Only now did Teach truly acknowledge Silvers Rayleigh's strength.
Rayleigh genuinely stood at the same level as Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King.
That single sword strike was terrifying. For a split second, it felt as if Teach had been dragged back to the legendary clash between Roger and Edward Newgate at the height of their era.
Fortunately, he blocked it.
Two layers of dark jade were sliced apart. The third layer cracked, fractures spreading like spiderwebs.
It was not that he had forgotten about Black Hole. Devouring such a massive attack would have been the most direct solution.
But his instincts screamed at him.
Even his all-consuming darkness would not withstand that slash.
The Black Hole itself might be severed.
In another timeline, he had witnessed that possibility. A blade cutting through absolute darkness. The idea alone was absurd.
His development of the Dark-Dark Fruit was still lacking. Whether it was the defensive strength of dark jade or the devouring force of Black Hole, both were incomplete.
Still, facing this power in person allowed him to grasp just how monstrous the true apex of the sea really was.
And instead of fear, his blood boiled.
The level was different now. Back when the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the Roger Pirates, he had been too small to understand. Now he stood in the storm himself. What he could perceive had changed.
There were many monsters in the New World. Those with fame and power could all be called such. But true top-tier experts, those standing at the summit of the sea, were few.
His gaze locked onto Rayleigh.
After that strike, Rayleigh seemed like the only being between heaven and earth. The somewhat easygoing old man was gone. In his place stood the true Dark King.
The title had been forged in blood. Beneath it lay countless defeated enemies.
Now Teach was not facing the Pirate King's First Mate.
He was facing the Dark King himself.
When Roger had been alive, Rayleigh was content to remain in the background. Now, with no one overshadowing him, and with Teach challenging him directly, Rayleigh revealed his full power.
"Teach," Rayleigh said with a faint smile. His glasses were gone. His voice carried quiet pressure. "Let me show you what a true top-tier expert can do. Don't die."
Around him, storms roared. Lightning coiled through the sky.
"Haha! I couldn't ask for more!" Teach laughed, eyes wide.
His muscles tightened. Haki burst from his body, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
The pressure felt divine, like fighting heaven itself.
Violent natural phenomena swirled around Rayleigh as if he had seized control of the elements.
It pressed down on Teach.
It thrilled him.
Victory or defeat no longer mattered. He would fight to the limit. Fight until exhaustion.
From afar, the spectators were stunned.
"He's serious," Shakky murmured. Even she had rarely seen Rayleigh at full power.
On the Nightfall Pirates' side, the oppressive force nearly suffocated them. They braced themselves against raging winds, staring in disbelief.
"So this is the Pirate King's right hand…"
"A living legend."
"The captain will be fine… right?"
On the Red-Haired and Buggy Pirates' ships, both Shanks and Buggy were shocked.
"This is Mr. Rayleigh's real strength?"
"The First Mate is terrifying…"
Rayleigh moved.
In a blink, he was before Teach, blade descending.
Teach charged as well, Haki coating his entire body without restraint. Three dark jades shrank to two, orbiting him like living armor.
"Eight Maidens!"
His claws tore forward, sharp enough to rend steel.
Yet his movements felt heavier.
Rayleigh's presence pressed down like a domain. Teach erupted Conqueror's Haki to resist and simultaneously amplified gravity twentyfold around himself.
Not overwhelming, but enough to interfere.
Rayleigh's eyes flickered with surprise.
The claws and black blade collided.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Storm clouds gathered above. Waves surged violently. Each swing of Rayleigh's sword shook sky and sea alike.
His blade stirred the wind as if commanding it.
Facing it directly was the only way to understand its terror.
Teach went all out, trading defense for offense. Even so, he could not wound Rayleigh. His arms trembled. Thin lines of blood formed across his palms where Haki had been pierced.
Even Conqueror's coating could be breached.
Yet Rayleigh was equally surprised.
Teach's physique, his Haki, his combat instincts. He had no clear weaknesses. A troublesome opponent.
Dark jade intercepted critical strikes, buying Teach space to breathe. His claws bled, then healed swiftly.
That earlier sword strike was not something Rayleigh could unleash casually.
Battles between true experts were rarely decided in an instant.
Rayleigh remained in his prime. Even in old age, he could contend with Admiral-level powerhouses. Now, he was far stronger.
Teach's black hair floated wildly. His expression turned feral, almost demonic.
Even Rayleigh did not dare take his claws head-on.
Compared to the natural disasters surrounding Rayleigh, Teach looked small.
But small did not mean weak.
Darkness erupted from him.
It spread across the island, swallowing more than half in moments.
He did not believe in heaven.
Only in himself.
If Rayleigh commanded the storm, then Teach would devour the sky.
Dark gravity twisted at the center, forming a massive vortex around Rayleigh. Light itself dimmed as it was consumed.
The battlefield shifted.
Now it felt like Teach's domain.
The Nightfall Pirates straightened.
That was their captain.
Yet Rayleigh stood unmoved within the swirling dark tide.
Storms and lightning spiraled around him, forming a compressed domain that resisted the encroaching darkness.
In a world nearly swallowed by black, he was the lone pillar of light.
Then, in the darkened sky, it felt as if a pair of brilliant eyes opened.
"Dark Realm!"
Black mist surged upward, forming a gigantic hemispherical barrier that engulfed Rayleigh completely.
Teach remained inside.
From the outside, nothing could be seen.
Within the Dark Realm, light vanished. Sound vanished.
Sight and hearing were stripped away. Observation Haki, rooted in perception, was heavily suppressed.
Movement itself became distorted. No matter how one walked, it felt like standing still.
Even Rayleigh could not ignore such suppression.
The moment the realm formed, Teach attacked.
Darkness coiled around Rayleigh's legs, rising to bind him.
Danger flared in Rayleigh's instincts. With explosive force and Haki, he shattered the restraints.
He countered purely on intuition.
Without proper Observation Haki, it was like losing an arm.
Even so, under Teach's relentless assault, a claw tore across Rayleigh's chest.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Rayleigh frowned.
This could not continue. He had to break out.
Teach knew it too. And he would not allow it easily.
He appeared silently behind Rayleigh.
Rayleigh sensed the sharp killing intent, shook off the mist binding him, and spun with a slash.
Dark jade intercepted.
A deep mark carved into it, but the fluid darkness reformed instantly.
Teach shifted to Rayleigh's right and struck again.
Rayleigh raised his arm, Haki surging.
Sparks exploded.
After a brief stalemate, Teach's claws pierced through, digging into flesh. Lightning-like pain shot through Rayleigh's body.
But Rayleigh achieved his goal.
Using the impact, he propelled himself backward.
He could not move freely within the darkness, but he could leverage force.
He endured the claw to create distance.
Outside the realm, a brilliant slash flashed.
More than half of the Dark Realm split apart instantly.
The domain collapsed.
Rayleigh leapt out as the darkness dissipated.
Teach did not attempt it again. The same move would not work twice.
The Dark Realm depended on a closed structure. Once broken, its suppression failed.
Light and sound returned.
Rayleigh's aura erupted once more. Storms gathered. Lightning roared. His domain reformed, pushing back the lingering darkness.
In moments, the battlefield returned to its previous balance.
But the damage was clear.
Rayleigh now bore several claw marks across his body.
The spectators understood one thing.
Whatever the Dark Realm was, it had suppressed even the Dark King.
And that was something none of them would ever forget.