The pirate crept forward, knife in hand, its point glinting at Mobius's throat.
"No!" Annie cried.
"Hahaha!" The pirate laughed cruelly, his grip tightening on the hilt. One simple thrust, and Mobius's neck would be pierced clean through. He turned to the group of terrified children, grinning. "Watch closely, brats. This is what happens to heroes."
The blade dropped.
Clang!
Metal rang out.
"Huh?" The pirate blinked. His strike had been blocked...by a foot.
Teach stood beside him, right leg raised casually, the back of his boot pinning the blade in place.
"Zehahaha… bullying the weak isn't the act of a strong man," Teach said, smiling with sharp teeth.
The pirate's bravado wavered. He felt something radiating from Teach, a suffocating fear he had only ever felt from Captain Barton himself. "Y-You… who are you?"
"Zehaha… who knows?" Teach shrugged, but his eyes hardened. "What I do know… is you made my Queen cry."
Annie's eyes widened. "Teach…" she whispered.
In that moment, the air changed.
Teach's eyes narrowed as his will surged outward. An invisible wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from him, sweeping across the street like a hurricane of pure spirit.
The weaker pirates froze where they stood. Then, one by one, their eyes rolled back. Weapons clattered to the ground as they collapsed, unconscious.
Only one officer remained upright, trembling violently. His saber slipped from his numb fingers. "Th-That's… Conqueror's Haki!"
He had seen it before. Barton himself possessed that overwhelming power. To feel it again... no, to feel it stronger than Barton's and shattered his mind.
"W-Wait..."
Shhhk!
Teach vanished from sight, reappearing an instant later with his right hand transformed into a claw. It punched straight through the man's chest.
The officer's eyes widened, lips trembling as blood bubbled out. He saw shock, regret, and terror reflected in his own fading gaze before collapsing lifelessly.
Teach withdrew his hand, flicking it clean. In three seconds, it was spotless.
The children, Annie, and even Mobius stared in stunned silence. The pirates had been wiped out in moments.
"Too… too strong," someone whispered.
"Conqueror's Haki…" Mobius muttered in awe, fighting through his pain to rise. Though Teach hadn't targeted him directly, he felt the weight of that power, the crushing will of a king.
He remembered stories, tales whispered by drunks in taverns, legends passed down by old pirates.
Five years ago, when he was just eight, he had once asked an old man named Jack in a tavern: What is Conqueror's Haki?
The old pirate had laughed, then grown serious. It's the King's Aptitude, he had said. One in a million. Not learned. Not inherited. Born. Those destined to stand above all others.
Mobius had dreamed of that power ever since. And now, before his eyes, he had witnessed it—undeniable and overwhelming.
"Zehaha…" Teach lowered his claw and turned toward Mobius. "You're brave, kid. Not bad at all."
Despite his wounds, Mobius straightened his back. Respect and admiration gleamed in his eyes.
"Mobius, are you alright?" Annie rushed to his side.
"Haha, I'll live. Just need a breather." He winced, but the fire in his eyes was brighter than ever.
"Don't do anything that reckless again," Annie scolded, though her gaze soon turned toward the port. The ground still shook with the clash of titans. "I wonder… how Dad's doing."
Teach's smile faded. "Anthony's aura is weakening. Barton's pressing harder. If this keeps up…" He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
Annie's breath caught. "No… Father…"
Her mother wept silently, clutching her daughter.
Annie turned to Teach, her voice trembling. "Teach, you're so strong... you can help him, can't you? But… but…"
Her words faltered. Teach was a pirate. Her father, a Marine Vice Admiral. How could she ask him to fight for them?
Teach crouched slightly, meeting her gaze. "Annie, the Annie I know isn't indecisive. She's lively. Bold. A Queen."
Her lips quivered.
"Remember what I said? Today, you are my Queen. I'll take you to every carnival, every food street. Anything you ask, I'll grant." His tone softened, though his grin still lingered.
"Really?" Annie's tears spilled over, but she tried to smile.
"Of course it's true, my Queen."
She sniffed, straightened, and wiped her eyes. Slowly, her shoulders squared, and the Queen within her returned. "Then, Teach… I ask you to save my father. Don't let him die."
Teach bowed his head like a knight before a sovereign. "Yes, my Queen. May I also consider this… the first order of my future first mate?"
"First mate?" Annie's eyes lit up.
Teach nodded.
She clenched her little fists and nodded fiercely. "Mhm!"
"Then wait for my good news." Teach's laughter rumbled deep in his chest as he vanished into the distance.
At the port, the battle raged.
Vice Admiral Anthony dragged himself from the rubble, his justice coat in tatters, his body marked with deep scythe wounds. Blood dripped steadily, yet his spirit burned.
Across from him, Barton loomed—bloodied, battered, but terrifyingly unbroken. His abdomen bore holes from Anthony's fists, his skull cracked from repeated blows. Yet already, the wounds were scabbing over, the blood drawn back into his body.
The Blood-Scythe Fruit; Barton's curse and gift. His wounds closed as he fed on blood, making him a monster that refused to fall.
Anthony clenched a golden pocket watch, its photo of a smiling woman and child staring back at him. His wife. His daughter. He snapped it shut and stood tall once more.
"I won't give up, Barton!" he roared, charging.
Barton spread his arms, twin scythes gleaming with Armament Haki, his eyes wild with bloodlust. "Anthony! I'll cut off your head and drink in your despair!"
Steel met blood. Fist met blade. Their battle raged anew, shaking Sese Island to its core.