Teach stared blankly at Burgess, who was buried in the crater, his corpse was a gruesome sight.
Dead!
Another comrade, dead right before his eyes.
From Van Augur to Doc Q, and then to Burgess, it had only taken a few breaths.
His crew members were actually so utterly helpless before Orion.
What terrified and filled him with despair the most was that his proud Dark-Dark Fruit ability was completely suppressed by Orion's unreasonable Conqueror's Haki.
He could only watch helplessly as his comrades were slaughtered one by one.
That invisible Haki pressure was like a towering mountain, not only suppressing his Devil Fruit ability but also making his very soul tremble.
He didn't even dare to let his focus waver for a moment, fearing that a single lapse in concentration would cause this Haki to crush him completely!
"Zehahaha... No... No."
Teach tried to let out his signature laugh, but it turned into a dry, choked spasm halfway through.
The fat on his face trembled, making it impossible to tell whether it was from fear or rage.
Orion shook his left hand as if he had just swatted a fly, then turned to face Teach.
"Though I don't know why the Dark-Dark Fruit appeared ahead of time, it doesn't matter anymore."
"Because with your disappearance, this fruit will also vanish from this world."
The moment these words were spoken, Teach's pupils contracted violently.
"Grah—"
The instinct to survive overwhelmed his fear, and Teach let out a furious roar.
His muscles bulged, veins popping out as he desperately channeled the power of his Devil Fruit, trying to break through the invisible shackles.
"Dark Water!"
He roared, struggling to form a small sphere of darkness in his palm.
But the moment it appeared, Orion's Conqueror's Haki instantly crushed it, not even leaving a ripple behind.
"It's useless." Orion shook his head, a hint of pity in his tone. "You're too weak. Even with the Dark-Dark Fruit ability, you can't break through my Haki suppression."
No matter how hard Teach struggled or how fiercely he roared, the Haki pressure remained unyielding, growing even heavier.
His legs began to buckle, his knee joints emitting unsettling cracking sounds under the strain.
Just then, the madness and ferocity on Teach's face vanished completely, replaced by an obsequious and terrified smile.
Thump!
He actually knelt down on his own accord.
"Orion-sama! Spare me!"
Teach wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I was wrong! I was truly wrong! I shouldn't have been so foolish as to provoke you! Please, be merciful and let me go like the worthless trash I am!"
"All these years on Whitebeard's ship, I never did anything evil! When I formed my pirate crew, I only killed those scum who pillaged, murdered, and committed atrocities on the seas! I was eliminating threats to the people, indirectly helping the Marines, my lord!"
Orion watched Teach's performance without any change in expression, speaking calmly.
"Finished?"
"You're a potential threat, even with only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I will choose to eliminate it in its cradle." Orion's tone was devoid of any emotion.
"Your ambition—I see it very clearly, Teach!"
The moment his words fell, Orion wasted no more time and raised the Supreme Grade Blade in his hand with a single hand.
Hum—On the blade, the black-red Conqueror's Haki surged violently, with destructive lightning bolts madly dancing and completely enveloping the sword.
A terrifying aura spread out, as if all the air in the entire dock had been drained, turning the area into a vacuum!
The black-red lightning flickered across Teach's plump and desperate face, alternating between light and shadow.
"No! I don't want to die! Please spare me, Fleet Admiral—"
Teach let out a pig-slaughter-like scream, his ugly face filled with terror at the prospect of death.
Orion's eyes were icy cold as he swung his long blade down with overwhelming force!
Just as the blade was about to strike Teach—
BOOM!!!
A domineering and ferocious Conqueror's Haki abruptly awakened within Teach and erupted with explosive force!
Pitch-black Conqueror's Haki, materializing into solid black lightning, surged madly from Teach's body!
RUMBLE—
The black-red blade and the pitch-black lightning collided violently in mid-air!
There was no crisp clang of metal meeting metal, only the deafening roar of two extreme Conqueror's Haki clashing against each other!
In that instant, the sky seemed to collapse and the earth to shatter!
Centered around the two, a visible shockwave expanded in a ring-like fashion!
The dock's ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, and the hard rocks were crushed into dust!
The surrounding warehouses and ships, faced with this shockwave, collapsed, shattered, and vanished into nothingness, as if swept away by a giant's hand!
"What's happening?!"
Hancock, not far away, was forced back by the sudden shockwave.
She had to release her full Haki to barely stabilize her footing.
Her beautiful eyes widened, fixed intently on Teach at the center of the storm, her heart pounding wildly.
In her vision, Teach, who had been kneeling and begging for mercy, slowly rose to his feet.
His physique seemed unchanged, but his entire aura had undergone a dramatic transformation.
"What's going on? Has he been possessed too?" Hancock recalled Gunko, who had been possessed by Imu back then!
At the center of the storm, even the calm in Orion's eyes was replaced by a flicker of surprise.
He could clearly sense that a completely different soul had taken over Teach's body.
However, the surprise lasted only a moment.
The next second, Orion grinned and laughed.
"Interesting!"
He increased the force in his wrist, and the black-red Conqueror's Haki surged once more, firmly suppressing the opponent's counterattack.
"You've given me a tremendous surprise."
Orion stared at this familiar yet unfamiliar "Teach" before him and slowly spoke.
"Should I now address you as Rocks D. Xebec?"
"Or—"
"Davy D. Xebec!"
"Teach" did not respond.
He merely slowly raised his head, his eyes—originally belonging to Teach—now filled only with unfathomable darkness and madness.
He reached out and grabbed at the air.
A common long blade, flung away by the shockwave not far off, flew into his hand as if pulled by an invisible force.
In the next moment, pitch-black Haki, several times more terrifying than before, coiled around the blade like ink!
Without any unnecessary movements or flashy techniques.
"Teach" gripped the blade with both hands and swung it down at Orion with sheer force!
Simple, brutal, and pure!
Orion narrowed his eyes slightly, advancing instead of retreating, raising his own blade to meet the attack!
BOOM—
The two blades, each wrapped in extreme Conqueror's Haki, collided violently in mid-air!
In that instant, the wind ceased, the clouds scattered, and all sound vanished.
The entire world seemed to have been muted.
Immediately after, the heavens churned with wind and thunder, while dark clouds rolled back violently!
Under the shockwaves of the two Conqueror's Haki clashing, the night sky was forcibly torn apart, revealing a massive fissure!
Golden light poured down from behind the crack, illuminating the entire port as brightly as daylight!
The sky had split open!
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