Teach and the Ant King's Battle; Departure

Facing the thrust, a black hand grabbed the spike but couldn't stop it. The spike kept pressing against Teach's left hand as it drove toward his chest.

Clang! Metal rang against metal. The force of his left hand slowed the blow, and Teach's Armament Haki blocked it. He swiped straight at the Ant King's head, but the Ant King had expected this. His upper pair of limbs slammed into Teach's chest, and the air burst with a sharp crack. The Ant King's strike had broken through the sound barrier. Knowing he couldn't dodge, Teach braced himself with Armament Haki.

His own swipe tore through the air. Neither of them wanted this grinding battle, but from that moment on, they fought even more viciously, each dealing blows to the other.

The Ant King's powerful claws slammed into Teach's chest, while Teach's savage swipe struck the metal-like head.

Boom! Their powerful attacks landed almost simultaneously. Two sharp whooshes rang out as the pair were sent flying in opposite directions.

The Ant King's golden body smashed into the ground. Even the hard floor of the mine was left with a huge crater. That showed just how powerful Teach's swipe had been. The Ant King shook his head, but there were no claw marks on it—a testament to his powerful defenses. More importantly, he had strengthened his head's defenses with Armament Haki.

Teach, meanwhile, flew far away toward the forest, tumbling backward. Crash, crash, crash! His body smashed through who knew how many trees before finally coming to a stop nearly a kilometer away. There were no wounds on his chest; his Armament Haki had protected him. What was terrifying was the force of the impact, which had churned his insides. But he quickly recovered, and it didn't affect his ability to fight.

What incredible power! Teach marveled. Strength and attack power were different things, and the Ant King's strength was monstrous.

"But the fight's only just begun! Zehahaha!" Teach was completely exhilarated. Fighting someone who relied almost entirely on physical combat felt incredible. The Ant King didn't understand martial arts, but years of slaughter had taught him his own streamlined, highly effective way of fighting. Teach was learning from him, and he realized that the Ant King was also learning his martial arts—especially his claw techniques—and adapting them for himself.

More importantly, fighting the Ant King let Teach feel his Armament Haki improving rapidly.

"Let's keep fighting! Don't stop!" Teach laughed. He sprang to his feet and charged back the way he had come. Across from him, the Ant King answered with a tremendous roar. A golden figure came rushing toward him from far away.

The battlefield shifted to the forest. Teach and the Ant King's figures clashed again and again, gold light and black shadows flashing through the air. Teach kicked the Ant King in the chest and sent him flying.

Before he could catch his breath, the Ant King appeared right in front of him. With a sudden burst of speed, he struck Teach and sent him flying again. Teach dug his feet into the ground and forced himself to a stop, carving two tracks dozens of meters long where his feet had dragged through the earth.

As soon as he steadied himself, Teach charged again. Punches, claw strikes, kicks—he used every part of his body to attack. Clang! His head slammed into the Ant King's.

Clang! Clang! After three headbutts in a row, Teach's head was spinning. The Ant King was in bad shape too, but not as badly as Teach. His powerful battle instincts let him seize the opportunity. He kicked out, and two cold flashes cut through the air. Teach was sent flying. By then, the Ant King was already charging after him, leaving Teach on the back foot and at a serious disadvantage.

The Ant King was already in front of Teach. He was incredibly fast, his sharp claws relentlessly attacking Teach's body and head. Teach fought desperately to block him. In just a few meters, the Ant King had struck dozens of times—sharp, decisive blows without a hint of hesitation. Teach used both hands and feet to keep blocking his attacks, but the Ant King had six limbs, each covered in sharp barbs. His entire body was a killing machine, built for slaughter.

Teach couldn't block everything. One after another, the Ant King's attacks slammed into his chest. At last, his defenses broke. Teach's eyes widened, and his tightly shut mouth fell open, spattering bloodied saliva. He knew he couldn't keep this up. He deliberately took one of the Ant King's blows, letting a sharp claw pierce his left shoulder, then endured the pain and unleashed a powerful swipe with nearly all his strength.

The Ant King was sent flying, giving Teach a brief chance to catch his breath. His body recovered quickly. "Life Return!" A faint heat shimmer rose from Teach's body as the wounds on his chest and left shoulder healed rapidly. He forced the traces of poisonous blood out of his body, bringing himself back to peak condition.

The Ant King's body was poisonous, especially his claws. His attacks carried potent metallic toxins. With Teach's physique, a small amount was no problem, but if the concentration increased, the poison would eat away at his body. It was better to force it out as soon as possible.

