Nika Form Battle
The inflated Teach Nika Form floated in mid-air, its entire body bulging and shaking like a twisted air sac, its skin shimmering with a blend of white and black, as if it had forcibly combined the "sun" and the "abyss".
His bizarre, wide grin stretched almost to his ears, the muscles around his mouth twitching with ecstasy. He clutched his stomach with one hand and stretched the other hand outstretched downwards, his laughter booming like thunder.
"Hahaha--That was so satisfying!! Navy, all of you, get down there!!"
The laughter exploded over the shattered island, sending dust and debris billowing through the ruins, as if the air itself were being distorted by the sound.
The ground cracked, and smoke filled the air.
A figure slowly emerged from the crumbling ground— Luffy charred black, the dragon scales on his chest shimmering with light, his breathing slightly rapid, but his wide smile remained that of someone who feared nothing.
"You... you're really going to do something reckless."
He looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with an unyielding fighting spirit.
Ace, seeing his brother unharmed, relaxed for a moment, but was then consumed by raging fury.
"You bastard—how dare you hit my brother!!"
Before he finished speaking, flames erupted from his entire body, the blazing fire transforming into countless swirling currents that swirled around him, turning him into a gigantic fireball, like a falling star, charging towards Teach with his brother's fury!
On the ground, Zoro and Kuina moved simultaneously.
"Don't let him catch his breath." Zoro's tone was calm, Enma trembled slightly in his hand, its purplish-black Haki flowing like electricity.
"Understood." Kuina's gaze was like frost, her toes lightly touching the ground, her figure transforming into a streak of blood.
The Wado Ichimonji spewed forth crimson flames, its sharp edge Sky Splitter and leaving a deep red trail.
A surge of air rose beneath Luffy's feet, and he suddenly bent over, his dragon scales shimmering against his skin, golden flames emanating from his chest.
"--Dragon 'Dragon Breath!!"
With a furious roar, a blazing column of energy erupted forth, like a golden-red dragon roaring up and piercing the sky, with heat waves sweeping across the land!
Teach's eyes narrowed, and his smile faltered slightly.
"Thief... Haha?!"
His arms suddenly turned rubbery, and his whole body was stretched backward like a slingshot being pulled long.
"Rubber Glide Bomb!!"
"Bang--!"
He used the force to rebound, his body spinning rapidly, creating a sonic boom that narrowly avoided the devastating Dragon Breath.
Golden flames grazed his shoulder, turning half the sky crimson.
Before he could even catch his breath—
Two beams of light shot towards us from the left and right!
"Twin Stars: Lion's Song!!"
Zoro and Kuina's twin blade strikes resembled intertwined stars, their bloodlust and Haki merging into one. The golden and red lights converged to form a cross-shaped trajectory that tore through the sky, slashing towards Teach with a roar that shattered the void!
"Damn it—!" Teach's temples bulged with veins. Sensing the deadly pressure, he spread his arms wide and roared:
"Rubber Escape Rocket!!"
With a sudden outstretched reach, he gripped the churning rubber clouds high in the sky and yanked hard!
"Bang!!"
He shot out like an arrow drawn from a bow, instantly piercing the sky!
"Boom--!"
The next moment, the Twin Stars Slash exploded beneath him, the Shockwave unleashing a violent blast of air that tore the entire ruins of Hachinosu into countless cracks.
The gale whipped up stone chips and flames, as if an apocalyptic storm was sweeping across the world.
In the sky, where firelight and dust mingled, Teach's figure was illuminated by the reflected golden flames, and his laughter rang out again—chaotic, arrogant, and full of provocation.
"Ha ha ha—Navy! That's more like it!!"
High in the sky, flames rolled and the heavens were illuminated as if they were a burning Purgatory.
The heatwave churned and twisted in the air, even baking the clouds until they glowed red.
Teach felt a pressure sweeping over him from above and abruptly looked up—
Ace hovered atop the fiery clouds, his eyes cold and sharp as knives. The flames around him were compressed to their limit by the high temperature, forming rings of blazing white energy vortexes.
