Chapter 1600 Son of Teach-Lox
The Devil's Triangle has finally dissipated completely, like a nightmare that has lasted for many years, revealing a vast, cold graveyard filled with countless shipwrecks.
The twisted keel, the rusted iron plates, and the shattered sail fragments silently tell the story of the countless ambitions and lives that have been swallowed up here.
The overwhelming blackness gradually subsided, but the malice in the air did not dissipate; instead, it became even more solid and viscous, like the final stillness before a storm.
A deafening dragon's roar ripped through the sky, and above the sea that had just seen the light of day again, a colossal shadow rose into the heavens.
It was a vicious dragon whose entire body was covered in dark purple scales that shimmered with a cold, metallic luster. Dark purple light patterns flowed on its wings that blotted out the sky.
On the broad back of this purple-scaled evil dragon, which exudes a terrifying aura, several figures stood proudly.
The purple-scaled dragon let out another short roar, and its huge wings suddenly flapped, forcibly pressing two deep trenches into the sea.
In the next instant, its massive body transformed into a streak of purple lightning that tore through the sky. In just a few breaths, it traversed the previously insurmountable distance, appearing directly above the battlefield of Marineford with a soul-chilling pressure.
The shadow, like a curtain of death, instantly enveloped a large area of the square. Countless people looked up in horror at the enormous dragon shadow suspended high in the sky, and the several ominous figures on the dragon's back.
All eyes eventually and involuntarily fixed on the most conspicuous man standing at the head of the dragon.
His enormous body was wrapped in a black captain's fur cloak, and his face wore that signature, toothless, unrestrained smile, a smile that was now full of greed, as if the whole world was fish on his chopping board.
His ten fingers were adorned with a variety of gemstone rings that shimmered with different lusters, exuding a nouveau riche vulgarity in the dim light, yet also instilling a strange unease.
He stood there casually, yet he seemed to be the center of the world, with all the darkness and malice converging on him.
Marshall D. Teach – Blackbeard!
He no longer hid behind the all-consuming fog, but arrived with unprecedented arrogance and domineering presence, carrying power capable of overturning the course of the battle.
"Teach—!!!"
A heart-wrenching roar filled with endless grief and indignation suddenly erupted from the execution platform.
Ace, the Fire Fist, who was bound by Seastone shackles and kneeling on the execution platform, was trembling violently all over.
He tilted his head back, his eyes, which had once burned like flames, now bloodshot. "You damned traitor, you scum!"
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with anger at being deceived, grief over the tragic death of his brother, and self-blame for the entire Whitebeard Pirates being plunged into dire straits because of him.
Blackbeard Teach didn't even glance at Ace. His gaze, like that of a vulture, was fixed on the figure below who stood tall and firm like a pillar of strength even amidst a crowd of thousands—Whitebeard Edward Newgate.
"Dad, it's been a long time. How have you been lately?"
His voice carried a false warmth, "Look at you now, all for a good-for-nothing son of Roger, it's truly heartbreaking..."
"How about it? Do you want to join forces with me and let this unfilial son of yours lend you a hand?"
Teach's gaze finally swept over Ace, who was staring at the execution platform below with bloodshot eyes, as if bestowing a favor. A cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Take my dear brother Ace out of the hands of the Navy."
"shut up"!
Whitebeard let out a roar like a wounded lion, slamming his Murakumogiri heavily onto the deck of the Moby Dick, causing the entire ship to shudder.
His voice was deep, filled with an uncontrollable rage: "For you, the scum who killed Sachi and betrayed the family, to say such a thing is the greatest insult to me."
"You want Lao Tzu's Tremor Fruit?"
Whitebeard slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the enormous dragon shadow in the sky, fixing on Teach's repulsive face. "Then come and take it yourself, exchange your life for it!"
A surge of Conqueror's Haki, fueled by the deepest hatred for traitors, erupted from Whitebeard's body. Dark red lightning exploded wildly around him, and the sky seemed to be torn open by this pure, kingly pressure.
Faced with this Conqueror's Haki attack that was enough to change the very fabric of the world, Blackbeard merely let out a contemptuous sneer, "Old man, you don't know what's good for you. Calling you 'father' is an honor, but you really think you're my elder!"
Almost at the same time, a completely different kind of Conqueror's Haki emanated from Teach, and the two completely opposite Conqueror's Haki clashed violently in the air.
The sky seemed to be torn apart, with countless black and red lightning bolts dancing wildly and spreading madly to the surrounding airspace. Space was groaning, and apart from a few top experts, everyone else was trembling under the crushing force of the two kingly wills. The weak even fainted on the spot.
"This is……"
Garp, who was fighting Zephyr to the death in the distance, felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he sensed this familiar yet completely different Conqueror's Haki. The image of Rocks appeared in his mind.
Sengoku stood atop the city wall, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "There's no mistake, this bloodline, this ambition, they all belonged to that man..."
Teach's voice pierced clearly through the fierce clash and roar of the two Conqueror's Haki, "Old man, your era should have ended long ago, but I'm not even forty yet, the future belongs to the young."
His voice suddenly rose and resounded throughout the surrounding area, “The great ambition that my father, Rocks D. Gibbek, could not fulfill, I will fulfill!”
The title of Son of Lox—a taboo title powerful enough to shake the world—was announced to the public with such nonchalance yet with such resounding force.
Teach's gaze, like that of the most greedy merchant, fell upon Whitebeard, and upon the Tremor-Tremor Fruit within Whitebeard's body, a symbol of the strongest Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. "Let's make a deal."
His voice, uttering each word clearly, resounded throughout Marineford and spread to every corner of the world via countless Den Den Mushi: "In the name of the Son of Rocks, I will help you rescue the Son of Roger."
Teach stretched out his hand and pointed straight at Whitebeard's chest. "In exchange, give me your Tremor-Tremor Fruit after you die. You won't live much longer anyway, so I'll inherit your Tremor-Tremor Fruit..."
The entire Marineford, and indeed the entire world as seen through images, seemed to fall completely silent at that moment because of this earth-shattering declaration.
The son of Rocks, in front of the entire world, so openly and brazenly, with this forbidden identity, made such a crazy deal to another of the Four Emperors.
Trading saving Ace for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?!
