Mobius's Growth, Scorching Battle

The battle was about to break out. The members of the Fire Wolf Pirates were all ready for combat, preparing for the upcoming boarding battle, after which they would slaughter everyone and steal the merchant ship's cargo.

Suddenly, with a "boom," a cannon blast sounded in their ears. It was like a signal, followed by two more cannon blasts. Three cannonballs shot towards the pirate ship. At such close range, the pirates didn't react, not even Hog. The explosions rang out nearby. Two of the cannonballs directly hit the ship's hull, causing two explosions below.

The most crucial one landed directly on the ship's deck. Most of the Fire Wolf Pirates were gathered on deck, preparing for the boarding battle. Being concentrated together resulted in massive casualties.

Seeing the falling cannonball, a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes. He turned to flee, but the cannonball had already exploded.

A violent explosion, a strong smell of gunpowder. The ship's deck was blown into a large crater and began to burn. The shockwave from the intense explosion knocked many people down. The pirates caught in the close-range bombardment suffered heavy casualties.

Hog was stunned. "How does this ship have cannons?" Before he could even make a move, the ship had already sustained such significant damage. Without even looking, Hog could guess that more than ten people were dead and over twenty were injured. The deterrent power of cannons at sea was still quite strong.

However, immediately after, a hint of excitement and thrill appeared in Hog's eyes. If this merchant ship even had cannons, then that Devil Fruit must be on this ship.

Following that, several more cannonballs were fired directly. Seeing this, Hog knew he couldn't afford any more losses. He leaped lightly, his body suspending in mid-air. He activated his Armament Haki and, with three swift kicks, sent the cannonballs flying aside and into the sea.

Seeing Hog kick the cannonballs into the sea, the Fire Wolf Pirates cheered. "Haha, as expected of our captain." "All of you, charge! Prepare for boarding!" Hog shouted. At this point, the two ships were only twenty meters apart. Hearing Hog's command, the pirates felt no fear. It was just a merchant ship that had ambushed them with cannons. Facing the Fire Wolf Pirates, they would soon be annihilated.

On the merchant ship, there was a chorus of cheers. They had inflicted great losses on the Fire Wolf Pirates. It was a great start to the battle. "Don't celebrate too early. The cannons are useless now. They are ferocious pirates, and their numbers are more than double ours. Everyone, prepare for battle."

"Crack!" "Boom!" The Fire Wolf Pirates' ship violently crashed into the merchant ship's keel. Although the Fire Wolf Pirates' ship was smaller than the merchant ship, its hull was sturdier. The entire keel of the merchant ship cracked, and the two ships were directly joined together.

"Kill, kill, kill!" Pirates wielding weapons or firearms jumped from the pirate ship onto the merchant ship, charging towards the guards and sailors who were already prepared.

However, what they were about to face were cold gun muzzles. After acquiring these firearms, the entire merchant ship's equipment had undergone a complete overhaul. In a short period, many pirates were ruthlessly shot down.

But these pirates had experienced many battles in the New World. Firearms alone were merely a nuisance to them; close-quarters combat was what truly mattered. Moreover, their numbers gave them an advantage.

"Mobius, you should go up and fight them too," Teach said, looking at Mobius beside him. Watching the battle outside, Mobius was already itching to join.

Hearing Teach's words, Mobius glanced at Teach. "Then, Boss Teach, what about you?"

"Hahahaha! Of course, I'll cover you. Be careful, don't die," Teach laughed heartily, drawing his black and white dual pistols from his waist.

Mobius felt a touch of gratitude. He grabbed a long sword and ran forward. He was lucky enough to encounter a pirate. "Little brat, are you looking to die? Haha!" the pirate laughed, swinging his cutlass at Mobius. Mobius leaped to the side, dodging the blow, and counter-attacked with his own sword, but it was blocked by the pirate's long sword.

"Kid, you're too green." The pirate laughed loudly, putting Mobius under pressure. Mobius held his sword with one hand, listening to the pirate's words, and couldn't help but smile. This sudden smile gave the pirate an ominous feeling. Suddenly, a snake-like arm wrapped around his neck, tightening its grip.

The pirate's face turned red, struggling to breathe. Mobius seized the opportunity, forcefully pushed his sword aside, and then brought his own sword down, striking the pirate's wrist fiercely. "Ah!" A scream of pain escaped as the long sword in his hand fell. Immediately after, Mobius plunged his sword directly into his abdomen. The pirate collapsed to the ground, dead.

At that moment, behind him, a pirate quietly approached, holding a long sword with both hands raised high. He swung it down fiercely at Mobius. Mobius heard the sound, turned his head, and saw the falling long sword. There was no way to dodge.

Mobius couldn't help but close his eyes. "Bang!" A gunshot. Mobius remembered Teach's words and opened his eyes. A bloody hole appeared in the pirate's forehead. He then collapsed to the ground.

"You need to be careful, Mobius. Always be aware of your surroundings when fighting," Teach's voice echoed in Mobius's ears, though Teach wasn't there.

"Yeah." Mobius nodded. He had truly felt a brush with death just now. If it weren't for Teach, he would be dead. He took this lesson to heart and vowed not to make the same mistake again.

Then, Mobius began to search for his next opponent. Teach couldn't help but smile slightly. People only grow after experiencing hardship.

Battles raged all over the ship. Typically, two pirates were fighting one guard or sailor. Hog was being held back by the Old Captain. Mobius's growth was rapid; he matured through slaughter. In a short time, he had killed seven pirates, his killing becoming more decisive and his movements more precise.

After killing a pirate with one slash, he caught the attention of three other pirates. They had been together earlier, having consecutively killed three guards. Mobius also noticed the three pirates approaching him. These pirates were not weak. Mobius could handle two with his Snake Hand, but dealing with three would be difficult, making it hard to hold his ground.

