The tranquility of the ocean was shattered by a pirate ship that appeared suddenly on the horizon before disappearing just as quickly into the distance.
"Just as you predicted—Teach and his crew really did head toward Long Ring Long Land," Deuce confirmed after ending the Den Den Mushi communication, giving Jerry an approving pat on the back.
Jerry nodded grimly without saying a word, immediately beginning to maneuver their ship to change direction and speed toward their destination.
Long Ring Long Land earned its distinctive name from being composed of ten small islands arranged in a perfect circle, creating the appearance of an enormous chain when viewed from above.
On this particular day, on one of the chain's component islands, the area near some coastal bushes had been transformed from peaceful grassland into a battlefield of uneven, churned earth.
Rumbling sounds echoed intermittently across the landscape, causing the island's unique elongated creatures to panic and flee to whatever shelter they could find, trembling with fear.
Suddenly, the violent noises ceased and an ominous calm settled over the surroundings.
"Zehahahaha! No matter how much you struggle, it's completely useless!" Marshall D. Teach—a rough-featured man with a massive, hairy frame—laughed triumphantly while looking down at Luffy and his crewmates sprawled unconscious at his feet.
Jesus Burgess, the burly helmsman wearing his characteristic wrestler's mask, clutched his injured abdomen and coughed twice before grinning with vicious satisfaction. "That's right! We can handle small-time pirates like you without breaking a sweat! Wiehahahaha!"
"Tch... calling yourself strong when you can barely handle a few punches?" Zoro managed to gasp out despite lying on the ground with his three swords scattered around him, blood seeping from multiple wounds. His voice carried nothing but contempt.
Hearing Zoro's defiant words, Burgess flew into a rage and delivered a devastating punch to the already critically weakened swordsman, knocking him completely unconscious.
Lafitte, the Blackbeard Pirates' navigator, adjusted his top hat with one hand while pressing the other against his injured chest. "Burgess, don't kill them," he said in his measured tone. "They're still valuable to us alive."
Ignoring their argument entirely, the crew's sniper Van Augur—whose long, narrow face was partially concealed beneath an unusual hat—began methodically cataloguing their captured prizes.
"Straw Hat Luffy, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, Devil Child Nico Robin... the rest don't have bounties yet," he reported while comparing the wanted posters in his hand to the unconscious forms around them. His gaze lingered on Sanji with obvious confusion. "This blonde one fought incredibly well, but there's no bounty on him? How strange..."
Despite his puzzlement, Van Augur didn't hesitate to call his accomplices over to secure the unconscious Luffy and his two crewmates who had active bounties.
"Zehahahaha! Never mind the details," Teach declared with obvious glee. "These three are more than enough for our purposes! Our plan is guaranteed to succeed now!"
He gestured dismissively at Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji still lying motionless on the ground, as well as Nami hiding in the distance among the foliage. "Leave the rest. We only need the valuable ones. Let's get out of here!"
"Hey! Why don't you let me carry one too?" Burgess suggested with mock enthusiasm, flexing his muscles dramatically.
Doc Q, the crew's sickly ship doctor who appeared perpetually on the verge of death, sat hunched on the back of his equally ill-looking horse Stronger. He wheezed out his response: "Cough cough! You can... take them if you want. I'd rather... not strain myself."
"Hurry up and prepare to set sail! Zehahahaha!" Teach roared with triumphant laughter.
Before he could finish his victory speech, he suddenly felt an intense wave of heat approaching from his flank.
A deafening roar shook the entire island as brilliant flames engulfed Teach and his crew in a devastating inferno.
At the critical moment, Teach managed an emergency defensive maneuver, using his own body to shield his friends from the scorching fire attack.
"Hot! Hot! It's burning me alive!"
Teach threw himself to the ground and rolled frantically until all the flames clinging to his body were finally extinguished.
