Kong was pitiful, helpless, and utterly disheartened.
Ever since he enlisted, he'd carried towering ambition—fighting for justice, staying on the front lines even as his hair turned white, still serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
But at this very moment…
For the first time ever, he felt the urge to leave.
Yes. He felt he could no longer move forward—let alone lead the entire military.
"In the end… I really am old."
He sighed to himself.
"Commander-in-Chief Kong! What do we do?!" Sengoku saw his expression was off—like the kind of despair where the heart dies before the body—and hurriedly shouted.
At a time like this, how could the Commander-in-Chief show that kind of face? How were they supposed to lead everyone out of this desperate situation?
"Sengoku, you take full command here!"
Kong took off his Justice cloak, then strode proudly toward the battlefield where Creed and Teach were clashing.
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, what are you going back for?! Don't go!" Sengoku could vaguely guess what he intended and rushed up to grab him.
"This is the final decision of my life, Sengoku. Don't stop me!"
But Kong blasted Sengoku away with a single punch.
"Aokiji, Kizaru, and the rest of the Admirals—hear my order! Do everything you can to cover the Marines' retreat! All commands will be obeyed under Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!"
Aokiji and the others seemed to have guessed what their Commander-in-Chief was going to do. Their eyes grew hot, but none of them tried to stop him. They could only stare at Kong's back, watching it grow taller and taller in their hearts.
"Commander-in-Chief…!" Sengoku couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears poured out in a rush.
He knew exactly why Kong was doing this.
The Great Battle of All Nations had failed. Today's public execution had failed too. Someone had to stand up and shoulder responsibility.
Two consecutive operations of this scale failing meant the World Government's face had been dragged straight into a stinking gutter. After today, world upheaval was inevitable. If it got bad enough…
The World Government might even collapse.
And the World Government wouldn't easily let them—the people in charge—go.
Rather than be held accountable later and thrown into prison, it was better to die gloriously on this battlefield.
But that responsibility… Sengoku had to bear half of it too!!
Sengoku couldn't take it. He was about to rush forward and die with him—
"Sengoku, don't come. The Marines still need you. Go back. If you still treat me as your Commander-in-Chief…" Kong left those words behind, forcing Sengoku to stop. Sengoku turned and dropped to his knees toward Kong.
Then Kong's aura surged violently, blazing fiercely! With breathtaking speed, he charged into that space already shattered into an apocalyptic wasteland!
"Creed! How's that punch?! You're coughing blood too!"
Teach bared his teeth and roared with laughter, slamming a foot into Creed's stomach and making Creed spit out a mouthful of blood.
Crack!
Tremor power erupted. The space at the point of impact fractured, and Creed's body was wounded—blood spraying!
"Not bad. This time I'm going to knock out the fourth tooth on the upper left."
Creed immediately returned a punch—sending two of Teach's upper-left teeth flying.
At this point, Teach had already lost half his teeth.
It was obvious—Creed had the upper hand!
"AAAAAAGH!!"
The doubled pain from the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) nearly made Teach jump on the spot—but he seized a moment.
"Creed! You're finished!"
Letting Creed knock out two teeth had been a deliberate opening—then!
"Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit): Ansui (Dark Water)!"
He took the chance to grab Creed's arm before Creed could retract the punch, activating his ability.
Because Creed's Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) were so refined, they had always covered his body—Teach had never had a chance to touch Creed's skin with this ultimate move.
Now, with both hands gripping hard, he shattered the Busoshoku Haki on Creed's arm and triggered the ability, seeing hope of victory.
Ansui was one of the strongest abilities of the Yami Yami no Mi—once you're grabbed and touched by it, your Devil Fruit powers are temporarily nullified!
Back then, he had used this move to cripple Ace—nearly snapping Ace's neck and spine.
Now the old trick had worked again, and he let out a wheezing, leaky laugh:
"Creed, you didn't expect this, did you? My Yami Yami no Mi—"
Before he could finish, Creed's fist smashed into his face, knocking out every last remaining tooth.
Yes—Teach's teeth were now completely gone.
"…AAAAAAGH!!"
The doubled pain, even worse than before, hit him and nearly drove him to his knees.
"You're not a Devil Fruit user!!"
Teach was horrified. Panic spread through him like wildfire!
Creed's supreme presence descended, crushing the battlefield—like an invincible war god.
The only reason Teach had dared challenge Creed was because of Ansui's absurd ability.
He believed that as long as he touched Creed once, he'd win for sure!
Who would've thought—Creed wasn't a Devil Fruit user at all!
Then where the hell did all those Devil Fruit powers of his come from?!
Absurd! Impossible—impossible!
He was practically going insane!
"Can't figure it out, can you? Whitebeard knew what was going on. Go ask him down there. Oh, that's right—Whitebeard's in heaven, and trash like you can only go to hell!"
Creed slammed another punch into Teach's stomach!
Boom!
Crack!
Teach could even hear it—his intestines tearing apart. No—his lower spine too… it felt like it had snapped!
"What?! You were still hiding power?!"
The force of that punch was completely different from before. Teach's terror shot to its peak.
So he'd been played like a dog all this time and never even realized it!
"With this kind of power… maybe he really is a god. In this world, no one can defeat him—only kneel and worship him…"
For no reason at all, despair rose in Teach's heart.
"This was ninety percent of my power. Next, I'll use ten-tenths of my power to kill you."
Facing his panic, Creed replied with a cold smile.
A shameless bastard like you… hell will be your final home.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]