The Combat Strength Bought with Life

Then, something surprising happened, Teach couldn't help but glance at Gilman was lying on the ground to one side.

Gilman moved, which surprised him; his fingers twitched slightly, but it didn't matter, because Gilman wasn't unconscious.

However, in Teach's perception, Gilman's vitality was rapidly increasing, ten times, or even twenty times, faster than his body's original self-healing speed.

Teach sensed a very strong life force within Gilman, and this life force was rapidly replenishing Gilman's body, accelerating the recovery of Gilman injuries.

The recovery from his injuries also boosted his abilities, showcasing the powerful regenerative abilities of Ancient Species.

They helped each other achieve this effect, but why did this happen?

Teach glanced at it briefly and roughly understood that it was still a Life Return. Gilman was consuming his own life force and lifespan to exchange for powerful vitality. With such severe injuries, he simply couldn't recover with his depleted physical strength.

Although he didn't expend much energy during the battle, being hit in vital areas by Teach and losing too much blood, the activation of his body's self-protection system alone consumed almost all of his energy.

At this point, in order to heal his injuries, regain his strength, and restore his fighting ability, Gilman could only resort to this method.

The equivalent exchange of Life Return comes at a tremendous price, far exceeding the lifespan lost by Zephyr in the Sabaody Archipelago incident.

Zephyr expends a greater amount of his lifespan to unleash speeds beyond his limits, which is extremely difficult, especially for a powerful individual like him.

However, it consumed a short time, so it only lasted three or four years.

While the value of returning Gilman's Life Return was not significant, the cost of doing so was substantial.

Teach was intrigued and gave Gilman time to recover. Based on his prediction, looking at Gilman, although his vitality was gradually becoming stronger, Gilman was also showing signs of old age.

Although his condition remained unchanged, this could be described as a final burst of energy before death, a replenishment of vitality that made him look even younger.

However, Gilman's hair began to turn gray at a visible speed, and before long, all of Gilman's black hair had turned white.

Meanwhile, Gilman's injuries began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his flesh and blood began to grow back.

Judging from Gilman's condition, with his full head of white hair, Teach could tell that Gilman had consumed fifteen years of his lifespan.

Was this a desperate effort, a fight with everything at all costs?

On the other side, the same thing happened. Seeing Gilman in this state, Nickt understood what Gilman had done. Seeing his determination, he also began to heal his injuries and used Life Return.

However, although his injuries were severe, they were not as bad as Gilman's, nor did they consume his life force like Gilman did.

Nickt's life was also fading; some of his hair was turning white, and wrinkles were beginning to appear on his face.

Both Marine Vice Admiral were beginning to deplete their life force. More importantly, Teach was too strong. Even though they knew they might not have a chance of winning, they did not want to give up against such Teach formidable enemy.

The state of the two naval officers surprised most of the onlookers, who were unsure what had happened.

At this moment, Morgans came out and explained to them the moves Marine Vice Admiral: Life Return, the secret of the Six Powers, a move with multiple uses that allows one to control their own body.

Teach's strength put too much pressure on them, and in order to maintain their best condition, they have begun to consume their lifespans, and there is no other way.

How much longer can it last?

Faced with an enemy like Teach, what other methods could they possibly use? In Teach's eyes, it was nothing more than letting history repeat itself.

The outcome was already predetermined, and everyone knew that Teach's strength was completely different from a year ago, whether it was the Navy, pirates, or the inhabitants of the world; he had risen to a whole new level.

However, what they were even more excited about was the terrifying move they had seen with Rediat earlier—that enormous, ever-expanding, spherical object. They knew it must have been Teach used it; neither Gilman nor Nickt possessed such power.

Only Teach could do this; he could see them from afar—those black dots in the sky, rocks and trees drawn by an invisible force.

"Is this a struggle before death? You should know that if you can't show greater strength, you can't even hurt me." Teach raised his head slightly, his arms crossed over his chest.

Teach's claws were spotless, for all the blood had drained away.

"Pirate, you are strong, but justice will not be defeated. I will stop you at all costs." Nickt stared intently at Teach and said solemnly.

A white mist, or steam, emanated from his body. Teach could sense that Nickt's vitality had reached its peak, and the injuries on his back were beginning to fully heal.

"Heh! Are you kidding me? Navy, know yourself. What do you mean by 'fighting with everything'? Even if you fight with everything, you can't hurt me. Stop talking about justice all the time. Justice is nothing compared to all the effort I've put in over the years." Teach looked at him, almost laughing in Teach.

"Don't take yourselves too seriously. If I hadn't wanted to play a little longer, would you even have a chance to recover? Don't be ridiculous. Your fate is sealed. Like that Marine named Brom, you've brought a bunch of Marines to your deaths without achieving anything. In a few years, you'll all become stepping stones in my legendary exploits."

"When darkness falls, even light must yield. If you want to make such boasts in front of me, send someone stronger."

Teach sneered, and endless black energy erupted from his body, rapidly spreading outwards. Nickt's expression changed, and in a flash, he appeared beside Teach, carrying the still not fully recovered Gilman. Using Geppo, he flew away into the distance.

Teach made no attempt to stop him, watching him walk away, wondering where that Nickt got his confidence from, wanting to make them feel utterly hopeless.

Teach made no move and continued to wait for Vice Admiral Gilman to recover.

He didn't have to wait long; his injuries healed quickly thanks to his relentless efforts to save his life.