"Captain!" the other crew members who'd been blown backward by the tremendous shockwave cried out in alarm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The instant Van Augur regained his footing, he immediately squeezed the trigger of his rifle repeatedly, sending bullets toward their mysterious attacker.
"Stop! It's no use, Augur!" Teach scrambled to his feet and shouted desperately at his crew. "Take the prisoners and retreat immediately! None of you are any match for him!"
Sure enough, a completely unharmed figure emerged from the distant flames. He was shirtless, wearing an orange cowboy hat, and his face was dotted with characteristic freckles. The newcomer was unmistakably Portgas D. Ace.
"Teach! You've led me on quite the chase," Ace said, his calm voice barely concealing the volcanic fury burning beneath the surface.
Teach greeted his former crewmate as if nothing unusual had happened. "Zehahahaha! Captain Ace! It's been far too long since we last spoke."
"Don't call me 'Captain' and don't pretend you're stupid," Ace replied coldly, walking forward with steady, measured steps. "I'm certain you know exactly why I'm here."
Teach placed his hands behind his back, subtly signaling for his friends to prepare for retreat while attempting to change the subject. "Don't be so hostile, Ace! Why don't you join us instead? Let's reach the pinnacle together and conquer this entire world!"
With theatrical gestures, Teach raised his arms and launched into his prepared speech. "Look what I've accomplished! I captured Straw Hat Luffy! As soon as I hand these prisoners over to the World Government, my master plan will have taken its crucial first step. You might not realize it yet, but they—"
Seeing the pitiful condition of Luffy and his defeated crewmates, Ace clenched his fists and suddenly exploded into motion. "Shut your mouth!" he roared with unbridled fury. "You're coming back to the Moby Dick with me to answer for your crimes!"
Before the words finished leaving his lips, Ace had already flashed across the distance separating them and threw a devastating punch aimed directly at Teach's face.
Teach's reflexes proved surprisingly sharp as he responded with his own powerful strike enhanced by Armament Haki.
Both combatants staggered backward from the tremendous impact of their collision.
After Teach regained his footing, he raised both hands in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. "Please, Ace! Spare me the lecture about going back with you. We both know I wouldn't survive whatever punishment Whitebeard has in mind."
He paused dramatically before clenching his fists and sneering with obvious malice. "Besides, the old man's era is coming to an end whether you accept it or not!"
"I see there's nothing left to discuss, Marshall D. Teach of the Blackbeard Pirates," Ace declared, cracking his knuckles as his muscles tensed in preparation for renewed combat.
At that moment, Teach suddenly spread his arms wide and erupted in maniacal laughter. "In that case, Ace, if you represent fire, then I am the embodiment of darkness itself! Zehahahaha!"
"Allow me to demonstrate the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit—the most dangerous Logia-type ability in all of history!"
Amid his wild cackling, thick waves of inky darkness began surging around Teach's body. The substance resembled black flames or billowing clouds of smoke and ash, rising from his form and leaping skyward in writhing tendrils.
Witnessing this terrifying display, Van Augur and the other Blackbeard Pirates hastily grabbed their captured prisoners and retreated to a safer distance.
Nami, the only member of the Straw Hat crew still conscious, suppressed her overwhelming terror and quietly emerged from her hiding spot. Moving as stealthily as possible, she dragged the unconscious forms of Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper back to the concealed position among the bushes where she'd originally taken shelter.
"You see, what people call 'darkness' is actually infinite gravitational force that attracts everything in existence—even light itself cannot escape..."
Perhaps overwhelmed by his own success, or simply unable to resist the opportunity to gloat, Teach continued running his mouth as he explained the mechanics of his Devil Fruit powers in excruciating detail.
"Is that so?" Ace responded with obvious disinterest, not even bothering to look at Teach as he kept his eyes focused on Van Augur and the captured members of Luffy's crew.
"Firefly Fire: Daruma!"
Before Teach could finish delivering his comprehensive lecture on the Dark-Dark Fruit's capabilities, Ace took the initiative and launched his counterattack.
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