"He can actually fight the Captain to a standstill? What a terrifying guy."
Burgess punched an okama flying, then glanced back, only to have a figure appear right in front of him.
"Don't underestimate this old man. Gyojin Karate!"
Jinbe in front made a punching motion, but nothing happened. Burgess was about to mock him—why put on such a stance if you're not going to do anything?—when the next second, his body was struck by a heavy blow and sent flying.
"So this is the power of a Warlord of the Sea. Don't let your guard down, Burgess. At least for now, he's on the same level as our Captain." Lafitte flew over. Though his words were cautious, he didn't seem particularly concerned about Jinbe.
He looked at Luffy and Blackbeard, who were drawing everyone's attention. "Our Captain has truly met his match this time. If he can't handle Straw Hat, the whole plan will fall apart."
The reason Lafitte had followed Blackbeard to the Grand Line was because he had witnessed his terror. He believed Blackbeard was someone who could stand at the top. But now, it seemed he had encountered another man with the same qualifications to reach the top!
Were they fated rivals?
Luffy's track record was solid.
The opponents he had fought along the way were also impressive. He had even managed to escape unscathed from a combination of a Marine Admiral and the Hero of the Marines. Could Teach do that?!
"Ze ha ha, terrifying indeed, Straw Hat. Back at Mock Town, you were my number one target!"
Blackbeard's laughter came from within the clash. "But you hit me with a punch out on the sea, you bastard. That punch really hurt, you know that?!"
Luffy sneered. "What a shame that punch didn't send you to the bottom of the sea."
Swish!
Amid the chaotic clash, a black-red blade light abruptly ignited. Moving at a speed too fast to react to, it tore through the turbulent currents of dark energy and shot straight for Blackbeard's face.
"A slash?"
Teach's pupils suddenly contracted. His arms, wrapped in darkness and Haki, crossed in front of him to block, barely managing to catch the incoming black light.
Crack.
A crisp sound rang out. The power wrapped around Teach's arms was shattered, but the black light remained. The residual force of the slash sent Teach flying backward. He only managed to stop after digging two deep, dozens-of-meters-long trenches in the ground with his feet.
"Ze ha ha, this is my luck!"
Teach shook his slightly trembling arms and roared at Luffy, who was charging toward him like a shadow. "Whitebeard's era is over! The next era is called Blackbeard!"
He opened his blood-filled mouth and declared his ambition: "The one who will become Pirate King is me!"
Hearing this,a black-red light condensed on the blade of Magi in Luffy's hand, emitting black-red lightning around it. Even space itself seemed to faintly distorted. In the blink of an eye, the blade was already at Teach's face.
"Hatō: Slash!"
The latter's expression changed abruptly. He raised his arms again, struggling to wrap them in the same power of darkness mixed with Haki as before.
Bam!
This time, Teach couldn't stand it. His body was sent flying, and visible bloodstains appeared on his body, even on his arms.
"I'm the one who's going to become Pirate King!"
Luffy roared.
Before Teach could even let out a scream, Luffy was already in front of him. His eyes, glowing with a crimson light, locked onto Teach's.
In Teach's eyes, Luffy saw shock and panic. But in Luffy's eyes, Teach saw only confidence—absolute confidence!
As if, for Luffy, becoming Pirate King was only a matter of time!
Smack!
Teach roared and grabbed the sharp blade Magi with his hand. Luffy spun and kicked Teach in the chin. Blood splattered. Who knew if Teach's already few teeth had been knocked out?
Then Luffy punched the hilt of Magi. The blade flew from Teach's hand into the air. Luffy pulled in his stomach and punched Teach directly in the abdomen.
With that single blow, a shockwave burst from Teach's abdomen, ripping through the surrounding area, and creating a huge crack in the ground. As gravel flew everywhere, Teach was about to be sent flying, but Luffy was faster. His figure just flashed, and he was already in front again, but this time his posture was textbook.
"Gomu Gomu no Plus: Raika Gatling Gun!"
