Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island, people were running for their lives along its outskirts, their faces filled with fear and grief. Thirteen people had made up this group. After escaping from the tornado, they had wanted to relax, thinking it was just a trip. They hadn't expected to find themselves in an even more terrifying hell.
Now, only seven remained. The other six had died in this dense forest. "Run, run! This place is too dangerous!" one of them shouted. He was a sailor, clutching a bloodstained long knife.
Behind them came a series of thunderous thud, thud, thuds. They were the footsteps of a giant beast. The ground trembled, and the rustling of the bushes drew ever closer. A figure was following right behind them.
"We're done for! How could an island like this have such a huge dinosaur? Have we ended up on Beast Island?" someone wailed. The sounds behind them were drawing nearer. He didn't dare look back, afraid that he'd find himself face-to-face with a gaping maw.
It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, fifteen meters long, its jaws gaping wide. Fresh blood still stained its mouth. No one knew how many of their companions had died in its jaws.
The fresh flesh and blood excited it even more. It quickened its pace, eager to savor the little creatures in front of it.
The seven of them ran with all their might, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex still caught up with them.
"Ah! Help me!" someone shouted. He turned his head slightly, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex thrust its head forward, opened its jaws, and bit the upper half of the sailor bringing up the rear. Then it raised its head and tossed his body into the air.
"Help me!" Then there was no more sound. The Tyrannosaurus Rex's jaws gaped beneath him, and he fell straight into its mouth. Gulp! The sound of chewing came clearly to their ears. They didn't dare stop for even a moment, running harder than they ever had in their lives.
Suddenly, a figure leaped out from a tree. He drew the pistol at his waist and fired several shots at the Tyrannosaurus Rex's eyes. Its senses were incredibly sharp; it swung its head and dodged the shots. The powerful bullets only grazed its skin, doing little damage.
This was clearly what the man had expected. He drew the long sword at his waist instead. Those shots had only been meant to draw the Tyrannosaurus Rex's attention and shift its target.
Sure enough, the Tyrannosaurus Rex turned its attention to him. It stopped and roared at him.
The man had already landed, facing the Tyrannosaurus Rex with his long sword in hand.
"Old Captain!" The people he had saved were overjoyed to see him. They recognized the old captain at a glance and were thrilled that he had come to their rescue.
"Keep going! Our people are just up ahead. I'll hold it off here!" the old captain shouted to them.
The commotion had alerted the old captain and the others in another part of the forest. By then, they had found some of their people, but there was nothing they could do for those who had died in the undergrowth.
"There's a huge commotion over there. I'll go take a look. Someone might be there, being chased." The old captain had heard it and turned to the people beside him. "I'll go first, or it'll be too late. Follow me as soon as you can."
With that, the old captain charged into the undergrowth at incredible speed. He had roamed the New World for so long; he must have had some strength to his name to own a ship like this. Along the way, he had spotted and dealt with many wild beasts and venomous snakes. But this place was called Devil's Island for a reason. It wasn't that easy.
There was a claw mark across the old captain's back, left by a Sabertooth Tiger, and a Dire Wolf's bite mark on his shoulder. This Devil's Island was teeming with terrifying prehistoric creatures, as well as monsters that had survived the brutal struggle for existence.
"Is that... a Gold Devouring Ant?" Elsewhere, Teach had encountered the monsters sent after him. Dozens of giant ants stood before him, watching him like prey.
The Gold Devouring Ant was a rare and terrifying species. Though they were ants, they were enormous. From birth, they fed on metal, as well as the flesh and bones of other animals. Their exoskeletons were as hard as steel, and their sharp teeth could easily bite through it.
They also carried a deadly toxin—a metal poison that posed a tremendous threat to other living things, including humans. But it had little effect on the Gold Devouring Ants, which fed on metal.
What made the Gold Devouring Ants most terrifying, however, was their strength. They were ants, and ants could lift objects a hundred times their own weight. The Gold Devouring Ants had inherited this natural gift. Given their size, the strength they could wield was horrifying.
Teach didn't spend all his idle time training. Sometimes he read books, too, and some of their contents were quite interesting. Over the years, he had read dozens of them.
He had learned about the Gold Devouring Ants from a book devoted to various terrifying creatures. The species had left a deep impression on him.
The Gold Devouring Ants had already locked onto Teach—or perhaps he had been their target all along. Teach kept walking, but his body was ready for a fight. Armament Haki covered and coiled around both his claws.
The Gold Devouring Ants attacked, charging at him one after another. Although they sensed the powerful aura coming from Teach, they were hunters who loved hunting powerful creatures. Their species was among the island's dominant ones. Their innate gifts made them nearly invincible among creatures of the same level, and they loved hunting powerful prey in groups.
More importantly, they had their king's orders. The king's commands were absolute. They could neither defy them nor dare to.
Hiss! Their four legs scurried across the ground. The sharp claws on their forelimbs had evolved over countless years of hunting. With their razor-sharp edges and terrifying strength, they could tear through anything. But they were no match for Teach.
"Claw Strike!" The two Gold Devouring Ants in the lead charged straight at Teach, opening their terrifying jaws. They seemed ready to seize him with their claws, then bite down hard and tear his body apart.
Blood-red flashes streaked by. Screeeee! The sound of metal scraping filled the air. The two Gold Devouring Ants flew away, each crashing into a tree. But they didn't stop there. Boom, boom, boom! They smashed through three trees before finally coming to a halt.
The remaining Gold Devouring Ants stopped in shock. Nothing like this had ever happened before. The strength was terrifying.
The two ants' chests had caved in. The marks were clearly from Teach's claws, yet their tough exoskeletons hadn't cracked. Teach was a little surprised. He had thought he'd already given the Gold Devouring Ants plenty of credit, but he had still underestimated them.
