Teach Strikes-The Queen's Request

The pirate slowly walked forward until he stood in front of Mobius. "Don't!"

"Hahaha!" he laughed wickedly, holding a knife with its point aimed down at Mobius's neck. All it would take was a slight push, and the blade would pierce Mobius's throat.

He turned to look at the desperate-looking boys, a delighted smile spreading across his face. "Hahaha, watch closely, all of you."

"Don't!" Everyone watched, their eyes wide.

The pirate acted decisively, gripping the knife handle and stabbing downward.

"Clang!" A metallic impact rang out. "Huh?" A figure suddenly appeared beside the pirate. It was Teach. He extended his right leg and easily stopped the knife with the top of his foot.

"Zehahaha! Picking on the weak isn't something a strong person would do," Teach said with a laugh.

"W-who are you?" The pirate felt a fear in Teach's presence that he had only ever felt around Captain Barton.

"Zehahaha. Who knows?" Teach had no intention of telling them. In his eyes, the pirate was already a dead man.

"But you made my queen cry!" Teach said, his expression gradually turning serious. "Teach..." Anne murmured from nearby.

Teach's eyes widened as he released Conqueror's Haki. An invisible aura spread out from him in every direction, a powerful mental force that bore down on those beneath him.

To the others, it looked as if the pirates had suddenly frozen in place. Then their eyes went blank, and they all lost consciousness. Their bodies went limp, and their weapons fell to the ground one after another, clattering loudly.

One by one, the pirates' bodies slumped helplessly to the ground.

"You... you... you..." Only one pirate remained conscious: a mid-level Blood Scythe Pirates officer. He trembled all over, staring wide-eyed at Teach, as though he wanted to say something. His weapon had slipped from his hand and fallen to the ground at some point, his body numb.

"C-Conqueror's Haki!" He was no weakling and had seen quite a few people with this gift. After all, their captain, Barton, possessed Conqueror's Haki too.

"Shing!" Teach vanished from where he stood and appeared in front of the pirate in an instant. His right hand turned into a claw and pierced straight through the man's chest. The pirate couldn't fight back at all. The light slowly faded from his eyes. His final expression was one of shock—and regret.

The remaining people stared at the scene in shock. What had just happened? Teach had dealt with the pirates effortlessly, knocking all but one unconscious, then pierced the last man's chest in an instant.

He's... he's too strong. That was all they could think.

Anne was shocked too. She might have guessed that the young pirate standing before her, Teach, had some strength, but she had never imagined he was this powerful.

Conqueror's Haki! This is Conqueror's Haki! Mobius cried out inwardly, overcome with excitement. He forced himself to his feet, slowly rising despite the pain. The pirate had hit them hard, but only left them unable to resist for a short while. Though it hurt, they would recover soon, and their ordinary movements weren't affected.

Mobius was closest to Teach. Though Teach hadn't directed his Haki at him, Mobius still felt the immense pressure clearly. In that moment, Teach's figure seemed impossibly majestic.

He had also clearly caught the last pirate's words, though they had been faint. Mobius had heard about Conqueror's Haki before. Having always been weak and bullied, he longed to become stronger and hoped to be one of the powerful.

In his free time, he liked collecting stories about the powerful figures who ruled the seas, mostly from newspapers. He also often went to taverns to listen to drunken pirates boast about their glorious exploits in their youth and share important news from across the seas.

Among the topics were Great Swordmasters, the three types of Haki, and Devil Fruits. Mobius was especially fascinated by the three types of Haki, and Conqueror's Haki in particular.

At that moment, he felt as if he had returned to five years earlier. Mobius had been only eight, drinking plain water in a tavern. Beside him sat an old pirate, nearly sixty and long retired. He was a regular at the tavern and often drank until he was thoroughly drunk. Mobius didn't know his name, but everyone else in the tavern called him Old Jack. They said that in his youth, he had sailed the seas for a full thirty years, only returning to his hometown, Sess Island, once he grew tired.

