Chapter 1066 - 638: Effort, Sweat, and Talent
In the lush mountains, some of the peaks had become bald, with all the trees and jungle disappearing.
In their place stood several giants.
Leading them was Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach!
To his right, raising his arms in a strongman’s pose and laughing heartily, was Jesus Burgess, while further right was Vasco Shot.
On the left, a bit thinner, was Laffitte, wearing a top hat and twirling a cane, along with Catarina Devon, one hand on her hip and the other resting on her sword hilt.
"Mulu... hahaha..."
Devon let out a peculiar laugh, "Teach, can we hunt beauties this time? Sage has a few good-looking people under him, especially that Lily."
"Pirate ha ha ha, as enemies, of course we can! But that woman is no pushover. She’s not here, she set sail with Sage. Thanks to you, Laffitte!" Teach laughed.
"Oh ho ho... It’s what I should do. I won’t lose to anyone in intelligence. But Fleet Commodore Teach, are we really going to war with Sage now? That guy’s no joke." Laffitte said.
"No choice!"
Teach grinned fiendishly, "We’re supposed to be cooperative allies, but he shared nothing with me. There’s only one Pirate King, and only one One Piece! If this continues, I’ll end up as his underling! That won’t do, I have to rely on myself!"
There’s nothing in this world that goes perfectly without obstacles. Sage wanted Teach to guard the back gate, control those chaotic pirates who didn’t pledge allegiance, and continuously exchange looted goods with him for weapons to boost the economy.
But this also depends on whether Teach is truly willing.
Back then, everyone had just entered the New World and needed to seize Whitebeard’s territory, enjoying a rare honeymoon phase, completing their initial plans.
During that time, everyone was in a growth phase; Sage needed to maintain his rule, and Teach was busy expanding his influence. The benefits of cooperation outweighed the downsides.
At that time, he indeed needed the weapons produced by Sage and thought it was convenient.
But as Sage’s power grew, the alliance, based on mutual benefits, naturally weakened.
Now, if Teach doesn’t act, he’ll become someone who solely resolves Sage’s weapon exports while guarding against Red Hair.
Half of the latter half of the New World is his territory, not Sage’s private domain!
Especially when he doesn’t share the Poneglyphs!
"Pirate ha ha ha, Sage, you wouldn’t have thought, I know you actually have three pieces! It’s outrageous, you still haven’t given me the second piece; I thought you were holding one as a bargaining chip, I was too naive!"
Teach laughed out loud, grasping heavily with one hand, "Boys, go take it. As pirates, you have to seize what you want yourselves!"
"Fleet Commodore Teach, something’s not right."
Just as he finished speaking, Laffitte looked toward the massive city silhouette, an ominous smile playing on his lips, "Someone seems to have gotten there first..."
From within the silhouette, faint firelight could be seen.
"Pirate ha ha ha, isn’t that even better?"
Teach grinned, showing a mouth missing a few teeth, "Let’s seize this opportunity and storm in!"
...
O’hara Royal City Port.
The now leaner Moriah was doing his best to stop Shanks’ advance.
"Shadow Mage!"
"Shadow Revolution!"
"Shadow Horn Spear!"
"Shadow Stepping Technique!"
"Scattering Bats!"
Moriah unleashed his arsenal, manipulating shadows frenziedly to attack Shanks, but whether controlling shadows for flexible attacks or using tricky abilities, all were neutralized by the imposing Shanks.
His swordsmanship was on par with dueling Mihawk, though not the World’s Number One Great Sword Master, his sword skills were undeniably top-notch.
After regaining his will, Moriah indeed grew stronger. As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a rare powerhouse, fighting the Four Emperors wasn’t a problem.
Jinbe was able to repel Big Mom with a punch, and likewise, Moriah could fight Red Hair.
But the two’s fighting styles were completely different.
"Kamusari!"
Western sword clashed repeatedly with the tachi, with Haki canceling each other out. After slashing through Shanks’ clothing and cloak, the Supreme King’s suppression reached a breaking point, creating an opening, which Shanks seized to slash down.
Bam!!
The tachi and Western sword intertwined again, but this time, the red lightning of Conqueror’s Haki pierced Moriah’s body, forcibly restoring his thin physique to a somewhat chubby form.
Under the oppression of Supreme King, his abilities started to be affected.
Schiii!!
Without needing to cut through the tachi, the power of Conqueror’s Haki penetrated the defending tachi, concentrating on his chest, creating a large gap from which blood gushed.
Hit by this blow, Moriah stumbled back several steps, his body wavering as if about to fall.
"Ha... Truly troublesome."
Shanks panted a few times, wiped the blood off his cheek, and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, saying, "The former Seven Warlords, now the Three Phases, is indeed strong. But, you’re still not my match, step aside."
"Absolutely not..."
Bam!
Trembling, Moriah had just lifted his tachi, about to fight again, but on the other side, Hawkins, attacked by both Beckman and Lucky Roux, couldn’t hold out. While Lucky Roux was slightly injured, Beckman remained unharmed and hit Hawkins on the head with a rifle butt, rendering him unconscious.