Teach was actually panicking inside right now.
Although he had a slight advantage in the fight against Shanks, the opponent had more people.
The members of the Red Hair Pirates hadn't made a move yet because they still had faith in Shanks's strength.
If he truly gained a massive upper hand, this group definitely wouldn't talk about warrior's code with him; they would surely swarm him.
Adhering to the mentality of avoiding a fight if possible, the first thing Teach thought of after gaining the advantage was negotiation.
If he could use words to make the other party give up the sing-sing fruit, that would naturally be the best outcome.
But how could Shanks be the kind of person who would retreat because of a minor injury?
He shook his head slightly:
"Teach, you don't actually think this level of attack can scare me, do you?"
The Conqueror's Haki that erupted from Shanks was like a tangible shockwave, instantly clearing the surrounding dust and debris.
The three claw marks above his left eye were still oozing blood, but this did not affect his imposing aura at all; instead, it made him appear fiercer than ever before.
Teach's heart sank. Seeing Shanks's unwavering gaze, he knew the possibility of negotiation was slim.
Without any hesitation, he channeled all his strength into his fists and laughed loudly:
"Zehahaha... Then let's resolve this the pirate way!"
"That's exactly what I intended!"
Boom!
The two charged forward simultaneously the moment their words fell, and their attacks collided again.
This clash was more intense than any previous one.
The entire West Coast violently collapsed under the tsunami-like impact, and countless shattered rocks, mixed with ocean waves, shot into the sky.
Shanks's long sword and Teach's fists faced off against each other.
Shanks's eyes held chilling killing intent, while Teach's eyes were exceptionally fierce.
Neither backed down, pushing their strength against the other. After a brief stalemate, both retreated almost simultaneously, the ground beneath their feet turning entirely to dust.
Shanks, however, did not hesitate; the second he regained his footing, he stepped forward immediately, the trajectory of the griffin in his hand becoming increasingly erratic.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Teach's face.
His underlying nature began to affect his actions again; he felt the need to assess the current risks and potential gains.
Was the sing-sing fruit truly worth the risk he was taking now?
But before he could think further, Shanks's attack arrived, the blade chopping downward with momentum.
Facing this strike, Teach dared not be careless and quickly raised his fist to meet it.
Rumble!
Another deep rift rapidly tore along the coastline toward the interior of the island.
However, Teach was ultimately responding in haste. Although his feet remained firmly planted, his body slid far backward, his legs digging deep into the ground and plowing two trenches.
Seizing this opportunity, Shanks gripped his sword with both hands, the blade completely enveloped in black and red electrical arcs.
"Damn it!"
Teach was startled. It was too late to adjust his center of gravity; Shanks's sword struck him squarely in the chest.
Hesitation leads to defeat, decisiveness leads to giving it away for nothing.
The current Teach perfectly illustrated the meaning of this statement.
Originally, the battle between the two was evenly matched, and Teach even held a slight advantage.
As a result, despite being injured, Shanks displayed a stronger will to fight and achieved a self-breakthrough.
When Teach held the advantage, however, he was thinking about how to protect himself, even weighing the gains and losses and analyzing the pros and cons of the fight during the battle.
With one rising and the other falling, the momentum of the two sides was no longer on the same level.
And in this world, changes in momentum, or rather, state of mind, can genuinely affect combat power output.
Logically speaking, taking Shanks's full power strike directly to the chest should be fatal.
But how could Teach die so easily?
Although he couldn't dodge or block at the last moment, he fully perceived the attack through Observation Haki.
Teach condensed almost all of his Armament Haki onto his chest, subconsciously utilizing an advanced application similar to Zephyr's Armament Haki Crystallization.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Teach's mouth. He felt like his internal organs had been violently churned by the force.
Shanks's strike not only contained the internal destruction of Armament Haki but was also entwined with newly strengthened Conqueror's Haki.
The two forces erupted inside his body, instantly causing Teach to spit out blood.
His sturdy body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, consecutively crashing through the wreckage of seven abandoned ships before finally stopping at the edge of a cliff hundreds of meters away.
He knelt on one knee, his right hand tightly clutching his chest, his facial expression twisted in agony from the internal pain.
"Zeh... Zehahaha..."
Even after being severely wounded by a single strike, Teach's face still bore a fierce, wild laugh:
"That was quite the hit, Red Hair!"
He slowly stood up, staring intently at Shanks, his eyes filled with unconcealed killing intent.
Shanks stood still, holding his sword, letting the sea breeze move his blood-stained hair tips, the congealed blood slowly darkening his wine-red short hair:
"Now, it's time for a fair fight again!"
"That's right! It's time for a fair fight again!"
Teach nodded in agreement, and then... *Swoosh!*
His figure quickly darted backward, disappearing from the spot in a few bounds.
Sorry for the intrusion, I must be going!
A fair fight? Who the hell wants a fair fight with you?
I, Teach, have fought all my life and don't know the meaning of fairness!
What's the difference between a 90% chance of victory and seeking death?
What's more, forget a 90% chance now—if you count the members of the Red Hair Pirates standing by, he doesn't even have a 50% chance!
Teach had figured it out: the mere sing-sing fruit was not worth continuing this risk.
Since he was already injured, it meant the guy in front of him wasn't easy to handle. Now was the time to cut his losses; continuing to fight stubbornly here would be detrimental, and he had more important goals to pursue.
Watching Teach's decisive retreat, Shanks was momentarily stunned:
"He... He just left?!"
Having grown up on Roger's ship, the people he interacted with were naturally kindred spirits, all possessing a rather heroic and generous disposition.
Even an idiot like Kozuki Oden had the title of 'Hero,' and he wouldn't run away from a fight like Teach.
Shanks had never met such a shameless person in his life and was completely unable to react.
By the time he recovered his wits, Teach's figure had already vanished.
Of course, Shanks had no intention of chasing him; after all, the sing-sing fruit was in their hands, and they weren't trying to kill Teach.
Seeing the battle end, the members of the Red Hair Pirates gathered around. Hongou carried a first-aid kit and helped Shanks treat the wounds on his face.
"Waaah... Shanks!"
Uta cried loudly and rushed over. Shanks, who had originally intended to say something else, had to prioritize comforting his daughter.
It wasn't until Hongou had wrapped his head into a mummy with bandages that he finally had time to ask Beckman:
"Where is the Devil Fruit?"
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