Teach had already locked onto Redyat's position, but Redyat's goal in retreating into the shadows was never to hide. It was to strike.
Inside the shadows, Redyat moved with greater speed and fluidity, his presence slipping through the darkness like flowing water. His shadow flashed behind Teach, and Redyat suddenly emerged, claws tearing toward Teach's spine.
Teach reacted instantly, raising his arm to block. Metal rang out as claw met hardened flesh wrapped in Armament Haki.
Teach's right claw curled into a fist. He swung downward with brutal force, punching the ground and carving a crater several meters wide. Redyat had already slipped away, sinking back into the shadows before the attack could fully connect.
Even so, Teach noticed something important. The moment his fist struck the shadow that Redyat had used to escape, it trembled. His punch affected the shadow itself, though only when infused with Haki.
Redyat possessed dominion over shadows, carrying a personal shadow space that allowed him to hide inside it and store items at will. This space could shift across the ground at extreme speed, moving even faster than Redyat's physical form. He could also conceal himself within the shadows of other objects, whether trees or people.
Teach could imagine how troublesome Redyat's abilities would become once night fell.
For now, Redyat had not unleashed any offensive shadow techniques, but Teach knew they had to exist. Dragons always had a breath attack.
Redyat's stealth and movement would be impossible for ordinary fighters to handle, yet they held no fear for Teach. His Observation Haki was too sharp.
Once Redyat hid inside the shadows, his aura vanished completely, making Observation Haki useless to anyone else. That did not matter. Redyat's shadow never matched the color of the environment's true shadows. Light shifted the hue of every shadow slightly, but Redyat's remained the same.
Teach could track him by sight alone, and only a handful of individuals in the world could manage that. Fujitora Issho came to mind, a blind man who saw through the world with his heart.
Even so, Redyat could not remain submerged forever. To attack, he had to emerge. The moment he surfaced, a powerful opponent would notice.
Redyat understood this weakness. His shadow was meant for mobility and evasion, not for trading blows. Hearing Teach's thoughts echoed by his own keen intuition, he felt a flicker of helpless amusement. There was no choice now but to fight head-on.
The shadows surged forward. Teach leaped skyward, pupils glowing faintly. He had already glimpsed the future. Redyat's shadow raced toward Teach's own shadow beneath him. If it made contact, Redyat would strike from below, cutting off his escape.
Redyat burst upward, erupting from Teach's shadow with his claw enhanced by a slick, liquid-like layer of shadow power. This shadow carried corrosive properties capable of consuming even Haki.
But not Teach's. His Haki was stronger.
What followed was a violent exchange of fists, claws, and raw power. Armament clashed against shadow. Teach's muscles expanded, heat radiating from his body. Redyat, now bolstered by shadow power, moved with a ghostlike unpredictability.
The two monsters tore across the battlefield, expanding the cratered terrain with every impact. Teach's Devil Fruit claws sliced through the air like lightning serpents, generating bursts of heat. Redyat's shadow energy crashed against the ground in sweeping arcs.
Despite Redyat's superior raw strength, Teach held the advantage in lethality. Sword intent glimmered faintly along his claws, giving him cutting power sharp enough to pierce even a dragon's hide.
Redyat recognized the danger. Teach's monstrous physique combined with sword intent woven into his strikes created a terrifying hybrid style. With no Devil Fruit to aid him, Teach's body still rivaled Redyat's Mythical Zoan enhanced form. This young man's potential was nothing short of absurd.
Teach struck with a whipping claw, its cold gleam slicing across Redyat's scaled chest. The scales resisted most of the strike, but sword energy slipped through, stinging the flesh underneath.
Redyat refused to yield. He raised his arm guard and blocked just in time. Teach's next punch targeted his head. Redyat ducked and counterpunched, driving his fist straight into Teach's abdomen.
Teach sensed the attack but could not evade. Armament Haki flared as he shifted his footing. The punch landed with a bone-shaking impact, forcing Teach's rear foot deep into the mud.
Teach retaliated instantly. The punch Redyat had narrowly avoided earlier smashed into the back of Redyat's skull. The blow forced Redyat's head downward, but his front claws braced him before he collapsed.
