Chapter 235: There Are Quite a Lot of Monsters on This Great Sea!
"Hiken!"
A massive fist of flame erupted from Ace's hand, crashing directly toward Blackbeard's position!
Blackbeard's pupils contracted sharply, instinctively wanting to activate his Yami Yami no Mi to extinguish the flames.
But he couldn't.
That Seastone bullet was still embedded in his body!
His Devil Fruit Ability was sealed!
It was over.
There was not a hint of hesitation in Ace's eyes.
He had seen everything clearly just moments before—
Ralph had risked his life to create this opportunity for him, and he would not waste it.
The scorching flames were already licking at Blackbeard's brow.
Gritting his teeth, Blackbeard frantically searched his body with a dagger for the Seastone's location, but it was too late—
Just as the flames were about to engulf Blackbeard, an inconspicuous red apple abruptly appeared above his head.
The apple met Ace's flames before Blackbeard did.
"Boom!"
A strange green smoke instantly exploded, rapidly spreading across the entire battlefield.
Its eerie color and pungent odor proved it was more than just a smokescreen.
"Fire Vortex!"
Ace reacted swiftly, unleashing a roaring vortex of flames that swept the green smoke away in an instant.
But it was already too late.
As the smoke cleared, Blackbeard was gone.
Van Augur was gone.
Burgess was gone too.
All that remained was a scene of devastation and Ralph, lying on the ground, weak and still coughing up blood.
"Doc Q…"
Ralph spat out the name through gritted teeth, blood seeping from between his lips with every word,
"You sickly bastard… your rescue moves are pretty quick…"
Past experience had taught him: before starting a team fight, take out the healer first.
And that's exactly what he had done!
He seized the chance and took down Doc Q!
Then he went straight for the squishy shooter, Van Augur.
Finally, he cornered Blackbeard—the plan was flawless…
Who would have thought that the sickly healer, the first one knocked out, would be so hard to kill?
And he even played dead!
Ace stood in the center of the ruins, surveying the empty surroundings, and let out a long sigh.
He hadn't expected it either—the one who was knocked down first ended up being the only one still standing.
He walked over, first hoisting his sister, who had turned into Little Lufia, onto one shoulder.
The girl had already fallen asleep, her small face still streaked with blood, yet a faint smile lingered at the corner of her mouth, as if lost in a pleasant dream.
Then he lifted Ralph onto his other shoulder.
The boy was still restless, cursing between coughs of blood:
"Doc Q… that head of yours isn't yours… next time I'll finish you first… the Blackbeard Pirates must die… I don't believe I can't kill you without going berserk…"
By the end, his words were slurred, his consciousness fading.
Ace was stunned.
Anyone listening would think Ralph had some deep-seated grudge against the Blackbeard Pirates.
He took a deep breath and muttered to himself:
"Perhaps… it's fate."
Those words jolted Ralph awake for a moment.
With great effort, he opened one eye and, mustering the last of his strength, spat out three words:
"I don't believe in fate!"
Then he passed out completely.
Ace was taken aback, then smiled wryly.
This kid...
Carrying the two of them, he turned and walked out of Mock Town.
Behind him, half the town lay silent in the night, wisps of smoke rising from the ruins.
The watching Pirates watched his figure disappear into the darkness.
Some were stirred with excitement, some trembled with fear, and others harbored sinister thoughts—
Just kill these three exhausted men, and one could make a name for themselves across the seas, achieving fame and glory.
But no one made a move.
Some lacked the heart, some lacked the face, and some lacked the courage.
Including the previously arrogant Bellamy.
He stood frozen in place, his back drenched in cold sweat, the 120 million bounty poster in his hand crumpled from his grip.
"C-Captain..." a subordinate cautiously asked, "Should we..."
"Shut up!"
Bellamy growled, turning to leave,
"Get away from this cursed place!"
Right now, he just wanted to get as far away from those monsters as possible.
Meanwhile, at sea.
The Blackbeard Pirates' massive raft, cobbled together from a few logs, drifted with the waves under the night sky.
In these crude conditions, the ship's doctor, Doc Q, had completed emergency treatment for the entire crew.
Thanks to their monstrous constitutions, while not fully recovered, they at least appeared to be in decent shape.
"Zehahahaha!"
Blackbeard lay on the raft, laughing uproariously at the sky, "That was a close call this time!"
A large gash was torn across his stomach, and he was currently reaching inside with his own hand, groping to pull out the Seastone bullet embedded in his flesh.
The excruciating pain made the muscles on his face twitch, but he didn't utter a single groan, instead laughing even more wildly.
"It hurts, but this is a lesson to remember."
He held the bloodied bullet up to his eye, examining it closely.
Van Augur leaned over, staring at that elongated piece of Seastone, his face dark enough to drip water:
"This isn't a bullet at all."
Blackbeard raised an eyebrow.
"Seastone is extremely difficult to process and incredibly expensive. Seastone bullets circulating on the market are exceedingly rare."
Van Augur gritted his teeth, "This piece of Seastone... looks like it was taken from some item, then loaded by that Ralph into a specially made barrel and fired."
Recalling the scene of his battle with Ralph, his chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.
Judging by the opponent's final move of drawing and firing rapidly, he was definitely a gunman!
And facing a gunman, he hadn't even had a chance to fire his own shot!
Blackbeard saw his frustration and reached out to pat his shoulder:
"Don't compete with monsters."
"That guy's path is different from ours—not only trained in firearms, but also able to brawl with me, and even more terrifyingly, possessing frightening swordsmanship."
"Oh right, he can also hypnotize!"
Teach's eyes grew profound:
"If it weren't for Laffitte knowing similar techniques, and me having studied them in advance, I might have really fallen into his hands."
"There are plenty of monsters on these seas!"
Blackbeard raised his voice, "If we fixate on them because of one failure, we'll stray off course, drifting further and further from our true dream!"
Hearing this, Burgess laughed heartily and slapped Van Augur's shoulder, nearly knocking him into the sea: "The captain's right!"
"We can't forget our ambition to conquer the world over a little setback!"
"If their goal is to become the Pirate King, we'll inevitably cross paths in the future, and then we'll have another chance to settle the score!"
Blackbeard laughed uproariously; he had always felt Burgess understood him deeply, often grasping his intentions perfectly.
But this time was slightly different.
He grinned, revealing a dangerous smile through his missing teeth:
"Why wait for later?"
"Let's recuperate first, and before they leave Jaya Island, we can find an opportunity to fight them again."
"After all, such an interesting opponent is rarely seen on the high seas!"
Wild laughter echoed from the raft, drifting far into the night.
Of course, the Straw Hat Pirates had no idea that, due to the captain and vice-captain's heroic feat, they had already caught someone's attention.