He retreated a couple of steps. But how could they let go of the prey they had targeted? One pirate watched Mobius's movements while the other two quickly moved to Mobius's rear flanks, leaving him with no escape route.

"Since that's the case, then I can only fight," Mobius thought, exhaling.

Taking advantage of the moment when the three pirates were watching him, intending to toy with him, "Crack, crack, crack!" Mobius quickly dislocated his joints. Waves of pain shot through his nerves, but Mobius remained expressionless.

What was he doing? Self-mutilation? These three pirates had never seen such a thing during their voyages. In the instant they hesitated, Mobius seized the opportunity and began to act, running a couple of steps towards the pirate in front of him and quickly closing the distance.

"Snake Hand: Constrict." Mobius's Snake Hand instantly wrapped around the pirate's right hand holding the sword. He exerted force with his left arm, pulling backward on the arm that was entwined with his left arm.

Due to Mobius's strength, the pirate stumbled forward. What awaited him was a sharp, blood-stained long sword that instantly pierced his chest.

"Brat, die!" The remaining two pirates were stunned. They hadn't expected Mobius to attack despite being surrounded by three of them. They felt insulted. Wielding their long swords, they charged directly at Mobius. However, they weren't foolish. After witnessing Mobius's bizarre ability for his arms to stretch, they became somewhat wary.

One on the left and one on the right, forcing Mobius to divide his attention. This was their countermeasure. Mobius, however, showed no fear. He felt he was becoming increasingly proficient in fighting with his Snake Hand, but he was still far from controlling it freely.

He picked up the fallen pirate's long sword. Two long swords could increase Mobius's attack range. Before he could further train his Snake Hand, this was a good tool.

"Wild Barrage." Both his arms stretched out, holding cutlasses, slashing at them from bizarre angles. Facing Mobius's rapid swordplay, they continuously blocked and dodged.

However, Mobius's attacks had weaknesses. Although such attacks were chaotic and lacked a fixed trajectory, as long as one could grasp the trajectory of his arms, they could infer his attacks. And he had one most crucial weakness: his arms. He had to be careful before he learned Armament Haki.

The strength of these two pirates was comparable to Mobius's. Although Mobius's offense was extremely bizarre, it didn't injure them. Soon, they gradually adapted to such attacks in the battle. Mobius had already sensed this situation and was becoming anxious, searching for a way to break the deadlock.

"Then I'll deal with one first." He made up his mind. He yanked his left arm fiercely. Facing this attack, the pirate on the left didn't block but leaped backward, dodging the blow. However, this was precisely Mobius's intention. He retracted his arm to the right and attacked towards the right, lunging forward with his steps. Facing the assault of Mobius's dual swords, this pirate panicked. His arms were suddenly slashed twice, and Mobius ended his life.

At this moment, the other pirate charged over, wielding his long sword. Seeing his companion die again, he swung his sword fiercely at Mobius's chest. Mobius wouldn't make the same mistake again and had already noticed his movement.

But it was difficult to dodge. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He twisted his body backward, and the sword struck his chest, a thirty-centimeter-long gash from top to bottom.

However, he didn't cry out. Gritting his teeth, he let out a muffled groan. His left hand wrapped around the pirate's right hand holding the sword. The tip of the long sword in his left hand pressed against the pirate's neck, just shy of piercing it. This wasn't the end. His right hand moved, holding a sword and stabbing fiercely into the pirate's abdomen. This was also Mobius's preferred attack method.

With such injuries, Mobius could no longer fight, so he quietly returned to his room. Along the way, he saw several corpses, all pirate corpses, with identical bloody holes in their foreheads.

He knew that these were inflicted by Boss Teach, as the bullet holes on the surrounding walls all originated from Teach's room.

All of them hit their foreheads. This showed the terrifying level of Teach's marksmanship and his mastery of Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Mobius was no longer the naive novice he once was. He had only had a superficial understanding of these things before, but in recent days, during training, Teach would also explain things about the sea to Mobius, lecturing him on Haki and Swordsmanship.

After all, Mobius wouldn't always be by Teach's side, nor did Teach allow it. He still had to return to the Whitebeard Pirates, and Mobius also had to learn to grow on his own.

Back in his room, Teach had his eyes closed, but his Observation Haki was constantly monitoring a battle. It was the battle between the Old Captain and Hog, which was very fierce, but Hog had the overall advantage.

In Teach's opinion, the Old Captain's strength was comparable to a pirate with a bounty of 100 million Belly. Hog, on the other hand, was younger and stronger, with more abundant power and stamina. Furthermore, due to his old age, his recovery ability had declined, and the injuries he sustained on Devil's Island had not yet healed.

A battle between two individuals with bounties of only around 100 million wouldn't normally capture Teach's attention so much.

Teach was primarily focused on Hog's boxing style, his Fire Wolf Fist, which was the origin of his moniker.

Hog's boxing style was taijutsu, using his fists to generate flames. This method held significant reference value for Teach. Like Teach's claw techniques, although they mimicked sword moves to enhance their power, using his hands could never achieve the same powerful effect as using a sword. There was always a loss of one or two tenths of the power. The two needed a connecting point. Only by finding this connecting point could he fully integrate the sword techniques with his claw techniques and perfectly realize his expectations.

Therefore, Teach was observing, observing Hog's movements, his breathing, and the way his body exerted force when using the Fire Wolf Fist.

After a long time, the battle was halfway through. The fighting below was evenly matched, as both sides had suffered more than half their casualties. The main focus was the battle between the Old Captain and Hog. The leader, Ivan, was secretly observing the battle, extremely nervous, with five guards protecting him. He hoped the Old Captain would win, but he had already made his final preparations.