Then, the skin on Vice Admiral Gilman's body began to peel off, revealing a single piece of skin covering his entire body. This sight piqued Teach's interest.

"Is it a snake's shed skin?" In fact, Teach had already made up his mind that it was a snake's shed skin. He hadn't expected Gilman to have such an ability. However, this should be a talent of a Snake-Snake Devil Fruit User, and even ordinary Snake-Snake Fruit users rarely use it.

This is a rather useless ability, but it would remove all the scabs on Gilman's body, as leaving them on oneself would also affect one's actions.

Finally, Gilman began to shed his skin, and layers of skin appeared on Gilman body, obscuring Gilman appearance—this was a normal phenomenon.

Finally, Gilman moved, raising his arm and grabbing his snakeskin, covered in scabs, from his body. Then, with a forceful rip, Gilman tore the entire snakeskin off and tossed it aside.

The newborn Gilman looked somewhat young, but after Morgans' explanation, everyone understood that this was a final burst of energy before death; his full head of white hair indicated how severely Gilman's lifespan had been depleted.

Even without the scabs, Gilman's face was still extremely ferocious, even hideous. Those marks, those hideous scars, were all inflicted by Teach. Even though the injuries had healed, these scars remained.

"How are you? Ready to face the judgment of darkness?" Teach asked with a smile, looking at Gilman who had recovered.

"We're the Navy, after all." Gilman, now fully recovered, stood alongside Vice Admiral Nickt and said earnestly. Having expended a great deal of his life force, Gilman still possessed ample vitality, resulting in a slight increase in Gilman strength. This brush with death seemed to have brought him one step closer to developing his Devil Fruit, though Awakening it was still a long way off.

This vitality can also replenish Gilman's body after he is injured, allowing Gilman to recover quickly.

"How boring. Let's see how you react to this move," Teach laughed, unconcerned about Gilman's words. After all, the Navy always said the same few things.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gilman and Nickt, who were walking on Geppo in the air, suddenly changed their expressions.

In an instant, immense pressure arose on them—a powerful downward gravitational pull. Combined with the earth below, shrouded in black mist, this force seemed to pull their bodies downwards.

"Darkness Devour!"

The powerful gravity expanded instantly, and the entire forest, including trees, rocks, and everything else, was swallowed up in an instant.

An immense force pulled everything on the ground downwards, even trees that were tens of meters tall, causing them to collapse and slowly sink into the darkness.

This was the second time Teach had used this move; the first time was in the Kraken Kingdom. Even now, its power is still evident.

That time, even the tentacles of the powerful Kraken were torn off by the darkness, which gives you an idea of its power. If someone were to grab it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The two were not devoured by the "Darkness Devour," and they used Geppo with all their might. However, it was of little use and could only buy them some time. This was a darkness that even giant eagles flying in the air could catch. How could the two of them possibly dodge it with Geppo alone?

The endless darkness was like the gaping maw of an abyss. With Teach's increased strength, this "Darkness Devour" was far more powerful than the one he used before.

At the crucial moment, Nickt swung his fist with all his might towards the ground, unleashing a powerful "Explosive Sound Fist."

The powerful Explosive Sound Impact slammed into the ground and struck Teach's black aura, but it didn't cause a ripple. Everything was swallowed by darkness. Teach's black aura was essentially a gas and could be dispelled, but now the entire area was connected to Teach's Darkness Space.

Everything would be swallowed up, and it would have no effect whatsoever. Nickt was well aware of this, so he came up with a plan. Just like when he dodged Teach's fatal blow before, he would use the recoil from his own ability to hold on until Teach used this move.

This has some effect. The powerful counterattack, although it will cause some damage to them, will not have a significant impact once they are in their full state. Even if there is some damage, it is still tolerable. It is better than being swallowed by Teach's darkness, which would have come at a much higher price.

Teach saw through their thoughts and couldn't help but sneer. This move could last longer, but it consumed a lot of stamina. More importantly, it wasn't worth using so much stamina to deal with just two enemies.

However, in accordance with their wishes, Teach withdrew the black energy that had spread in all directions, leaving behind a barren land. It should be noted that even the moisture in the land had been swallowed up by Teach's darkness.

Even so, Nickt still managed to use the Explosive Sound Fist three times in a row.

"Now, I'll return all of this to you, liberation!" Teach laughed, extending his hand with his palm facing Nickt and the others. Immediately afterward, a dark vortex connected with black energy condensed and emanated towards the two Marine Vice Admiral.

Countless things poured out of Teach's dark vortex: trees, soil, rocks, and even water.

The overwhelming force swept in, then descended from the sky. Even Teach didn't know how much was swallowed up Teach such power, but if these things were allowed to press down, even powerful beings like them would have to take them seriously.

Gilman quickly transformed, his body spiraling around Nickt, trying to protect him from the center, while Nickt threw a punch at the chaotic objects falling from the sky.

In terms of destructive power, Nickt's abilities are far greater, and his scope of influence is also wider.

"Explosive Sound Fist!"

A powerful Explosive Sound Impact was released directly from his fist, and a series of sonic explosions rang out, bringing tremendous destructive power. All the debris above him was blasted away, and a bright hole appeared in the sky that had been covered by shadows.

Teach watched them with a playful gaze, while the dark vortex continued to release items towards Nickt and his companions, aiming to deplete their stamina.

Although their physical strength was not important to Teach found it somewhat amusing that they seemed helpless, only able to passively resist, or rather, that Teach was controlling their rhythm.