Powerful Counterattack

Both men are skilled in physical combat. Gilman has the ability to amplify his abilities, while Nickt also has the skill to use his abilities, using sonic booms to unleash even greater speeds.

However, although they were much stronger than those veteran Vice Admiral, the gap between them and Teach was still huge.

After all, Teach's dominance is all-around. When the gap between the two is not large, or even slightly different, the fight will be evenly matched.

However, when the gap widens and there are disparities in all aspects, the battle may become one-sided.

While Gilman's strength and speed, amplified by his abilities, are not quite on par with Teach's, he is still very strong, and he also has Nickt's help by his side.

Although the two weren't exactly telepathic, they had a great understanding of each other. However, their misjudgment of Teach's speed in the face of his Teach burst of speed caught them off guard.

Teach's figure was indeed detected by the two of them using their Observation Haki. At this level, unless someone with the ability helps, it is actually very difficult to avoid being detected by others through speed.

Being able to perceive it is one issue; whether the body can react in time is another.

Teach's physique reached the level of Admiral. This physique included strength, speed, explosiveness, physical strength, and even vitality.

Only now has Teach's physique truly reached the monstrous level he had envisioned.

Having reached this point, Teach had no more scruples and wanted to show the world his power.

In order to train himself, Teach's initial fight against Vice Admiral Brom, who had eaten the Smash Fruit, was actually devoid of any skill. In later battles, in order to hone his physical skills and refine his Armament Haki, Teach adopted a completely head-on, confrontational fighting style.

However, it should be noted that he is a top-tier Observation Haki expert, and the two Admiral candidates are also quite strong, with great speed and power. The moment they caught Teach's trail, the two reacted instantly and unleashed their powerful attacks.

However, Teach dodged it, using his Observation Haki Teach to pass directly between the two and evade their attacks.

This is the real battle. Some differences are not so simple; they could be two levels apart, an insurmountable chasm.

Teach's sudden outburst sent the two Marine Vice Admiral flying with a Teach and a kick, instantly creating a powerful gust of air.

This scene caused many people's pupils to shrink involuntarily, especially the speed that Teach unleashed, which very few people could actually catch.

Because through the video, it's impossible to see Teach's speed just now, and it's also impossible to use Observation Haki to capture it like in a real battle.

However, these strong individuals, through experience, can roughly judge Teach's speed.

With Rediat as a prime example, Teach's physique is somewhat inferior. Rediat ate Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, which greatly enhanced his physique. However, Rediat, who inherited the "The Lone Red" bloodline, possesses monstrous talent, so how could he be weak in terms of physique?

Teach has a very strong physique, possessing natural vitality and great strength, but more importantly, he relies on a lot of time for training.

However, the top-tier powerhouses on the high seas noticed Teach's Haki, which had reached the Armament Haki of internal destruction. It was unknown whether there were any higher levels, but according to the regulations governing Armament Haki on the high seas, this meant that Teach's Armament Haki had reached the highest level.

Teach spent two years learning Haki in the New World, honing his Haki Armament Hardening to its extreme and touching upon "Ryou". It wasn't until his battle with Bullet that Teach truly mastered "Ryou".

The flowing aura of Haki moves around the body, forming an invisible armor that possesses stronger attack and defense than ordinary Haki. It can also attack the opponent without touching them, enabling ranged attacks.

Until the final internal destruction, Teach struggled for more than two years in the "Ryou" form, and finally, half a year ago, on Beast Island, he truly advanced his Haki.

The Haki internal destruction, though described as an advanced application of Ryou, is actually on a completely different level.

By concentrating Haki into a single point, one can unleash an extremely destructive attack. Furthermore, it can penetrate the enemy's tough outer layer and strike directly from their vulnerable interior.

This requires more than just skill; it demands a much stronger, more imposing Haki and power—a process that requires accumulation.

After all that hard work, who knows how the future Luffy directly skipped over Ryou and reached the highest level of Armament Haki in such a short time.

Even Garp, in order to enhance his Haki, directly flattened seven mountains.

However, Teach's accumulation is terrifying; the quality and quantity of his Armament Haki have been continuously improving.

With a series of loud bangs, it was clear that the two Marine Vice Admiral couldn't have lost their fighting ability just like that, Teach didn't believe he could defeat them with a single move.

However, in this year, Teach's progress has been leapfrog and all-round, not just in terms of physique and Armament Haki.

After all, once you reach a certain point, many things will fall into place naturally.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Teach opened his arms and began to rapidly transform them into demonic claws that were somewhat familiar to them. An extreme dark purple Haki covered Teach's arms, which were also entwined with eerie black energy— Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit ability.

Previously, Teach had never used it.

On the other side, the two Marine Vice Admiral steadied themselves, quickly stood up, dusted themselves off, and then looked very solemnly at Teach in the distance.

Undoubtedly, they were injured. Nickt was alright; although Teach's Haki had entered Haki body, Haki can usually counteract each other. However, Teach's Haki was directly breached and invaded his body. Moreover, that powerful punch carried immense force, almost displacing his internal organs.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his stomach with one hand; Teach alone had made him feel quite unwell.

Gilman was no exception. His brain was attacked. Teach's sharp kicks, powerful strength, and destructive Haki caused him to lose consciousness and control of his body in agony the moment he was hit.

However, Gilman quickly regained his senses. Having reached the rank of Vice Admiral, their physical strength had already reached inhuman levels. Moreover, Gilman was a powerful Ancient Zoan - Ancient Species Devil Fruit User with immense vitality.

