Chapter 83: The Line is Drawn
"I might as well crush your head and let your Major General cry while holding your corpse!" Jesus Burgess roared, his face contorted with rage as he looked down at Nami's small frame.
Teach watched Jock Ian's subordinates appear and slapped his forehead dramatically. "Oh my, this is troublesome. No room for negotiation left." His friendly facade vanished completely. "Major General Ian, your people came to us. My crew... they're not as reasonable as me." A vicious grin spread across his face. "They're all bloodthirsty maniacs! Your weak officers are no match for them. And you won't get to help them."
"ZEHAHAHA!"
The mask had dropped. Teach's true nature emerged - he'd hoped to talk his way off the island, but if Ian wanted a fight, he'd give him one.
Before coming to Sabaody, Blackbeard had studied the newspapers. The reports mentioned Ian's officers were only Colonels at best. Compared to the monsters he'd recruited, Teach felt confident in his crew's superiority.
"Hah, giving up the act so soon?" Ian smirked coldly. "I thought you'd keep begging. Too bad this fight will be quick - none of you are leaving. If you'd taken your Dark-Dark Fruit and avoided Sabaody, you might have made it. But now... no chance."
Ian deliberately revealed Teach's secret to shock him.
"You... How?!" Teach's eyes widened, his laughter cutting off abruptly. How could this Marine know? Even if he knew about Thatch's murder, how could he identify the specific fruit?
It made no sense. And what happened next would make even less sense.
(Flashback: The Night After Jack's Defeat)
Ian gathered his four officers on the empty training ground.
"How was the fight with the Beasts Pirates?" he asked.
Peacock spoke first: "Their artificial fruits are weak, but their Haki was troublesome."
T-Bone nodded: "They're durable. Requires strong Armament Haki to hurt them properly."
Skylark looked down: "They were stronger than expected. I had to use special ammo."
Nami hugged her Climate Baton: "She was so fast... I had to keep running at first."
It had been a hard-won victory.
"Those weren't even Kaido's top officers," Ian said seriously. "The New World is full of pirates that strong. What if Kaido himself came with commanders like Jack? Could you stop him?"
Silence. They all knew the answer. Even Ian had fought Jack for a long time - they'd be lucky to survive minutes against such a foe.
"Seems you understand your limits," Ian said. "So what's next?"
"Train harder!" Peacock declared.
"Push our limits!" T-Bone affirmed.
"Get stronger!" Skylark added.
"Improve my combat power!" Nami finished.
They saw the gap and were ready to work. Ian saw potential in them - they might not be strong now, but they could grow.
"Everyone, we might face powerful enemies here," Ian continued. "In our time together, we've bent rules for justice... We've been through a lot." His voice softened. "I consider you my partners. I don't want anything to happen to you."
He took a breath. "So I'll tell you this: I've awakened my Human-Human Fruit."
Peacock: "!!!"
T-Bone: "!!!"
Skylark: "!!!"
Nami: "???"
The three Headquarters veterans understood. An Awakened Zoan meant massive power boost and near-immortal stamina. It explained how Ian could defeat Jack.
But it came with risks.
Peacock stepped forward urgently: "Major General... my grandmother said Zoan awakenings have a 50% failure rate. The failed ones lose themselves to the fruit's will. You ate the Human-Human Fruit... so are you still you?"
Her words struck deep. Ian had wondered himself - was his personality changing? At Shakky's bar, when she dismissed civilian deaths, he'd felt unusual fury. Was that him or the fruit's influence?
After thinking it over...