The spire top, as large as a small hill, was enormously heavy.
Once cracks appeared, they inevitably began to spread.
Amid violent shaking and a tremendous roar, the entire spire top split apart and began falling downward.
Not only the Marines gathered before Impel Down's main entrance, but even the Rose Hunter floating on the sea was within its range.
Blackbeard was overjoyed.
Chaos would definitely break out below. In that case…
Blackbeard looked down at Aramaki, who had missed with his attack and was preparing to strike again, and began calculating.
Should he take one of this guy's attacks head-on, then pretend he could not withstand it and get blown away?
However, the direction was not quite right.
If he were struck here, the direction he would be sent flying would be toward Impel Down's front, which meant over the Rose Hunter.
The falling spire top looked incredibly dramatic, but it definitely would not affect the Rose Hunter below.
At most, it would draw the attention of the people on the ship.
But that was enough.
The Marines below had already begun scattering to dodge, and some chaos had appeared.
Teach stomped hard against the air, his speed abruptly increasing.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived behind Aramaki.
A flash of surprise crossed Aramaki's face on the tree body, and the twisting vines and trees instantly changed direction, lashing toward Blackbeard behind him.
Seeing this, Blackbeard was not alarmed. Instead, he was delighted.
It worked!
While feeling overjoyed, he did not forget to cover his chest and abdomen with Armament Haki.
With the power of this attack, it should be able to knock him beyond Impel Down's range, letting him fall straight into the sea.
This was his escape route!
Boom!
A large number of vines and tree branches wrapped in Armament Haki stabbed into Blackbeard's chest.
Even though he had prepared in advance, Blackbeard's face still showed pain.
However, it was worth it.
Teach, waiting for himself to be sent flying, instinctively spread his arms, ready to embrace what came next.
But his body did not fly backward.
Instead, he remained frozen in place.
Feeling a hand pressed against his back, Blackbeard's heart sank, and an ominous feeling rose within him.
A figure had appeared behind him.
He had not sensed how that person had arrived at all.
Even without using Observation Haki, he knew who had suddenly appeared.
Here, only one person could do something like this.
"If there's a next time, I'll cut you down."
Cyrus's voice rang out beside Teach's ear.
The killing intent in that voice made Teach's heart tighten.
He noticed?
Teach withdrew his spread arms, and the expression on his face changed rapidly, as though he did not know what kind of look he should use to face the current situation.
As for Aramaki, he had already withdrawn the vines and trees he had launched, looking warily at the figure that had suddenly appeared.
At this moment, his vigilance had been raised to the highest level.
"You actually came out?"
Aramaki was now somewhat panicked.
Although every strong person in this world had confidence in themselves, most of them also had self-awareness.
Cyrus was not only overwhelmingly powerful himself, but his Devil Fruit ability also countered the Woods-Woods Fruit.
Aramaki did not believe the fireproof forest he had developed to deal with flame threats could withstand Cyrus's fire.
Hearing him, Cyrus turned to look at Aramaki.
Then he grabbed Blackbeard by the collar and violently threw him away.
The direction was where the Rose Hunter was located.
Teach felt relieved, but then he felt even worse.
Cyrus had seen through his thoughts, yet he had not killed him. Instead, he had given him another chance.
Teach did not think Cyrus truly valued his abilities.
After boarding the Rose Hunter, Cyrus's attitude toward him had already made that clear.
Cyrus seemed to regard him as a tool.
It seemed there was more to his capture than he had thought.
Just as Blackbeard was thinking this, wild wind howled beside his ears. Then Cyrus's figure overtook him from behind, quickly flying alongside him.
Teach froze.
They did not fight?
Immediately afterward, he saw the head Cyrus was carrying in one hand. The green hair was extremely conspicuous.
Aramaki's face still carried an expression of vigilance and shock.
Clearly, in that instant, before he could even make a proper expression, Cyrus had already taken his head.
Just as Teach was thinking that, Cyrus stepped on his back.
Teach, who had been flying horizontally, abruptly changed direction and smashed down toward the Rose Hunter below.
Boom!
Teach crashed onto the deck.
The Adam Wood material kept the deck from breaking, but the blast of air from his impact forced apart several figures who had been locked in battle aboard the ship.
