Ambush and Surrender

"Alright, tie them all up!" Blackbeard clapped his hands, a guileless grin spreading across his face. Just as he turned around, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet give way.

Not good! Blackbeard reacted swiftly. His Observation Haki instantly penetrated underground, sensing a human-shaped figure in the earth gripping his ankle.

Powerful Armament Haki spread over his leg before bursting outward in an instant.

Blackbeard had intended to shatter the hand gripping his ankle, but the moment his Armament Haki erupted, the figure beneath his feet instantly turned into a puddle of mud.

As he froze for a moment, Blackbeard suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. A razor-sharp claw blade had already stabbed into the center of his back.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to cover his entire body with Armament Haki. The claw blade only sank deep into his muscles and did not damage his internal organs.

Of course, another reason was that his attacker had not used his full strength. Otherwise, if Chakra had erupted, it would have extended the claw blade's reach by another seven or eight centimeters, enough to pierce straight through his lungs.

Having narrowly escaped death, the enraged Blackbeard no longer bothered concealing his strength. His Armament Haki-coated fist swung viciously backward, striking an "ordinary" Spade Pirates crew member who had been pretending to be unconscious.

Bang! The Spade Pirates crew member exploded from Blackbeard's punch, turning into countless wood chips that scattered through the air.

"That was close. Good thing I'd already prepared the Substitution Jutsu. Otherwise, even if I used the Munch-Munch Fruit to turn into a Steel Body, that punch would've made me cough up blood."

Yota's voice slowly rang out. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Blackbeard Teach. "I never expected the Whitebeard Pirates to have such an obscure powerhouse. Your strength should be no weaker than those Squad Commanders, right?"

After hearing that, Blackbeard Teach immediately calmed down. Looking at the Whitebeard Pirates crew members gazing at him with admiration, then at the stern-faced Yota, he could not help but groan inwardly.

It was not that he feared Yota was stronger than him. Given their respective strengths, it would take at least a day or two to determine the victor, and by then Whitebeard Pirates reinforcements would have long since arrived.

The problem was that he had always concealed his strength. That attack had already exposed quite a bit, and against an opponent like Yota, he could not afford to hold back even a fraction of his fighting power.

"Zehahahaha! I never expected that I could unleash such powerful strength in a moment of danger either!"

"But if I remember correctly, shouldn't you have been on the battlefield with Pops? How did you suddenly appear here?"

Still, Blackbeard did his utmost to cover things up while trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. At the same time, he genuinely did have that question.

"Just a few little tricks. A simple feint." Yota replied indifferently. In truth, when Ace had used the wall of fire to block everyone's sight, Yota had taken the opportunity to use the Clone Technique. The one still watching the battle over there was merely an Earth Clone.

He had simply wanted to see whether there was a chance to obtain Blackbeard's body structure data.

After all, Blackbeard was completely different from people like Ace and Yamato. He was cautious by nature and deeply calculating. Finding an opportunity to swallow him would not be easy.

More importantly, he was powerful yet never fought for prominence. Within the Whitebeard Pirates, he had practically no chance of getting injured. Without an injury, how could Yota use treatment as an excuse to swallow him?

Judging by the current timeline, Ace had joined the Whitebeard Pirates for no more than a year or two before Blackbeard obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit and betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates.

By then, if Yota wanted Blackbeard's body structure data, he would have to beat him flat first. That would undoubtedly be many times more difficult.

Yet this time, Yota's luck had truly exploded. His wish had practically come true. He had no idea what had gotten into the normally low-key Blackbeard today, but Blackbeard had actually come here to intercept the Spade Pirates crew, giving him an opportunity to strike.

As for now, seeing Blackbeard rambling on in an attempt to stall for time, he had no idea that Yota himself had lost any desire to fight as well.

Even if he was powerful enough to beat Blackbeard up, so what? The Spade Pirates were still far too fragile compared to the Whitebeard Pirates. They had no chance of winning at all.

He was still waiting to join the Whitebeard Pirates and reap more benefits!

After that, Blackbeard and Yota began chatting about all sorts of nonsense with surprising mutual understanding. Blackbeard had still harbored some suspicions, but after glancing at the tied-up Spade Pirates crew members, he assumed Yota had refrained from attacking because he was worried about his companions.

About ten minutes later, a streak of azure flame flashed through the sky. Upon landing, it transformed into a man with half-lidded eyes and blond hair shaped like a pineapple. It was Phoenix Marco.

"Huh?! You're the Spade Pirates' ship doctor? Weren't you just over there?" Marco looked at Yota in surprise and asked quietly.

"Ah... I originally wanted to try circling around by sea for a sneak attack... I didn't expect to be discovered. The Whitebeard Pirates really are something. Even some inconspicuous guy possesses strength and wisdom not to be underestimated." Yota sighed and waved a hand.

At those words, Blackbeard Teach merely chuckled foolishly. Perhaps his disguise was simply too convincing, because Marco did not think much of it. Instead, he said with some pride, "Of course. Teach has followed Pops for twenty years. He's no ordinary person."

Then his tone shifted. "By the way, little brother, Fire Fist Ace has already been defeated. Are you still going to keep fighting?"

"Our Captain is alright, right?" Yota tilted his head and asked. He sounded remarkably calm, as though he had no awareness that the two Pirate Crews had just been enemies.

"He's fine. Pops thinks highly of him and plans to keep him on the ship." Marco was mild-tempered and did not mind. Instead, he answered Yota earnestly.

"I see..." Yota sighed, withdrew his claw blades, and spat out his weapons. "Then I surrender."

"Uh!" Marco was rather surprised by this utterly straightforward scene. After all, both Ace and Yamato, who had fought a group of commanders afterward, were stubborn people. Put bluntly, they were both hardheaded.

Even now, although the two had been defeated, they still looked unconvinced. All they could think about was how to defeat the Whitebeard Pirates.

He had never expected the third pillar of the Spade Pirates to surrender so readily.