"Damn it! I let my guard down!"
Danger struck. The force of the punch slammed into Teach like a solid hammer, crushing against his body. At this range, even the Dark-Dark Fruit's absurd power could not be activated in time!
Teach bitterly regretted coveting Loa's Ice Dragon Fruit. If he had stuck to the goal he had pursued for the first half of his life and chosen the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he would not have been in such a helpless position!
But there was no undoing his choice. He had chosen Loa, and everything that followed was set.
Bang!
Before everyone's eyes, the entire mountaintop exploded with a deafening crash. Huge chunks of ice did not simply fall under their own weight; the terrifying punch shattered them and sent them flying!
A figure flew out with them, arcing through the air. The darkness wrapped around Teach rapidly absorbed his injuries and knit his broken bones back together. He could still fight, but he knew that, as he was now, fighting would only delay his death.
So Teach made a decision.
He could not die!
If he died, it would all be over!
To hell with dreams! To hell with becoming One Piece! Only the living had any hope!
Twisting around in midair, Teach spat blood and shouted, "Lord Loa! I surrender! I surrender!"
His voice echoed across the sea. Everyone fell silent!
Jot glanced at Teach, then at the equally grim-faced Crescent Moon Hunter, Catarina Devon, beside him. He belched. The times really did change people!
On Ice Wolf's back, Loa was momentarily stunned too. But he quickly recovered and made up his mind.
Teach was clever and fiercely ambitious!
He understood that only by staying alive could he have hope or pursue his dreams. He was no Roger, a man