The tension between the two men climbed to its peak. Neither moved, yet the air around them buckled as Teach's aura erupted first. A colossal roar, deep and guttural, tore across the sky. His Haki expanded like an abyssal black hole, swallowing sound and space as it surged straight toward Redyat.
Everything Teach's Conqueror's Haki touched fell silent.
Facing that oppressive darkness, Redyat only smiled. A noble yet domineering aura burst outward from within him, dark purple and vicious, as if a primordial beast had awakened beside him.
The sky dimmed.
The battlefield split in two.
On Teach's side, an endless darkness pressed forward like a devouring tide. On Redyat's side, a storm of purple roared around him, echoing with phantom growls.
Their auras slammed into each other, tangible enough to distort the air. One side devoured. The other dominated. Neither yielded.
Wind twisted between them, colliding and scattering in violent waves that made the ground tremble. The distant members of the Nightfall Pirates could barely stand. They were caught between the pressure of two kings.
Under Teach's Haki, which hammered both mind and soul, the weaker crewmembers clutched their heads, faces twisted in pain. One after another dropped to the ground, their weapons clattering beside them.
"Hey! Wake up!" someone shouted, shaking a fallen comrade.
"Don't!" Pito snapped. She stepped forward quickly. "The Captain's Conqueror's Haki hits the mind harder than normal. If they're weak, staying conscious will fry their brains. Passing out now is safer."
Everyone froze, hands jerking back instinctively.
Turning into an idiot was a nightmare no pirate wanted to test, especially when the pounding in their skulls felt all too real.
"This is the Captain at full power," Wallace said, awe in his voice. "The Haki of a king. No… he's already beyond that."
Out of more than eight hundred pirates, fewer than fifty remained standing.
Darkness surged like a tsunami behind Teach, devouring Redyat's territory bit by bit. The shift was slow but undeniable. Teach was winning the clash.
Then, at the same instant, both men retracted their auras.
The pressure vanished. A gust swept through the field, and the pirates staggered in relief. For a moment, it felt as if nothing had happened at all.
But everyone sensed it.
In terms of pure presence, Teach had held the edge.
More surprising, though, was Redyat himself.
"He has Conqueror's Haki…" someone whispered.
Laffitte had been right all along.
Eyes turned toward the battlefield with renewed anticipation. A duel between two kings was something only legends produced.
Redyat met Teach's gaze. Losing the aura clash did not shake him; he had expected this. Unlike Teach, he had spent most of his life inside the Tirisfal Kingdom, rising slowly as a prince. His Haki had grown steadily, but his ambition had not been forged under the crushing weight of the open sea.
Teach's had.
He left Whitebeard's shadow, carved his own path, built his own crew, and aimed straight at the tallest throne in the world.
Compared to that, Redyat's will fell just short.
"Then let the battle begin," Redyat said quietly.
He vanished.
A violet arc streaked toward Teach faster than the onlookers could blink.
"So fast!" Nelson shouted, fists tightening. "He was holding back against us!"
"Of course," Laffitte said with a crooked smile. "The Captain was right. We were never on the same level. If he were serious, we'd be dead."
His injuries had already healed. Redyat had been careful with their vital spots, and Laffitte's Ancient Zoan vitality carried him the rest of the way.
Teach's eyes followed Redyat's blur of movement. The instant the sword light flashed before him, Teach reached back with one hand and drew the weapon he had not used in ages.
Dragon Abyss.
He swung downward with a force that could split mountains.
Clang.
Screeching metal rang through the air as sparks scattered along both blades.
Teach's long hair whipped behind him, his black coat billowing like a banner of war. Redyat's purple aura crackled around him in response as both men pressed their strength forward.
Swords locked, Haki flared, and murderous intent rippled in every direction.
Teach flowed into the next exchange instantly, coating Dragon Abyss in Armament Haki until it darkened into a black blade.
Black and purple light wove through the air as both swordsmen moved. Their forms blurred, vanishing and reappearing in bursts of pressure and smoke. Each strike forced the other to adapt in less than a heartbeat.
If Redyat's swordsmanship was a razor destined to pierce the heavens, then Teach's was an ocean, vast, crushing, patient, and deadly beneath the surface.
The pressure of their duel tightened the chests of everyone watching. Even skilled swordsmen like Pouf and Nelson struggled to keep their breathing steady.
Redyat stepped to the right. His form vanished and reappeared behind Teach, blade poised at his shoulder.
Teach shifted just enough. The angle of his wrist changed, guiding the attack off course with a subtle, almost elegant move. He twisted, countering immediately with a black slash aimed at Redyat.
Redyat bent midair and released a purple slash of his own. They collided, spiraling into a violent blast that shook the ground and kicked up a massive wall of dust.
The battlefield disappeared behind the haze.
Only the sound of clashing steel revealed that the fight continued.
"The Captain… is a swordsman?" someone breathed.
Most of the Nightfall Pirates weren't even proper swordsmen, but those who were, especially Pouf and Laffitte, felt their hearts pound. This was more than a fight. It was a revelation.
"I thought his swords were just trophies," Nelson muttered. "He never uses them!"
"Because he doesn't need to," Pito said. "Swordsmanship was for when he was weaker. It's auxiliary now. Martial arts are still his main style."
Auxiliary.
The watching pirates nearly choked.
Teach's swordsmanship alone could crush all of them.
Lightning flickered along Teach's body as he slipped into a burst of speed. Redyat met him blow for blow. Their fundamentals were nearly identical, but Redyat's mastery of pure swordsmanship was slightly higher.
Even so, that did not mean he overwhelmed Teach.
This battle wasn't just swordsmanship. It was everything each man possessed.
Observation Haki clashed as violently as steel. Teach's microscopic sensory ability mapped Redyat's movements with terrifying accuracy. His divine foresight read intention and motion before they finished forming.
But Redyat's Observation Haki and his special gift countered it perfectly.
Mind-reading.
Teach's predictions were stolen the moment they formed. Redyat saw every intention and adjusted instantly.
I predicted your prediction.
Teach's foresight shifted constantly in response, causing the future to rewrite itself again and again. Perfect predictions clashed with stolen insight, and neither gained a decisive edge.
Yet Redyat still held the initiative.
His mind-reading gave him a higher vantage point, a god's eye in battle. Combined with his own monstrous strength, he had toyed with the Nightfall executives earlier.
He had even more hidden abilities, though Teach was immune to them.
Otherwise, this duel would have been far more dangerous.
If Teach attempted Future Sight, Redyat would steal that too. With the future in constant flux, there was no stable timeline to glimpse. All foresight collapsed.
Even so, Teach only fell into a slight defensive disadvantage.
Their abilities limited each other. In a battle where both combatants were near-equals, the victor would be decided by the smallest edge.
Strength?
Redyat held a slight lead.
Speed?
Both were monsters, but Teach could burst faster.
Haki?
Teach had already reached emission, forming an invisible armor. Redyat hadn't yet mastered the flow.
Abilities?
Redyat's Mythical Zoan powers amplified everything, from physique to regeneration. His beast-human form revealed black scales on his arm and strength that even Teach had to respect.
Teach countered with raw vitality, monstrous physique, and complete mastery of Life Return.
Both men possessed overwhelming advantages.
And neither intended to surrender even an inch.