The Situation Escalates: The Officers' Battle

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Right now, the most deserted battlefield on Whole Cake Chateau undoubtedly belongs to the combination of Luffy and Roman versus Teach and Lia.

The strongest in this world possess the power to tear the sky with their fists and cleave the sea with their swords, along with an invincible, indestructible body. Combined, they possess absolute combat power, capable of "single-handedly fighting across three thousand miles, a single sword once worth a million soldiers!" Moreover, because Haki is an extension of the mind, miracles such as near-death bursts of power and growing stronger with each battle exist.

Now, two tall figures, one black and one white, are locked in fierce combat in the center of the battlefield! Forget ordinary people, even pirates with bounties in the tens of millions can only see a massive energy storm entangled together, resembling a giant yin-yang symbol! And within the 'yin-yang symbol' are two small black and white dots:

"King Kong Gun!"

"Air Quake!"

Underneath his white armor, Gear Fourth Gear Luffy unleashed a torrent of black Inazuma from his fists, which were imbued with Conqueror's Haki. Meanwhile, Blackbeard's massive fists, as large as sandbags, shone with a Tremor-Tremor white light. As the two figures, locked in fierce combat, swept across the battlefield, the entire Whole Cake Chateau groaned and rumbled. If it weren't the largest island in Whole Cake Island, it would probably have sunk in the aftershocks of the battle long ago.

"Hahaha~~ Is this a burst of energy?"

"Let's see how long you can hold out!!"

Having served under Whitebeard for decades, Blackbeard's combat experience is undoubtedly vast. Luffy's explosive power after activating Fourth Gear allowed Teach to quickly deduce that this was a burst of power with significant energy expenditure and potential side effects; as long as he could stall—

No! He fears no one, not even in a direct confrontation. Because:

"We are the strongest!!"

"No, our Straw Hat crew is the strongest!"

······

At this point, let's not worry about these trivial matters. After all, this battle is basically the final showdown to determine who will become the King of the Pirates! Roman, in his white dove form, circled in the air and sighed. Although the plan had encountered some setbacks, it had ultimately succeeded in escaping the predicament. However:

The Dark-Dark Fruit is too unfair!

During the battle, Roman tested all the abilities he possessed. However, whether it was Logia or Paramecia, Super Creation or a superpower, as long as it was 'licked' by the Dark-Dark Fruit's black smoke, it was immediately reduced to its original form! Even the invincible 'barrier ability' couldn't withstand the Dark-Dark Fruit's suppression...

It's practically a bug in the Devil Fruit!

If Roman hadn't been proficient in projecting Armament Haki, creating an invisible layer of Haki defense around him, he probably would have been instantly licked back into human form from his armor. Even so, the consumption of Armament Haki was—

"Roman,... I'm nearing my limit."

Luffy's Fourth Gear consumes far more Haki! Because they've always fought against opponents far stronger than themselves, both Luffy and Roman have developed techniques that require a desperate, all-out effort. Many of Roman's powerful attacks leave him exhausted after just one use, while Luffy's Fourth Gear tends to deplete his Haki after only a short while...

"Don't panic, things will turn around soon."

Previously, when fighting various "bosses," Roman would need to rest and recover his energy after unleashing a powerful attack, and Luffy relied on everyone to buy time to recover. But this time:

"Admiral! Teach!!"

After another collision that separated the two sides, one of the Blackbeard Pirates' officers finally found an opportunity to shout out.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Teach's displeased Teach, the other party immediately explained at a rapid pace:

"It's the Navy! The Navy's elite forces have launched a fierce attack on us from all sides, led by candidate Admiral 'Momousagi' and 'Chaton'! Our men can't hold them off!"

?!

"Why is the Navy doing this at this time—?!"

Suddenly turning his head to look at Luffy, who was frantically recovering his energy on the other side... No, no, no, this guy's brain simply can't conceive of something so complicated, so:

"It's you, isn't it? The White Knight!"

Teach's gaze fell on Luffy's armor... or more precisely, on the white dove perched on the shoulder of the white armor.

"You actually colluded with the Navy?!"

"Hey, what do you mean by collusion? You're using such a nasty language."

The white dove tilted its head, looking disdainful.

"Yes, this is called joining forces!"

······

Luffy, you're too honest! This kind of thing... well, what's wrong with admitting it now that it's already done?

"Ahem, anyway, Teach, if you don't come up with a plan soon, your Blackbeard Grand Fleet will be wiped out. As for the means—"

The white dove chuckled.