He had a wealth of experience, and the tavern's patrons often listened to Old Jack's tales of the sea. They all respected him greatly.

That day, Old Jack was talking about Conqueror's Haki. Curious, Mobius asked, "Old Jack, what is Conqueror's Haki?"

Old Jack froze when he heard him. By then, he was already thoroughly drunk and seemed barely lucid. His face was red, liquor clung to his mustache, his eyes were unfocused, and he swayed as if he could fall over at any moment. But no one was worried; Old Jack was often like that.

"You're asking about Conqueror's Haki?" Old Jack seemed not to have heard him clearly. He looked at Mobius and asked again, leaning in close.

"Mm!" Mobius nodded earnestly.

Old Jack heard him, shook his head as if to clear it, and seemed to become a little more lucid. He slowly set down his cup and raised his head slightly, looking upward as though thinking, or remembering.

Mobius and the others stayed quiet, not disturbing him. Whenever Old Jack was trying to recall something important, he acted like this. Everyone was curious. They lived in the New World and often heard about the three types of Haki, but none of them had any real idea what Conqueror's Haki was. They only knew it was something powerful, and Old Jack would have to explain it.

"Conqueror's Haki..." Old Jack seemed to remember. He took a small sip of liquor, then sighed, his gaze growing clearer. "It's an ability one is born with. You can't learn it later, nor can you inherit it. It's determined by your own fate."

Seeing everyone look confused, Old Jack shook his head. "Fate is too vague a concept for you lot. Let me put it another way: only one person in a million will possess Conqueror's Haki. Every top Great Pirate on the seas today has it. Even Sengoku, the current Marine Admiral, possesses Conqueror's Haki."

"So it has another name, and that is—" Old Jack smiled and said earnestly, "the qualities of a king."

"The qualities of a king!" Everyone around him cried out when they heard Old Jack's words. What an impressive title.

Mobius's eyes widened. The qualities of a king.

"As for how Conqueror's Haki manifests, I've sailed the seas for so many years, but I've only seen it a few times," Old Jack said. "I can't really explain exactly what it's like."

"I think it's an invisible aura that knocks other people out." Old Jack took another drink, then spread his arms. Suddenly, he slammed them down on the table, making the people around him jump. His eyes widened. "I remember now! I felt it myself once. Someone widened his eyes, and everyone around him fainted at the same time. Just like a king."

Teach yanked his hand out of the pirate officer's abdomen. Blood streamed down his fingers and dripped to the ground. In less than three seconds, not a trace of blood remained on his hand. It was perfectly clean.

He turned and slowly walked over to Mobius, smiling. "You've got a lot of courage, kid." Mobius heard him and straightened despite the pain, looking at Teach with respect and admiration.

Teach found that a little strange, but figured the boy must be yearning for his strength.

"Mobius, are you all right?" Anne hurried over, looking at him with concern.

"Haha, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while," Mobius laughed. The feeling of having survived a close call left him feeling much more at ease—and he had grown a lot, too. So had everyone else.

"Don't do that again," Anne said, still worried. But her gaze turned toward the harbor, where a commotion was underway. The sounds of battle could be felt even from here.

"I wonder how Dad is doing..." Anne was worried. Her father, Vice Admiral Anthony, was the Marine Branch chief stationed on Sess Island, so he was surely on the front lines fighting the Blood Scythe Pirates. Anne could imagine that her father was fighting there right now.

"Anne," Teach said gravely. The sound of his voice filled her with foreboding.

"Vice Admiral Anthony's condition isn't good. His presence is growing weaker. Blood Scythe Barton is a little stronger than he is. If this continues, Vice Admiral Anthony might..." Teach didn't finish, but Anne could easily imagine what he meant. He had made it more than clear.

"How could this happen?" Anne couldn't believe it. She didn't want to lose the father who loved her. Although Anthony had little time to spend with her, he always tried to make time for her and showed up for the most important moments in her life, giving her love and happiness.