When the unexpected visitors saw Blackbeard smash into the deck, they all let out breaths of relief.
Then they saw Cyrus's figure condense within a flare of firelight, and the green head was tossed onto the deck.
Hiss!
The group took a step back at the same time, their expressions becoming extremely guarded.
"You escaped from my hands last time, yet you still dared to appear before me again and even attack my crew.
"It seems you think you're strong again."
Cyrus swept his gaze across them and spoke calmly.
Shamrock glanced at the green head rolling across the deck, the corner of his eye twitching.
'Useless thing.'
He had thought Aramaki might be somewhat useful.
"Leave!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Shamrock gave the order directly.
Then a magic circle appeared beneath their feet out of thin air.
Swish!
A bright flash of sword light appeared and vanished in an instant, so fast it was almost impossible to see.
It only made the people present feel as though the world before their eyes had suddenly brightened.
Watching the figures disappear inside the magic circle, Cyrus's expression remained calm, as though he did not care about their departure.
"Is it over?"
Robin brushed back the hair that had become slightly messy during the earlier battle and asked.
"There were quite a few people this time. I couldn't deal with all of them alone, and this place doesn't allow me to use my ability freely." Issho also spoke.
"It doesn't matter. Everything is still within expectations."
"You leave first."
Cyrus's body floated into the air as he spoke to Issho.
"Return directly to Candy Island. I'll head back myself later."
"You intend to…?"
Seeing Cyrus like this, with a cloak of flames already forming over his body, Issho understood.
Was he truly going to make a move now?
Was he planning to directly attack Impel Down?
Boom!
The spire top that had fallen earlier and blocked Impel Down's gate was smashed apart.
Amid flying rubble, Garp and the others flashed out.
When they saw the situation outside, their expressions all became serious, and their eyes turned toward Cyrus.
Had a fight broken out?
The mess outside made Sengoku, Garp, and the others who had just emerged begin guessing.
"Originally, this was supposed to be a simple process of escorting prisoners and collecting bounty money. But some people seem unwilling to see that happen."
Cyrus waved a hand.
Issho nodded lightly and used his ability to control the Rose Hunter, slowly pulling the ship backward before turning it away.
The Rose Hunter could leave.
But Impel Down could not be moved.
Hearing Cyrus's words, Sengoku froze, then turned his head toward Momonga nearby.
Momonga shook his head slightly.
"Someone attacked the people on the ship. After Cyrus appeared, those people immediately retreated. It seemed to be some kind of teleportation ability. It may have been people from the Holy Land…"
Momonga did not finish speaking.
But Sengoku already understood.
As expected, it was the Celestial Dragons causing trouble!
They had used the time when Cyrus was away to attack the people close to him?
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
After thinking for a moment, Sengoku called out to Cyrus, apparently wanting to ease the current situation.
"There's no need. The matter is already very clear. Besides, the one who started it is still here."
As Cyrus spoke, he turned toward a certain direction.
Sengoku froze and looked in the same direction along with the others, but there was nothing there.
"Send the bounty money as soon as possible."
Those words were left hanging in the air.
Flames ignited around Cyrus's figure, then exploded and vanished. His body disappeared without a trace as well.
"Those bastards really are asking to die! Looks like last time wasn't thorough enough."
Garp, on the other hand, looked as though he was enjoying the show.
With Cyrus acting like this, he was clearly going off to take revenge.
Perhaps the remaining half of Mary Geoise would be destroyed too.
"Fleet Admiral, should we…?"
Akainu spoke, raising a hand and pointing toward the Rose Hunter, which was still visible in the distance.
Sengoku shook his head.
Cyrus was still here.
If they dared attack that ship now, putting aside whether they would succeed or not, Impel Down absolutely would not survive.
Besides, this mess had been caused by the Celestial Dragons. It really was difficult for him to handle.
If he interfered, there was a high chance he would end up clashing with Cyrus head-on, and the Marines would definitely suffer enormous losses.
They had caused this trouble themselves, so they could deal with it themselves.
However, when Cyrus said the one who started it was still here, who exactly did he mean?
Could it really be that man?
The commander of the Celestial Dragons' God's Knights?
If that man really was killed by Cyrus, perhaps the inside of the Marines could become a little more stable and united afterward.