They were all fists—visible to the naked eye, but each one a blur.
One relentless punch after another slammed into Teach's body. The uninterrupted attacks made it impossible for Teach to fight back. He could only passively withstand Luffy's fists.
Each punch carried a shockwave that kept Teach airborne. His massive body twitched there like a sick man with every impact.
Those fists also carried the power of lightning and flames, fused with Haki and terrifying force.
The ground groaned and shattered under the impact. The flying gravel gained terrifying kinetic energy, shooting out like deadly hidden weapons. Those nearby who couldn't dodge in time were pierced by the howling stones and collapsed.
Not to mention Teach at the very center.
For the first time, Teach felt helpless against his own ability. Luffy's fists were just pure fists—he wasn't using his ability. The darkness could only absorb the damage from Luffy's punches, leaving Teach with no choice but to passively endure.
From that moment on, he began to feel the pain little by little.
Fists whistling through the air, Teach couldn't even scream. His body was suspended in midair.
"Stra—"
Smack smack smack!
"Straw—"
Bang bang bang!
"Ah—"
Luffy's punching motion suddenly halted. Strange darkness had spread from Teach's chest, forming a hand that seemed to want to pull Luffy inside.
That thing was dangerous.
Luffy's pupils flashed red. He stepped back and made a punching motion. "Gomu Gomu no: Raika Dangan!"
The air rumbled. Without even touching him, the attack sent Blackbeard flying.
"Tch."
Luffy looked at him and said coldly, "So that's the kind of ability it is? How disgusting. Are those all the people you've defeated in there?"
He had seen it.
In that future, when caught by those dark hands and almost pulled into Blackbeard's darkness, he could vaguely make out the scene inside: a barren wasteland filled with countless bones.
"Ze ha ha ha ha,"
From a pile of rubble, the rubble flew out. Teach extended one hand, then slowly revealed himself. "You saw it, didn't you, you bastard Straw Hat?"
Teach's entire body was covered in blood. His open mouth was missing a few more teeth. He looked utterly miserable.
"That really hurt. You're the type I least wanted to deal with, Straw Hat. That's why I didn't want to fight you here from the beginning. At least not until after this war was over!"
Hearing this, Luffy sneered. "Do you think saying that will make me let you go? Who gives their enemy time to get stronger?"
Not that he was afraid.
As far as Blackbeard was concerned, if Luffy could beat him now, he could suppress him forever in the future!
Driven by the Pirate King Training Plan, Luffy's growth every single day could only be described as terrifying.
"Ze ha ha, you want to kill me? It won't be that easy, Straw Hat. You haven't seen my greatest strength yet!"
Teach laughed. "My greatest strength is endurance!"
Luffy shot back, "You're just a little more durable. You'll still die eventually."
Teach extended his hand again, emitting black smoke. "But time isn't on your side! Don't forget, I'm a Warlord of the Sea now. I work for the World Government. In a sense, this is my home turf!"
These words were utterly shameless.
Before Aokiji and Magellan arrived, he had been talking about recruiting prisoners, going directly against the World Government's objectives.
But once the Admirals showed up, he suddenly remembered he was a Warlord?
When a person has no shame, they're invincible.
Luffy sneered. "Then let's give it a try."
The greatest strength of the Yami Yami no Mi was its ability to capture its opponent and nullify Devil Fruit powers.
But against a top-tier physical combatant, its effectiveness was greatly diminished.
For Luffy, it wasn't a particularly strong ability, because his physical technique was also powerful enough. His fists could beat the crap out of Blackbeard.
And unlike ordinary Logias, Blackbeard couldn't elementalize.
Everything had its pros and cons. The inability to elementalize seemed like a weakness—he couldn't go toe-to-toe with anyone like top-tier Logias such as Aokiji, who in his own elemental home turf had an extra combat boost.
Or like Kizaru—a Logia who, if he wanted to flee, almost no one could stop.
