Teach was no Enel. Back when he was still a hiding within the Whitebeard Pirates over a decade ago, he had managed to leave a lifelong scar on the face of "Red-Haired" Shanks, even though the latter had not been careless. Having encountered countless life-or-death crises, Teach would not be scared into flailing his powers about just because he faced a technique he had never seen before.
As he stood upon the ground carpeted with small, staring blood-eyes, Teach did not rush to attack. Instead, he paced cautiously, scouting the surroundings for a solution while keeping a close watch beneath his feet, after all, he was standing where the sea, the natural enemy of all ability users, ought to be.
If this is the technique of some ability user...
Teach thought to himself. His right hand manifested "Dark Water," spinning like a localized gale, which he then slammed into the ground. "Absorb!"
A major reason Teach held the Dark-Dark Fruit in such high regard, enough to stay undercover for over twenty years to obtain it, was its unique property: it could neutralize and absorb any Devil Fruit ability.
However, the Dark-Dark Fruit, which could even nullify the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, failed to produce any change when it touched the pool of blood. This indicated that either the spectacle before him was not a product of a Devil Fruit, or…
"An illusion?"
Teach grinned and muttered a guess. If the opponent possessed the power to cast hallucinations, making everything before him a mirage, then it would explain why the Dark-Dark Fruit had no effect.
But if it were an illusion-type fruit, when exactly had he fallen into the trap?
Wroooom…
Suddenly, the pool of blood beneath him let out a low roar. Teach looked up to see that same beastly claw that had crushed his raft extending from the eye-riddled ground once more. This time, it lunged directly for him.
"Zehahaha... This probably isn't an illusion."
Teach was not foolish enough to mistake a hypothesis for a fact. Seeing the claw, large enough to crush a Giant like a toy, descending, he spun the "Dark Water" in his right hand while condensing Armament Haki into his left.
"Black Vortex!"
The spinning darkness in his right collided with the downward sweep of the claw, forcing a momentary delay. Even so, Teach's body was twisted under the pressure; half a second more and he would have been flattened into meat paste.
"Don't you underestimate me!"
Teach roared, his Haki-clad left fist smashing upward with brutal force.
Though Teach's punch caused the beastly claw to stutter, giving his compressed body a moment of relief, it failed to repel the limb entirely. After half a second of lag, an even greater force bore down from above.
At this point, Teach's right hand was still actively channeling the Dark-Dark Fruit's power, yet the pressure only intensified. This was proof enough: the opponent was not an ability user, or at least not one currently using a transformation. The thought of it being a simple Zoan-type was discarded.
"In that case..."
Realizing he couldn't win a contest of pure strength, the "Dark Water" beneath Teach's feet began to boil. His bloated body suddenly sank into the darkness on the ground. The beastly claw struck the earth, but failed to land a fatal blow.
"Zehahaha! Looks like this will be a war of attrition."
Teach kept a single eye visible above the dark surface, observing the exterior. Seeing that the massive black-furred claw was currently unable to reach him in this state, he couldn't help but grow smug. His confidence in the Dark-Dark Fruit had reached an absolute peak.
Just as Whitebeard had assessed: his arrogance was his greatest weakness.
In Teach's mind, if he couldn't win, neither could his opponent. It would simply be a matter of whose stamina gave out first, and he had always been supremely confident in his physical endurance. Even if the opponent's stamina surpassed his own, surely he could find a way to break through this spatial ability given enough time?
He had expected this stalemate to last for hours, but in less than two minutes, Teach sensed a new aura of crisis.
The pool of blood on the ground began to rise like a living animal, hoisting Teach's body out of the "Dark Water." The blood gradually congealed into a pack of wild hounds with bared fangs and bodies covered in those same crimson "Blood Eyes." Each one panted with its tongue out, staring at Teach with the hunger of a starving dog eyeing a hog.
"Awoooooo!!"
In the next second, the blood-formed hounds pounced. They actually managed to sink their teeth into the amorphous "Dark Water," tearing and devouring it.
"How is this possible?!"
In his shock, half of Teach's face was exposed. In this state, he should have been invincible. Why was this happening? What kind of ability user was his opponent?
The hounds did not miss the moment Teach's face appeared. One lunged forward; in a panic, Teach instinctively threw a heavy counter-punch.
Splat!
The punch shattered the dog's head, sending gore flying everywhere. But before Teach could celebrate, the splattered blood, much like a Logia user's elemental form, reconstituted itself into the shape of a dog. Amidst Teach's astonishment, it bit down hard on his left eye.
Rip!!
In an instant, waves of agonizing pain surged through Teach's left eye. He instinctively clutched his face, howling in pain, unsure if his eyeball was even still intact.
However, the screaming lasted less than two seconds. Through the perception of his Observation Haki, Teach could feel even more hounds lunging toward him. If he focused only on the pain now, he would very soon never "scream" again.
"Black Vortex: Devour!"
A black tornado erupted from his entire body, enveloping dozens of the hounds in a violent vortex.
"Black Hole!"
With Teach's roar, the hounds were crushed into blood-mist. The sheer intensity of the attack prevented them from reforming immediately.
When Teach activated his ability, the pain he felt was twice that of an ordinary person. To be struck in a place as delicate as the eye meant the level of agony was beyond words.
That he could maintain his composure and counter-attack under such circumstances proved that, despite his arrogance, he was no coward.
"Zehaha..."
Teach panted heavily, one hand clamped over his left eye. Fortunately, the eyeball hadn't been ripped out.
"Well done, Marshall D. Teach."
Suddenly, a voice drifted into Teach's ears, seeming to come from far away, yet feeling as though it were whispered from right beside him.