In just a few minutes, nearly a thousand Marine soldiers had fallen. More terrifyingly, nine Marine Colonels were among the dead.
The strength of the Nightfall Pirates' senior officers far exceeded the Marines' expectations.
Many had already foreseen the outcome another crushing defeat for the Marines. Without high-end combat power to match, what chance did they have?
Gar, the maddened beast in human form, tore through their ranks like a predator in a slaughterhouse. The sound of rending flesh and the stench of blood froze the hearts of those watching.
Speed, strength, and ferocity, all combined in a single, unstoppable force. Gar's rampage turned the battle into a one-sided hunt.
"This monster can't be beaten!" one Marine screamed before dropping his weapon and fleeing. Others followed, morale collapsing completely.
The four Colonels who had tried to stop Gar were already corpses, one of them split clean in half. The rest had no chance of escape.
Gar roared in excitement, his body expanding into a blood-red lion. Similar scenes unfolded across the battlefield, from the beaches of East Blue to the outskirts of Sabaody Archipelago.
The Marines' defeat was obvious. The only question was, how many would survive? And what about their enemy's captain, Marshall D. Teach?
He had rarely shown his true power. The only image of him in Marine records was a blurry photo of a claw impaling a Colonel's abdomen—the source of his title, Demon Claw.
At the center of the battlefield, Teach walked calmly through the chaos. None of the Marine soldiers dared to step forward.
Before him stood ten remaining Colonels.
The air grew heavy. Tens of thousands of eyes turned toward them—this was the heart of the warzone.
"Zehahahahaha! You think ten Colonels can deal with me? You'd need at least a fleet!" Teach laughed, head tilted back.
Even a single Vice Admiral could command a fleet; these men were merely local big fish.
"Marshall D. Teach," one of the Colonels barked, "by defying Marine authority, you've condemned yourself to Impel Down!"
Another added, "But we won't give you that chance. This will be your grave."
Teach raised an eyebrow. "Zehahahahaha! Are you trying to make me laugh myself to death? Planning to inherit my legacy after I choke?" His laughter echoed across the battlefield.
When it faded, his smile turned razor-sharp. "Tell me, haven't you noticed? Every other Colonel here is already a corpse. Still feeling confident? So-called Colonels… you're just bigger ants."
The Marines stiffened. They glanced around, realizing with horror that their comrades were gone.
At a glance, the battlefield looked like the Marines still held numbers but those numbers were meaningless. Their formations had collapsed. The Nightfall Pirates' officers were carving through their soldiers, not fighting evenly matched foes.
Defeat was certain.
Still, one of the Colonels sneered, "So what? One of your officers is being pushed back. Under Marine justice, victory will be ours."
Their eyes turned toward another part of the battlefield, where Kaguya was surrounded. The ten-year-old prodigy of the Nightfall Pirates fought hard, but the encirclement was tightening.
"Is Marine justice an encirclement?" Teach asked, smirking. "Ah, I forgot to mention, Kaguya's already killed ninety-eight Marines."
The number sent shockwaves through both sides.
A child, not yet a man, with nearly a hundred kills.
Some of the sharper Marines realized something else, Teach's confidence meant he was monitoring Kaguya's exact performance. That could only mean one thing…
Teach had awakened his Observation Haki.
Even as Kaguya's disadvantage grew, his kill count climbed. His instincts were monstrous, but Teach wouldn't let him fall. He was watching closely.
Then Teach called out, voice calm but commanding: "No need to hold back, Kaguya. I allow you to use your ability here. Give them a surprise."
"Yes, Lord Teach!" Kaguya's eyes lit up. Teach had sealed that ability before, forcing him to rely solely on physical combat.
"Ability?" gasped a Marine.
A few understood immediately and their faces paled.
The Nightfall Pirates already had three known Devil Fruit users. Now there was a fourth.
Wallace grinned from the distance. "So the Captain finally let him use it. That ability suits Kaguya perfectly."
Nelson nodded, his rifle slung over his shoulder. "He's already mastered it in just half a month."
A sharp crack echoed.
Several Marines around Kaguya dropped instantly, impaled by jagged bone spikes that had erupted from his own body.
The white spikes retracted, leaving gaping holes in their victims.
Then Kaguya's right palm split open, and a long, white blade of bone extended outward. His old steel weapon clattered to the ground.
More spikes grew from his elbows, shoulders, even his back, until his entire body gleamed with living bone.
"Lord Teach has spoken," he said coldly. "None of you are leaving here alive."
He vanished from sight, moving like a blur. Bone spears shot out in all directions, harvesting Marines like wheat.
The tide turned in an instant.
The Paramecia-type Bone-Bone Fruit, a power Teach had found among the spoils of the Battle of Sakhalin Island. It allowed its user to generate and manipulate their own bones, turning the body itself into an unbreakable weapon.
Teach had intended it for Gar, but Gar refused, preferring his own strength. So it went to Kaguya.
Since then, Teach had forbidden him from using it until now.
The Bone-Bone Fruit enhanced every part of Kaguya's physiology: strength, endurance, recovery, and defense. Combined with his natural combat instincts, his potential reached terrifying heights.
In Teach's eyes, Kaguya was a future Admiral in the making.
Williams, the lead Colonel, clenched his fists. "Then we'll deal with you first, Teach!"
He knew the situation was dire. Their intelligence on the Nightfall Pirates had been wrong from the start. They had underestimated them in every way and now, they were paying the price.
But as officers of the Marines, they couldn't retreat.
"Marine Six Powers—Soru!" Williams' body blurred, vanishing from sight. The other nine Colonels moved in sync, surrounding Teach from all sides.
The Marines watching from afar cheered—their strongest were finally moving.
But they had no idea these ten were the last pillar holding back total annihilation.
Teach stood calmly, hands transforming into monstrous, blackened claws.
"What gave you confidence?" he asked softly.
Williams struck first, "Shigan: Machine Gun!" his fingers piercing the air in a storm of thrusts.
Teach moved like smoke, weaving through every attack. Two more Colonels appeared behind him, their fists and legs flashing with Tekkai and Rankyaku.
Teach laughed through it all. "Zehahahaha! Too slow!"
He spun and kicked both in the stomach. The light impact sent them flying tens of meters, crashing into the dirt.
Williams barely had time to react before Teach was already in front of him.
A claw shot out. Pain exploded through his body.
He looked down and screamed. His right arm was gone. Torn off at the shoulder, flesh and bone exposed.
The Marines froze. Even those watching remotely through Den Den Mushi felt the chill.
Now they understood the truth behind the name Demon Claw.
Teach looked down at the broken man beneath him. "Do you understand the difference between us now?"
He stepped forward and stomped on Williams's chest.
Bones cracked. Blood spurted from Williams's mouth as his chest caved in.
The remaining Colonels charged in desperation.
Teach sighed. "Still haven't learned?"
Williams tried to shout, his body trembling. "Run! Retreat with all the troops! We can't win!"
But it was already too late.
Teach vanished.
When he reappeared, it was in front of another Marine Colonel.
He swung his claw once.
Five blood-red slashes carved through the air, clean, silent, final.
The Colonel's body fell in pieces before anyone could even scream.