Chapter 374: Chapter 374: The Dramatic Moment War Breaks Out
Chapter 374: The Dramatic Moment War Breaks Out
The afternoon sun baked the seawater until it was warm. The waves lapped gently, shimmering with sparkling, shattered gold. A few white seabirds were startled and took flight as a giant raft-shaped warship made of round logs pushed through the waves, slowly approaching.
From a thousand meters away, one could faintly see the smoke rising from the fires all over Hachinosu. The buildings were in ruins, like a wasteland.
"To actually turn my Hachinosu into this ghost of a place... that damned Straw Hat crew...!"
Teach stood alone on the bow, his fists clenched tightly. Seeing the ruined state of the island, he gritted his teeth in hatred.
Creak~
The cabin door behind him opened, and a tall, slender figure walked out. Under a dark blue cap, a head of pitch-black curly hair. Aokiji came to Teach’s side, his two fingers coming together to adjust his sunglasses.
"What’s your plan for later? If we go to war, I’m afraid we won’t have much of an advantage."
"Hmph. That will depend on whether they leave."
Turning his head to look at Aokiji, Teach’s expression turned into a sinister smile. He spoke in a probing tone:
"At this point, you don’t regret it, do you... Kuzan?"
"Well~. Since I’m on the ship, I can only see it through to the end. At the very least, I won’t do anything that goes against a decision I’ve already made."
Aokiji held his head and spoke in a lazy tone.
He had left the Marines to find his own path, to look at this Great Pirate Era from a different perspective.
When Blackbeard had invited him back then, he had not refused. He would not go back on his word now.
The pitch-black sail, painted with three skulls, was filled by the wind. The log warship continued to sail towards Hachinosu.
"Luffy! They’re here!"
At the same time, on the roof of a flat building on the island, Usopp, who was on lookout, also spotted the other party.
Through his binoculars, the figures of Teach and Aokiji on the bow were clearly reflected in his vision.
"As expected, that guy Aokiji is also here."
Putting down his binoculars, Usopp’s face became grave. He propped himself up on the wall, flipped down from the house, and ran towards the group in the square.
"Yosh! Let’s go!"
Hearing his voice, Luffy’s gaze was resolute as he walked towards the coast.
Reiner summoned several undead, who picked up the bound Shiryu and the others and brought them along.
The pirates on the island had not yet been cleaned up, but after the four cadres who had been left to guard had all been captured, they did not dare to act rashly. They only watched them from a great distance.
Ignoring these grunts, in a short while, they passed through the yellow, earthen houses and arrived at the coast.
Blackbeard’s ship had also just docked. Teach, Aokiji, and Van Augur jumped down from the bow onto the soft sand, facing Luffy’s group, who were lined up, in a standoff from dozens of meters away.
"Zehahaha! Do you remember me, Straw Hat?! Back on Jaya, I never thought a skinny monkey like you would one day reach this height."
Upon meeting, Teach showed none of his previous anger. Instead, he grinned, revealing his two rows of gapped, stark white teeth as he laughed at Luffy.
"But then again, a man like you is destined not to be ordinary as long as you’re alive. As expected, we’re the same kind of people, zehahaha!"
A sharp glint flashed in the depths of Teach’s eyes, and he sneered with an arrogant expression:
"I had a premonition back then that one day we would meet again on the sea. I just didn’t expect it to be like this. It’s truly disappointing."
"Shut up, Teach! Where’s Hancock? Hand her over!"
Luffy waved his hand and shouted, with no intention of wasting words with the other.
Teach’s face held a teasing smile as he looked at Luffy. He waved behind him without turning his head.
"Bring them all out!"
In response to his voice, a dozen or so pirates walked out of the log warship’s cabin, carrying the frozen Hancock and the petrified Lafitte and the others onto the beach.
"You seem to be in a hurry. Is this woman very important to you?"
Teach gave a sinister smile, trying to probe Luffy with his words, but was directly interrupted by Reiner.
"Cut the crap. Tell Aokiji to undo his ability, then have your subordinates send her over. The people you want are here."
Reiner pulled out a bound figure and threw him forward.
For both sides, a hostage exchange was the inevitable choice. A quick and decisive move was the only way to prevent any mishaps.
Pizarro fell onto the beach, getting a mouthful of sand. He shook his head to shake off the fine sand and hurriedly looked up and shouted at Blackbeard on the other side:
"Stop wasting time, Teach! Hurry up and save me! This damned guy will really kill me!"
