Teach was not stupid enough to be buried together with these people.
He had joined the Whitebeard Pirates only because it gave him a better chance of obtaining that fruit.
As for whether he could escape, Teach was still very confident.
After all, he had hidden quite a bit of his true strength.
If he had to be honest, aside from a select few people in the Whitebeard Pirates, he no longer put the others in his eyes.
If the situation turned bad, he would immediately pull away and leave. After that, he could think of another method.
And if possible...
Teach's eyes shifted, and the grin on his face stretched even wider.
If things really came down to it, joining the Hunter Guild might not be impossible.
That organization's potential was visibly enormous. Perhaps it could even become a useful force in helping him search for that fruit.
"Zehahaha…"
"Teach?"
Just as Teach was laughing quietly, Thatch, the commander of the Fourth Division standing beside him, turned his head in confusion.
"It's nothing!"
Teach froze, immediately stopped laughing, and hurriedly explained.
"I just feel excited since we're about to fight someone."
That explanation?
Thatch looked at Teach with some doubt.
This friend of his had never been the battle-crazed type.
Still, Thatch did not think too much about it and only reminded him in a low voice, "It's best not to get close to Pops's fight with that Cyrus. When two people like them fight, even the aftershocks aren't something ordinary people can withstand.
"Our target is anyone else who might show up."
"I understand!"
Teach immediately nodded and showed nothing unusual again.
The Moby Dick's speed quickly decreased. Whitebeard raised his head and looked toward the island ahead.
Around that island, a large number of ships were anchored across the nearby sea.
Whitebeard took several steps forward, his eyes locking onto the figure standing on the island.
"Pops!"
Marco raised his eyes and looked over.
After staring for a moment, he suddenly lifted his head.
"It's Cyrus.... He's alone!"
"I see him."
Whitebeard nodded, then his legs suddenly bent.
Seeing Whitebeard make that movement, Marco froze for a moment before his expression changed.
Then Whitebeard's legs straightened with explosive force, and his body launched directly into the air.
The massive bow of the Moby Dick suddenly dipped downward.
Everyone on the ship immediately grabbed nearby railings and fixtures to steady themselves.
That posture!
The expressions of everyone aboard the Moby Dick changed, and complicated emotions rose in their hearts.
It had been a long time since they had seen Pops in this state.
Whitebeard rose high into the air, Murakumogiri in hand. His body traced a long arc as he came falling from the sky.
Standing on the island's beach, Cyrus watched the scene with a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
'Whitebeard could still move like this in his current condition?'
There were only a few years left before the Summit War.
Whitebeard was definitely no longer in his prime, yet he could still launch an attack like this.
Boom!
Powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted from Whitebeard as he descended from the sky.
Feeling that aura pouring down from above, Cyrus's lips curved upward.
He raised his hand, gripped the hilt at his waist, and drew his blade.
If they were going to clash head-on, then forget the current Whitebeard—even if this were Whitebeard in his prime, Cyrus would not fear him.
Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki wrapped around the blade.
Cyrus's smile widened as violent Conqueror's Haki burst from his body.
That almost tangible Haki surged outward with a raging blast of air, spreading in every direction.
The ships on the surrounding sea retreated one after another.
The people aboard them stared at the island with pale faces, not daring to look away.
"Gurarararara!"
Whitebeard's laughter rang out from the sky. Murakumogiri, wrapped in a dark red radiance, came crashing down from above.
Cyrus smiled, reversed the blade in his hand, and swept it upward in an arc toward the heavens.
Boom!
Black lightning erupted violently, and the escaping force destroyed everything around them.
Cyrus felt the immense power traveling through his blade, then through his body and into the ground beneath his feet.
The soft beach exploded apart directly.
"I'm not Roger!"
A red gleam flashed in Cyrus's eyes.
The blade he had swung upward suddenly surged with even greater power, and the collapsing ground beneath him was struck by an even stronger impact.
The entire beach seemed to come alive.
Boom!
A visible ring of shockwaves suddenly burst outward. The forest and raised rocks on the island were shaved down by the impact.
Whitebeard's eyes widened, and his body was forced higher into the air before he landed on the beach in the distance.
A circular crater appeared in the sand, with Cyrus standing at its center.
