Redfield showed no intention of dodging. With a single swing of his umbrella sword, a terrifying wave of sword energy burst forward, instantly shredding the approaching dark hands. The remaining sword pressure continued forward, tearing through the battlefield as it rushed straight toward Marshall D. Teach.
Teach's expression immediately darkened. Reacting quickly, he summoned a curtain of darkness before him. The black void swallowed the incoming sword energy, barely neutralizing the attack.
When Teach lifted his head again, Redfield had vanished.
A chill ran down his spine.
Burgess suddenly shouted, "Captain, above you!"
Teach looked up just in time to see Redfield descending from the sky, his blade falling with overwhelming force.
"Shadow Clone!"
Knowing he could not block the strike head on, Teach instantly switched positions with his shadow. The clone left behind was split apart in an instant by the descending slash. Even the darkness covering the ground was cut open, revealing the earth beneath.
Redfield landed steadily and glanced toward Teach in the distance.
"Hmph. A Dual Devil Fruit user truly is troublesome."
His tone remained calm, yet his expression grew slightly serious. This was his first battle against someone wielding two Devil Fruits, and he realized he had underestimated Teach.
Teach's face also turned grim.
The monsters from the old era were far stronger than he had anticipated.
"Zehahahahaha! If I can't defeat you, how could I ever become the Pirate King!"
Dark mist erupted from Teach once again as he roared,
"Attack, Zombie Army!"
At his command, countless zombies surged forward from every direction, rushing toward Redfield like a tidal wave.
Redfield's gaze remained indifferent as he continuously swung his sword. Bodies were cut apart, limbs scattered across the battlefield, yet the zombies continued moving.
Even after being severed, they crawled forward, twisting unnaturally as they attempted to bite him.
Seeing their unnatural immortality, even more troublesome than vampires, Redfield frowned slightly.
He looked toward Teach and said coldly,
"Do you truly believe these things can defeat me?"
"Zehahaha, of course not."
Teach's grin widened.
In the next instant, the zombies' bodies suddenly began to swell.
Redfield's pupils shrank.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
A chain of violent explosions erupted, instantly engulfing Redfield in blazing fire and smoke.
Teach burst into wild laughter.
"Zehahahahaha! My specially made zombie bombs. Not bad, right, Redfield?"
However, before his laughter faded, a figure shot out from the smoke.
Redfield emerged from the flames. His cape was torn, burn marks visible across his face, and his usually composed expression carried clear irritation.
"Despicable pirate, resorting to such tricks."
Teach laughed dismissively.
"We're pirates. Since when do pirates talk about honor?"
Raising his palm, Teach growled,
"Dark Water!"
A powerful gravitational pull dragged at Redfield's body once again, the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit attempting to seize him.
Redfield's patience finally wore thin. He decided to end the battle quickly.
His umbrella sword became coated with both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, black lightning crackling faintly around the blade.
Seeing this, Teach sneered.
"I'm already tired of that attack. Let me show you my true ultimate technique, the fusion of darkness and shadows!"
The shadow beneath Teach's feet twisted violently, rising into the shape of a gigantic skull. Black mist wrapped around it, forming grotesque flesh that pulsed with eerie energy.
The massive skull opened its mouth and lunged forward.
"Be swallowed by darkness. Abyss Maw!"
The enormous mass of darkness closed in from all directions.
Redfield understood instantly that escape was impossible. Calmly, he gathered all his strength into a single strike. Scarlet sword pressure condensed along his blade before erupting forward.
In the next moment, the Abyss Maw swallowed him whole.
Inside the darkness, however, sword energy infused with Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki tore violently through the void.
Teach believed victory was already his.
Then a red light suddenly appeared within the darkness.
In a single overwhelming strike, Redfield split open the combined power of the Dark-Dark Fruit and Shadow-Shadow Fruit. The shattered darkness exploded apart as Redfield surged forward.
"What?"
Before Teach could react, another devastating slash arrived.
The distance between them was only a few meters. This time, Teach could neither defend nor escape.
The sword energy struck directly.
A deep and grotesque wound tore across his body as blood burst from his mouth. Teach was violently blasted backward, crashing across the battlefield.
As his body flew away, all surrounding darkness instantly vanished.
Teach's eyes rolled back as consciousness left him. The damage and pain exceeded what even his abnormal endurance could withstand. The Dark-Dark Fruit had no time to absorb the suffering before he collapsed unconscious.
Moreover, the attack carried the overwhelming will of Conqueror's Haki. Without possessing that power himself, Teach could not endure the mental impact.
"Captain Teach!"
Burgess shouted in shock.
None of them could believe it. A man possessing two Devil Fruits had been defeated by a single strike.
The surrounding pirates froze in disbelief.
Sweat covered Shiryu's forehead as a dangerous thought crossed his mind. If he surrendered now, would Redfield spare him?
He was not alone in thinking this.
Many among the Blackbeard Pirates had followed Teach because of strength alone. Now that their captain had fallen, loyalty quickly began to waver.
Redfield slowly sheathed his umbrella sword. His breathing was heavier than before, proof that the previous strike had consumed considerable strength.
Through Observation Haki, he clearly heard the thoughts running through their minds.
He scoffed coldly.
"Pathetic. So this is friendship. So called comrades and bonds amount to nothing."
But suddenly, Redfield's expression changed.
His pupils contracted sharply as he looked toward Teach's fallen body.
In the next instant, a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward from Blackbeard.
The overwhelming pressure swept across the entire battlefield like a violent storm.