bam! Bam!*
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit looked like a complete joke in Blackbeard's hands. Austin's punch battered them until they vomited blood, their bodies blasted backward by the sheer force of the impact. The terrifying aftershocks rippled outward, sending layers of wind pressure and shockwaves in all directions, blowing away countless Marines.
"Well... this is troublesome, Austin!"
"I almost died there, zehahahaha!!"
As the smoke cleared, Teach and his crew emerged, completely drenched in blood. Though the blow hadn't killed them, it had left them severely wounded.
"Hey! Austin! I survived that terrifying attack of yours. Do I have the right to talk to you now?!" Even after barely withstanding the shockwave, Teach was still determined to win Austin over to his side.
"Terrifying? I'm afraid that was just a casual swing of mine," Austin said, shaking his head as his eyes regained their cold, arrogant disdain. "If you think that's all I've got, then let me show you what true power feels like."
The moment his words fell, everyone in the bay froze in terror as the sky suddenly darkened!
An infinite, suffocating sea of Reiatsu erupted from Austin. The sky instantly became heavy and oppressive, followed by a descending pressure of absolute, cosmic horror.
The weaker soldiers immediately dropped to their knees, passing out under the weight of the Reiatsu. Some, whose souls couldn't withstand the spiritual pressure, died on the spot. Both Marine officers and pirates trembled to their core, feeling as though their very souls were about to fracture.
"Oh my God... the sky is falling!"
"What kind of power is this?! Lord have mercy!"
"He's a monster! I want to go home to my mom!!"
Everyone stared blankly at the heavens. The sky itself seemed to have collapsed toward the earth!
Sengoku and Garp realized that the "falling sky" was actually a physical manifestation of the sheer power Austin had suddenly unleashed. It was terrifying beyond measure. At that moment, not just the Blackbeard Pirates, but even the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates and the high-ranking Marine officers paled in unison.
If this boundless, catastrophic pressure actually made landfall, the entirety of Marineford would likely be crushed into the sea. The tens of thousands of Marines and pirates left on the island would be flattened like bugs.
"Austin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sengoku roared in fury, his entire body instantly transforming into a massive, golden Buddha. "Everyone! If you don't want to die, join forces with me and give it everything you've got!!!"
Sengoku glared at the proud, indifferent Austin, unable to conceal the sheer rage in his eyes.
Amidst Sengoku's echoing roar, the three Marine Admirals, Garp, and the other top-tier fighters chose to prioritize blocking Austin's terrifying attack. Even Hawkeye Mihawk joined in. The ordinary pirates, however, saw this as the perfect opportunity to tuck tail and run. With the Marine powerhouse preoccupied with holding up the sky, this was their only chance to escape.
Jinbe, who had been heavily scorched by Sakazuki's magma fist, glanced back at the Admiral who had turned his attention to the sky. Grabbing the severely wounded Luffy, he fled as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Dark Water! Quake Shock!"
"Slash!"
"Buddha Impact!"
"Meteor Volcano!"
"Fist of Iron—Meteor!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
"Ice Age!"
"Overheat!"
The top-tier combat forces of the Marines erupted with power, and the remaining Warlords unleashed their ultimate attacks simultaneously to shatter the descending pressure in the sky!
*Boom—Boom—Boom!!*
Finally, with the combined might of the world's strongest fighters, the crushing blanket of Reiatsu in the sky was blown apart.
Up in the heavens, Austin looked down at the panting group of powerhouses who had worked so desperately to destroy his casual flex of power, and a slow, amused smile played on his lips.