Chapter 451: The End of Hachinosu
On the battlefield intertwined with raging flames and darkness, heaven and earth seemed to be tearing apart.
Teach's figure flickered faintly within the churning domain of the black swamp. With every breath he took, the air vibrated; with every laugh, heaven and earth trembled.
"Zehahahaha!!!"
His laughter boomed across the swamp—bizarre, manic, and mixed with some kind of out-of-control euphoria.
The black swamp beneath his feet continuously expanded. He spread his arms, and the entire domain pulsed like an awakened living organism—countless pitch-black shadow hands reached out from the mud, grasping toward Ace, Luffy, Zoro, and Kuina.
"Don't let that stuff touch you!" Ace roared, swinging out a sea of fire to force the black shadows back.
The extreme heat of the flames collided with the freezing chill of the black swamp, detonating into blazing shockwaves that dyed the entire battlefield into a world of red and black.
"Guhaha! Let's all go wild together—!!!"
Teach laughed even more brazenly. His figure flashed as he charged directly into the flames.
His entire body was scorched black, yet he continued to laugh maniacally, throwing a punch to meet Ace's fist of fire. The explosion instantly sent both of them flying.
Seizing the opening, Luffy dashed in instantly, delivering a heavy kick to Teach's abdomen that sent him crashing deep into the ground!
Rubble and mud blasted apart, but almost simultaneously—that familiar "drumbeat" rang out once again.
Thump... thump... thump-thump—!
Following the rhythm, Teach's muddy body began to reconstruct itself.
His pierced chest swelled, his charred flesh regrew, becoming even sturdier than before.
He sat up from the swamp, laughing like a madman: "Zehahaha—good hit! But—now it's my turn!!!"
He abruptly raised his hands, and the entire swamp instantly erupted with hundreds, thousands of black tentacles, weaving together into a giant web that threatened to swallow the sky and the earth.
Luffy and Zoro immediately dodged and separated. Zoro condensed his Haki, executing a crossed slash with his Three-Sword Style, transforming into three streaks of lightning that tore through the air and severed the tentacles.
Kuina unfurled her blood wings from her back. Leaving a blood-red afterimage as she swept past in an instant, the bloody light of the Wado Ichimonji sliced through the night, aiming straight for Teach's heart!
"Guhaha—useless!!"
Teach sneered wildly. With a flip of his palm, a thick black wall suddenly rose from the swamp, blocking the slash.
But the aftershock of the slash still left a deep gash on his body—blood splattered out. Yet, in the very next second, the blood flowed in reverse, returning right back into his body.
"This guy... he just won't die!" Zoro gritted his teeth, the Enma in his hand flashing with resentful purple lightning.
"Every time we push him to his limit... that damn drumbeat sounds, and he resurrects with full health like he's just doing sit-ups!"
Ace soared upwards, his fiery tornado breaking through the black mist and completely engulfing Teach. "Let's see how many more times you can laugh after this!!!"
The roar shattered the clouds, the heatwaves crashing against the surrounding ruins like a tide.
However, when the flames dissipated—Teach once again slowly walked out from the sea of fire. Surprisingly, the flames around him had taken on a rubbery state, orbiting around his body.
He grinned maniacally, his mouthful of fangs gleaming with a cold light: "Zehahaha—as expected of the Marines' rising stars..."
"What a pity, you can't kill me at all!!!"
That laughter seemed to no longer belong to Teach himself, but rather sounded as if some ancient "thing" was borrowing his throat to speak.
Ace's gaze suddenly grew cold. "This laughter, it's not right... That is no longer Teach."
Luffy's dragon pupils flashed with a cold light, golden flames igniting in his eyes: "Yeah... That sound, it's like 'something' inside him is responding to the drumbeats..."
The two exchanged a glance, and in just a split second, they understood each other's thoughts.
It was the unspoken tacit understanding between brothers. Ace let out a sudden, furious roar: "—Zoro! Kuina!!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow, and Kuina gave a slight nod. The four of them instantly reached a silent consensus.
"Understood!"
The air currents beneath Zoro's feet exploded, the Haki surrounding him transforming into a vortex of wind and thunder.
"Santoryu: Rengoku Oni Giri (Three-Sword Style: Purgatory Demon Slash)!!!"
Kuina's figure swept forward at the same time. The blood mist turned into an afterimage, and the Wado Ichimonji ignited with crimson blood-flames, interweaving freezing cold and killing intent!
"Soketsu: Eiku Zan (Frost Blood: Shadow Void Slash)!!!"
The two slashing lights intersected, like twin falling stars, tearing apart Teach's swamp-rubber domain.
"—?!!" The smile on Teach's face finally stiffened.
He was forced to the edge of his domain, compelled to cross his arms—coated in Armament Haki and the black swamp—to defend himself. The swamp churned like a roaring wild beast.
"Trying to knock me out of my domain? How naive—!"
Before his words could finish, his pupils violently contracted!
In that instant, a sense of danger capable of tearing apart the soul closed in from both the left and the right simultaneously!
Ace and Luffy were already attacking from both flanks at the exact same time!
Flames and golden light intertwined, like twin dragons racing toward the heavens.
Ace's flame-fist was enveloped in blazing fire, the tongues of flame coiling into a roaring crimson dragon, with black-red lightning dancing wildly around it;
Luffy's right arm was covered in pink-gold scales, his muscles drawn taut like a bowstring. Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his fist, tearing through the air like a storm!
"Conqueror's Coating Combo Skill: Flame Dragon Roar!!!"
The two roared as their attacks erupted simultaneously!
The raging flames and black-red lightning intertwined into the trajectory of twin roaring dragons. Pincering from both sides, they forcibly swallowed Teach whole!
"BOOM!!!"
"AAAAAAHHH!!!" With no time to react, Teach was completely engulfed by the twin dragons!
The surface of the entire island completely fractured under the impact of light and heat. Flames and shockwaves rolled like a tsunami, soaring into the sky.
The clouds were shredded, and a blindingly bright golden-red pillar of light ignited between heaven and earth—blazing fire and darkness merging into a blistering "solar eclipse"!
Teach's agonizing screams were gradually swallowed by the explosive roar—for the first time, his laughter showed a distinct crack.
The four steadied their stances. With sweat and dust mixing on their faces, they still stared intently at the thoroughly obliterated battlefield.
The air was thick with the smell of scorching heat and sulfur. Heaven and earth were so quiet that only the sound of their breathing remained—
And then,
Thump... thump... thump-thump...
That bizarre drumbeat shook heaven and earth once again.
Zoro frowned, gripping his sword hilts tightly with both hands: "He's actually still not dead?"
Ace gritted his teeth, his voice low: "He's... actually still laughing..."
Deep within the firelight, that twisted black shadow slowly stood up once more—
The corners of his mouth curled upwards, and that laughter was even more eerie than before.
Just as Teach opened his mouth, still smiling, preparing to say something—
The smile on his face suddenly stagnated.
His vision abruptly darkened. A tall, imposing figure had appeared right in front of him without him even noticing.
Teach's pupils shrank violently. He had just raised his hand to defend himself, but he only had time to see—
A massive palm, covered in a black vortex that seemed capable of devouring light itself, slamming down toward his face with indescribable speed and power!
"What—?!"
"BOOM—!!!"
Heaven and earth shuddered as the sound wave kicked up a dust curtain a hundred feet high.
Teach's figure was instantly slapped deep into the ground, his consciousness completely torn apart.
Before he blacked out, the very last thing reflected in his eyes—
Was that giant, pitch-black palm slowly withdrawing amidst the collapsing light and shadows.
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