"They have not gone far yet. On the open sea, I can still catch them."
Acel's gaze sharpened.
In their current condition, those criminals were no match for him. Even if it meant killing them all, he could not allow them to escape. At the same time, he worried about Magellan's safety.
He was preparing to withdraw.
Teach saw it instantly.
And he had no intention of allowing it.
He did not mind adding a little more chaos to Acel's day.
But before anything else, Teach needed to deal with the real problem.
Acel's Devil Fruit functioned like a living Vivre Card network. As long as the connection remained, he could track the prisoners' positions. Even if they escaped, the Marines and the World Government would eventually round them up using him as a beacon.
That could not be allowed.
The Dark-Dark Fruit was a perfect counter.
Once nullified, every ability-based connection would collapse and need to be reestablished from scratch.
Under normal circumstances, such abilities required minimal stamina to maintain. Unless the user lost consciousness, they would persist.
Just like Shiki and his Float-Float Fruit. When Teach suppressed it, the floating islands fell. Shiki would have to actively reactivate his power again to use them.
Now Teach intended to do exactly that.
Endless darkness burst from his body. Black mist twisted around him, swallowing light itself. Even the air seemed distorted.
Acel's expression changed immediately.
Not good.
He exploded backward at full speed, attempting to escape the effective range of Teach's ability. If he were caught now, the criminals would slip beyond pursuit.
Teach grinned.
"Trying to run?"
Darkness coiled around his arm.
"Dark Water."
He extended his palm. A vortex formed at its center, like a miniature black hole. Invisible gravitational force surged outward, directly targeting the Devil Fruit power within Acel's body.
Acel felt it instantly.
A terrifying pull seized him mid-flight.
His body froze in the air, then was violently dragged backward.
Thud.
He was yanked directly in front of Teach, who grabbed him by the shoulder.
The Dark-Dark Fruit only nullified abilities. Acel still possessed formidable physical strength.
Teach did not underestimate him.
"Dark Shackles."
Chains of condensed darkness erupted outward, wrapping around Acel's limbs and torso. Compared to before, they were denser, heavier, and reinforced by gravitational force.
They locked him in place before he could counterattack.
Acel felt it clearly.
The countless points of light connected through his fruit vanished.
He could no longer sense the prisoners.
At the same time, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him.
With his ability suppressed, the stamina he had been burning could no longer be distributed.
For the first time in years, Acel felt true depletion.
"Can you feel it?" Teach asked softly, sliding his grip from Acel's shoulder to his throat. "Your power fading away."
He pulled Acel closer.
Acel struggled, muscles straining as he tried to snap the dark chains. They did not budge.
Busoshoku Haki flared along Teach's arm. Sparks flickered where their Haki clashed.
The situation reversed in an instant.
"Now," Teach said with a low laugh, "you can experience the pain I've been enjoying."
He lifted Acel by the neck and slammed him down.
Boom.
The floor of Impel Down shattered, a crater forming beneath Acel's head.
The impact reverberated through the prison.
Acel did not bleed immediately.
But the pain was real.
For years, his Devil Fruit had dulled his perception of injury. Even Teach's earlier claws had felt like little more than a nuisance.
Now, pain roared through his nerves like fire.
Before he could recover—
Teach's fist struck his abdomen.
This punch carried no restraint.
Busoshoku Haki, monstrous physical strength, and explosive force converged into a single blow.
Acel's defense collapsed.
Teach's fist sank deep into his abdomen. From the back, Acel's uniform burst outward as if pierced from within.
Blood sprayed from Acel's mouth.
Cold sweat formed on his brow.
The delayed shock was overwhelming. After years of insulation from suffering, the sensation hit him with amplified intensity.
Teach felt exhilarated.
Being the punching bag had been entertaining for a while.
But this was better.
"Ready for the move that barely scratched you before?"
"Yachihime."
Teach withdrew his fist. His hands transformed into demonic claws.
Black-red lightning flickered around them.
Conqueror's Haki coating.
The invisible pressure bore down like a physical weight. Silver sparks danced within the black-red arcs.
Acel's pupils contracted.
He understood what he was seeing.
Teach had stepped into the realm of advanced Conqueror's Haki application.
There were levels to it.
Basic coating wrapped Haoshoku around fists or weapons.
At the highest level, it could manifest as invisible long-range strikes.
Teach had mastered the first and was brushing against the threshold of the second.
The destructive gap between the two was not vast, but the difficulty was.
Even so, what stood before Acel was terrifying enough.
The surrounding air dimmed.
Far above Impel Down, clouds were torn apart. The sky rumbled. Even within the Calm Belt, wind began to stir unnaturally.
The escaped prisoners aboard the warships felt it.
Some of the strongest among them recognized the Haki.
Teach.
"Try not to die," Teach murmured.
His claw thrust forward.
Space itself seemed to shudder.
Squelch.
The demonic talons pierced through Acel's chest and erupted from his back, stained red.
Bone fragments splintered.
Teach withdrew his arm.
A grotesque hole gaped in Acel's torso. Broken ribs were visible beneath torn flesh.
His heart pounded violently.
At the final instant, when Teach focused entirely on offense, control over the dark chains loosened for a fraction of a second.
Acel seized it.
He snapped several chains and shifted his body slightly.
The blow missed his heart by inches.
He collapsed to the ground.
Even for someone of his caliber, that injury was severe.
Instinctively, he activated Life Return, forcing his body to stop the bleeding and stabilize his condition. Flesh could not regenerate instantly, but he prevented fatal deterioration.
Death had never felt so close.
He knelt, gasping.
"You can still stand?" Teach tilted his head.
"Then stay down."
In an instant, Teach vanished.
He appeared directly before Acel.
Pain slowed Acel's reaction by a heartbeat.
That was enough.
Teach's leg whipped upward.
"Razor: Dragon's Tail Swing!"
The kick struck squarely against Acel's injured chest.
Crack.
The impact tore open the partially sealed wound. Blood sprayed outward as Acel was launched like a cannonball.
He flew over a thousand meters before smashing into the perimeter wall of Impel Down.
His body embedded into the stone in the shape of an X. Spiderweb cracks spread outward across the structure.
Teach did not hold back.
The kick drained what little stamina Acel had left.
Between the primary injury and the secondary rupture, the result was decisive.
The Warden of Impel Down hung broken against the wall.