Killer's voice reached his ears. Allen stopped his movements, his two pairs of wings vibrating as he hovered steadily in the air.
Holding the half-dead Kid in his hand, he turned his head to look down.
"Surrender?"
"That's right! We admit defeat. We'll hand over all the treasure on our ship to you. Just let Kid go, and we'll take him away immediately!"
Killer shouted loudly toward the sky.
Behind him, the other members of the Kid Pirates dropped their weapons in unison, their expressions complex.
Seeing this, Sanji and the others also stopped and withdrew their fighting stances.
"Tch, is their bounty just inflated, or is this guy becoming more and more of a monster?"
Sanji couldn't help but sigh, looking up at Allen with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
The battle had only broken out a short while ago. At first, they thought it would be a grueling fight, considering the opponent had a bounty of 300 million Berries.
They didn't expect Allen to take him down so quickly.
Let alone the members of the Kid Pirates, even they were so focused on the battle that they almost didn't react in time.
In the air, Allen didn't respond to Killer. Instead, he turned his gaze to Kid, whom he was holding.
At this moment, Kid's eyes were rolled back, and he was on the verge of passing out completely. However, he still maintained a sliver of consciousness, flickering like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.
"Before I snap your neck, I'll give you a chance to surrender. How about it? Do you accept defeat?"
Allen's tone was full of mockery.
Kid opened his mouth to say something, but could only let out a hoarse sound.
As if worried Allen couldn't hear him clearly, Kid spoke while trembling to raise his arm, using his remaining sliver of consciousness to struggle and raise his middle finger.
"Go... to hell..."
Seeing this, the faces of Killer and the others below instantly turned deathly pale.
However, Allen wasn't angry. Instead, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.
If he had yielded to power, Kid's worthless life might as well have ended right here. Instead, this unyielding will to die rather than submit was worth a second glance.
"What a pity, I can't die. The only thing you should be glad about is that I'm equally uninterested in your worthless life."
Allen let go, allowing Kid's body to plummet from the sky, and sneered at Killer below:
"Forget about the treasure, but as for your crew, I...!"
His voice abruptly stopped. Allen's expression changed as his body was suddenly pulled by a bizarre force. At the same time, his Observation Haki sensed intense hostility coming from behind!
At the corner of a building on the edge of the square, a rough, large hand reached out from the shadows, black mist surging from its palm.
Teach stared slyly at Allen above the square, the wisps of black mist in his palm rapidly spinning like a fan.
"Blackwater!!"
With his loud shout, the gravitational pull on Allen suddenly skyrocketed, and his entire body flew backward completely out of control!
"Allen?"
"What's going on? No, there's someone over there!"
The sudden, bizarre scene caught the attention of everyone in the square.
Sanji frowned and looked in the direction Allen was flying backward, only to be shocked to find the Blackbeard Pirates hiding in the corner!
"Zehahaha! What a wonderful battle. Your ability is quite good. And I'll gladly accept that Warlord of the Sea title!"
Teach curled his lips, revealing his missing front teeth as he let out a ferocious laugh.
Allen snapped his head around. The moment he saw the Blackbeard Pirates, a hint of astonishment couldn't help but appear in his eyes.
And the black mist emanating from Blackbeard's palm made him instantly realize the source of the irresistible gravitational pull on his body.
"So you're the one behind this!"
A dark glint flashed in Allen's eyes. His body flew rapidly toward Blackbeard. In just two seconds, the hundred-meter distance had been cut in half.
He knew that this gravitational pull was almost impossible for an ability user to break free from, so he reacted swiftly.
A pitch-black giant horn grew from his forehead, and the bulging muscles of his upper body turned black in a single second, as if he had donned an indestructible suit of chitinous armor.
In the final second, Allen's upper body transformed into a humanoid Hercules beetle. The two pairs of wings on his back vibrated at high speed, but instead of resisting the gravity, he followed its pull and dashed explosively toward Blackbeard.
His speed, which was already too fast for the naked eye to catch, became as fast as lightning when combined with the gravitational pull, instantly crossing a distance of over twenty meters!
"What!"
Teach's eyes widened in sudden shock.
He clearly didn't expect Allen's reaction to be the exact opposite of what he had anticipated. That giant Hercules beetle horn, carrying immense force, viciously rammed into his chest!
Bang!!
Caught completely off guard, Teach was sent flying on the spot by that terrifying force. His body turned into a cannonball, streaking through the low air before crashing explosively into the end of the street!
"Captain!!"
"Hey, Teach!!"
Doc Q and Burgess cried out in panic. This scene was clearly beyond their expectations, and they abruptly turned their heads to look at Allen.
"You guys look like you have some business with me?"
Allen curled his lips into a ferocious grin. His sweeping gaze made the hearts of the Blackbeard Pirates tremble, sending a chill down all their spines.
"Damn it...!"
Burgess gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint appearing in his eyes. He raised his thick arms high, clasping his hands together to form a heavy hammer, and brought them down fiercely with a violent shout!
"Die, you bastard!"
Facing this heavy hammer strike, Allen swiftly raised an arm to block.
Bang!!
The powerful force transmitted through Allen's body to his feet. The ground erupted with several cracks, and his feet sank heavily into the earth.
However, to Burgess's disbelief, Allen steadily caught the attack with just one arm, not even bending his knees in the slightest!
"H-How is this possible...!"
Burgess looked utterly shocked. Meeting Allen's cold eyes, a hint of fear unconsciously surfaced on his face.
Allen raised his right leg, terrifying power contained within his knotted muscles, and delivered a fierce front kick straight into Burgess's abdomen!
"Gah—!!"
Bang! Bang!—Bang!!
Burgess spat out a mouthful of blood with an agonized expression. His entire body doubled over as he flew backward, his back crashing through several walls in succession before smashing into a residential house!
After kicking Burgess away, Allen turned his cold gaze toward Laffitte and Doc Q. The two gulped, their footsteps unconsciously retreating a pace.
Just then, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the spire of the clock tower behind him!
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets were fired in quick succession, breaking the sound barrier and arriving in an instant.
However, a split second before the sniper fired, Allen's Observation Haki had already sensed the killing intent.
He turned his body sideways and tilted his head slightly. The two bullets pierced the air, passing by his chest and cheek respectively, striking the ground and leaving smooth, round holes.
From the corner of his eye, Allen glanced coldly at the top of the clock tower. A man in a striped shirt stood atop the spire, holding an extremely long sniper rifle in his hands.
"As expected, it's not that easy to claim his head. Should I say, as expected of a Warlord of the Sea? It seems Teach was too careless."
Van Augur lowered his sniper rifle and adjusted his gleaming glasses with two fingers.
Without a doubt, the sneak attack was a complete failure.