Everyone on the field was awestruck by Whitebeard Edward's attack, and almost all eyes were drawn to it.
The smoke in the middle quickly dispersed, revealing the situation behind it.
Whitebeard's Murakumogiri was pressed firmly against the black mist released by Blackbeard Teach.
Blackbeard Teach's feet were sunk into the ground, half his calves swallowed, and he trembled uncontrollably, blood constantly spilling from the corners of his mouth.
It was as if he was on the verge of collapse, just a hair's breadth away.
But it was precisely that hair's breadth!
"Wah!"
The stalemate lasted less than a second before Whitebeard Edward immediately spat out blood.
That attack had caused his internal organs to churn, his spleen unable to withstand the pressure and rupturing, leading to blood gushing from his mouth.
The blood on the ground formed almost a small puddle.
However, Blackbeard's body had clearly not recovered yet, and even seeing this perfect opportunity, he was unable to attack.
But Shiryu of the Rain, the lurking viper, chose to strike without hesitation.
Whitebeard consciously dodged a little, but his body was completely unstable.
However, he still avoided a fatal blow; the attack, originally intended to pierce Whitebeard's heart, instead struck his chest, slightly off-center, and the long sword directly penetrated Whitebeard's chest.
It was a nearly fatal injury.
But Whitebeard, stimulated by the pain, regained his strength and directly punched Shiryu of the Rain, sending him flying.
After this blow, Whitebeard Edward was close to exhaustion; he was somewhat unsteady and could only plant Murakumogiri into the ground to maintain his balance.
Sakazuki and the other two Admirals relaxed their attacks on the Whitebeard Pirates, shifting their attention more towards Whitebeard.
After all, a lineage of extreme evil could never compare to Whitebeard's head.
This man was the most terrifying fellow on the seas; lineage was merely a show.
If Monkey D. Dragon were truly here, Sakazuki wouldn't even glance at Straw Hat; the two were simply not on the same level.
Their fear of the strongest made them all attach immense importance to Whitebeard; as long as they could kill him, all these preparations would be worth it.
"Old man, I won!"
Blackbeard Teach revealed a brilliant smile, his missing teeth looking quite comical.
An ordinary person seeing such a fellow would never think he harbored such ambition.
Blackbeard Teach, having recovered considerably, directly stepped towards his old man; he knew this was his only chance for the plan.
The Marine would be happy to see him eliminate Whitebeard, and then the Marine would reap the benefits and then eliminate him.
However, the Marine had no idea that Blackbeard Teach's target was Whitebeard Edward's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, so this was his only opportunity.
"Hoo hoo... Teach!"
Whitebeard Edward gasped for air; the injury to his chest seemed to have affected his lungs, making breathing extremely difficult.
He desperately wanted to kill Blackbeard Teach, but he had previously fought against the three Marine Admirals in rotation, consuming most of his life force, and had little stamina left when fighting Blackbeard Teach.
He hadn't expected to die at Teach's hands, and he felt a sense of self-mockery.
At the same time, Sengoku, observing from the side, kept his eyes fixed on this spot; as soon as Blackbeard Teach eliminated Whitebeard, he would not hesitate to attack this fellow, kill him, and then claim the credit for defeating Whitebeard for the Marine.
Blackbeard Teach stopped about five meters in front of Whitebeard; this distance gave him a sense of security.
Then he drew the pistol from his waist, raised it, and prepared to shoot Whitebeard, aiming to blow Whitebeard's head off.
"Bang!"
A bullet flew from the muzzle.
Then, about two meters in front of Whitebeard, it was blocked by a dark red figure.
The bullet struck the Susanoo skeleton emanating from Uchiha Tamahiko, unable to penetrate.
"It's you again!!"
Blackbeard looked at Uchiha Tamahiko with eyes wide with rage.
This Shichibukai had already eliminated many of his subordinates; his appearance here now proved that Evil King and the other two had also failed, and their fate needed no guessing.
As many as six or seven people had died at the hands of this Shichibukai.
And now he was obstructing the final step of his plan!
Whitebeard Edward also looked at Uchiha Tamahiko's back with a puzzled expression; he did not know this young man, and had never even met him before today.
As a Shichibukai, why would he save him?
Ace, who was about to charge over, was blocked by Sakazuki; now seeing his old man saved by someone, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued to fight seriously.
"Uchiha Tamahiko, what are you doing!"
"Are you going to defy the World Government's orders and abandon your Shichibukai status!!"
Sengoku was also enraged; why did it get stuck at such a critical moment?
He loudly questioned Uchiha Tamahiko.
He almost wished he could go up and attack Whitebeard himself.
"My order was to attack the Whitebeard Pirates."
"However, Blackbeard Teach is someone I must kill. After eliminating this fellow, I will personally kill Whitebeard."
Uchiha Tamahiko responded coldly.
His Shichibukai status was no longer that important now.
He did not intend for Whitebeard to die at Blackbeard Teach's hands; who knew what other unforeseen events might occur? It was best to eliminate this fellow before Whitebeard died.
Moreover, Whitebeard had just demonstrated that as long as the limit of Blackbeard's absorption was exceeded, he would still suffer injuries, and this was enough to confirm his conjecture.
"You!!"
Sengoku was furious.
However, at this moment, he did not want to fall out with Uchiha Tamahiko, to prevent this fellow from truly helping Whitebeard.
"Get out of my way!!"
Blackbeard Teach could no longer hold back; he was just one step away, how could he let this nobody block his path?
He held up the black mist and directly released it towards Uchiha Tamahiko, like Smoker's smoke attack.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Meanwhile, Uchiha Tamahiko simply performed four hand seals.
Then he directly exhaled a sea of fire, and the flames instantly engulfed the battlefield Whitebeard had opened up.
Blackbeard Teach watched this scene in shock; if Ace weren't still battling Sakazuki behind him, he would have suspected that the person in front of him was Ace.
"So hot!!"
At the same time, Blackbeard Teach also let out a scream.
Although he wasn't injured, as he had enveloped himself in black mist, the pain brought by the heat was still very difficult for him to bear.
This was a side effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit, unavoidable.
The massive sea of fire also affected the three Admirals and Whitebeard's group who were still fighting behind.
Ace barely managed to protect the Moby Dick using flames of similar size.
Kuzan and Borsalino chose to dodge, while only Akainu endured the high temperature of the flames, continuing to fight Ace.
"Is that his target?"
"Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach?"
"And what kind of Devil Fruit is this power? He wasn't fighting seriously before!"
Doflamingo, who had been observing Uchiha Tamahiko, couldn't help but wonder.
At the same time, his guard against Uchiha Tamahiko deepened, and he felt pressure regarding their upcoming confrontation.
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