With a loud crash, Blackbeard was hurled into the sky and then slammed to the ground like a kite with its string cut. Blood and broken teeth scattered across the dirt. His body was mangled, twisted with pain, his once imposing figure reduced to a bleeding wreck. His coat was torn to shreds, his flesh covered in deep cuts, and his left hand was missing several fingers. Even the pistol strapped to his belt and the flask of wine he always carried were nowhere to be found.
"Man's dreams… they'll never end! I, Marshall D. Teach… I haven't… lost…" he gasped, each word choked with blood.
Standing over him, Thorne Ashveil curled his lips in disgust. He couldn't understand how someone as vile and selfish as Teach could speak about dreams with such conviction. To Ashveil, Blackbeard was nothing but a petty, greedy man who betrayed anyone and anything for his own gain.
Not far away, in the forest about a kilometer east of the battlefield, a young woman named Lily raised her binoculars again, peering nervously at the chaos.
"He… he did it! That monster Blackbeard is dead?" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with excitement.
The villagers gathered with her gasped in relief. For them, this was more than a victory; it was justice. Blackbeard and his crew had slaughtered countless residents of the island. His downfall felt like retribution.
The village chief snatched the binoculars and stared. Seeing the infamous pirate sprawled in the dirt, his body in ruins, left him speechless. He swallowed hard, his throat dry with disbelief.
"I… I never imagined that such a feared pirate would be so powerless in front of that young man," the chief muttered.
Back at the battlefield, Ashveil approached the dying Teach, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Remember this," he said calmly, "it was [Shinra Tensei]."
He paused, then added, "And I laced it with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. You'll feel it soon enough."
True to his nature, Ashveil preferred not to waste energy on enemies once they were defeated. Normally, he would have left after securing victory. But Teach wasn't just any opponent—he was one of the characters Ashveil despised most in all of history. So he went further, infusing his attack with the destructive vibrations of Whitebeard's fruit, combined with his own Conqueror's Haki, letting the energy tear through Teach's body from the inside.
As for Blackbeard's crew, they had already collapsed under the pressure of Ashveil's Haki. He finished them swiftly before departing.
Back aboard his small boat, Ashveil sighed. He once again used his Haki to propel the vessel across the waves.
"Tch… I miscalculated. Should've brought someone to row," he muttered. Though moving the boat with Haki wasn't exhausting for him, the sheer tedium annoyed him. "Wouldn't it be nicer to just lie down and nap while someone else does the work?"
But before he could get far, a disturbing sound echoed across the island.
Against all odds, Blackbeard Teach stirred. His immense willpower dragged his broken body into a sitting position. Gasping for air, he coughed blood but managed a twisted grin.
"I… never thought… the Whitebeard Pirates had such a hidden monster. To survive this much… Zehahaha! I must be blessed!"
From the forest, Lily nearly screamed. Her hands trembled as she clutched the binoculars.
"He's… he's still alive!"
The villagers froze, their blood running cold. If Teach survived, it meant only one thing—disaster would return to their island.
The chief snatched the binoculars once more, but the sight before him froze him in place, his jaw slack.
Just as Teach tried to rise, the hidden power inside him awakened. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit vibrations Ashveil had embedded began to tear through his body. Unlike Whitebeard, who released the power outward, Ashveil had infused it into Teach's very cells.
Bones shifted unnaturally, snapping one after another under the crushing force. His limbs bent grotesquely, his screams echoing across the entire island. His body writhed in agony, his shrieks sounding less like a man and more like a dying beast.
Then, with one final shudder, the vibrations intensified. His body cracked apart and, in an instant, burst into dust, scattering into the sea breeze.
Lily lowered her binoculars, her face pale. Her body froze as if paralyzed. The villagers beside her shared the same horrified expression. None of them had ever witnessed such a terrifying, unnatural death.
The chief finally swallowed hard. "That young man… thank the heavens he isn't our enemy. With methods like his, he could have wiped out our entire island in one strike."
Lily, still staring in the direction Ashveil had gone, whispered under her breath. Her expression was conflicted—gratitude and fear battling within her.
Thus, the Blackbeard Pirates were annihilated. Thorne Ashveil's intervention had quietly shifted the balance of the seas, altering the course of history itself.
Out on the waves, Ashveil leaned back on his small boat and pulled up his [system panel]. A new reward notification blinked brightly.
He opened it with anticipation. As expected, slaying Teach and his crew had increased his Conqueror's Haki by another three hundred points, bringing his total to nearly fifty-four hundred (5400). A new skill appeared as well.
[Flash: Instantly move to any point within one hundred meters.]
Ashveil smirked. A spatial ability like this was invaluable, both for chasing enemies and escaping danger.
But just as satisfaction washed over him, his stomach growled loudly.
"Of course. I miscalculated again… should've packed more food. My appetite's worse than I thought." He glanced around the sea, spotting fish occasionally leaping from the waves. With a flicker of Haki, he could easily stun them.
But cooking? That was out of the question.
"Even if I starve, I'm not cooking," he muttered with a laugh.
By morning, after a long night of hunger, Ashveil activated his [Search Fruit]. His eyes lit up as he detected a Marine vessel two hundred kilometers southeast.
A grin spread across his face. "Perfect. A Marine ship. I've been in this world for years, and I still haven't tasted their food."
He chuckled, steering his boat toward the distant target. "My mission with Teach is complete, and Ace's execution hasn't even been announced yet. Might as well eat my fill before the next storm arrives."
___
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