On a remote, uninhabited island.
At the beach's edge, waves crashed against rocks, producing dull sounds, giving an increasingly desolate feeling.
At this moment, a mysterious man wearing a black robe and a spiral mask stood on the beach.
And in front of him, there was a body that kept writhing and twisting.
"Truly unexpected, this man from another world could also withstand the power of Hashirama Cells. Originally I thought he would die. Truly lucky..."
The masked man laughed softly, his voice filled with astonishment.
"Aaaaaaargh—"
The figure on the ground writhed. Two severed body parts intertwined with each other, fusing and recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, joining back together.
Around his body continuously flowed black liquid, as if helping his body fuse faster.
"Is this... the power of a Devil Fruit!"
The masked man crouched in front of these two body parts that kept recovering, watching the rare spectacle before him with great interest.
The space around him seemed slightly warped. That thick black water couldn't approach his body at all. Before making contact, the water automatically avoided him.
Unknown how long passed, the two body parts finally fused.
"Oh... I'm alive again..."
Teach sat up, looking down at his body with disbelief.
At his waist, there was an extremely horrific scar, indicating that everything that happened before wasn't an illusion.
"Shirohige, the pain you gave me, I will never forget in my lifetime..."
Teach touched his wound, suddenly grinning and bursting into strange laughter, appearing insane.
"Had enough laughing?"
Suddenly a voice sounded in his ear.
Teach turned around, only seeing a man with a spiral mask crouching in front of him. In the center of the spiral was a strange eye staring at him intently.
"You're the one who saved me?"
Teach didn't show too much surprise. He grinned, revealing his missing teeth, and laughed hehe: "You made a very right choice, you won't regret it!"
The masked man pointed at himself: "You're not thanking me?"
Teach laughed strangely: "I didn't ask you to save me. This is what you did yourself. Why should I thank you."
"Hmm..."
The masked man nodded: "Indeed a different man, somewhat interesting. My coming all this way wasn't in vain. Although his strength is temporarily somewhat lacking, his potential isn't small. No wonder Master is interested in him."
"Master?"
Teach narrowed his eyes and stood up: "If there's no business, I'll be going."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.
Quick and straightforward, without small talk.
The masked man was shocked. He chuckled. His figure immediately blurred, and a moment later he blocked in front of Teach.
The danger warning in Teach's heart increased sharply. His entire body instantly emitted black mist, writhing like poisonous snakes, as if it would devour someone the next moment.
"Don't be so tense, Teach!"
The masked man waved his hand, indicating he had no ill intentions. Then he said: "Since I saved you, although as you said, you didn't ask me to, but the fact that you successfully passed through the crisis and survived is a fact, isn't it?"
Teach sneered: "So what? What do you want?"
The masked man said calmly: "We don't know each other. Of course I have a purpose in saving you."
"I know."
"Then why do you still want to leave."
"Because I don't want to let you achieve your purpose, whatever it is."
"..."
The masked man was silent for a moment, then nodded: "You're indeed a different man, but that's not up to you!"
"Kamui!"
The space in front of him suddenly warped, as if wanting to suck Teach into an unknown space.
Teach's eyes suddenly flashed with light. His heart was shocked. His body retreated rapidly. The black mist all over his body sprayed out like waves, forcibly expelling that warped space.
"What!"
The masked man was also very shocked. This was the first time he met someone who could avoid a Kamui attack he had already locked on.
"You're asking for death!"
Teach was extremely angry. Although the opponent saved his life, he wasn't someone who knew how to repay kindness. Moreover, this mysterious masked man clearly had other purposes.
At that moment, he seemed to see an empty and unknown world. If he was sucked into it, he might never be able to escape again.
"Ankoku (Dark Water)."
Black smoke came out of both Teach's hands. His figure disappeared from his spot and appeared behind the masked man, grabbing hard at the masked man's body.
But then, Teach's eyes widened.
His hand passed through the opponent's body. There was no physical contact at all.
"A Logia-type Devil Fruit user?"
Teach's eyes suddenly narrowed, his heart greatly shaken.
Before he could think further, the masked man's body which was originally already illusory suddenly solidified. His right hand struck Teach's back hard.
"Puff—"
Teach spat out a mouthful of blood, flying into the distance like a broken kite.
His eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief.
He somewhat didn't understand this mysterious masked man's strange methods.
"With power like this, is he an expert from the Gold List?"
Teach thought quickly. At the same time, extremely thick mist sprayed out from his entire body.
This black mist was thicker than when he was at sea, its range coverage was wider, completely covering his body.
"Trouble!"
The masked man was slightly anxious. His mission this time was to capture Teach and bring him back. If the duck already in his mouth flew away again, he would be very depressed.
"Fūton: Shinkūha (Wind Element: Vacuum Wave)!"
The masked man's stomach swelled. He spewed sharp invisible wind waves like kamaitachi toward the black mist, wanting to cut and blow away that black mist.
But it was useless.
That black mist automatically recovered once cut, continuing to live.
If he couldn't accurately attack Teach's real body inside the black mist, he wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
That black mist was highly corrosive and eroded souls. The edge of the masked man's robe only touched it slightly, and the mist immediately crawled up like maggots, wanting to digest and annihilate the entire robe.
The masked man's body retreated rapidly, his eyes filled with shock and uncertainty.
"Somewhat similar to Amaterasu's power..."
The masked man murmured softly. Then he sneered: "If that's the case, no one should leave. After your energy is exhausted, I want to see where you can run to. Difficult man to deal with, cunning and evil thoughts. Indeed worthy of being the man Master likes!"
The masked man laughed hehe: "After I bring you back, there's hope you can become Master's right and left hand!"
However, in the dark shadow he couldn't see, Teach's face was very ugly. He silently counted the time.
The Gold List reward gave him stronger survival ability. The opponent's strength was clearly higher than his, but he also had enough trump cards to escape from the opponent's hands.
"Today's revenge, I will repay it twofold!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, in a dark room.
On a throne, there was a figure sitting quietly.
"The power of darkness that erodes everything..."
The figure on the throne let out a hoarse whisper, then laughed: "Interesting man, but he's an unstable factor. His ambition is too great and difficult to control. It seems I must obtain Shisui's eyes first..."
"Only fifth rank... Fortunately one level higher than that Hashirama. The substitute puppet has already given me more trump cards. If I can kill the fourth rank, or even the first rank, I don't know what reward I'll get! At that time, executing my plan will be without obstacles, won't it?"
The figure laughed softly, and finally burst into wild laughter, echoing long in the room.