Mobius's twin blades blurred, the Snake Hand technique making his strikes unpredictable, erratic—like two swordsmen attacking in unison. Jedi had steeled his mind against this trick, remembering how he had been overwhelmed before, yet the sheer chaos of it still forced him back step by step. His sword clashed desperately, each block shaking his arms, but he refused to yield.
Across from them, Voss pressed Linden hard. His short sword gleamed coldly, darting in like a viper seeking the fatal point. The long blade in Linden's hands should have given him reach and dominance in direct combat. But an inch shorter meant an inch deadlier in close quarters, and Voss used that advantage mercilessly.
Every slash, every thrust, carried a lurking intent to kill. Voss's smaller blade twisted and slipped past defenses, always threatening the heart, the throat, the ribs. Linden's long blade hacked and slashed in sweeping arcs, but each time he tried to reset for another swing, Voss was already inside his guard, forcing him to retreat again and again.
The initiative was shifting. One opening, one explosive strike, and Linden would fall. Yet his instincts as a swordsman, his years of drilling the basics, allowed him to barely keep afloat. This battle wasn't ending easily.
Meanwhile, at the sidelines, Teach sat across from the old master. The man finally revealed his name, Genryusai Shigekuni, the grand master of the Flame Stream Swordsmanship.
Their quiet conversation flowed like steel against steel.
Shigekuni spoke of his disciples, Jedi and Linden; one relied on raw force, the other on speed and precision. Neither had yet been taught his personal style; he wished them to walk their own paths. But for one like Teach…
"So you mean to pass your swordsmanship down to me?" Teach asked, raising a brow. Even for him, the idea sounded absurd.
Shigekuni's eyes softened with amusement. "That's right. You are not a pure swordsman. My Flame Stream won't confine you, but it will sharpen you. My disciples must find their own way. But you, your blade already bears your own identity. With you, my sword will not be a cage, but a weapon."
From within his robes, he drew out a thick, timeworn booklet. "This is my life's culmination. My sword. I entrust it to you."
Teach's grin stretched wide.
He knew the weight of what sat before him. The notes of a Grand Swordsman weren't mere scribbles... they were decades of battle, distilled wisdom, shortcuts to realms most would never reach. Still, Teach wasn't a man to take without giving.
He pulled free a notebook of his own. "Here. Notes on Lightning swordsmanship. Insights from several swordsmen I've defeated. I think that one, Linden, might be most suited for it."
Shigekuni accepted them, his smile faint but approving.
Teach tapped the hilts at his waist. "And when the time comes, I'll leave Purgatory and Thunder Fang behind. But only if your disciples prove worthy."
The old master's eyes gleamed. "Let me see them."
Teach drew both blades, placing them across his palms. "Famous Sword Purgatory. Famous Sword Thunder Fang. Both among the 21 Great Grade Swords. Damaged, but still mighty. I plan to take them to Wano Country, repaired, re-forged, reborn stronger than ever."
Shigekuni's hand lingered on Purgatory, stroking the blackened steel with reverence. "I knew this blade… It once belonged to a Grand Swordsman of Flame Stream, long ago. To think it's here now."
Teach nodded. "My mentor's lineage declined. He entrusted it to me."
The old man's gaze sharpened. "Have you found materials to re-forge it?"
Teach pulled a glowing stone from his pocket, arcs of lightning crackling faintly within. "Only this Thunderstone. Perfect for Thunder Fang. But Purgatory… no. Not yet."
Shigekuni chuckled softly, then reached into his own storage. "Then take this." He revealed a crimson, heavy shard, pulsing faintly with heat. "Scarlet Refined Heavy Stone. Found within an active volcano. I forged my Zanka no Tachi with its twin. This remnant would only gather dust with me. But in your hands, Purgatory will roar again."
By then, the battle in the courtyard reached its climax. Mobius's Snake Hand lashed out, one blade dropped, the other like a whip. He coiled Jedi's arm and twisted, dropping him flat.
Voss's relentless short blade stripped away Linden's last defenses, forcing him to crumble.
Both disciples lay panting in defeat, yet their eyes no longer burned with shame, but determination. They had improved since last time, and they knew it.
But now it was Teach's turn.
The old master rose. "Not here. This place is too close to the palace. Come."
They walked to the beach, barren and blackened, as though scoured by firestorms long ago. The air itself seemed to hold its breath. Jedi, Linden, Mobius, Voss, and Pito followed from a distance, wide-eyed.
Teach drew Purgatory. Haki poured across the blade until it darkened into a black blade, flames licking its edge.
Shigekuni, however, reached for his cane. With a quiet rasp, the sheath split revealing a deep-red edge, fire shimmering across the black steel. His Zanka no Tachi burned like a piece of the sun itself.
The air sweltered. The sand hissed as heat rolled off him. Purgatory's flames flared in response, but compared to this, Teach's fire was a mere candle before a bonfire.
Teach gritted his teeth and lunged first, sparks crackling along his arms. "Purgatory!" His blade carved a towering flame slash.
Shigekuni barely moved. "Fuzan." A flash of steel. A pure vertical cut, simple yet absolute. Teach's slash shattered, flames scattering. A wound opened across his chest, blood pouring hot down his ribs.
"Boss Teach!" Mobius shouted, panic in his voice.
But Teach only roared, pressing flames to the wound, burning it closed through sheer willpower. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air. His madness drew a glimmer of approval in Shigekuni's eyes.
"Purgatory—Fire Kirin!"
Flames howled, a beast's roar shaking the beach. A Kirin of fire surged forth, Teach becoming one with it, charging like a flaming god.
Shigekuni raised Zanka no Tachi, voice calm. "Shōman."
His blade spun, carving a tornado of fire. It rose skyward, swallowing the Kirin whole. Teach fought, roaring, flames crackling and splitting, but the inferno crushed him without mercy.
When the firestorm faded, Teach lay broken on the sand, his clothes charred, his body scorched. Yet even unconscious, his hand still gripped Purgatory's hilt.
"Boss Teach!" Mobius, Voss, and Pito rushed to him.
Shigekuni calmly sheathed his blade. "Worry not. With his body, he will live. He is strong… stronger than most. But today, he has seen the peak. And the peak has crushed him."