Their hard exoskeletons were tougher than steel and incredibly resilient. The tremendous force had traveled into the ants' bodies, making blood flow from their mouths, but it hadn't affected their ability to fight. They lay motionless on the ground for five seconds, then slowly got back to their feet. They shook their heads, fixed their eyes on Teach, and opened their mouths with a hiss.
It was like a signal. All the Gold Devouring Ants attacked again, charging at Teach. Their tough bodies could withstand his Claw Strike.
But Teach's claws, coated in Armament Haki, were even stronger.
He kept walking forward without stopping. Faced with the charging Gold Devouring Ants, he said nothing—he simply struck out with a claw. There was nothing simple about one of Teach's claw strikes.
After walking hundreds, perhaps thousands of steps, he left a trail of Gold Devouring Ants lying motionless on the ground behind him.
Teach reached his destination: the enormous mine. At some point, he had removed the black bandanna from his head and tucked it against his chest. His long hair, uncombed for ages, hung loose to his shoulders.
As he drew closer, Teach's Conqueror's Haki erupted once more. His long hair fluttered as he stood like a demon god. Across from him, a few hundred meters away, the towering figure released a terrifying aura of its own. It was similar to Conqueror's Haki, and the world itself seemed to change color.
Dust billowed, and the wind howled. It was as if nature itself feared what was coming.
Teach saw the figure. They had communicated before, but this was the first time he had seen him in person. One had to admit, he was a perfect creation of the gods.
His entire body was clad in golden exoskeleton armor. He stood on two legs, and astonishing strength was packed into his slender limbs. The pressure radiating from him was so immense that it could be felt from far away.
His whole body gleamed with a metallic sheen. Two golden antennae twitched, and his crimson eyes flashed with an astonishing will to fight. This was an Ant King born from slaughter. He wasn't bloodthirsty; slaughter was simply in his nature. Teach could clearly sense the delight in his gaze at the sight of prey.
King Meets King. This was the encounter of two kings.
Neither side spoke. All they showed was their astonishing presence and their overwhelming will to fight.
In the short dozen or so days since leaving the Moby Dick, Teach hadn't made many breakthroughs. Improving his strength took time. His most noticeable progress had been in Armament Haki—not a small amount, either. His battle with Blood Scythe Barton had put him under tremendous pressure. After that fight, the quantity and quality of his Armament Haki had improved a little.
But the most obvious improvement Teach had made was in his Conqueror's Haki. Away from the Moby Dick, no longer held back by the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach was like a bird freed from its cage. His entire spirit had undergone an astonishing transformation, and his Conqueror's Haki had been advancing rapidly in a short time.
After three seconds of silence, Teach and the Ant King attacked almost simultaneously, turning the entire mine into their battlefield.
Teach struck first. He felt tremendous pressure from the Ant King, no less than he had from Barton.
Two figures appeared in midair and clashed. Teach's hands had transformed into demonic claws, intertwined with lightning and fire. Black-red lightning flashed between them, seemingly out of nowhere. Teach held nothing back; he went all out from the start, infusing his claws with Conqueror's Haki to increase their power.
Teach's claws clashed with the Ant King's four limbs. The impact sent shock waves rippling outward, kicking up clouds of dust and gusts of wind.
Teach's powerful claw strike kept the Ant King from underestimating him. Two of the Ant King's limbs met Teach's demonic claws head-on.
Face-to-face, their bodies hung in midair. Teach strained his arms and grinned, veins pulsing across his forehead and arms as he surged forward. His claws crept closer to the Ant King, trying to overpower him with sheer force.
But the Ant King was no pushover. He was a monster renowned for his strength, born with astonishing physical power. Teach was clearly weaker than the Ant King, but he had refined martial arts and tremendous explosive power.
The Ant King held his ground with sheer strength and also possessed terrifying explosive power. He displayed his incredible might, and in a short time, he forced Teach back the distance he had been pushed. It was a contest of strength, and neither would yield.
Their first brief clash tested their overall abilities. Neither had the advantage, and neither had been pushed onto the back foot. They had fought to a draw.
But that was only their first clash. The next one began immediately. The two bodies separated and landed in the directions from which they had charged. They turned and faced each other.
The next second, they clashed again. Teach tilted his head to the left, dodging a Claw Strike, then countered with a claw of his own, its edge razor-sharp. It could undoubtedly threaten the Ant King. The Ant King caught Teach's forearm with one claw and shoved it aside, twisting to dodge the attack.
Teach's leg, wrapped in Haki, suddenly kicked toward the Ant King's waist. It was the hardest part of the Ant King's body, but also the most vulnerable, since it was a joint.
The Ant King clearly sensed the danger and blocked Teach's kick with one of his own. He was the strongest hunter on Devil's Island; he couldn't stay on the defensive every time. With four limbs on his upper body, the Ant King had an advantage in offense. This terrifying creature had already awakened Haki—Armament Haki—and every attack carried its power. Earlier, he had only used it crudely, almost instinctively. But after seeing how Teach used Armament Haki,
he quickly realized that it was the same power he possessed. Extremely intelligent, he gradually learned to coat and envelop his limbs in Armament Haki during the fight.
The black-and-gold claw coated in Armament Haki suddenly swiped at Teach's left arm. Teach countered with a punch, striking the joint behind its claw and knocking it aside, sending it off its original trajectory. But the next attack was already upon him. It wasn't a claw swipe: the Ant King brought the claws of one hand together like a spike and thrust straight toward Teach's chest.
Teach raised one hand to shield his chest, coating it in Armament Haki to strengthen his defense, while his other claw swept viciously toward the Ant King's head.
Before you continue