Even so, that kick directly injured his head, and Teach also broke his neck. If it weren't for his strong vitality, physique, and the flexibility of the Titan Python's body, that kick might have taken his life.

Now, Teach has become even more dangerous. The enhancement of his Haki has made Teach attacks more destructive and has also completely elevated Teach physical skills and offensive power.

Only those who have personally experienced Teach's attacks can understand how terrifying Teach is now. Teach's combat power has increased dramatically, far surpassing what it was when he first entered the Admiral level.

Teach's hands and claws, being Teach most frequently used and most lethal offensive weapons, Teach actually stronger than any other part of his body.

Especially the hardness of his bones. Teach has been using Sword Qi to temper his hand bones, which is already the limit. This is an extremely dangerous training, and if it were to spread to a wider area, it could put his life in danger.

There's also the tempering of Haki. However, Haki is used to temper Teach's physique, just like forging the "Black Blade" with Haki. It's the same method, but extremely difficult, especially since it consumes a huge amount of Haki. Teach only recently started training in this area, which Teach calls "Armament Haki".

Similarly, it was an extremely painful process, making Teach somewhat regretful that he had eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit so early.

"Ready to face hell?" A cruel smile crept across Teach's face, sending a chill down one's spine.

Its extremely sharp claws are enough to easily tear apart the body of a giant beast.

As soon as he finished speaking, Teach vanished from his spot, silently and rapidly approaching the two of them.

The two Marine Vice Admiral were on high alert. Although they could sense Teach's presence, they were unable to pinpoint Teach location. This was their predicament.

In an instant, Nickt struck, unleashing a powerful punch towards the direction Teach was approaching.

"Explosive Sound Fist!"

Like a howling storm, it instantly swept through the forest in front of the main scene. Gilman was so close to Nickt that he was inevitably affected and couldn't help but cover his ears. The blast wasn't sharp, but its power was truly enormous, as if it exploded right next to his ears.

This punch caused the ground a hundred meters in front to be flattened by the powerful Explosive Sound Impact, and the lowest point sank three meters, forming a huge crater.

Nickt's explosive power is still quite amazing.

However, such a victory did not make them lower their guard. Gilman even had a bad feeling. They knew that Teach could not have been dealt with so easily. At the same time, Teach's whereabouts were not revealed, and they could not sense Teach's presence. It was as if he had disappeared into Teach air. What was going on? It was even a bit strange.

The next moment, as if sensing something, the two simultaneously raised their heads and looked up into the air. Teach's body had appeared in mid-air at some point, and judging from Teach appearance, he was completely unharmed.

What shocked them even more was that their Observation Haki seemed to have stopped working. Just like before, even when they looked at Teach, they couldn't sense Teach's presence.

This was a technique Teach hadn't used in a long time; using his Observation Haki, he isolated his aura, concealing it completely and not letting it leak out.

That's why they couldn't sense Teach's presence.

At that moment, Teach made his move, hovering in mid-air, looking down, raising his claws and swinging them downwards with all his might. His fingertips sliced through the air, creating faint ripples, as if foreshadowing something.

"Demon Claw - Ten Blades!"

As the name suggests, ten blade-like slashes were unleashed by Teach through his arm. Each slash was powerful, not as massive as Rediat's, but still not to be underestimated.

Furthermore, these ten slashes, arranged in pairs of five, crossed and attacked Nickt and his companions rapidly. The sheer size of the attack and the close proximity meant they had no time to dodge; the ten slashes were already upon them.

Many people were very surprised to see Teach Teach two knives hanging at Teach waist, as well as a longsword.

However, Teach did not use it. Instead, he directly unleashed Swordmaster's slash with his hand. With their sword light, one could naturally see the difference between the slashes. The Swordmaster's slash carried a powerful Sword Intent and a sharpness.

However, attacks like the Tempest Kick, which are typical air slashes, don't have this feeling; they are merely impacts with less power.

I didn't expect Teach to use sword techniques in this way, but for most people, it's ultimately unorthodox and doesn't conform to the mainstream.

These powerful slashes caused Gilman to change their expressions. Although each slash was not as powerful as Rediat's, it still posed a great threat to them. These were all slashes that only Great Swordmaster could unleash.

Moreover, the sharpness of the strikes was extremely powerful. Each strike was not wide, but rather like a thin thread, heading towards the two Vice Admiral like a spider web, as if to wrap them up inside.

In this situation, they had no time to escape, so they slightly shifted their positions to minimize the number of blows they could withstand.

However, due to the short time, they were all covered by the net-like structure in the middle.

If they get hit, they'll definitely be in bad shape.

"Sonic Tremor!"

Nickt made his move, not using his strongest attack, but raising his arms towards the sky. Layers of shockwaves erupted, directly impacting the ten slashes. The speed of the slashes' descent was affected, slowing down and weakening them.

At that moment, Gilman made his move. His body rapidly grew to enormous size, and his massive tail, wrapped in Armament Haki, lashed out fiercely towards the sky.

"Poison Dragon Tail!"

With a powerful flick, the air twisted and reversed direction, tumbling and flowing towards the center in two directions, representing the immense power of Gilman's attack.

Boom!

These ten slashes were directly blasted away by Gilman. Teach hadn't expected his move to be effective, but he had already achieved his goal.

This was to create the perfect opportunity for his next attack.

The moment Teach used that move, he had already begun his next attack. As for what would happen next, Teach had already anticipated it all.

In the transition period between Nickt's shot and Gilman's shot, Teach appeared directly behind Nickt, who had just made his shot.