Hawkeye Enters the Fray
At this moment, the fighting in the area where the Whitebeard Pirates were located had subsided.
Teach was still fighting Gild Tesoro and Doflamingo alone, covered in blood, fighting relentlessly and clinging to the treasure chest.
Even when members of the Whitebeard Pirates offered to keep the items safe for him so he could fight freely, he resolutely refused.
Of course, Teach's reason was that he was worried about them being implicated. After all, the focus of their war zone was always the Dark-Dark Fruit, and whoever obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit would undoubtedly become the target of everyone's hatred. Therefore, Teach firmly stated that he was already very grateful that his brothers had come to help him, so how could he let his brothers take on even more risks? He would bear all the blame himself.
Apart from Marco, who remained doubtful, the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates were moved to tears.
Big Brother Teach is truly a man. Even though he was beaten to a pulp, and even though he could have fought the Gild Tesoro and the Heavenly Yaksha fairly if he had just handed over the "danger" to them, he still firmly chose to keep the danger by his side. This righteous act made them extremely grateful.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates lived up to their reputation as the elite of the elite. Even a small fry possessed considerable combat power. Combined with the powerful effect of Marco's "Rebirth Flame," they successfully blocked the attack of over a thousand people.
Because of this, the groups that were initially incited and driven by passion gradually calmed down. They had only joined the battle because of the possibility of obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit in the midst of the chaos. Otherwise, they would not have dared to fight against a behemoth like the Whitebeard Pirates under normal circumstances. Now that the hope of obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit was becoming increasingly slim, they were all thinking about their way out.
The reason is that their group lacks a leader, or rather, someone who can keep things under control. Although Doflamingo and Gild Tesoro are powerful, they are mostly fighting that black guy and don't have much interaction with them.
The Whitebeard Pirates naturally noticed the retreat of this rabble and intensified their attacks, seemingly trying to force these forces to take a stand.
Just as the battle reached a stalemate, a terrifying slash suddenly struck, its destructive aura pressing down on everyone's hearts, as if it were a harbinger of the destruction of heaven and earth.
"Hawkeye, what are you trying to do?" Jozu roared in fury, his entire body rapidly turning into diamond as he shielded the Whitebeard Pirates, blocking Hawkeye's attack.
"I just want to find someone to test my sword!" Hawkeye's tone was completely flat, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "As a Diamond-Diamond Devil Fruit User, you have the strongest physical defense in the world. I'd like to see if your so-called diamond can block my slash."
"Hmph, I'd also like to know if the World's Strongest slash can break through my defense?" Jozu retorted sharply, rising into the air like a cannonball, his dazzling diamonds shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight.
Marco instinctively sensed something was wrong. After learning that Hawkeye was involved, those forces that were already backing down began to gleam with greed again.
Hawkeye has always been a loner, without his own faction, and since he himself has no need for Devil Fruit, he is practically the best ally for various factions. Possessing immense combat power without the fear of him stealing their Devil Fruit, these faction leaders have rekindled their ambition for the Dark-Dark Fruit.
More importantly, Jozu's significance in the Whitebeard Pirates was not just as a meat shield. It was he and Marco who held off all the high-end combat forces of those forces, giving the Whitebeard Pirates time to catch their breath and launch a counterattack.
Now, Marco alone is no longer capable of stopping all the leaders of those forces, and the balance of the battle has once again tilted towards the underlings.
Teach's face was covered in blood, and his eyes were gloomy. He had clearly noticed the series of changes brought about by Hawkeye's arrival.
"Damn Hawkeye, he actually came after Jozu at this crucial moment! And these bastards who covet my Dark-Dark Fruit, I won't let any of them get away with this!"
These faction leaders felt a chill run down their spines as Teach's sinister and bloodthirsty gaze swept over them. They knew they had probably offended this hidden bigwig in the Whitebeard Pirates, and their attacks became increasingly ruthless and violent.
They were all desperate criminals who had lived on the edge of a knife, so they knew that even if they wanted to reconcile now, they would probably not escape being purged in the future. Since they had already offended him, they might as well offend him even more. As long as they obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, they could go anywhere in the world.
"You dare to be distracted while fighting us? Do you think you're Whitebeard? 16 Sacred Vicious Bullet: God's Execution!" Doflamingo was also enraged. It was one thing to be no match for a monster like Nightmare, but he never expected that this guy who appeared out of nowhere would have such terrifying strength.
Sixteen giant white lines, wrapped in a high-density military color, rose from the ground and pierced towards Teach at an extremely fast speed, as if the entire world was being strangled.
"You bastard, give me back my Dark-Dark Fruit! Golden Divine Punishment!" Gild Tesoro seemed convinced that Teach had stolen his Dark-Dark Fruit. Under his control, the entire Golden City writhed and churned, and a giant golden spear, forged from metal, emerged from the ground and pierced the sky.
This is why very few people can get involved in their battlefield. Almost all Paramecia Devil Fruit Awakening users have the ability to change the world. Anyone who sets foot on this battlefield is likely to be killed before they even get close.
Even someone as strong as Teach dared not confront him head-on for the time being, and could only flee in a sorry state, almost like a stray dog.
Boom!
A flash of sword light appeared on the horizon, tearing the sky apart and causing the sea below to churn to both sides.
Almost everyone stopped fighting and stared blankly at the sky.
Red Hair and Scopper Gaban pierced Roy's chest one after the other with their longswords, while a light rain fell from the sky, seemingly foreshadowing the fall of a legend.
"What the hell? Isn't Nightmare supposed to be strong? Even if he can't beat those two working together, he should be able to hold out for a longer period of time!" Blackbeard sensed something was wrong upon seeing this and cursed inwardly.
In fact, he knew that Nightmare's ability to withstand the combined attack of the two for so long was already an extremely powerful display of strength.
While Scopper Gaban's strength is not comparable to either Red Hair or Nightmare, it is not far off. When Red Hair and Nightmare are locked in a stalemate, any variable could tip the scales of victory, let alone a top-tier fighter like Scopper Gaban.
However, even knowing this, he was still very depressed.
After all, he was already slightly weaker than Red Hair, and their current conditions were worlds apart. Red Hair was almost completely unharmed, while he was nearly seriously injured. Even if Marco helped him stop Scopper Gaban, he would still end up in a miserable state against Red Hair.