A sharp crack split the night.
"Bang!"
A bullet whistled through the darkness, aimed straight for Teach's skull. He caught it with his Haki the instant it was fired, the trajectory, the killing intent, even the faint shimmer of Armament infused in the shot.
He tilted his head, and the bullet tore past harmlessly.
That was no ordinary guard. It was the signal of an assassin.
From the shadows, figures stirred. Blades gleamed silver in the moonlight. The assassins advanced, silent, precise, faces blank, eyes merciless.
They were killers honed into weapons, moving without hesitation.
One blade streaked toward Teach's back. He didn't even glance at it. His right claw lashed sideways.
Crack!
The hidden assassin's knife shattered like glass in his grip, and in the same breath Teach's claw drove through the man's chest.
Another came from behind, sword raised. Teach's left hand whipped back, clamping around his neck. A crunch followed. The assassin sagged in his grip, lifeless.
But from the fallen bodies, movement slithered.
Two thick vipers with scales glinting yellow under the moonlight, sprang from the corpses and sank their fangs into Teach's arm and thigh. Their venom was legendary, the kind that made flesh swell, blood thin, and the heart slow until it stopped.
The snakes' fangs clamped down onto steel.
Teach's Armament hardened his skin like iron. The venom couldn't pierce him; even if it had, his monstrous body could shrug it off.
His claw flashed once, severing both heads in a single stroke.
More shadows darted. Dozens. The assassins didn't falter even as their comrades fell. Their orders were absolute; retrieve the Prince's 'pet,' eliminate anyone in the way.
Teach's Observation spread like a storm across the city. He already knew; this was only the first wave. Stronger forces were closing in. But right now, he had a hundred assassins circling him.
Each wielded at least one form of Haki; some had mastered both.
For a kingdom, this was an elite force, comparable to a small pirate crew in the New World. But to Teach, they were nothing more than kindling.
He bared his teeth. Electricity danced across his claws.
"Demon Claw: Lightning Flash!"
The assassins lunged with venomous snakes, swords, and spears.
Teach blurred between them. Blades met empty air; claws met flesh. His hardened skin rendered their attacks useless, while his own strikes tore through them like paper.
Five assassins struck together, blades glancing against his torso. Teach didn't flinch. His kick swept them off their feet, sending them crashing into the dirt, coughing blood.
They staggered upright again, killers trained never to surrender. But they wouldn't live to see another strike. Teach's body spun, unleashing a crescent slash from his leg.
Shhhk!
The flying blade ripped across the battlefield, four meters wide. The assassins raised weapons in vain, armor, steel, and flesh, all split in half.
Blood spattered the dirt.
Teach flowed between them like a predator among prey. His claws snapped necks, ripped through chests, shattered blades. One assassin tried to drive a sword into Teach's temple, Teach's elbow shattered the blade, then caved his face with a single strike.
Each corpse spilled another viper. Teach cut them down as fast as they appeared. One particularly large snake slithered onto his arm, drawn by the scent of blood. It curled around his bicep, but instead of striking Teach, it turned on the corpses, devouring the smaller vipers whole.
Teach ignored it. The gap in strength was absolute.
This fight wasn't for survival. It was practice.
Every clash let him refine the techniques he'd shaped from Hog the Fire Wolf's ferocity. His claws were sharper, his movements more fluid, his attacks deadlier than ever.
Still, the assassins fought with fanatic resolve. Even as their comrades dropped like flies, they hurled themselves forward. Until, finally, only five remained.
One broke first.
"He's a monster! We can't win, someone must bring word to His Highness!"
He bolted, sprinting toward the city. The other four fanned out, weapons ready, prepared to sell their lives to buy him time.
Teach's grin widened. "Underestimating me, are you?"
He vanished.
The fleeing assassin's chest exploded with a claw mark, Teach's hand bursting out his back. The corpse dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
The other four screamed and charged. Their blades never touched him. Their lives ended in a blur of steel and blood.
Teach flicked the gore from his claws. Observation told him what came next, three hundred guards, charging this way. He exhaled slowly. Enough playing.
Blood dripped from his body, then stopped. Life Return stirred within him, drawing the blood back, congealing it, cleansing his skin until not a drop remained.
He reached to his waist. His fingers curled around the hilt of the greatsword he rarely drew.
The Dragon Abyss.
The dark-blue blade slid free, gemmed hilt catching the moonlight. Teach raised it in both hands, the air trembling with his aura.
The guards thundered closer.
"One Sword Style…" His voice was low, calm, lethal. "Dragon Roar."
The blade swept sideways.
The air cracked. The earth itself trembled. A silver dragon-shaped slash a hundred meters wide ripped through the night, its roar echoing across the city.
The guards never had a chance. One moment they were charging, the next they were swallowed by blinding light.
Bones shattered, flesh vaporized, weapons snapped. The Dragon Roar carved a crater a hundred meters across, nothing left but scorched soil, tattered cloth, and fragments of bone.
The shockwaves rattled the royal city itself.
Teach lowered the blade, sliding it back to his waist. He called for Neferpitou who then clung to him as always, and strode away.
Back at the inn, Mobius was still training with weighted gear. He didn't even glance up when Teach entered, until he saw the little girl slip from his overcoat, white hair glinting under the lamplight.
Mobius froze. "...What the hell is that?"
Teach only smiled. "Her name's Neferpitou. She's with us now."
Pitou sniffed at the room, curled happily onto the bed like a kitten, and drifted to sleep.
Teach told Mobius the truth. About the Pet Kingdom. About 'human pets.'
Mobius's hands clenched into fists. "Unbelievable. Even slavery doesn't sink this low. Monsters…"
Teach's gaze softened as he looked at Pitou, then sharpened again. Training resumed. Anger burned beneath his calm surface.
And in the Royal Palace, rage boiled.
"Completely wiped out?!" Serpent King Belinda's roar shook the Serpent's Hall. His fist slammed the throne, the giant python beside him hissing in fury.
The report quavered in the trembling soldier's hands. "It's true, Your Highness. Both your guard legions and the First Prince's men… all annihilated. A crater swallows their remains. Only scattered blood and bones remain."
The python's coils slid closer. Belinda's face twisted in wrath.