Strongest lineup!

"Ahhh... It hurts, it hurts! Nicholas, you damn bastard, it really hurts!"

Teach kept crying out in pain. Even with the enhancement from the Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit, Azure Dragon form, the pain he was enduring was intense.

Behind Blackbeard, Shiryu and the others who had chosen to join him stared at Nicholas in utter shock. It was clear that Nicholas's power had left a deep impression on them.

"Newgate, your performance just now was completely unlike the you I know. Given your current condition, you shouldn't be struggling so much against Teach, right? Or is it that you just can't bear to kill him?" Nicholas glanced at Whitebeard as he spoke.

If Whitebeard had been in his elderly state, Nicholas wouldn't have been surprised at all by his current performance. After all, in his old age, Whitebeard struggled to even use Haki properly and would be exhausted after just a few minutes of fighting. It would be understandable for him to be at a disadvantage against someone in their prime like Teach.

But now, with Whitebeard's body restored to its peak state thanks to Bonney, even after a fierce battle with Kaido, defeating Teach shouldn't have been so difficult. After all, in terms of battle experience, ten Teach's wouldn't be a match for one Whitebeard.

The current situation could only mean that Whitebeard still hadn't made up his mind to kill Teach.

"Brat, this is my family business, it has nothing to do with you," Whitebeard replied coldly, glancing at Nicholas.

He knew he needed to maintain this peak condition, so he didn't want to turn things too hostile with Nicholas. After all, Nicholas could simply ask Bonney to reverse the ability, which would return him to his weakened, elderly state where he relied on medication to stay alive.

But when it came to Teach, it was a sore spot in Whitebeard's heart, and his natural temperament made it hard for him to have a good attitude towards Nicholas.

Meanwhile, Teach seemed to have adjusted to the intense pain.

His face was covered in blood, his clothes were torn and ragged from the shockwave. Behind him, Shiryu drew his sword, Rain, standing behind Teach. The cigar in his mouth had disappeared at some point.

Aside from Catarina Devon, who was lying on the ground between life and death, the other members were all covered in blood, standing behind Teach, ready to fight again.

"Nicholas!" Teach growled through gritted teeth, "Why... why are you stopping me?"

Hearing Teach's resentful words, Nicholas couldn't help but chuckle, "Teach... do you take me for a fool? Others might not know your secrets, but I know them well... Did you really expect me to just sit back and watch you acquire Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"

"I'm not the type to ignore a threat that could potentially wreak havoc on my plans. As for stopping you? Let's just say you're out of luck."

"Damn it..."

Listening to Nicholas, Teach couldn't help but curse inwardly.

His unique body and the Dark-Dark Fruit were his biggest secrets. Even Shiryu and the others only knew he could consume two Devil Fruits simultaneously and steal abilities from others.

As for consuming a third Devil Fruit, he was sure no one else knew about it. But Nicholas had figured it out.

He had to act quickly.

Teach was growing anxious. He had laid out a series of plans. Relying solely on the Dark-Dark Fruit, he could nullify Devil Fruit abilities, but being a Logia-type, it didn't allow him to become intangible like other Logias, and his offensive capabilities were limited. Plus, he had the disadvantage of experiencing double the pain when taking damage.

In battle, a moment's distraction could change the outcome.

He needed a strong physique and powerful offensive capabilities to make up for the Dark-Dark Fruit's shortcomings. Now that he had acquired Kaido's fruit, all he needed was the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to gain formidable offensive power.

As for not choosing the abilities of Nicholas or the three Admirals to fill the offensive gap, it was simply because they were all Logia types. He wasn't sure if he could survive consuming them.

If he could transform into a dragon form with a formidable body, use his left hand to wield the Dark-Dark Fruit to nullify all abilities, and use his right hand with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit for the strongest offensive power in the world, who could possibly be his match?

Upon hearing that Blackbeard was after Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Marco looked at him in shock.

He knew about Blackbeard's unique body, but he hadn't realized he could consume three Devil Fruits.

"Marco, what does Nicholas mean by what he said?" Diamond Jozu asked, bewildered.

"Exactly what he said," Marco replied, too preoccupied to explain further. It was clear now that Teach was after Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and to acquire it, he would have to kill its current host.

Blackbeard shot a dark glance at Nicholas. If he could avoid it, he didn't want to fight this troublesome guy.

"Is there really no room for negotiation, Nicholas? Do you really want to go all out against the Blackbeard Pirates?" Teach asked coldly.

"All out? Did you misunderstand something?" Nicholas chuckled in response to Teach's threat.

"What makes you think you can kill me?"

Teach immediately laughed, "Ze hahaha! It seems you don't understand the true power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, do you?"

"Teach, didn't Whitebeard ever tell you that I once sailed on the same ship as him? And I was taken on board by force! I know more about the Dark-Dark Fruit than you do!" Nicholas sneered, looking disdainfully at Teach.

"Attack, kill him!" Teach shouted, his face grim.

As Shiryu and the others prepared to join Teach in the attack, several figures appeared beside Nicholas.

"Shiryu, have you made your peace with this?" Akainu asked, magma dripping from his clenched fist.

Beside him were Kuzan, Issho, and several other high-ranking Marines, all staring at Shiryu.

Feeling the intense stares from his former colleagues, Shiryu swallowed nervously.

On the other side, Avalo Pizarro, seeing Dragon standing in front of him, looked particularly grim. If not for these Revolutionaries, he might still be living like a king in his country. The World Government turned a blind eye as long as they were paid off.

But the Revolutionaries had exposed all his crimes, forcing the World Government into a corner, resulting in them erasing all records of him and imprisoning him in the deepest parts of Impel Down.

Seeing his companions targeted by such fearsome opponents, Sanjuan Wolf, who had been heavily drinking, smirked.

But when he noticed the Red-Hair Pirates, who were eyeing him with unmasked killing intent, he sobered up instantly.

Facing what could be considered the strongest lineup on the seas, Blackbeard couldn't help but curse. These old geezers really don't play fair.

 [AN - Play fair you say... ]