The seawater that had been pushed back by the shock came surging in again with even larger waves, rushing toward the crater to fill it.
Cyrus lightly leapt out of the newly formed pit and landed at its edge, his eyes fixed on Whitebeard.
A powerful frame.
A massive, muscular body.
The countless scars crisscrossing his body.
And most obvious of all, that white crescent-shaped mustache.
"Whitebeard, Edward Newgate. You really came."
Cyrus spoke with a relaxed expression.
Whitebeard sized him up.
Hearing Cyrus's words, he planted Murakumogiri against the ground and threw his head back in laughter.
"Even if I didn't come, you'd still have come after me, wouldn't you? Still, you really are young."
Whitebeard could naturally tell that Cyrus was very young.
At this age, Whitebeard himself had only just gone out to sea.
But Cyrus?
That attack just now had not involved any holding back on his part.
Although Whitebeard had not used his Devil Fruit ability, Cyrus had still received it far too easily.
That slash had reminded Whitebeard of his final clash with Roger.
"Age isn't a problem. But you're right. Even if you hadn't come, I would have gone looking for you later. Since you took the initiative to come here, you've saved me quite a bit of trouble."
Cyrus spoke calmly.
"Heh. Brat, you've got quite the mouth on you."
Whitebeard had crossed the seas for decades.
What kind of scene had he not witnessed?
Cyrus's tone only made him laugh.
"You'll find out soon enough whether I'm just talking big. Since you're here, there's no need for you to leave. Golden Lion, Big Mom, and Silver Axe are all here too. You old friends probably haven't seen each other in quite a while."
As Cyrus spoke, he waved the sword in his hand before resting it on his shoulder.
"If you want to take me down, then try it."
Whitebeard grinned.
The moment his voice fell, his massive body moved at a speed that completely defied common sense, arriving in front of Cyrus in an instant.
Murakumogiri swung downward from above.
Clang!
Cyrus raised his sword to intercept, then pulled back, avoiding Murakumogiri as it chopped down.
His figure flashed. With a light evasive step, he appeared at Whitebeard's side, his blade sweeping in a curved horizontal slash.
A white halo suddenly appeared.
On Whitebeard's left fist, a white sphere of vibration blocked Cyrus's blade head-on.
A strange tremor traveled through the sword.
Boom!
Flames erupted violently from the blade and expanded in an instant, engulfing Whitebeard's entire body.
Murakumogiri swept through the fire, and Whitebeard's body charged diagonally out of the flames.
"You've developed the Flame-Flame Fruit impressively."
After rushing out of the fire, Whitebeard had just steadied himself when he spoke.
"Your ability isn't bad either."
The force transmitted through the blade earlier had indeed been unusual.
It had made Cyrus's palm itch slightly from the vibration.
Bang!
The moment their words fell, the two collided once again.
Boom!
The tremors spread along the ground, and a small portion of the island directly collapsed.
Flames rose into the sky, twisting upward like a tornado, like a true natural disaster.
The people aboard the ships in the surrounding sea watched the scene with their eyes fixed on the island.
...
On the Rose Hunter, Robin looked at the situation on the island, then turned toward Issho.
"Issho-san, it's about time."
"Mm."
Issho nodded, turning his face toward the Moby Dick in the distance before gripping the hilt of his sword.
...
High above, a streak of red light appeared in the sky.
On the island, Whitebeard fought with broad, powerful movements, while Cyrus moved with incredible speed.
Cyrus had also noticed that Whitebeard's condition was abnormal.
This kind of fighting style should only have been possible for Whitebeard in his prime.
He was using his Devil Fruit ability without the slightest restraint, and his body did not seem affected at all.
Had he used some method to temporarily suppress his injuries?
Bang!
Cyrus kicked out, colliding with the white sphere of vibration around Whitebeard's fist.
He was sent flying backward and landed, silently making his guess.
Whitebeard frowned as he looked at Cyrus.
Doubt rose in his heart.
Something was wrong.
Even Kaido and Big Mom would not be able to take one of his punches so easily.
Yet Cyrus, whose body did not look especially large and whose physique should not have been that monstrous, seemed almost unaffected by his ability.
But how was that possible?
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator