Battle with the Ant King

"Hey! Mobius, where's Teach?" Marco opened the door, but Teach wasn't inside; only Mobius and the other two were in the room.

"I don't know, Teach has left." Mobius shook his head, not saying anything more.

Stepping outside, Marco sighed, "Vista, Teach isn't here again. He's only stayed a few days this year before leaving, and he's gone for at least half a month at a time. I haven't seen him in ages." Marco shook his head at Vista beside him.

"What is Teach thinking?" Vista muttered to himself, a bad feeling creeping over him.

"I don't know. We've never understood him. Now, apart from his cultivation, he's rarely on the Moby Dick anymore. It always feels like there's a wall between us and Teach." Marco leaned against the wall, looking at the darkening sky.

"Yes, Teach has missed several banquets." Vista nodded. He and Teach were good friends and would drink together at every banquet. They also often sparred in swordsmanship. These days, Teach had been rarely seen on the Moby Dick.

"Haven't you noticed that Teach's aura is becoming increasingly terrifying? Several times when I came back, seeing him filled me with fear and put a lot of pressure on me," a pirate who was passing by overheard their conversation and chimed in.

"That's the smell of battle. Teach must have been through a fierce fight." Marco nodded; these powerful pirates were very sensitive to this.

"Who are they fighting? It must be a major battle." Vista asked, nodding slightly.

"I asked Teach last month, Teach didn't explain clearly, only saying that he was a formidable opponent." Marco shook his head.

These days, the Whitebeard Pirates mostly stay in their own territory, with each division taking turns patrolling the seas.

The captain of the second division was Kozuki Oden. Now, Kozuki Oden has returned from the Roger Pirates, but he will soon leave again because he is going to inherit the position of Shogun of Wano Country.

The position of Captain of the Second Division remained vacant, reserved for Oden. However, some people recommended Teach to become the captain of the second division. It should be noted that Teach had saved the lives of many of his comrades with his gun skills alone, so he had some prestige in the pirate crew. However, Teach always refused.

Now, Teach rarely stays on the Moby Dick anymore, only spending a few days a month there. The rest of the time, he's on White Sand Island, visiting Loya, sparring with Mostima and the others, or on Fruit Island where Kakarot is. Of course, there's also Devil's Island. Occasionally, he'll go to Sess Island to see Anne and check on her.

As Roger became the Pirate King, Teach felt an even greater sense of urgency. Daily training was no longer enough; he needed constant battles against strong opponents. It's worth mentioning that Teach spent the longest time on Devil's Island.

"Devil's Island, let's have a great battle, Ares!" Teach roared excitedly, shirtless. From afar, he could sense a familiar presence, a soaring fighting spirit, and an overwhelming, terrifying aura.

Teach's voice echoed through the world. As soon as I arrived on the island, I was already quite excited, and he believed Ares the same way.

On the island, a golden-armored, humanoid Ant King, like a solitary ruler, sat atop the island's highest peak, facing one direction, seemingly waiting for something. Beneath him was a throne made of white bones, including the remains of a twenty-meter-tall beast, its pristine white bones bearing numerous bite marks.

The Ant King held a piece of animal bone in his hand, put it in his mouth and gnawed on it, sucking in the marrow. A look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing, stood up from his throne, and looked towards the sea. From afar, he could feel that familiar and powerful aura.

From afar, Teach's call could be heard. Standing atop the peak, "Jekku!" Teach opened his arms and roared towards the sky and the direction of the island. His sharp voice seemed to pierce the air and reach Teach's ears in an instant.

Hearing that familiar voice, Teach couldn't help but smile slightly, his blood boiling with excitement. He unleashed a powerful aura and charged towards the direction where the Ant King was. Most of the beasts along the way were stunned by Teach's Conqueror's Haki, while a few stronger ones were startled and ran desperately in two directions away from Teach.

Why from two directions? Opposite Teach, a fierce aura was constantly approaching, like Fierce God. The Ant King was now the true overlord of the island. He had defeated all the other overlords, but he did not kill them, using them as practice when Teach was not around.

Ant King Ares Ants leaped directly from the mountaintop and ran down the steep cliff face as if it were flat ground, heading in Teach's direction.

Ares is the name Teach gave to the Ant King. Born a variant of the Gold Devouring Ant, the Ant King is a natural ruler, an embodiment of calamity, with monstrous strength and physique, possessing a body of steel. More importantly, the Ant King has a monstrous learning ability, hence the name Ares.

Teach's strength was improving, but the Ant King's strength was also increasing terrifyingly. He kept running towards his opponent, and Teach's hands transformed into claws, with black Haki wrapped around his forearms, intertwining flames and lightning.

"Claws!" "Heh!" Soon they faced each other and clashed directly. The Ant King's beastly instincts kicked in, and when Teach made his move, he also lashed out with his claws.

The three-meter-tall Ant King is much taller than Teach, especially in terms of monstrous strength. This is a natural talent; each of the Ant King's attacks carries the force of hundreds or thousands of tons. In his repeated battles with Teach, he absorbed Teach's physical techniques and combined them with his own, creating a unique system of his own.

The battles, which began a year and a half ago, started with occasional visits. After Roger became the Pirate King, Teach came here every month. Each major battle lasted at least two days and two nights, and it was impossible to end the fight without exhausting everyone.

The Ant King, who had become the overlord of Devil's Island, had been waiting for Teach's arrival.

With an excited smile on his face, Teach showed no mercy, aiming directly for the Ant King's head, while the Ant King targeted Teach's abdomen and arm joints—vital areas.

He dodged the Ant King's first and second claws by sidestepping, but the Ant King had four arms, and one of its claws pierced through Teach.

However, in physical combat, the Ant King has Awakening Three Types of Haki, which was expected by Teach. He is a monster in combat and always puts immense pressure on Teach.

The Ant King's Armament Haki extremely powerful. Although he Awakening Teach earlier than Teach, he could only use it to cover the enemy when they first met. Now, he uses both covering and entangling techniques very smoothly, and his Teach is no less powerful than Haki's in terms of quality and quantity.

He is a born king. His Conqueror's Haki goes without saying; it Awakening automatically with the slightest stimulation. Unlike the mental pressure brought by Teach's powerful mental strength, the Ant King's Conqueror's Haki is further enhanced by his own terrifying, Fierce God- like aura, making it even more frightening.

With his Observation Haki and his racial talent, the Ant King possesses the ability to transmit sound. Teach can also do this, but it requires precise control and the distance cannot be too far, Ant King can do easily.

Teach has now entered a period of rapid growth; his body is no longer a limitation, and his strength will improve much faster.

Therefore, he craves battle, to fight against the strong. The only one who can reach this level without revealing his identity is the Ant King. Mostima is still lacking, and fighting him doesn't feel as exhilarating.

Teach's enormous black claws could easily grab a person's head, and arcs of electricity flickered across his body as he clawed out streaks of bloody light, attacking Ares's tough body.

Teach is now sixteen years old, and the strength of his claws is enough to easily crush steel. Although the Ant King's body is strong and tough, he does not dare to forcefully take Teach's attack head-on.

This will injure him, though it will be a minor injury that can be ignored, but it will pose a huge threat to him in the battles to come.

With Haki, localized attack, it blocked Teach's claw, while its other claw reached straight for Teach's head. Teach reached out and gripped the claw tightly, his hand trembling. The Ant King's power was terrifying.

Immediately afterward, "Ugh!" Teach couldn't help but open his mouth, spitting out saliva mixed with some blood. On his abdomen, the six-armed Ant King had a clear advantage in this battle, and its other two arms slammed straight towards Teach's abdomen.

Teach couldn't dodge and took the powerful blow directly to the abdomen. Immediately afterward, the Ant King kicked out and struck Teach, sending Teach flying backward and crashing through three trees.

Standing up, the Ant King stared intently at Teach, then leaned forward and beckoned with Teach claws. Teach couldn't help but smile; Ares had learned this from him. But this was more of a provocation—how could he tolerate it?

Teach unleashed astonishing speed, charging towards the Ant King and appearing beside him, shouting, "Demon Claw - Yaochi-onna!"

Teach would have a hard time breaking through the Ant King's defenses with just Claw Strike, but Teach's claw technique is a combination of claw techniques and swordsmanship, incorporating the sharpness of swordsmanship.

Eight terrifying Claw Strike were unleashed in an instant. The Ant King crouched slightly, raising his four arms to block in front of him. His head was covered by Haki, and streaks of starlight appeared. Even with this powerful protection, the Ant King still suffered eight small wounds from Teach's claws.

The sharp Sword Qi lingered on the wound, making it difficult for it to heal itself. The power of flames and lightning entered the Ant King's body through the wound.

"Heh!" The Ant King screamed, enduring the pain, and swung his hand at Teach, but Teach dodged it long ago.

The power of fire may be commonplace, but that's precisely what demonstrates its immense strength: high temperature, scorching, and expansive power. Very few people can withstand it with their flesh and blood.

Lightning also possesses properties such as ferocity, paralysis, and conduction.

Although it was painful, it didn't cause the Ant King much harm. On the contrary, it fueled his fighting spirit, making him even more bloodthirsty and frenzied.

Teach only managed to win one point just now. With their strength, the outcome cannot be decided by just one move.

The great battle continued, its commotion spreading throughout the entire island. The island's beasts trembled with fear at the terrifying atmosphere of the battle, but some seemed to have grown accustomed to the two demons, who would strike once or twice a month.

They fought from day to dusk, from dusk to night, and then from night to day.

Their fighting style was extremely frenzied; every attack was all-out, which rapidly depleted their stamina. However, both of them possessed monstrous physiques.

Teach used his Observation Haki to keep a close eye on the Ant King 'Ant King movements, constantly dodging its claws and then counterattacking. However, the Ant King had four arms, and the battle was evenly matched, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Two days and two nights passed. Teach lay on the ground, panting heavily, while the Ant King leaned against an ancient tree on the other side. Under the shade of the tree, neither of them had the strength to continue fighting. They had only experienced such a high-speed, high-intensity battle when fighting the Ant King and Rayleigh.

In the battle with Rayleigh was mostly on the defensive, while Teach was on the offensive, preventing Rayleigh from using his true power.

All around was ruins. This vast expanse of land was littered with fallen trees and craters in the ground. The Ant King was covered in scratches. In the constant battle, his hard exoskeleton, a body harder than steel, finally succumbed to Teach's Claw Strike, and cracks appeared. However, given his physique, he would recover quickly, requiring only a few days of rest at most.

Teach's body was covered in scabs, but thanks to his strong physique, he had begun to recover. With the Life Return, these injuries would heal in no time.

Flames rose as Teach roasted two bear paws, sprinkling seasonings on them. The golden-brown, tender meat emitted a rich aroma, and the oil sizzled in the flames.

Ares stared intently at the roasted bear paw in Teach's hand, drool dripping from his mouth.

Teach smiled slightly and handed the bone club with the bear paw stuck in it to Ares.

The two of them ate heartily. After a long while, Teach patted his belly. A little while later, Life Return. Teach's round belly returned to its original shape, while the Ant King was still gnawing on the bones of the bear paw.

Teach simply watched the Ant King silently, without saying a word. The Ant King seemed to sense Teach's emotions and looked somewhat puzzled.

"Ares, I'm leaving. This time, I might not be back for several years," Teach said quietly, with a hint of melancholy in his voice.

"Heh!" The Ant King froze, looking at Teach with disbelief.

To be fair, Teach really wanted to recruit the Ant King. He didn't have this idea at first, but through constant battles, their bond developed.

Teach naturally didn't want to give up on the Ant King's formidable fighting power, and now he had the idea of recruiting the Ant King, but he didn't know what the Ant King himself thought.

Seeing the Ant King's surprised yet somewhat reluctant gaze, Teach smiled and turned to look at the sea. They were currently at the summit of the island's highest peak, with a clear view of the endless blue ocean.