"You're allowed to 'use' the navy, but we're not allowed to borrow their power? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Now you're talking about 'colluding' with the Navy... Do you, a former Shichibukai, have the right to say such things?

If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be any Impel Down or Marineford War.

·········

"—Phew, that was awesome!!"

After letting out a long breath, Teach had been furious just moments before, regained his usual composure... or rather, his ferocity.

"That's right, pirates are 'free' by nature. They don't care what means they use, as long as they can win!"

"You! Tell the outer fleet to hold off the naval attack; our reinforcements will be here soon!"

After dismissing the messenger, a cruel and greedy emotion welled up inside Teach and burst forth.

As Teach took a deep breath, his chest expanded, and then his hot, dark breath burst forth, like two ominous black flames spewed from a black dragon. The surrounding air twisted and churned, and his killing intent and Haki suddenly surged.

"Luffy, the enemy is going to fight to the death!"

"Oh!"

While Luffy and Roman were on high alert, Teach slowly raised his head, looked at the fearless Luffy and Roman in front of him, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips.

How wonderful! The grandson of Marine Hero has everything at his fingertips: power, a great teacher, a Devil Fruit, and companions.

Unlike the three siblings, who were turned into monsters...

"Let me tell you—"

Teach's towering figure charged forward, and the Tremor-Tremor Orb in his hand hurtled towards him with Wind-Driven Lightning speed, tearing through the atmosphere, suffocating the sky, and making the earth tremble!

"The cruelty of this world!"

Boom!!

With Blackbeard unleashing his full power in preparation for a swift victory, Luffy and Roman immediately felt immense pressure. This intensified the fighting on the surrounding battlefields as well.

"Franky Multi-Laser Cannon!"

Golden laser beams crisscrossed the area, then spread into huge hemispheres with a deafening roar, taking away the elite of the Blackbeard Pirates. Even pirates with hundreds of millions of dollars and Haki wrapped around them were crippled if they survived Franky's shot.

A cyborg like Franky is best suited for battlefields teeming with people, where the terrifying power of weapons is on full display. After all, he doesn't suffer from 'Haki consumption'; with General Franky full of cola as energy, he can freely unleash his firepower.

"Damn it, that 'Pacifista' is too strong, someone take it down!"

Just getting bombed wasn't enough. 'Tyrant King' Abaro Pizarro dusted off the flying debris and charged towards Franky! Facing the laser beam that Franky turned and fired, his tall figure nimbly flipped in mid-air to perfectly dodge the laser attack, and his fists, covered in arm armor Armament Haki, slammed down towards General Franky!

Meanwhile, on the other side, 'Crescent Moon Hunter' Katrin Demi also had her sights set on Robin. The two were engaged in a high-speed chase, which looked like a dance on the battlefield, but it was a deadly duet.

"This is bad, Luffy and Roman—?!"

"Shield!"

With a wave of Nami's hand, one of the papers floating beside her flew to her and instantly unfolded into a huge tower shield! On it was a pair of crossed arms with the index and middle fingers interlocked, which was Roman's 'Barrier Shield'.

The next second, an extremely hot bullet, carrying immense kinetic energy, slammed into the shield! Its speed and accuracy were astonishing; the bullet was even coated with Armament Haki! However, it was clearly not yet capable of Conqueror's Haki coating, so:

Clang!

With a crisp sound, the bullet was deflected by the shield and flew to the side. A few seconds later, a few hundred meters away from the battlefield, a dilapidated building suddenly bulged outwards. Then, countless brick fragments that had almost turned into molten lava under the strong impact suddenly erupted, leaving a large hole ten meters in diameter on the building, as if it had been bitten by a giant beast. Nami couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

A single shot unleashed the power of a heavy cannon—within the Blackbeard Pirates—

"The bullet was deflected; that's fate."

Nami can fly; just a glimpse into the sky is enough to leave most of the Blackbeard Pirates helpless. Even a great swordsman capable of unleashing Flying Slash doesn't have the energy to attack a nimble, high-flying unit. Therefore, 'Sound-Sound' Van Augur, acting as a sniper, stepped in. Of course:

"Ultimate Move: Green Star Skull Exploding Grass!"

?

Boom!!

A rapidly approaching plant seed exploded with a bang where Van Augur stood, and a huge skull of smoke slowly rose! But Usopp, who had launched the attack, suddenly changed his expression and dodged to the side, at the same time a bloody gash shot out from his arm.

"Foolish, the sniper used such a large-scale attack—"

Van Augur, emerging from the smoke of the giant skull explosion, calmly aimed his beloved 'Senriku' at Usopp.

"Fine, I'll deal with you first, you half-baked idiot."