The Yami Yami no Mi wasn't that kind of conventional Logia. Its compensation for the inability to elementalize was its ability to absorb any damage, regardless of the type of attack.
Punches, flames, lightning, slashes...
As compensation, as long as the pain didn't exceed the threshold, Teach could endure it all.
Just as Teach had said, his ability to endure was his greatest strength!
After that whole series of attacks just now, aside from the bloodstains on his body, Teach's physique was still intact.
It couldn't be said to have no effect, but most of the attacks had been absorbed, converted into Teach's anguished howling.
But endurance always had a limit!
"There is an effect, isn't there? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so desperate to use that move to interrupt me. So as long as I keep attacking nonstop, you'll die too."
As he spoke, Magi, which had been knocked away earlier, fell from the air, landing right in front of Luffy. He reached out and caught it. "Since my fists can't break you, how about trying a slash? You can absorb the damage, but I don't believe your arms and legs can grow back if I cut them off."
Visible to all, Blackbeard's expression darkened.
Swoosh!
Seeing this, Luffy's figure flashed, appearing in the air. He swung his sword, unleashing a massive black slash.
The huge cut nearly cut horizontally across the entire passage. With a shrill sound of tearing air, it barreled down toward
Blackbeard below!
This was the mark of a swordsman.
It showed that Luffy had long since entered this level in swordsmanship.
It was clear that Teach was quite wary of sword slashes. The dark vortex in his palm grew even larger.
"Anketsudō!"
Torrential darkness surged out like a tide, turning the large area in front of him into a swamp that swallowed everything, trying to engulf that terrifying slash.
"Too slow. Being overly reliant on your ability makes you look weak."
Just as the darkness spread, attempting to devour the slash, Luffy's figure appeared like a ghost, closing in on Blackbeard's front at an unbelievable angle and speed, swinging his blade directly at Blackbeard's neck!
"Liberation!"
Blackbeard's pupils contracted sharply. He hastily extended his other hand. A spiral dark vortex appeared in front of his palm, releasing the buildings, gravel, and even the mutilated bodies of several unconscious guards he had absorbed earlier, like cannonballs, violently at Luffy.
"Those trash are useless!"
Without even looking, Luffy casually swung his left hand—the one not holding the sword. His Haki-coated fist generated a gust of violent wind that directly sent the debris flying.
And the motion of his right arm didn't pause in the slightest. The black blade Magi, carrying the will to cut through anything, slashed heavily into Blackbeard's shoulder!
"Gyaaah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
The moment the blade bit into his flesh, Blackbeard let out a harrowing scream like a pig being slaughtered.
At the same time, Luffy could clearly feel that where the blade entered, it seemed to sink into a viscos darkness, the resistance increasing dramatically.
"I cut him, but I didn't completely cut through. This feeling really is strange."
Luffy's eyes turned cold. His arm muscles bulged as even more furious power poured into the blade.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
On Magi, piercing with black Haki, dazzling lightning and leaping sparks suddenly erupted. The piercing of the lightning, the burning of the flames, combined with the sharpness of the slash itself and Haki—all their offensive powers fused together.
Pfft!
This time, the sound of flesh being cut was much clearer.
The power on the blade instantly erupted, forcibly tearing through that viscos dark defense and embedding itself deep into Teach's shoulder blade. The huge slashing energy passed through his body, engulfing Teach entirely!
"Guh!"
Teach spit out a mouthful of blood. The intense pain made his vision go black. He instinctively covered his slashed shoulder with his other hand, his throat emitting strange, hoarse sounds—as if even his vocal cords had been damaged by that blow.
His expression was twisted and ferocious from the extreme pain. His face was frighteningly pale.
But strangely, the darkness emerging from the wound wriggled like a living thing, quickly covering it. The flow of blood seemed to be suppressed. The horrific wound was slowly healing at a visible rate.
Thud!
After enduring the pain, Teach's knees went weak, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
Sweat mixed with blood soaked his clothes, dripping onto the ground and forming a puddle of filth.