The "Flaming Spear," heated to four thousand degrees by the Heat-Heat Fruit, burned fiercely in his hand, its shaft almost transparent, causing even the air to tremble violently.
"--Great Flame Commandment - Fire God Spear!!"
Ace roared and hurled the Flaming Spear that scorched the heavens and earth!
The spearhead Heaven Breaker, tearing the air apart in an instant, leaving a dazzling golden-red trail of flame, like a divine judgment descending, piercing straight towards Teach's heart!
"Hehehe! Well done, Ace!!"
Instead of backing down, Teach revealed an even more maniacal smile.
His muscles bulged, and his body spun rapidly like a whirlwind. His right leg was instantly dyed black by Armament Haki and then covered by the power of the dark Swamp, transforming into a demonic whip that devoured light.
"Oakuma Black Whip!!"
"Boom--!"
The next moment, fire and darkness collided head-on high in the sky!
A violent explosion tore through the sky, and the intense heat of four thousand degrees Celsius and the bottomless darkness devoured and roared each other.
Flames transformed into a golden storm that swept in all directions, while black mist churned and coiled like Arlong, the two intertwining into a vortex of destruction.
A blazing Shockwave swept across the sky and earth, shattering layers of clouds. Gale-force winds carried flames in all directions, completely igniting the sky above the island!
At the epicenter of this explosion of light and darkness, Teach's body was struck in the chest by the powerful recoil, his maniacal laughter abruptly stopped, and blood mist spurted from his mouth.
"Gulp--haha... cough!!"
His body lost its balance and plummeted from the sky like a falling comet, leaving a dark trail behind him.
"Bang--!"
He slammed into the ground, creating a massive dust storm and a tsunami of debris, leaving a crater hundreds of meters deep.
Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, the lingering flames danced in the air, as if even the air itself was burning.
Ace hovered in mid-air, flames churning around him, panting as he looked down. "This isn't over yet, Teach."
Thick smoke billowed from the ground, just as everyone was staring intently—
"Hahaha..."
A low, hoarse laugh, as if coming from the depths of hell, echoed through the ruins.
"This is interesting... but this Ignition won't burn me to death!"
The laughter reverberated, accompanied by a strange tremor.
The earth trembled, and the air resonated.
Then, that familiar yet chilling "drumbeat" sounded again—
"Bang... bang... bang bang..."
The rhythm was slow, yet incredibly heavy, each beat like the heartbeat of some ancient behemoth.
The sound came from the depths of the earth, yet it echoed in everyone's chest, sending chills down their spines and causing their heartbeats to become involuntarily disordered.
On the other side of the Battlefield, in the dim shadows of the ruins, Cat Viper and Inuarashi, two massive, heavily wounded men being dragged along by the remnants of the Blackbeard Alliance, suddenly opened their eyes.
Both men were covered in wounds, yet they trembled slightly at the sound of the drums, as if summoned by some ancient power.
"That sound..." the Cat Viper's voice was hoarse, "... like it's calling us..."
Inuarashi's expression was pained, yet also filled with disbelief, awe, and fear. "No... it's not just us... it's resonance...!!"
"Bang--Bang--Bang bang--!"
The drumbeats suddenly quickened, as if the pulse of heaven and earth had been fully awakened.
With a final, deep rumble, the smoke and dust were slowly dispersed by the shockwave.
A massive black shadow emerged from the firelight--
Teach still stood in the deep pit, his body tall and twisted, the black Swamp beneath his feet churning and writhing like a living thing, as if the entire earth had been corroded into a living abyss.
The air was compressed by his breath, making a faint hissing sound, and even the wind dared not approach.
"Thief--hahaha..."
Teach chuckled softly and slowly raised his head.
That smile was no longer simply arrogant, but carried a chilling, cruel, almost divine coldness.
The black and gold light in his eyes flashed alternately, as if he were judging all living beings.
"Bring it on..."
He spread his arms, and the black swamp beneath his feet instantly seemed to boil, spreading in all directions.
"I'm not here to joke around!"
Suddenly, a dark aura swept across the heavens and earth, even dimming the raging flames in the sky.