Teach suddenly stuffed a thick gun barrel, as wide as a cannon, straight into his stomach in full view of everyone.
After swallowing it, he smacked his lips, then let out a loud burp. A dense cloud of white freezing air burst from his mouth, spreading rapidly across the area.
Grinning widely, Teach laughed.
"This feels way better than ice-cold beer, zehahaha!"
Lindbergh's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How can a human even do something like that?!"
Kildeo's face darkened.
"That man probably has a second Devil Fruit. He is a complete monster."
The Revolutionary Army cadres were shaken by those words. Kildeo clenched his fists, unable to hide his frustration.
"I never expected that aside from that Celestial Dragon, there would be someone else capable of wielding multiple Devil Fruits at once. What exactly is happening to this world?!"
At that moment, the figure of Marshall D. Teach became even more terrifying in their eyes. Lindbergh no longer dared to act recklessly.
Seeing their hesitation, Teach threw his head back and laughed even louder. His mouth stretched unnaturally wide as his laughter echoed.
The gun barrel he had swallowed earlier slowly emerged from his mouth, its tip aimed directly at Lindbergh and the others.
Lindbergh's expression changed drastically.
"This is bad, scatter now!"
His figure flickered as he vanished from his position.
However, not everyone could match his speed.
A pale blue freezing beam shot out from Teach's mouth. He twisted his neck, sweeping the beam across the battlefield in a wide arc. The air froze instantly, and a chilling mist filled the surroundings.
When the frost cleared, numerous lifelike ice sculptures remained.
Among them were Koala and another female cadre, frozen completely in place.
Although Lindbergh had managed to dodge, his heart sank at the sight.
"Zehahaha!"
Teach's laughter rang out again, grating on everyone's nerves.
Lindbergh suddenly turned, his eyes bloodshot as sparks of electricity crackled around his hands, ready to strike.
Teach casually raised one hand, coated in the power of shockwaves, and waved it dismissively.
"Are you sure you still want to fight? Right now, all it takes is a light tap from me, and your subordinates will shatter into pieces."
Lindbergh's body trembled. Cold sweat formed instantly on his forehead as he glanced at the frozen figures behind him.
Several stronger fighters, including Gambo, had avoided being frozen, but they stood frozen in place for another reason entirely. No one dared to move.
Koala and the others were strong enough to survive being frozen for now, but breaking free on their own was impossible. They needed time for someone to thaw them out carefully.
But that time would never come.
If Lindbergh failed to defeat Teach instantly, those few seconds would be more than enough for Teach to destroy them with his shockwave power countless times over.
And defeating Teach instantly was impossible.
Nor could Lindbergh abandon his comrades.
It was a complete dead end.
His arms slowly dropped.
Ahead of him, Teach stood with his arms crossed, a cruel smile playing on his face. He clearly enjoyed having complete control over the situation.
After a long pause, Lindbergh raised his head, his expression filled with unwillingness.
"What do you want from us?"
Teach's grin stretched even wider.
"That is more like it, Leader Lindbergh. I never wanted things to turn violent, but your attitude forced my hand. Even I find this situation troublesome."
Lindbergh's lips twitched, but he forced himself to nod.
Teach began walking toward him at a relaxed pace.
"I only came here to continue our cooperation. There was no need for things to become this tense. Look at this place, you made quite a mess. To be honest, you should take responsibility for it."
Lindbergh said nothing. He simply nodded again, while Gambo and the others behind him looked like they were barely holding back their anger.
Teach's smile deepened. He stopped walking and spoke again.
"So, I think our partnership needs a slight adjustment."
Lindbergh frowned.
"What kind of adjustment?"
Teach patted his chest and laughed.
"It is simple. From now on, your group will have a new leader. That leader is me."
"What?!"
Lindbergh's eyes widened in fury.
"You want to lead us? You are a pirate!"
Teach's eyes narrowed slightly as he raised his hand again, the tremor of shockwaves faintly visible.
"Judging by your tone, you seem to look down on pirates. Then why did Monkey D. Dragon cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates before?"
Lindbergh froze for a moment, then spoke stubbornly.
"There are good pirates and bad pirates. Leader Dragon said Whitebeard was someone worthy of respect…"
Before he could finish, Teach burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
"Zehahaha! That is hilarious! You sought cooperation because you feared the Navy, yet you dress it up with noble words. That is exactly why you are unfit to lead. Under your command, the Revolutionary Army will only collapse faster."
Lindbergh trembled with rage, barely holding himself back from attacking. Kildeo quickly grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.
Teach's expression grew serious.
"Now, join me. Do you not want revenge?"
Before Lindbergh could respond, Kildeo let out a cold laugh.
"Revenge? Against who? The Navy? And what about the Celestial Dragons? Are you saying you will face them?"
Teach's face hardened, his teeth grinding.
"That is right. I will personally kill the Celestial Dragons one day and reclaim what belongs to me."
Kildeo did not believe a word of it.
To the Revolutionary Army, the Celestial Dragons were the ultimate enemy, but also an existence that felt untouchable. No one believed they could be brought down so easily.
Kildeo lowered his head and whispered something into Lindbergh's ear.
Lindbergh's eyes widened, his expression turning conflicted.
"This… are you sure about that?"