Upon realizing that the Dark Hole Path of Teach had been opened, Ian immediately knew that his attack had worked. But being stuck in this alternate space, they were unaware of the events unfolding outside. In order to avoid falling into any traps set by Teach and his crew, Ian and Ace unleashed their combined power with a devastating inferno, blasting their way out of the pitch-black hole.
It can be said that when Teach confronted Ian, he encountered too many “unexpected” things! Is the Dark-Dark Fruit really that strong? It is indeed strong! Just the ability to pull Devil Fruit users and nullify their powers is enough to take down most of his opponents. However, when he used this move against Ian, he tragically discovered that it could not take effect on him, thus rendering half of his Dark-Dark Fruit’s power useless.
Then he used the black hole to swallow Ian and his team into the dim space. This was indeed a good move at the start, but then it turned out to be a double-edged sword. Ian’s space manipulation abilities saved them from being trapped and annihilated, while Teach and his crew suffered the full brunt of the inferno outside.
It can be said that Ian had ways to counter Teach at every turn. After being blasted away, Teach and his crew rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames, while their bones shattered by the strong impact, and their clothes burnt to ashes.
Teach was caught off-guard by the sudden attack, and unable to release his transformation in time…Teach was dealing with the blazing flame, so he didn’t have time to cancel the liberation. It was at this moment that Ian and his team fell out of the shadow space.
When they fell out, Ian and his team were in a bit of a mess. Doroni was at the first to fall down, and Ian and Ace fell on his chest. Then Reiju and Robin also fell out on his belly, along with Matthews. All five of them landed on Doroni, and even though he had thick skin and tough flesh, he couldn’t breathe for a long time.
When they suddenly returned to the outside world from that extremely dark space, the intense light irritated Ian and the others, they were unable to open their eyes for a moment.
Fortunately, Ian had anticipated this situation early on, so he immediately opened his En field as soon as he came out.
Together with Ace, they unleashed their devastating attack that engulfed the entire port of City in flames. Ships that were docked in the harbor were destroyed and reduced to rubble, while the ground and sky were ablaze with fire and smoke. The acrid smell of burning filled the air, and debris from the explosion lingered in the air like a haunting memory.
Ian climbed to his feet, gripping the hilt of his sword as he steadied himself. He could still feel the rush of adrenaline from their recent battle, and the fear that had gripped him when they fell into the abyss. Ace, too, was slowly adjusting to the light, his eyes scanning their surroundings for any sign of danger.
Then together, they walked towards the Blackbeard Pirates ahead…
Meanwhile, their adversaries lay wounded on the ground, groaning in agony. Even though they had survived the inferno, they were badly burned, especially, Doc Q looked even more lifeless than usual, as if he could die at any moment…
Seeing Ian approach, Teach propped himself up and angrily shouted, “How?! How did you come out of the Black Hole unscathed?”
Of course, Ian wouldn’t explain to him. Instead, he drew his sword, the Senbonzakura, and said, “Let me kill one more time!”
After saying this, Ian swung his sword with all his might, striking Teach’s head with a clean cut. Ian knew he had underestimated Teach, and that he was lucky to have escaped the abyss alive. If not for his spatial abilities, they would have been sucked into the vortex and even if they could withstand the immense pressure, they would have come out seriously injured or worse.
But what if Titch had more tricks up his sleeve? What if he had other, more powerful devil fruit abilities? Ian shuddered at the thought. He knew he had to be on his guard around Teach.
What if he used another ability that Ian couldn’t handle?…
The truth was, Titch had always been wary of Ian, just as Ian was of him. They had unfinished business, so when Ian saw an opportunity to settle their grudge while Teach was wounded, he seized it.
But just as Ian’s blade was about to strike, Teach suddenly shouted, “You can’t kill me!!”
At the same time, Ace also yelled at Ian, “Ian! Stop!”
The sharp blade stopped just an inch from Teach’s neck, leaving him gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
Ian turned back, frowning, and asked Ace, “What’s going on? Why should I stop?”
Ace shook his head and said, “Ian, you can’t kill him! Because you’re not a member of the Whitebeard Pirates!”
“What do you mean?” Ian furrowed his brows.
“Zehahaha!” Teach burst into laughter and said, “Ace is right. Since I killed my comrade, the only one who has the authority to punish me is the old man! Plus you’re not part of the Whitebeard Pirates, you can’t kill me either!”
“Bullshit!” Ian immediately pressed down on the handle and raised his sword, cutting a gash in Teach’s brow. He coldly looked at him and said, “I may not be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, but believe me, if I kill you right here, Oyaji won’t blame me!”
Teach shut his mouth and looked around, his eyes darting back and forth.
He remembered that when Ian had tried to assassinate him before, although the old man had been angry, he had only struck Ian with a mighty punch and banished him. He was well aware that the old man admired Ian and wanted to take him in as his son. Plus, after Teach had killed Thatch and left, the old man must have felt some remorse for the last time Ian was beaten by him. Therefore, as Ian had said, even if he really killed him here, the old man would probably just scold him and not actually punish him.
With his life at stake, Teach had no choice but to be obedient…
However, Ace still stopped Ian’s action and grabbed his arm holding the blade, saying, “Wait, Ian, you can’t kill him! Oyaji must have a lot of questions to ask him, and I have to take him back!”
Ian glared at Ace with fury in his eyes. “Do you know how dangerous this man is? Do you have any idea what he’s capable of or what he has done!?” he spat, his voice rising with each word.
“I know!” Ace fell silent for a while, lowered the brim of his cowboy hat, and said to Ian, “But have you thought about it? The one who is most heartbroken about Teach’s defection is father himself! If we kill him now, we’ll never know the truth. father has to talk to him first. He has to ask him the questions we need answers to.”
“Father! Father! Father!” Ian yelled in anger, “Is the Whitebeard really that important to you!?”
“Yes!” Ace looked up, grinned, and said to Ian, “In this world, the Whitebeard…he’s not just our father. He’s more than that. He’s the only one I trust. The only one I recognize.”
It’s the same old thing again! Ian was so angry that he wanted to punch something so hard. He really couldn’t understand Ace’s way of thinking.
However, this guy Ace had such a firm gaze that he was determined to take Teach back.
Ian shook his head in disbelief. “You’re insane,” he muttered. “You’re risking everything for him…”
Ian fell silent for a while, and then said, “Okay! You can take him back, but…you can’t take him back intact!”
After speaking, and before Ace could react, the Senbonzakura in Ian’s hand suddenly turned into a stream of light and slashed down from Teach’s right shoulder!
A furry arm flew up, and then Teach let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Ian directly cut off one of his arms.
Glancing at Teach, who was rolling on the ground, Ian turned to Ace and said, “I’ll give you two options. Either I’ll accompany you and take Teach back, or we’ll wait here for Whitebeard’s pirates to come and help us. I can’t let you take him back alone!”
Ian helped Ace chase after the Blackbeard pirates to prevent history from repeating itself. How could he let Ace take Teach back alone? What if something happened on the way? Wouldn’t all his efforts be in vain?
Thus, Ian’s decision to sever Teach’s arm and the two choices he offered were all precautionary measures.
Ace understood Ian’s concerns, but as long as he was still breathing, he had no grounds to protest. After some thought, Ace said, “I’ll contact Marco and have him bring his crew to meet us.”
“Good enough!” Ian nodded.
Although they said so, for some reason, Ian had a nagging feeling of unease in his heart, as if he had overlooked something crucial…
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