Dong!
As soon as the words fell, his footsteps vanished, taking him away from the spot, and in the blink of an eye, a dark shadow appeared in front of Teach, with a fist brimming with black and red lightning poised to strike down.
Bang!!
A fist encrusted with ice collided with his descending fist, shattering the ice and covering Sage's fist with a layer of white frost.
"Dark Acupoints!"
In the instant his actions were hindered, Teach pressed one hand against the ground, triggering a darkness resembling black fog that swiftly extended to Sage's feet, attempting to draw him in, while his other hand swiftly formed a fist and pounded forward.
"Aeroquake!!"
Bang!!
Cracks like glass mirrors appeared in the air around Sage, causing his body to sway involuntarily under the vibration, and at this moment, his feet sank into the black mist.
Sage's hand brushed against Kuzan's arm, delivering a fierce punch to his chest, smashing him into a pile of scattered ice shards, and using that force to bounce backward, as he launched numerous Haki Bullets while flipping through the air.
Seeing this, Teach punched again, expanding the cracks in the air with a boom, while his vibrating force extinguished the attacking Haki Bullets.
"Ha, ha..."
Teach panted twice, pressing one hand on his knee as he stood up, grinning at Sage who had already landed:
"Pirate hahaha, I kind of expected it, but I didn't think you'd come so quickly. Aibo, do you really want to oppose us? We can negotiate!"
Next to him, the pile of ice rapidly reassembled into Kuzan's figure, exhaling cold air, extending a hand to condense freezing vapors once more.
"How dare you!"
Sage cursed: "You call me Aibo? You haggle so cheap over weapons, always eyeing my spoils of war, everyone on the sea knows I trade fairly, if I don't give them to you, don't you know to bring something to trade?!
"So, the latter half you unified? It's all yours? Everything you snatch can turn into the most effective productivity? You can't do anything, just snatch or backstab, a dog can't change its ways!"
"Since we are all enemies, let's skip the nonsense, I'm here for revenge this time!"
"Pirate hahaha, Sage, I don't want to be your subordinate, I have my plans!"
"We're pirates, Sage, pirates act for profit, though it hasn't reached the point of world domination, but you're in my way, which prevents me from ruling the world, so being enemies isn't much to say! Your arrival was in my expectation, but you alone..."
Teach's fist was filled with vibrating white light, the other hand revealing darkness, laughing at Sage: "Can really face all of us?!"
From around him, Shiryu stood up slowly, drawing the demon sword whose blade seemed to glow with a crimson hue.
Devon clutched the sword hilt, licking her lips, "Oh? Just you, Sage, the handsome young man? Last time was regrettable, couldn't peel off that brown haired woman's face, called Misty, she was top-notch."
"Hic! A companion is dead, oh well, Teach, you'll recruit another, right?"
Vasco Shot gulped several mouthfuls from the wine gourd, let his tongue hang out again, laughed: "Drink some wine to numb the pain, that punch packed quite a punch."
"Dead and it's over, pirate hahaha, can't ride my ship, I'll miss you, Doc Q!"
Teach wiped the bloodstains from his face, grinning malevolently at Sage: "Sage, one last proposal, how about we merge? With our power combined, ruling the sea is too simple! Find One Piece, then dominate the world! You can do business, all business handled by you, how about it?"
"Betting on me?"
Sage glanced around, "No sight of Garp, hey, Kuzan, Garp must be captured, right? Where is he, was he withdrawn ahead of time? But you haven't left, waiting for me deliberately?"
Garp must have been caught, when he came, he saw signs that were not completely repaired, only those prepared to rescue someone could achieve this.
Yet there was nothing in the newspaper, that old man isn't someone who retreats easily, clearly he was left behind.
But now he's not visible, meaning Teach expected his arrival after the O'hara raid, thereby removing unknown factors, leaving only his core members here.
The purpose...
"If you can't persuade me, are you prepared to kill me here?" Sage laughed.
"Pirate hahaha, it's only you, quickly guessing my intentions."
Teach laughed heartily: "Exactly! I'm gambling! Either become my partner, merge into one, or... if I eliminate you here, I'll have one less formidable adversary. If you'd brought a fleet, I'd retreat, but if alone, perhaps I can defeat you here!"
As Four Emperors, there are still several capable fighters on his side, concern should be for Sage!
He came alone, surely falling into Teach's trap.
Next comes relying on sheer power!
Saying this, he straightened his expression, black smoke billowed from behind his head, forming a spiral extending to the sky, the originally gloomy sky now shrouded in darkness, robbing everything of light.
Clouds, wind, rain, thunder, all vanished without a trace under the darkness.
Above Hive Island, an unlit darkness shielded everything, only faint light from outside exposed the scenery.
"Dark-Dark Fruit, isn't simply for absorbing people! Developed to its fullest, I can drag the sun down!"
Teach was enveloped in black fog, revealing an incomplete grin, chuckling: "In my realm, you cannot escape, Sage!"
Boom!
"Fire Fist!"
As his words fell, a column of fire rushed forward, striking Teach's body, knocking him to the ground, writhing in pain.
Though painful, his body bore no injury.
After rolling a bit, Teach stood up again, panting: "It's useless, I am truly, fear nothing!"
As a special Logia-type, Dark-Dark Fruit doesn't mean it can't elementalize, rather its elementalization feature is 'absorb', absorbing anything, including damage.
No attack can harm him, but correspondingly, the pain he suffers is far greater than ordinary.
"Whether you're afraid isn't important to me."
The Black Jade Bead Chain around Sage's neck automatically split into circles, igniting flames that formed a radiant blaze behind him, wisps of white haze started encircling his body, gradually forming a cocoon.
"Nor do I need to escape, perhaps you overestimate your prowess, with your physique..."
Shing!
Before finishing talking, a crimson light approached from the side, Sage didn't even look, his hand emanating black-red lightning grasped to the side, coincidentally catching a gap in a sword blade.
"While I speak, who allows you to interrupt!"
Bam!
Sage delivered a flying kick, striking something at the side, causing a shockwave, with Shiryu holding the sword flying backward, spitting a mouthful of blood.
"Invisibility? That's worthless before me!" Sage sneered.
Attempting ambush before him?
In this world, no, the universe, none can achieve that!
"Forget it... practice makes perfect."
The white cocoon formed, shrouding Sage's body, its apex breaking open like a butterfly emerging, revealing his hair like burning white flame.
The upper garment shattered, exposing the full back and abdomen's black armor, all the Haki concentrated upon himself, distinct from before, encircled by burning black flames.
"Full Form · Sixty-fold!"
Sage clenched his hand, revealing rows of sharp white teeth, "Come on, let me show you, what true agony feels like!"