Chapter 247: Beasts Locked in Combat (Additional Chapter for Alliance Leader Blood King of Asia)
Blackbeard Teach being this easy to beat? Ian wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death!
Just now, because he was testing the waters, Ian had been fighting cautiously, only using his swordsmanship to trade blows with Teach. Sure, the guy had considerable strength, but it was hardly a threat. From the results of their exchange, Teach's attacks were clumsy and crude.
Was this guy deliberately holding back? Ian was filled with doubt, so he temporarily stopped attacking, holding his sword in a defensive stance as he watched Teach warily.
Although a slash to his leg had twisted his face in pain, Teach managed to stand up again after a moment. When Ian had swung his sword to slice Teach's thigh, he hadn't actually expected to land a hit—he thought Teach would have some countermeasure. So the strike hadn't been particularly forceful, and the wound wasn't deep.
A member of the Whitebeard Pirates quickly handed him a towel. Teach tied it tightly around the wound, then tested his injured leg by pressing it against the ground. Finding no major issue, he gripped his iron claws again and said to Ian, "No problem! Come again!"
Marco and the others nearby couldn't help but smile at the sight.
Seeing their smiles, Ian suddenly understood.
Teach wasn't holding back—he was... playing for sympathy! He had deliberately let Ian land a small cut, but then pretended to be full of fighting spirit, continuing the battle despite the injury. This subtly planted the idea in Marco and the others' minds: "Oh, so he's trying to let Ian blow off some steam this way."
Similarly, if Ian hadn't known him so well, this determined, wounded fighting spirit might have given Ian the impression: "This guy isn't really going easy on me—look, he's hurt and still wants to keep fighting!"
This realization made Ian seethe with anger. Was Teach trying to fool everyone?
Fine. You want to play? I'll play along.
With that thought, a smile spread across Ian's face. "You'd better be careful," he said. "I won't go easy on you just because you're hurt!"
As he spoke, black flames erupted along the blade of his sword—the Evil King Flame Slayer Sword technique, channeling the Black Dragon Wave's fire onto the weapon. This was a new application Ian had recently figured out. Though it consumed a significant amount of Psychic Power, it was devastatingly powerful. As the black flames flared up, the temperature around them skyrocketed.
Seeing this, Teach was taken aback. What the hell? I'm already injured, and you're getting serious?! That's not how the script goes! Shouldn't you be feeling guilty for hurting me, go easy, and let us resolve this misunderstanding peacefully?
But the onlookers watching the fight didn't see it that way. Seeing Ian get serious, they cheered Teach on: "Go for it, Teach! Show Ian what you've got!"
In everyone's impression, Teach was still quite strong. They had chalked up his earlier clumsy performance to a gesture of humility. But spectators love a good show, and since this was the first time they'd seen Teach and Ian spar, they wanted it to be exciting. So they all hoped Teach would take it seriously.
Left with no choice, Teach had to steel himself and press on.
In truth, the reason Teach had suddenly approached Ian today was because, after the CP0 agents arrived and spoke with Ian, he had overheard mention of "that thing." This had piqued his interest greatly.
And when he later heard Ian say that this item—so valued by the World Government and the Marines—was actually a Celestial Dragon's identity chip, Teach became even more fixated.
In Teach's grand scheme, his first step in the Whitebeard Pirates was to obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit. The second step was to escape the crew. But he knew the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't tolerate a traitor. Even if he got the Dark-Dark Fruit, he wouldn't be a match for Whitebeard yet. So after fleeing, he needed to find protection.
And nothing was more reliable than becoming a Warlord of the Sea and gaining the Marines' protection...
So when he learned what Ian possessed, Teach's interest was piqued. His attempt to get close to Ian was simply to become friends, then through casual conversation, subtly extract the location of the identity chip.
What would happen next? Did he even need to think about it? He'd find a way to steal the chip!
To become friends with Ian, he needed to talk. But over the past month, Ian had been friendly with everyone else—except him. Teach had racked his brain but couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong.
He carefully reviewed everything that had happened since meeting Ian. Back on Clockwork Island, although Teach had followed Ian with the masked card-cheat swordsman, using them as a shield, there had been no real conflict between them. Teach figured Ian wouldn't hold a grudge over such a trivial matter.
