Teach's cheek twitched slightly and distorted, clearly the Devil Fruit's taste wasn't too good.
Soon, he threw away the Devil Fruit in his hand.
A Devil Fruit only needed one bite to obtain its power.
"That's Pops' treasure!"
Thatch shouted angrily.
Teach didn't answer, instead, he looked up and felt the terrifying power beginning to surge in his body, showing a joyful expression on his face.
Thatch didn't dare wait any longer. His body moved, and both his swords scraped the ground, creating a series of sparks and sword marks, and he charged toward Teach.
"Accept your punishment! Teach!"
Thatch leaped high, slashing hard toward Teach's head.
He already realized that Teach was hiding his strength, and most likely was no weaker than him.
Now Teach had eaten a Devil Fruit. Although he didn't know exactly what ability this Devil Fruit possessed, he must not let him adapt to this ability.
Teach suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with extremely fierce aura. He raised his right hand and clenched at the air.
"Ankoku (Dark Water)—"
The darkness around immediately thickened, wrapping Thatch tightly and dragging him toward Teach.
*SLAP!*
Thatch struggled hard but didn't succeed. He was choked at the throat by Teach.
It must be acknowledged, with Thatch's strength, it was indeed a bit forced to occupy the commander position.
In Teach's hands, who had obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit ability, he was defeated in just one attack.
"Commander Thatch, you're truly useless!"
Teach couldn't help but grin and laugh uproariously without sound.
"Namiuchi (Wave Strike)—"
Thatch mobilized his whole body's strength. His skin was suddenly covered with Busoshoku Haki. Both his swords released beautiful sword shadows in the air, his wrists as agile as swimming dragons.
Even both long swords were coated with Busoshoku Haki.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Wavelike sword light spread. At such close distance, Teach also couldn't dodge. He never expected Thatch still had strength to fight back.
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
Teach screamed, releasing the hand gripping Thatch. He rolled around in pain on the ground, cold sweat soaking his forehead.
Thatch fell to the ground, gasping for breath. The hands holding both swords trembled slightly.
Seeing Teach continuously screaming in pain on the ground, his eyes also showed shocked and uncertain expressions.
What he didn't know was that the Dark-Dark Fruit, as the most evil Logia-type Devil Fruit, of course had weaknesses.
The person who ate the Dark-Dark Fruit, the pain from wounds they received would be returned to the host with exponential increase, making the pain unbearable.
Teach also felt this sensation for the first time, and he almost fainted.
But he was also a cruel person. He quickly regained his composure, endured the pain and sat up.
A long scar appeared on his chest, diagonally crossing the entire chest, blood flowing profusely.
"Good, good, good!"
Teach's eyes were filled with viciousness, killing aura soaring. He laughed uproariously in anger: "Commander Thatch, I truly underestimated you!"
Thatch knew he wasn't his match. He gritted his teeth, suddenly turned his head, and wanted to escape from the treasure vault.
This was Shirohige's treasure vault. As long as he got out of here and sent a danger signal, a large number of pirates would immediately come rushing. At that time, no matter how strong Teach was, he would regret it on the spot.
However, how could Teach give him this opportunity? His face distorted. He extended his hand toward Thatch and gripped it hard.
"Kurōzu (Black Hole)—"
Instantly, extremely thick darkness flowed out from Teach's body, spreading rapidly around.
Taking him as the center, darkness flowed like water. Everything it touched was absorbed and sank. It soon reached Thatch's feet.
Thatch was shocked. He immediately jumped, wanting to escape using Geppo (Moon Walk).
Who would have thought, suddenly a black palm came out from the darkness on the ground. That palm gripped Thatch's ankle, and dragged him hard to the ground.
"Teach betrayed, help—"
Thatch could only utter half a sentence. His entire body was swallowed into the thick black swamp.
"Damn it!"
Teach's face looked slightly bad. In the end, Thatch still managed to send a danger signal. He couldn't stay long. If he didn't leave now, he wouldn't be able to leave.
The surrounding darkness began to shrink, flowing back into his body. Objects previously absorbed were also vomited out, including Thatch's corpse which was already lifeless.
The Dark-Dark Fruit's ability was very flexible. Objects swallowed by Kurōzu could be digested and swallowed into void completely.
But Teach had just obtained the fruit ability, and his development level was still shallow. Now wasn't the time for him to contemplate further.
Teach turned back, slipped the remaining three Devil Fruits into his embrace, and rushed out of the treasure vault.
About ten seconds after he left, one person slowly walked out from the treasure vault's shadows, as if he had indeed been there all along, without looking awkward at all.
"This Teach has the ambition of a hero!"
Kaiser looked in the direction Teach left, and couldn't help but sigh: "He will surely be an important figure in the future. He's cruel to others, and even more cruel to himself. Very patient to be able to hide at Shirohige's side for years!"
Kuro sat on Kaiser's shoulder, licking his fur, and meowed with disgust.
Kaiser smiled, walked to Thatch's corpse and crouched down.
"This Golden List's plan is an obvious plan, and it's aimed at me. It's time for me to do something. Being too passive isn't a good thing. I can't let its plan proceed too smoothly. Placing some spies is still necessary!"
While speaking, Kaiser's palm emitted milky white light, enveloping Thatch's body.
"Hmm... I'll use you as my first seed. Shirohige is indeed an important figure, and in the future he'll also be someone standing at the storm's peak. I wonder what Teach's expression will be like when he sees you again!"
Kaiser smiled at the corner of his lips, withdrew his palm, and walked out of the treasure vault without looking back.
The milky white light gradually dimmed. Thatch's fingers, already dead, trembled slightly, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
"I'm alive again... Thank you, Master!"
Thatch picked up both swords on the ground, and stood up again. He had come back to life, and his physique had also been transformed by that milky white energy. His future training would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
"Enemy attack—"
Thatch rushed out of the treasure vault, releasing a long howl.
And even before he released the first danger signal, the pirates resting on the island had already awakened, and began rapidly gathering toward the Moby Dick at the beach.
Seeing Thatch emerge from the Moby Dick with both swords in an embarrassed state, everyone was shocked.
"Commander Thatch, what happened?"
Izo came out from the crowd, and asked while frowning.
Thatch's face was serious. He gritted his teeth and said: "Teach sneaked into the treasure vault at night, killed two guard brothers, stole Devil Fruits from the treasure vault, and has now fled!"