He looked up at Luffy, who was slowly sheathing his sword. His eyes were full of fear.
"You really are a monster."
Teach gasped out between breaths.
Luffy's strength and fighting style had completely exceeded his expectations.
Before Teach could finish speaking, a deadly sense of crisis slithered like a cold snake up his spine to the back of his head.
He was skilled in Observation Haki and had sharp combat instincts.
The Straw Hat kid, who just a moment ago had been slowly sheathing his sword several meters away—his chilling killing intent was now pressing directly against his back.
"How is he so fast?"
Teach's pupils contracted to pinpricks.
He didn't have time to turn around, didn't even have time to think. His body reacted instinctively.
His arms crossed. Pitch-black dark matter and Armament Haki surged wildly, protecting the back of his neck and his head in the nick of time!
Humm!
The blade, which seemed capable of cutting through the air itself, hummed with a sound that sent chills down the spine.
"Hatō!"
"Kurozu!"
The black blade slashed into Teach's hastily raised arms. The defensive layer formed by the dark matter and Armament Haki let out a groaning sound of being overloaded.
The terrifying slashing force penetrated the defense, causing Teach's arm bones to make faint cracking sounds as they were shaken. Pain rushed in like a tidal wave.
"Damn it!"
Teach raged inwardly. His face was distorted by pain and humiliation.
If his plan could have succeeded completely—if he could have obtained the Gura Gura no Mi, the strongest Paramecia he had dreamed of—and then declared the arrival of the new era to the world, he would never have found himself in such an embarrassing situation!
Lacking that one crucial fruit, his power system ultimately had a flaw. It hadn't reached the perfect, crushing-everything level he had envisioned.
In front of this Straw Hat kid, Teach felt for the first time what a life-or-death crisis truly meant!
He possessed the top-tier Logia Yami Yami no Mi ability. His physical technique had been honed over time and was quite powerful. His proficiency in both colors of Haki was by no means weak.
But the problem was also his over-reliance on his ability.
Logically, his ability worked well against ability users.
But this monster Luffy completely refused to play by the rules!
Even without using his bizarre rubber abilities, his peak-level physical skill and swordsmanship made him even more lethal.
"It hurts, Straw Hat!" Teach screamed.
His hands, covered in viscos darkness, desperately gripped the edge of Magi's blade.
As the blade cut into the darkness of his palms, the resistance was enormous, but it was still slowly digging deeper. Blood gushed along the blade, dripping onto the ground with a sizzling, corrosive sound.
"Can't you endure it?"
Luffy's voice was cold, carrying a hint of mockery.
He suddenly applies force with his wrist. His body spun at high speed like a top!
Swish swish swish swish!
The black blade Magi turned into a dazzling, dizzying black wheel of blades, emitting a shriek as it cut through the air.
The black lightning of Conqueror's Haki Infusion on it and the flowing Armament Haki Ryuo dazzling sparks!
Teach no longer dared to grab this violent slash with his bare hands. Hastily, he pushed Armament Haki full force to cover his arms and punched out.
"Anken!"
"Tenrindō!"
Boom!
The blade and fist didn't directly collide. When they were still about an inch apart, the two immense forces of Haki collided in midair.
Black-red Conqueror's Haki lightning and Haki clashed. A semi-transparent spherical shockwave suddenly expanded from the two men.
Boom, crash, rumble.
This impact was more intense than any before.
Starting from the ground beneath Luffy and Teach's feet, the solid floor of Impel Down cracked layer upon layer like a fragile cookie. Massive fissures spread out radially, instantly covering a radius of several hundred meters.
Gravel shot into the air, only to be ground into dust by the lingering waves of Haki.
The giant rock pillars supporting the upper structure let out groans of being overloaded. Their surfaces were covered in web-like cracks. Large chunks of rock began to fall apart.
The entire Impel Down was moaning.
"We can't keep fighting here anymore!" Ivankov's hair stood on end as the violent shockwaves rushed toward him.
He looked around. The surrounding structures were collapsing.
***
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