And when Sachi mentioned Teach's harassment of Baby-5, Teach thought he'd found the key. So he swallowed his pride and apologized to Ian.
But how could he know that Ian's attitude toward him wasn't based on these small things? Ian knew exactly what kind of person Teach was, which was why he was so wary.
This misunderstanding of Ian's attitude led to Teach suffering a major setback!
Before Teach could prepare, Ian lunged at him again, the black-flamed longsword slashing toward his upper body.
Teach flinched, ducking his head and raising his iron claws to block Ian's attack.
But he hadn't expected the black flame's edge to be so sharp. The moment his iron claws touched Ian's blade, they were sliced through like tofu!
If he hadn't ducked, Ian might have slashed his face and killed him outright.
Even so, the intense heat of the black demonic flames instantly burned away Teach's hat, along with his messy, curly hair!
Ian was a bit surprised that he'd cut through Teach's weapon so easily. If Teach had used Armament Haki to harden it, whether the blade could have cut through would have been questionable. But Teach hadn't reinforced his weapon with Haki at all.
Ian wasn't sure if Teach could use Haki. Logically, as a veteran of the Whitebeard Pirates, not knowing Haki would be ridiculous. But thinking back, Ian couldn't recall ever seeing Teach use it. After eating the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach could grab any Devil Fruit user's true body and nullify their abilities, but the downside was that he felt pain twice as intensely. Whenever he was hurt, he'd scream in agony. If Teach really knew Haki, why wouldn't he use it to strengthen his defense?
He wasn't a masochist...
So Ian leaned toward the idea that Teach had a special constitution that prevented him from using Haki.
Rayleigh had once said that while Haki was a latent power everyone possessed, some people simply couldn't awaken it. Even in the New World, not everyone could use Haki.
This might explain why Teach was so obsessed with finding the Dark-Dark Fruit. Unable to use Haki, his only hope for gaining power was through a Devil Fruit.
This thought flashed through Ian's mind in an instant, and then a wild idea surged within him!
Without a doubt, Teach hadn't yet obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit. And now that Ian suspected he couldn't use Haki and seemed to be deliberately hiding his true strength, Teach's threat level had dropped to its lowest point!
Kill him! Here, now—kill Blackbeard Teach!
This was a golden opportunity that might never come again!
The thought spread like wildfire through Ian's mind.
An indescribable, intense killing intent radiated from Ian, showing in his eyes. The moment he cut through Teach's iron claws, Ian quickly withdrew his blade and thrust the black-flamed Thousand Cherry Blossoms straight at Teach's heart!
Even a fool would see Ian's intent in those bloodthirsty eyes. A wave of terror washed over Teach!
He wants to kill me?! He wants to kill me!
In desperation, Teach's first instinct was to dodge. But at that very moment, he felt a sense of being locked onto!
Can't dodge! This strike is unavoidable!
Why? Because in that sudden surge of murderous intent, Ian had, by chance, grasped the use of momentum that Vista the Flower Sword had mentioned!
Momentum was essentially a powerful conviction—a determination that said, "I'm going to cut you down, and you can't even think of escaping!" Something like that.
Ian's desire to kill Teach at that moment was unprecedented. He knew what a storm this ambitious man would stir up in the future. No matter what, Teach was a dangerous enemy he would have to face. So if he could eliminate him here, Ian wouldn't hesitate. It was this fierce conviction that allowed Ian to break through at this critical moment!
A system notification sounded in his mind, but Ian had no time to pay attention. His eyes were fixed solely on Teach's heart...
Sensing death approaching, Teach realized he couldn't dodge. Gritting his teeth, he went all out!
All thoughts of hiding his strength, schemes, and plans were thrown aside. He knew that if he died, everything would be over!
So, just as Ian's blade tip pierced his chest, Teach threw a devastatingly fast and powerful punch at Ian's abdomen!
In that moment, the two were like wild beasts locked in a deadly struggle. The next second, they became two gravely wounded animals.
Ian's black-flamed blade pierced through Teach's chest, but it didn't stay there. He was sent flying by Teach's explosive punch, the sword pulled out along with him.
Boom! Ian crashed into the sea after being blasted away, while Teach stood trembling in place, a charred, blackened wound in his chest.
All the onlookers, who had never expected such a turn of events, stared in shock at the brutal scene before them...