She knew what her father's work entailed. It was a noble duty. He bore the responsibility of keeping hundreds of thousands of people safe, and he did it to protect her and her mother, too.

Anne's mother, standing beside her, began to cry. She was a gentle woman, but also fragile. How could she endure the thought of losing a husband who loved her and their daughter?

"Teach, you're so strong. You can surely help my dad." Anne looked at Teach, her voice urgent, though she hesitated as well. "But... but..."

But Teach was a pirate, while her father was a Marine—a Vice Admiral, no less. How could he possibly agree to help?

Anne's mind was in turmoil. She had no idea what to do.

"Anne. Anne."

"Hm?" Teach's voice brought Anne back to the present, and she looked at him.

Teach fixed his gaze on her. "The Anne I remember wouldn't be so indecisive. She's lively and cute, but she's decisive, too."

"Remember what I said? Today, you're my queen. I can go around the amusement park with you and take you to every food stall on the street. You can ask anything of me, as long as it's what you want." Teach spoke gently.

"Really?" Anne asked. Fat tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away, and the moments she had spent with Teach that day seemed to rise before her.

"Of course, my queen." Teach smiled and nodded. At that moment, Anne was just a vulnerable little girl.

"Then..." Anne looked at Teach and wiped the tears from her face. She lifted her chest and raised her head, returning to her queenly bearing—the confident, lively queen.

"Teach, I'm asking you to help my dad. Don't let him die," Anne said, sniffing and holding back her sobs.

"Yes, my Queen Anne." Teach lowered his head like a knight and smiled at her. "Anne, can I take this as a request from the future first mate of my pirate crew?"

"First mate?" Anne's eyes lit up when she heard that. Teach nodded.

"Mm!" Anne nodded firmly, without a hint of hesitation.

"Then wait for good news!" Teach's voice rang out through the air. He flashed out of sight, vanishing from where he stood.

Meanwhile, at Sess Island's harbor.

"What a monster..." Vice Admiral Anthony lay amid the rubble, panting as he murmured. He looked battered. His coat of justice had long since disappeared, and his brown suit was in tatters. His blue tie, riddled with tears, hung over his shoulder.

Blood streaked his body, every wound carved by Barton's scythes. Their attacks were so powerful that even his Armament Haki couldn't fully block them.

But as a veteran Vice Admiral of just forty-five, Anthony was still in his prime. Barton's ability was troublesome, but his overall strength only slightly surpassed Anthony's. Barton was in bad shape too, though he only seemed to grow more ferocious as the fight went on.

Anthony pulled a golden pocket watch from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a photograph of a woman wearing a gentle smile beside a little girl. It was a picture of his wife and daughter.

Anthony closed the watch and slowly rose from the rubble. It felt as though his strength had returned. "I'm not giving up, Barton!"

Anthony roared and charged at Barton, who was slowly making his way toward him.

Barton didn't look well either, but the aura around him was exceptionally strong. Anthony had punched three bloody holes in his abdomen and landed a blow to his head. Barton had also suffered various other injuries. Despite how badly he was hurt, the wounds had already begun to scab over.

"Anthony, I'm going to kill you and cut off your head!" Barton roared back. His hands had turned into scythes, making them true blood scythes. The Scythe Fruit's ability was fairly limited, but Barton had developed the power to absorb blood. It was a slow process, but he could use it to heal his injuries. The origin of Barton's epithet, "Blood Scythe," wasn't just his love of massacres and the blood that covered his scythes; this was another important reason.

"Your seven-hundred-million bounty doesn't do you justice," Anthony said. They had fought for another hundred rounds or so, and the pressure on Anthony kept mounting. He began fighting for his life. Though he inflicted serious injuries on Barton, he himself started to falter. He had used Life Return repeatedly to recover from his wounds, fighting desperately to hurt Barton, and his stamina was nearly gone. At last, Barton found an opening. A flash of blood-red light streaked past.