Teach stared ahead. He was nowhere to be seen; he had vanished from where he stood, leaving only a crater in the ground from the force of his departure.

The Ant King, driven back, steadied himself and charged again. Their figures met in the air, clashing fiercely. The atmosphere rippled over and over from their battle. The brutal fight never let up: one moment, one of them was smashed into a tree; the next, the other was hurled into a rock.

Neither gave the other a chance to catch his breath. Even when one drove the other back, he pursued the advantage and pressed the attack.

Elsewhere, the old captain held a bloodied long knife as the Tyrannosaurus Rex's massive body toppled over. It hit the ground with a thunderous crash, shaking the earth. The old captain panted and spat out a mouthful of blood-flecked saliva. His clothes were in tatters. "I finally wore that monster down."

The old captain spoke with difficulty. His clothes were in tatters; he had relied on his speed to keep the Tyrannosaurus Rex at bay for a long time. "It's been ages since I worked my muscles. That really hurt."

The Tyrannosaurus Rex was covered in knife wounds, blood pouring from them. It had eventually lost too much blood and grown weaker, giving him the chance to land a final blow to its head and kill it.

As he kept the Tyrannosaurus Rex at bay, the old captain had steadily exhausted his own strength. But the beast's vitality had been far greater than he'd imagined. One moment of carelessness, and its powerful tail had lashed him hard in the chest. Even now, he could feel a sharp pain there. He thought his bones had broken.

"Looks like I really am getting old," the old captain said with a sigh. If he were a few years younger, he wouldn't have been so exhausted or struggled so much to take down the beast.

"Maybe I should think about retiring after this job," the old captain murmured to himself. This fight had made him keenly aware that his condition was deteriorating.

"Captain, are you all right?" a voice called. The old captain turned and saw the sailors and guards who had come with him hurrying over. Among them were also the people they had found or rescued in the forest.

"I'm fine." The old captain shook his head. Seeing how many people they had lost saddened him, but he soon pulled himself together. After sailing the seas for so long, he had been through all kinds of things. He needed to stay calm now more than ever.

"We need to leave quickly. This place is extremely dangerous now," the old captain said gravely, glancing at the Tyrannosaurus Rex he had killed. "Beasts like this should live in the island's interior, but now one has come out to the perimeter. It can't be a coincidence." In the distance, the rustling of the trees grew louder and louder.

"Something must have happened in the island's interior. The powerful beasts are fleeing from the center to the perimeter. As far as I know, on Beast Island, that can happen when the island's overlord is fighting."

The old captain analyzed the situation calmly. "We have to go. Get to the shore as quickly as possible. This forest will soon become even more dangerous, and the blood here will attract other beasts."

They trusted the old captain's judgment. Not only had he shown them his formidable strength, but they were also terrified of the island. Even with the old captain leading them, nine of the sailors and guards had died. The people who had nearly perished in the forest had it even worse. And now the place was about to become even more terrifying. They all agreed with his decision.

Teach grew more and more astonished. As they fought, the Ant King had gradually learned from him and picked up the human way of fighting. This humanoid monster had shifted from fighting like a beast to fighting like a person—but not completely. He was combining what he learned from Teach with his own innate killing techniques.

The Ant King had grown even stronger, but Teach was improving too. His physical combat skills and Haki were both getting better. His clothes were in tatters, and dust clung to his long black hair as it streamed behind him. He had even lost one shoe, which had flown off somewhere.

The battle went on. As they fought at high speed, five hours passed without either of them noticing. Teach's stamina was rapidly dwindling, and he was panting heavily. This was the first time he had fought like this—going all out without ever letting up. It was nothing like sparring with people aboard the ship, where they took turns attacking and held back.

Teach and the Ant King were both fighting with the resolve to kill the other, yet neither could do it. Teach couldn't break the Ant King's defenses, while the Ant King could only inflict minor injuries on Teach. Those wounds didn't matter; Teach could recover quickly. He had monstrous stamina and could often keep fighting for a long time. As long as he had enough stamina, he could maintain his peak condition. That was a gift born of his particular mental state.

It was only true up to a point. Once, Teach had trained nonstop for half a month. He was so exhausted that he had dozed off for a few dozen seconds, but the moment he lay down, his mind recovered almost instantly and woke him from his sleep. Teach would never forget how that felt. But he had never entered that state again.

