Chapter 42 : Ambush and Surrender

"Alright, tie them all up!" Blackbeard clapped his hands, a silly smile on his face. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly felt his feet loosen.

Uh-oh! Blackbeard's reaction was lightning-fast. His Observation Haki instantly penetrated the ground, sensing a humanoid figure beneath him, grabbing onto his ankle.

His potent Armament Haki first spread to his legs, then instantly radiated outward.

Blackbeard's intention was to shatter the hand holding onto his ankle, but as his Armament Haki radiated outward, the humanoid figure beneath his feet instantly turned into a pile of mud.

Momentarily stunned, Blackbeard suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, a sharp blade had already pierced into his vest.

Luckily, he reacted swiftly, his Armament Haki protecting his entire body. The blade only managed to pierce deep into his muscles, not reaching his internal organs.

Of course, another factor was that the person ambushing him hadn't exerted their full strength. Otherwise, with a Chakra burst, the attack of the blade could have extended another seven or eight centimetres, piercing through his lungs in an instant.

Escaping death, the enraged Blackbeard didn't care to conceal his true strength anymore. With his fist enveloped in Armament Haki, he swung back viciously, smashing right into a seemingly unconscious "ordinary" member of the Black Spade Pirate Crew.

"Bang!" The member of the Black Spade Pirate Crew hit by Blackbeard's punch exploded, turning into countless flying wood chips.

"That was close. Luckily, I had already prepared my Substitution Technique. Otherwise, even if I turned into steel with the Gura Gura no Mi, that punch would have made me cough up blood."

The voice of Youta rang out slowly, a gleam in his eyes, looking at Blackbeard Teach. "I didn't expect the Whitebeard Pirate Crew to still have a silent strongman like you. Your strength should be no less than those division commanders, right?"

Upon hearing this, Blackbeard Teach calmed down instantly. He looked at the Whitebeard Pirate Crew members who used to admire him and then at the solemn-faced Youta, feeling a bit bitter in his heart.

He wasn't worried about not being a match for Youta. With their strengths, determining the outcome would take at least a day or two, by which time reinforcements from the Whitebeard Pirate Crew would have arrived.

It's just that he had always hidden his strength in the past. Just now, he had already exposed quite a bit, and facing an opponent like Youta, he couldn't afford to hold back any fighting power.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect to unleash such a powerful force at a critical moment!"

"But I remember you should have been on the battlefield with Dad all this time, how did you suddenly appear here?"

However, Blackbeard still made an effort to conceal it, while also trying to change the subject. Of course, he was genuinely puzzled by this.

"It's just some tricks, a diversion," Youta said indifferently. In fact, when Ace used the firewall to obscure everyone's vision, Youta took the opportunity to use the Shadow Clone Technique. The one observing the battle now was just an Earth clone.

He just wanted to see if there was a chance to get Blackbeard's body structure data.

After all, this Blackbeard was completely different from people like Ace and Yamato, cautious and deep, wanting to find an opportunity to swallow him was not an easy task.

The key is, he's powerful and never fights or competes. In the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, there's hardly any chance of getting injured. How could Youta use healing as an excuse to swallow him?

By today's calculation, Ace joined the Whitebeard Pirate Crew at most one or two years ago, and Blackbeard already obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, and then betrayed the Whitebeard Pirate Crew.

By that time, if you want to get Blackbeard's body structure data, you'll have to knock him down. That would be much more difficult.

As a result, Youta's luck this time was astonishing. Almost everything went as he planned. He didn't know why Blackbeard, who had always been low-key, suddenly came over to intercept the Black Spade Pirate Crew members, giving him the opportunity to strike.

As for now, seeing Blackbeard there trying to delay the time with him, Youta himself had no intention of fighting either.

Even if he's powerful, what good would it do to beat Blackbeard? The Black Spade Pirate Crew, facing the Whitebeard Pirate Crew, is still too fragile, with no chance of winning.

He's still waiting to join the Whitebeard Pirate Crew and get more benefits!

Later, Blackbeard and Youta tacitly chatted away. Initially, Blackbeard had some suspicions, but after glancing at the bound Black Spade Pirate Crew members, he thought Youta hesitated because of these companions, so he didn't continue to attack.

After about a dozen minutes passed, a blue flame flickered in the sky. After landing, it turned into a man with squinted eyes and pineapple-like golden hair, none other than Phoenix Marco.

"Huh?! You're the ship doctor of the Black Spade Pirate Crew? Weren't you just over there?" Marco looked surprised, whispering to Youta.

"Ah... I was trying to sneak around from the sea and ambush... didn't expect to be discovered. It's no wonder it's the Whitebeard Pirate Crew. Even an inconspicuous guy like you can't be underestimated in terms of strength and intelligence." Youta sighed, waving his hand.

Hearing this, Blackbeard Teach just chuckled silly. Perhaps his disguise was too good, and Marco didn't think about anything else, just proudly said, "Of course, Teach has been with Dad for twenty years, so he's not an ordinary person."

Then he changed the subject. "By the way, young man, Fire Fist Ace has been defeated. Do you still want to fight?"

"Is our captain okay?" Youta tilted his head, asking calmly, sounding as if the two pirate crews had not been enemies just now.

"He's fine, Dad admires him and plans to keep him on the ship." Marco's character was mild, not caring, but rather seriously answered his question.

"I see..." Youta sighed, retracted his blade, and spat out his weapon. "Then I surrender."

"Huh!" This straightforward scene surprised Marco as well. After all, whether it was Ace or later when he fought with a group of division commanders like Ohm, they were all stubborn characters, in other words, both were hardheaded kids.

Until now, although these two had been defeated, they still seemed unconvinced, thinking about how to defeat the Whitebeard Pirate Crew.

I didn't expect this third pillar of the Black Spade Pirate Crew to surrender so readily.