03 More Fearless, Less Arrogant

"Teach, I thought after seeing you, you would plead for mercy and explain. I didn't expect you to show no remorse for killing Thatch!"

Ace's tone gradually turned cold.

"Let's fight and forget about these lofty principles. In a world where the victor takes all, who cares about the process? I just want to achieve the results I desire."

Teach smiled, and his expression made Ace's face darken.

"Fireflies, Hibashira!"

Tiny flames suddenly surrounded Teach, and then erupted into explosive flames.

Teach was engulfed in fire!

"Zeehahaha! A pointless attack!"

Teach laughed, and then darkness surged out of his body, engulfing the flames. All the fire was swallowed up, leaving no injury on his body because darkness can consume everything!

"Can he absorb damage?"

Ace frowned.

"Since you're so eager to meet your end, I'll make it happen for you."

Teach said, the darkness began to envelop Teach palm.

"Kurouzu!"

Gravity erupted in his hand!

Ace's body flew directly towards him, and he firmly gripped Ace's shoulders.

"Captain Ace, how's that feel?"

After Teach finished speaking, he landed a direct punch to Ace's abdomen!

"boom! "

Even Logia fruit user, Ace was knocked out hard. As the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he was seriously injured by a single punch!

Ace's expression turned grave. He had no understanding of Teach's ability whatsoever.

"I can absorb the Devil Fruit power from any user's body. Once caught by me, the fruit ability becomes unusable. How about this Dark Fruit?"

Teach employed Kurouzu once again, and Ace's body was drawn toward him once more.

"Flame spear!"

A flame spear manifested in each of Ace's hands!

Teach anticipated that Ace was going to use this move, but he chose not to resist nonetheless.

Just as two flame spears were launched at him and pierced his body, he grabbed and grabbed Ace, delivering a palm strike to Ace's neck.

Teach couldn't feel any pain, darkness swept over, and his body reverted to its original state once again.

But Ace's neck was nearly severed by his palm!

A smile played on the corner of Teach's mouth. Before Ace could recover, Teach chose to launch an active attack this time!

Compared to the previous Teach, he was more fearless but less arrogant!

Before Lin Feng took over, Teach used to be the one getting beaten first in battles against Ace, Luffy, Magellan, and Sengoku. He was burned by Ace initially but later emerged victorious.

He was poisoned by Magellan initially, received the antidote from Shiliew, and then almost got killed again by Magellan.

At first, he was beaten by Sengoku, spitting blood with a single palm, and then turned the tables by using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to defeat Sengoku the Buddha!

His true strength remains a mystery to everyone. 

However, he is undoubtedly the one whose strength is most underestimated!

His arrogance comes from his strength. 

As powerful as he may be, a person's body is just a head and a heart. If he dies, he dies. If not vigilant enough, he'll always be vulnerable. 

Therefore, he must be less arrogant than the previous Marshall D. Teach!

"The captain becomes quite scary without feeling pain!"

Burgess exclaimed with a shocked expression.

"Without the burden of pain, the captain's movements won't be restricted, and his reaction speed will be much faster! In a battle with a powerhouse like Ace, a single moment is enough to decide everything..."

Van Augur calmly analyzed and explained.

"I have a feeling that the captain's plan will probably start at this moment..." 

Burgess said.

"This must be another twist of fate." 

Doc Q's words sounded a bit metaphysical.

Teach had now reached Ace and employed Kurouzu once more. Ace's eyes had undergone a complete transformation compared to the calmness at the beginning.

Before he could react, Teach had caught him again and delivered a powerful punch to his back!

Ace's body crashed into the ruins, stripped of any fruit ability, as he took three consecutive hits and sustained serious injuries!

At this point, Ace had already planned to flee.

"Do you want to escape? My initial goal was to capture Monkey D. Luffy and hand him over to the Marines. I heard he's your brother?!"

As soon as Teach's words left his mouth, flames suddenly erupted in the ruins, and Ace emerged step by step from the fiery aftermath.

"Who do you want to catch?"

Ace glared at him angrily.

"It's you now. If you run away, it will naturally be Luffy."

Teach has a playful smile on his lips.

In the end, in order to protect Luffy, Ace abandoned the idea of escape and chose to face him in battle! After a prolonged struggle, the island was shrouded in darkness, and Ace lay on the ground, dying.

"Captain! Now the planning can begin!"

Burgess said excitedly.

"Ace's life is equal to Luffy's. This marks another turning point in fate..."

Doc Q observed Ace lying on the ground and remarked.

"No matter how fate changes, the result will still be the same and more perfect!"

Teach's words sounded more like he was speaking to himself. None of his crew members could fully grasp his meaning.

Then Teach laughed again and said, "Next, we'll see how Sengoku feels about me, his prey. Probably not interested anymore, Zeehahaha..."

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TO BE CONTINUE