"Demon Claw: Hellbound!" Teach's movements turned ghostly. Black lightning and black flames clung to his demonic claws, infused with his Haki.

Feeling the threat of Teach's attack, the Ant King refused to retreat. His six black-and-gold limbs, backed by terrifying strength, smashed through the air. A series of explosive cracks rang in their ears. Teach's claws were more terrifying than ever.

Teach's flames and lightning weren't very powerful on their own. Their real purpose was to support his swordsmanship. At this level, the flames he could produce himself only reached a few hundred degrees at most, while his lightning could only reach a few million volts. They couldn't grow any stronger. After all, a Breathing Style was just a Breathing Style. Even a special one that let the body produce electricity and flames couldn't compare to real lightning and fire.

At this level, they weren't much use against powerful opponents. When he was weaker, fire and lightning could deal tremendous damage, but they weren't enough now. The Ant King was a monster, and it would take flames reaching a thousand, or even several thousand, degrees to threaten him—assuming he didn't use Haki.

Lightning could only stimulate his cells.

But now things were different. Teach used Haki as fuel, greatly increasing the power of the flames and lightning his body produced. Black flames and black lightning—his natural physique and relentless training, day and night, had made his Armament Haki powerful from the moment it awakened. He also had an extraordinary talent for it. In just a few months, and with this battle, Teach's Armament Haki had broken through. It was only a breakthrough, though, because Teach still hadn't truly learned Ryou.

His Haki flowed, clinging to the invisible flames and lightning. His claws had truly become Demon Claw.

And now, Teach could finally hurt the Ant King.

The battle grew even more intense. A succession of thunderous crashes rang out across the island. Teach swiped through the air, and five slashes burst from his hand.

The Ant King kicked one slash away. His upper four limbs each caught one of the others, and the mechanical-looking limbs bulged as they swelled dramatically.

The Ant King strained with all his might, leaning his head back. Teach heard a roar. With a burst of strength, the Ant King caught all five powerful slashes, then hurled them away.

By then, Teach was already charging in to continue the fight.

The merchant ship's party made it back to the vessel. Beast roars echoed through the forest, filling them with fear. Under the immense pressure, the people aboard repaired the merchant ship in a fraction of the usual time. It turned out that necessity really did bring out people's potential.

Night had fallen. They had planned to spend the night here, but now they didn't want to stay on the island any longer. They were about to leave.

Someone waited anxiously: Mobius. He stared toward the shore. "Why hasn't he come back yet? The ship's about to leave!" Mobius muttered.

Suddenly, a figure climbed in through the window, startling Mobius. He took a closer look and saw that it was Teach. "Boss Teach, you're back!"

Mobius almost didn't recognize him. His long hair hung loose, his clothes were in tatters, and dust covered his body. His face was filthy, too. Still, Teach looked incredibly imposing with his long hair down.

"Yeah!" Teach smiled. He went over to the water basin, scooped up some water, wet a towel, and wiped his face.

"Boss, how did it go? Who were you fighting? The commotion was incredible." Mobius was curious. He had been able to feel the disturbance from Teach's battle even from far away. The earth had been shaking, and the sea here had been heaving.

"Zehahaha! An Ant King. He was a fascinating opponent." Thinking back on the battle, Teach couldn't help laughing.

They had fought for ten straight hours, from morning until night, in an intense, high-speed battle that barely let up for a moment. Among the trees, Teach and the Ant King faced each other but didn't continue fighting. Panting, Teach seemed to sense something and laughed. "Zehahaha! Sorry, Ant King, but I have to leave." He already knew the merchant ship was leaving.

The Ant King's body was marked with claw wounds and scorch marks, all left by Teach. The worst injury was on the right side of his head, where his metal-like skull had caved in.

But Teach wasn't in much better shape. His Haki was especially depleted. His attacks were powerful, but he was at a disadvantage when defending against the Ant King. His defenses had been broken hundreds of times all over his body, but he had endured by relying on his stamina and Life Return.

The Ant King didn't speak, but Teach could sense his feelings. The antennae on his head could transmit and sense information, and Teach knew he didn't want things to end like this.

"Zehahaha! I really enjoyed fighting you. Maybe next time. I'll be back, and by then we'll both be even stronger. We'll finish this fight then." Teach smiled, turned, and left. He took off his slightly damaged black coat and hung it over his right shoulder.

The Ant King watched Teach walk away without saying another word, as if turning over his final words in his mind.