Hearing this, Thatch immediately pressed forward with urgency.
"Teach, what do you mean by that? What exactly happened to Pops?"
Marshall D. Teach casually patted his stomach and replied,
"Relax. As long as Pops stays inside my body, he will be fine. But if I spit him out now, the outcome would be hard to predict. You all understand what would happen if Pops, in his current condition, forcibly uses the Tremor-Tremor Fruit again, right?"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates fell silent. Teach continued, his tone turning more persuasive,
"I used my ability to swallow Pops. Not only can I preserve his life, I can also borrow his power to help us escape this situation. So trust me, my brothers."
As he spoke, Teach clenched his fist. A milky white halo formed around it, the unmistakable shockwave power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Shock spread across the battlefield.
Aside from Black Dragon Lloyd, there was now another man capable of wielding multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
Teach smirked, his confidence swelling, and turned his gaze toward Lloyd.
Lloyd stood unmoved, his expression indifferent, like a bottomless abyss. There was not a trace of surprise on his face.
Even after gaining such power, Teach felt a deep unease when facing him.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Teach's forehead.
Damn it. He really is a monster.
Sakazuki had seen enough. He stepped forward and launched a blazing magma punch.
Teach clenched his teeth and struck the air with his shockwave-covered fist. The collision produced a violent tremor that barely held back the molten assault.
To display such control immediately after obtaining the Tremor-Tremor Fruit proved that Teach had hidden considerable strength during his time aboard Whitebeard's ship.
In a flash of light, Borsalino appeared beside Teach. One hand rested in his pocket while the other lightly touched his chin.
"Oh, how frightening. You are already using that power?"
Before Teach could react, Kizaru's leg, glowing with dazzling light, swept across his face.
The impact exploded outward. Teach was sent flying, skidding across the ground for dozens of meters before coming to a halt.
Despite the damage, his endurance was extraordinary. He forced himself back to his feet.
However, half of his face was charred black from the light-speed kick. The improved appearance granted by the Munch-Munch Fruit was completely ruined.
His lips trembled as he spat out several bloodied teeth. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he stared at Lloyd and the two Admirals ahead.
No chance. Even with this power, I cannot defeat them. I need to get out of here.
Taking a deep breath, Teach roared,
"Brothers! I am taking Pops and leaving! Cover me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he unleashed both fists, triggering the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's full power. Another violent quake tore through Cake Island.
Without hesitation, he turned and charged toward the crowd.
The Whitebeard Pirates were stunned. He had just claimed he would use Pops' strength to lead them out together.
But there was no time to question him.
With Whitebeard inside Teach, his escape meant their captain's survival.
The commanders charged forward without fear.
Several key fighters broke away from their battles and split into two groups. Jozu led one group against Sakazuki, while Thatch led the other against Borsalino.
Even together, they could not defeat Admirals, but they could delay them.
Behind him, the cries of his former crewmates echoed across the battlefield.
Teach did not even look back.
All that remained in his mind was escape.
During his retreat, he also swallowed Chiffon into his body without pause.
Throughout all of this, Lloyd did not intervene.
Watching Teach's desperate flight, a faint, calculating smile appeared on his face.
As long as Teach caused no further disruption, Lloyd had already decided to let him leave.
He intended to leave Teach to Shanks, giving his younger brother a chance to return to the family.
Thud!
A pitch-black humanoid figure dropped heavily onto the ground, still emitting traces of heat.
It was Jozu, former Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Now, his diamond body had been reduced to brittle graphite.
Moments earlier, while in his diamond form, he had been seized by Sakazuki's molten grip. Under extreme heat and lack of oxygen, his structure had been forcibly altered.
Sakazuki continued his onslaught, surrounded by multiple commanders. Every magma strike punched through flesh, leaving destruction in its wake.
On the other side, Borsalino wielded the Ama no Murakumo sword in one hand while gripping Thatch's severed head in the other.
He cut through enemies effortlessly. Heads fell like scattered fruit, the battlefield turning into a grotesque display.
After carving a path, Borsalino transformed into a beam of light and rose into the sky. He glanced at the head in his hand, then casually tossed it upward and kicked it toward the enemies below.
The result was immediate.
The head burst apart midair, spraying blood and fragments everywhere, some splattering onto Borsalino himself.
He blinked, clearly displeased.
"That did not go as expected... Lloyd..."
"Why are you calling me?"
A dark vortex appeared beside him. Lloyd stood there with his arms crossed, a faint smile on his face.
Borsalino's expression stiffened slightly. His attempt to imitate Lloyd had ended poorly.
Lloyd shook his head.
"A normal head cannot withstand a kick like that. You need to reinforce it with Haki."
As he spoke, Lloyd vanished.
Moments later, he returned, holding a massive, still-warm head.
Its owner was Morley, commander of the Revolutionary Army's West Army.
Morley had been using his Push-Push Fruit to tunnel beneath the island, following Monkey D. Dragon's plan to prepare an escape route.
However, the recent earthquakes had collapsed most of the tunnels. Before he could finish digging a new path, Lloyd had already taken his head.
There was no trace of pain on Morley's face.
His death had been instant.
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