【Chapter 5】: Clashing with Marco, Obtaining Rokushiki Materials?

Swish!

Almost as soon as Blackbeard finished speaking, Marco's figure suddenly appeared in front of Blackbeard. His hands transformed into azure flame-like wings, suspending him in midair. With his right foot wrapped in jet-black Armament Haki, he mercilessly kicked Blackbeard flying.

"Teach, you bastard... are you looking down on me?"

Bam!

Swoosh————

Blackbeard didn't expect Marco to make his move so decisively and swiftly. Although he had instantly formed a water flow-like armor of Armament Haki enveloping his entire body, he only had time to guard. His tall figure was instantly sent flying.

Boom boom boom!

The next second, Blackbeard's figure came to a stop after smashing through several giant boulders. He looked at Marco in the distance and grinned:

"As expected of you, Marco.

That kick really hurt!"

"Don't joke around!"

Marco's eyes narrowed, and with a flap of his azure wings, he instantly stirred up a strong wind, causing his figure to charge towards Blackbeard at high speed once again.

However, this time Blackbeard was already prepared.

Or rather, he had calculated that Marco would charge at him again.

Therefore, this time Blackbeard took the initiative. He bent his legs and with a push, he abruptly shot his sturdy body towards the speeding Marco.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh————

At the same time, Blackbeard's right fist was instantly wrapped in purple-black flowing water-like Armament Haki as he smashed a punch towards Marco.

"Serious Punch!"

The speeding Marco didn't expect Blackbeard to launch a counterattack so quickly, but his strong combat instincts still made him rapidly defend.

"Undying Thistles!"

Accompanied by Marco's shout, the azure flames around his body instantly transformed into a huge circular shield five to six meters wide, blocking in front of him and Blackbeard.

Bang!

The next second, a dull sound rang out.

That shield of azure flames that hadn't fully expanded instantly caved in. It only clashed with Blackbeard's punch wrapped in high-level Armament Haki for a moment before being sent flying backward by Blackbeard's powerful force!

Swoosh————

Boom boom boom!!!

Immediately after, Marco was sent flying back at an even faster speed than when he came. He smashed through several large rocks on the desolate island before finally coming to a stop.

Splash————

Subsequently, Marco spread his azure wings, countless shattered rocks flew, and his figure once again hovered in midair. He looked at Blackbeard a hundred meters away and grinned:

"Teach, you bastard, you've been hiding really deep. That punch just now... it hurt a lot!"

"Don't lie, Marco!"

Blackbeard laughed and charged forward again, activating his Armament Haki.

Marco didn't hesitate either. He transformed into a streak of azure-orange light and engaged in a fierce battle with Blackbeard!

Boom boom boom!!!

In an instant, Haki overflowed, rocks flew, and the ground on this small desolate island was shattered beyond recognition by the two's powerful attacks.

The Whitebeard Pirates who were spectating from behind were all dumbfounded upon seeing this scene!

They simply couldn't believe that the person temporarily going toe-to-toe with Marco was actually that silly good-natured Teach from their ship?

"Holy fcking sht!!! Was Teach always this strong?"

"Hiss———— Ace, your loss was really not unjustified!"

"To be able to fight Marco to this extent! To be honest, I can't quite understand Teach. Why did he hide his strength before?"

"No matter what, our Whitebeard Pirates have gained another powerful fighter! Hahaha————"

"Ooh ooh ooh! Go Teach! Smash Marco!!!"

"Hehehe, smash Marco!"

It has to be said, the atmosphere of the Whitebeard Pirates was really good. After their shock, these people immediately transformed into spectators and started cheering.

However, Blackbeard and Marco had been fighting from noon to afternoon without a clear victor.

But Blackbeard knew that even if Marco's level of Armament Haki wasn't as good as his own, it wasn't too far off. But Marco's Observation Haki was much stronger than his own!

Moreover, there was the powerful recovery ability of Marco's Phoenix Fruit.

Although they had been fighting for several hours, Marco showed no signs of fatigue at all.

On his side, Blackbeard could feel that not only was his Haki consumption rapid, but his stamina was also being depleted at a fast pace.

If it weren't for Blackbeard's powerful innate talent in his misshapen body, he might have been defeated long ago.

Facing the current 41-year-old Marco at his peak, who also possessed the Mythical Zoan - Model: Phoenix Fruit, he was still somewhat lacking.

Especially with this insufficiently trained body that was fat and obese, it was completely wasting Blackbeard's innate talent!

Sighing in his heart, it seemed he would have to properly change and utilize this guy's body's innate talent himself.

What a waste!

"Phoenix Seal!"

"Consecutive Normal Punches!"

Boom boom boom————

After another round of clashing with Marco, Blackbeard retreated, panting heavily and waving his hand:

"Huff— Huff— Huff——

I give up, I give up.

Marco, I lost this time.

This body hasn't undergone systematic training for too long and simply can't keep up!

My Haki is also severely depleted. I'm exhausted."

Bam!

After saying that, Blackbeard directly collapsed on the ground in an unsightly manner, gasping for breath.

It had to be said, Marco's strength was indeed very formidable.

At present, even though he had inherited all of Blackbeard's strength, he was still one step behind Marco.

The only aspect where he could surpass Marco was in Armament Haki.

Splash————

Hearing this, Marco flapped his azure wings, the azure flames around his body instantly retracted, and he landed from midair. He looked at Blackbeard lying on the ground in the distance and praised:

"Hahaha, Teach, you bastard, you're already very strong!

Especially since you haven't eaten a Devil Fruit yet. Your body's innate talent is so strong it makes me jealous!

Moreover, I'm five years older than you.

I originally wanted to give you a good beating, but I didn't expect you to be this strong!"

Blackbeard laughed:

"Starting from today, I first need to lose weight properly, then train my physical techniques! It would be great if I could secretly learn some Rokushiki from the Navy."

Marco, who had walked to Blackbeard's side, rolled his eyes:

"What the hell are you thinking, Teach? How could the Navy's Rokushiki be easily learned by others!"

Just as the two were talking here, Whitebeard's laughter also came over:

"Gurararara————

Teach, you really gave this old man a pleasant surprise.

However, if you want to train in Rokushiki, we do have some training insights about Rokushiki here."

"Eh? Pops, are you talking about the things we got out of that Navy Commodore?"

Hearing this, Marco immediately shook his head:

"I don't think those things are useful. We've also tried, but they're completely fake."

(Dong~ Dong~ Dong~~)

Feeling the bell sound in his mind, Blackbeard, who was still lying on the ground, instantly scrambled to his feet. He looked at Whitebeard with shining eyes and grinned:

"Pops, let me take a look at that stuff. Maybe I can actually figure out a training method for Rokushiki.

By then, the overall combat strength of our pirate crew will be able to improve by a big margin!"

Whitebeard was stunned for a moment, then looked at Blackbeard with deep meaning in his eyes:

"Alright, come with me to get it later.

Oh right, regarding that unknown Devil Fruit in Thatch's hands, are you sure you don't want to consider it carefully again?

As long as you want, we can still try our best to find a better fruit for you."