Redyat roared. Shadow energy wrapped around his body and he lunged forward like a beast. His head slammed into Teach's chest, sending Teach flying through a tree.
The moment Teach's body was airborne, Redyat dissolved into shadow and pursued him. His speed matched Teach's flight path, gaining on him with frightening swiftness.
Teach steadied himself mid-air using Moonwalk, twisting his body. His claw transformed into a fist, blood surging through his frame like a rising tide. He swung a devastating punch behind him.
Redyat dodged. The punch tore through empty space. A blast of compressed air erupted outward, shooting a visible column of wind downward and carving a diagonal hole into the earth below.
Taking advantage of the opening, Redyat struck with a shadow-coated claw. Teach twisted, meeting the attack head-on with another punch. Their clash shook the forest canopy.
Both landed and resumed fighting without pause.
Night arrived. With moonlight smothered by clouds, the battlefield plunged into near darkness. Redyat's abilities expanded to their full potential. The terrain became his domain.
His attacks grew stranger, slipping through shadows at dizzying angles. Teach's Observation Haki followed every movement with relentless focus, allowing no chance for Redyat to slip through.
Inside his shadow space, Redyat observed the outside world, watching Teach remain calmly on guard.
"What about this?" Redyat murmured, baring his fangs in a smile. "Dragon Breath."
A torrent of shadow-dragon energy erupted from the darkness, firing toward Teach like a colossal beam cannon. Teach reacted a moment too late. He crossed his arms to shield himself as the blast swallowed him whole.
The beam carved a thousand meter path through the forest, visible even to the distant Nightfall Pirates.
Teach endured the attack, his body hurled hundreds of meters. Inside the torrent, he used Moonwalk repeatedly, shifting positions to reduce the damage until he finally blasted free of the shadow breath.
He turned and exhaled in relief. The jungle behind him was gone, wiped clean along a straight line.
Before he could recover, streaks of razor-thin shadow blades shot toward him. Teach dodged easily, more alert after the breath attack.
A claw appeared behind him. Teach's future sight had already warned him. Shadow was not merely a dark shape on the ground. It was a space, and at night, the entire battlefield became Redyat's kingdom.
Teach struck back with a sweeping claw.
A violent explosion of air shook the darkness. Even with only faint moonlight, the Nightfall Pirates could locate the general direction of the battle from the blasts alone.
"How long will this continue?" one pirate muttered. "They've been fighting since morning."
"Redyat's advantage is strongest at night. The captain's real counterattack starts at dawn," Laffitte replied, eyes shining. "If you ask when it will end, I'd say one or two days."
"That is basically no answer at all," Nelson sighed.
Baccarat opened her eyes, her expression serious. "My luck is telling me the fight will end in three days."
"Three days? So we are stuck here?" Wallace asked. "Then what exactly were you calculating earlier? You looked so focused."
"Something very important," Baccarat said. "I was calculating the winner."
Everyone froze.
"You figured it out? Earlier you said it was impossible," Nelson said.
"It was," she replied. "Their lucks were almost identical, so the result seemed fifty-fifty. But luck does not need to be quantified. It just needs to be found."
"And?" someone asked.
Baccarat smiled. "Our captain wins. By the smallest margin."
Dawn arrived.
With the first light, the shadows thinned. Redyat's ability weakened. His shadow space lost much of its mobility, and the battlefield no longer belonged to him.
Teach immediately launched his counterattack.
"Demon Claw: Eight Shadow Armor!"
Teach burst forward with overwhelming speed. Eight figures flickered into existence around Redyat. These were not illusions. Each one carried physical weight, created by sheer velocity.
Their claws sealed every path of escape. Redyat braced himself and summoned a protective layer of shadow armor that merged with his scales.
Redyat shifted his body, evading two claws. The remaining six raked across him at once. His shadow armor shattered instantly, though it still softened the blows. Blood streaked across his scales, leaving eight deep claw marks.
The wounds were manageable. Redyat steadied his footing.
Then his expression changed. All the afterimages had vanished.
So where was the real Teach?