A wild gleam flashed in Teach's eyes.
In the past two years, he hadn't grown much taller, and on the surface, not much about him had changed. But his body and swordsmanship had sharpened steadily, like steel tempered in fire.
Still, he had hit a wall.
His physique needed time to mature, but swordsmanship....swordsmanship could leap forward in an instant, if pushed hard enough. What he needed was pressure, a battle that would squeeze out his next breakthrough.
And this was the perfect battlefield.
Teach hurled himself at the Marine warship, instantly drawing every gaze. With Thunder Fang in one hand and Purgatory in the other, he charged straight at one of the Vice Admirals.
That Vice Admiral was a swordsman, his name, Janson.
"So you're coming for me?" Janson sneered as he drew his blade. "Brat, you haven't even left your father's shadow. Since you've rushed up here, I'll bury you here."
Every Vice Admiral had mastered two forms of Haki. Teach hadn't yet unlocked Armament, and his swordsmanship realm was still below Janson's. On paper, he was at a clear disadvantage.
But that was exactly what Teach wanted.
And Janson wasn't at his peak either. Whitebeard's earlier shockwave had rattled him badly, no matter how steady he looked.
Teach trusted his body and strength to carry him through. As he blurred forward at frightening speed, his bandana tore loose. Curly black hair whipped in the wind, framing a grin so feral it bordered on madness.
"Let's have some fun, Marine!" Teach roared, lightning and fire crackling together around him like a demon's cloak.
"Then come!" Janson's temper flared, and he welcomed the fight with lethal intent.
The clash was inevitable.
Nearby Marines kept their distance, the aura alone from the two was enough to kill. Vice Admiral Ronar prepared to intervene until a blade stopped him cold.
"You shouldn't interrupt another man's duel," said Flower Sword Vista, tipping his hat and smiling beneath his twin mustaches.
He knew Teach well. The boy had often sought him out for lessons, and though still a step away from being a true swordsman, Teach had already mastered flying slashes and cutting aura.
This fight was his crucible. Vista wasn't about to let anyone rob him of it.
Around them, the Whitebeard Pirates tore through the Marines. Newgate had smashed all communication lines at the battle's start with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, so no call for reinforcements could be made.
Against Whitebeard's veterans, the Marines were lambs to slaughter. Corpses piled up by the second.
"Marine!" Teach barked mid-duel, sparks bursting from his twin blades. "Where's your strength? Where's your justice? Don't make me look down on you!"
Though outmatched by Janson's Haki, Teach's spirit blazed. He wanted more pressure, more danger, he needed it. His Observation Haki surged to its limit, pressing even harder than Janson's own.
"Don't underestimate me, brat!" Janson snapped, fury boiling.
He saw it now, Teach was trying to use him as a stepping stone. If the boy survived this, he'd grow into a monster. Janson's mind sharpened. He would end this here, even if it cost him everything.
"Life Return!"
His voice rang out as his body surged with a terrifying vitality. One of the profound extensions of the Six Powers, Life Return fused mastery of body and mind. Janson's speed spiked, his attacks doubled in ferocity. His life force was burning away with every strike.
Teach staggered under the rising storm, struggling to parry blow after blow, yet his aura only grew heavier. The pressure was killing him and unlocking him.
Marco shifted nervously, watching the duel. "Pops, Teach is in danger. Shouldn't we..."
"This is Teach's choice," Whitebeard cut him off with a booming laugh. "We don't interfere. Trust in him. Teach's strength isn't as simple as it looks."
Marco frowned, not fully understanding. But Whitebeard knew. He had watched Teach closely for years.
In the storm of blades, Teach's world shifted. His breath slowed. He felt it, the rhythm beneath everything. The 'breath of all things.'
It was faint at first, a whisper in the chaos. Then sharper. Clearer. Until it sang through every clash of steel.
His eyes burned bright. His swords grew keener.
Janson felt it too, the shift, the leap across realms. Teach had stepped into the rank of true swordsmen.
But Janson wouldn't give him time to savor it.
The instant Teach broke through, Janson capitalized. His blade ripped Purgatory from Teach's right hand, sending it spinning through the air.
Pirates gasped. Janson's face twisted into a final grin, his burning life force peaking.
"Haha—die!"
His blade shot forward with lethal precision, aimed straight for Teach's heart. Even Whitebeard felt a whisper of danger in that strike.
"I'm dead. I'm really dead," Teach thought as the sword closed in.
But he refused to die like that.
At the last moment, Teach's left hand, clutching Thunder Fang, caught the strike, diverting it just enough. Janson's blade still punched into his chest, carving deep. Blood poured freely.
Yet Janson's eyes went wide in shock.
Because his own chest now bore a burning, crackling claw.
Teach's hand, wreathed in fire and lightning, had pierced clean through, gripping his still-beating heart.
"You… you!" Janson wheezed.
"I'll remember you, Janson," Teach said through ragged breaths, lips curling into a smile. "Thanks for this."
His grip tightened. With a crushing crack, Janson's heart burst in his palm.
The Vice Admiral's body sagged, aging rapidly as the cost of Life Return caught up with him. His sword clattered from numb fingers. He had failed.
And Teach....Teach had survived.
Whispers spread among the Whitebeard crew. Marco's eyes narrowed. He had felt it clearly, Conqueror's Haki, bursting out in that moment and then immediately restrained. Teach had the will of a king. And more; that claw, that flicker of Armament Haki shining black, proof of yet another breakthrough.
In one battle, Teach had leapt forward thrice over—swordsman, Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki.
As the battlefield quieted, Teach wrenched Janson's blade from his chest with a grimace, blood cascading down his torso. He pressed torn cloth against the wound and barked,
"Oi! Stop staring and help me before I bleed out!"
That snapped the crew from their shock. They rushed in, cheering and half-panicked.
"You're amazing, Teach! You killed a Vice Admiral!"
"Fourteen years old and already a swordsman!"
The respect in their eyes was different now.
Teach retrieved Purgatory and picked up Janson's fallen sword, lesser than his own, but still a fine blade. Then he faced Whitebeard, shoulders squared despite the wound.
"Pops," he said with a grin, "I won this battle."
"Gurararara! As expected of my son. You deserve it," Whitebeard rumbled with pride.
Teach had carved his place among the strong. And in the distance, Whitebeard turned his gaze to the horizon, already sensing the next storm about to arrive.