Witnessing the chaotic scene before him—a sky raining down massive trees and heavy boulders—Lancelot's heart jolted in alarm.
His pupils contracted to pinpricks, and his expression instantly turned grave.
Immediately, his entire body, now clad in golden scales, seemed to lose all weight.
He activated one of the Six Powers, Kami-e, drifting down gently through the air like a thin sheet of paper, his movements fluid and unpredictable.
Under the effect of this miraculous technique, every massive object hurtling down from above was deftly evaded as he weaved through the deadly rain of debris.
However, the moment Lancelot's feet touched the ground, the burly, menacing Blackbeard had already closed in, his sheer speed belying his massive size, moving like a black lightning bolt.
A fist as large as a sandbag, wreathed in dark, sinister energy and accompanied by a sharp whistling wind, ruthlessly swung toward Lancelot's face.
Despite his bulky build, Blackbeard moved with a startling, explosive speed, like a sudden storm.
Facing such a ferocious, Haki-infused assault, Lancelot dared not hesitate.
He quickly crossed his scaled arms in front of his chest, bracing them with both Tekkai and his own advanced Armament Haki, preparing to block the devastating punch.
"Bam!"
With a dull, thunderous crash, the two immense forces collided.
A powerful, visible shockwave erupted between them, seeming to make the very air tremble.
Under the impact of this tremendous, raw force, Lancelot was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
However, Lancelot was a seasoned warrior with lightning-fast reflexes.
After nimbly flipping through the air, he used Geppo to kill his momentum and landed steadily, his boots digging into the ground, completely unharmed, a full ten meters away from his original position.
He vigorously shook his slightly numb arms, as if trying to fling away the accumulated soreness from the impact. Internally, he couldn't help but lament—though his swordsmanship and Armament Haki had been honed to an exceptionally formidable level, other aspects of his combat prowess, particularly his raw physical strength, remained at the Vice Admiral tier.
He had to admit that, in terms of pure, brute strength alone, he was indeed inferior to Blackbeard at this moment.
One should never underestimate Blackbeard's astonishing natural talent for physical power.
Just recalling how he, in the original storyline, had fully and devastatingly unleashed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's destructive potential—a power he wasn't even "meant" to have—made it clear that this man's strength was absolutely not to be trifled with.
It could even be said to rival that of Whitebeard, the man hailed as the world's strongest.
Yet, it was precisely this gap in raw power that ignited a blazing, long-dormant fighting spirit within Lancelot.
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
He fixed his gaze on Blackbeard, who was watching him with a surprised, greedy expression.
A provocative smirk curled Lancelot's lips.
"My original target was just that lackey who dared shoot at me," Lancelot called out, his voice sharp.
"But since you insist on interfering... very well, I'll have to take you out first!"
"Soru!"
With a low shout, Lancelot's figure vanished from sight like a ghost.
When he reappeared, he was already standing firmly, directly before Blackbeard, inside his guard.
The instant Lancelot materialized, his fists—now clad in golden scales and glowing with Haki—shot toward Blackbeard's soft abdomen with lightning speed, appearing without warning.
Simultaneously, Lancelot roared: "Rokushiki Ogi—Rokuogun!"
This sudden, point-blank assault made Blackbeard's eyes widen involuntarily, his face contorting in shock.
He had braced for a Haki-punch, an external blow.
But as Lancelot shouted, a terrifying, bone-chilling internal impact force erupted from his fists, bypassing Blackbeard's external toughness and Haki defense, exploding directly within his body.
"BOOM..."
A deafening, muffled roar echoed through the surroundings, as if the very space itself were shattering from the inside out.
Caught completely off guard by such a devastating internal blow, Blackbeard's portly frame folded inward like a closing accordion, his entire body arching backward in a silent scream.
For a brief, agonizing moment, Blackbeard's eyes turned vacant, completely losing focus.
Clearly, this strike had inflicted severe internal damage, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of blood, mixed with internal fluids, sprayed from Blackbeard's lips.
Yet, in the very next instant, his unfocused eyes regained their sharpness.
His battle instincts, honed from a lifetime of betrayal and brutal combat, were second to none.
Then, even as he was recoiling from the blow, his leg snapped up, delivering a vicious, Haki-infused kick straight toward Lancelot's face.
This kick was fast, ruthless, and precise. It gave Lancelot, still at point-blank range from his own attack, zero opportunity to evade.
"Damn it..."
By the time Lancelot's Observation Haki registered the counter-attack, Blackbeard's foot was already half an inch from his face. He had no time to dodge.
"Tekkai! Busoshoku Haki!"
"Boom..."
Just as Lancelot enveloped his face with his strongest combined defense, Blackbeard's foot viciously kicked him.
Lancelot instantly felt an overwhelmingly terrifying force that snapped his head back.
He was sent flying like a meteor, skipping across the ground before crashing hard into the distant treeline, a full hundred meters away.
Clearly, Blackbeard had no intention of letting Lancelot off easily.
With a powerful push from his legs, he immediately gave chase, appearing over the downed Lancelot and throwing a punch aimed at his prone form, a punch also imbued with Armament Haki.
"Swish..."
But Lancelot was not one to take a beating without fighting back.
Shusui, the black blade, instantly left its sheath.
With a speed that defied logic from his position on the ground, a cold gleam flashed as the Haki-infused blade traced a deadly arc, aimed directly at Blackbeard's neck.
Blackbeard's descending fist abruptly halted mid-air.
His eyes widened.
He immediately used his own Haki-enhanced strength to push off the ground, retreating over ten meters.
He had recognized the threat in that split second.
Although his fist could have struck the Marine, Lancelot's blade would have simultaneously sliced across his neck.
Whether his punch would kill the Marine was uncertain, but if he took that slash from a blade that radiated such terrifying Haki... he would likely die.
Seizing this opportunity, Lancelot slapped the ground with one hand and flipped to his feet.
He and Blackbeard, now standing ten meters apart, locked eyes
Killing intent, thick and palpable, erupted from both of them almost simultaneously.
"BOOM..."
But just as they were about to clash again, a violent, cannon-like explosion echoed from the direction of the port.
"Huh?" Lancelot glanced over.
It was the direction where his warship was located.
Although there were pirate ships there, the pirates on board... forget Lina, Gin, and Zoro—even a Miss Valentine could easily handle them.
Logically, there shouldn't have been another explosion.
And especially not such a massive one.
"Zehahahaha... Now it's your turn to experience your comrades being—" Blackbeard, ever shrewd, immediately grasped the key point, his taunt beginning.
But before he could finish his sentence, a low, guttural, beastly roar came from the direction where Van Augur and Doc Q had fled.
Though it was clearly distant, it was distinctly audible... X Drake.
Blackbeard instantly realized who was fighting his crewmates, and his expression shifted slightly.
Blackbeard and Lancelot exchanged another glance, both men now distracted by threats to their respective crews.
"Next time," Lancelot called out, his voice cold, "I'll take your head and claim the military merit."
Blackbeard just grinned, his confidence returning.
"Zehahahaha... The next time we meet, Marine, you'll only serve as a stepping stone for my fame!"
With that, they both, by unspoken agreement, dashed off rapidly in different directions—Blackbeard toward his crew, Lancelot toward his ship.