His voice was hoarse, and his eyes were filled with fear. His body was covered in blood, and he looked extremely pathetic. His joints had been cut open, and the blood that flowed out had coagulated into clumps of sand on the beach.
Seeing this, Teach’s face instantly darkened.
He glanced over. The condition of Shiryu and the others behind Reiner was about the same as Pizarro’s. Even if they were exchanged, they would not be able to recover and rejoin the battle in a short time.
Reiner looked at him calmly. This was, of course, his handiwork. To let the tiger return to the mountain was a bit too foolish.
As long as he didn’t completely cripple these people, Blackbeard wouldn’t be willing to just abandon them.
Teach could guess his thoughts. Because Hancock’s condition was the same at this moment. He looked at Reiner coldly and spoke without turning his head:
"Kuzan."
"Ah~, I know."
Aokiji replied lazily. He slowly walked to Hancock’s side and stopped, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Soon, the ice, which was emitting a cold aura that not even the scorching sun could melt, began to thaw. Her long, smooth black hair, her face, her abdomen, and her thighs were gradually revealed.
Thump.
The moment the ice was removed, Hancock, whose presence was faint and who had fallen into a coma, fell softly onto the beach.
Her whole body was soaking wet with water from the melted ice. Her long black hair was wet and stuck to her fair skin, which was pink from frostbite. Her brow was furrowed, and her face looked extremely weak.
"Hancock!!"
"Miss Hancock!!"
Nami and the others cried out anxiously. In their panic, they couldn’t help but want to rush forward.
"Don’t move!"
Teach shouted and took a step forward, blocking them.
Nami and the others stopped in their tracks, gritting their teeth as they looked at the other.
Shh~ Shh~
Hearing the noise, Hancock, lying on the ground, moved slightly. Her eyelashes trembled as she struggled to open her eyes. In her blurry vision, the figures of their crew were reflected.
"Na... Nami?"
"You... why are you here...?"
Hancock spoke with a very weak voice. She struggled to press her hands on the sand, trying to prop her body up, but she suddenly went limp and fell down again.
Where is this...?
Resting her elbows on the sand, Hancock struggled to raise her head again. Her vision gradually cleared, and she finally saw the figures of Reiner and his group.
"Nami?"
Hancock’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. She then saw Blackbeard and Aokiji at the side. She gritted her teeth, and her face immediately darkened.
"Teach...!"
"Are you alright, Hancock! Just wait a minute! We’ll save you right now!"
Nami shouted with worry, then immediately turned her head to glare at Blackbeard.
"Your men are in our hands! Hurry up and let Hancock go!"
"Zehahaha! Just letting her go? That won’t do."
Teach threw his head back and laughed. His eyes turned sinister, and his face showed a fierce look.
"Do you think I’m stupid enough to put myself in a deadly situation! Exchanging people is fine, but I have one condition! Let her undo the petrification on my men first!"
At this point, he didn’t know about the other members of the Straw Hat crew, but Reiner would definitely not let this go. He had known what kind of person the other was since the Summit War.
Even if the other let this go, Teach wouldn’t let them go either.
He had extreme confidence in his own strength. Not to mention, the Straw Hat crew had so many ability users that he could counter. And he also had Aokiji.
But he wasn’t stupid enough to go to war with the Straw Hat crew with just three people. Before starting a war, he naturally had to increase his advantages as much as possible.
"Hurry up! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning! If you don’t undo the petrification, don’t even think about me releasing her!"
Teach waved his hand and roared, his eyes ruthless.
Black mist began to gush from his back and attach to his body. It was clear he was ready to deal with any unexpected changes at any time.
Seeing his posture, Reiner and his group also immediately became vigilant. Zoro’s eyes hardened, and he put his hands on his sword hilts, taking a step forward. He was also ready to make a move at any time.
In an instant, the two sides in the standoff were at daggers drawn, and the atmosphere became even more tense.
The pirates behind Blackbeard swallowed hard. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. Only then did they realize their backs were already soaked. Their limbs were stiff and hard to move, as if the surrounding air had become heavy and was pressing down on them.
Hancock looked at the two sides in the standoff. Although she had just regained consciousness from being frozen, she could roughly guess the current situation.
Although in her heart she would rather die than give Blackbeard any advantage, the Straw Hat crew had risked coming to help her. Hancock would definitely not make things difficult for them. She cast an inquiring look at Reiner and his group.
"Fine."
Without much consideration, Reiner replied to Blackbeard faintly, then turned to look at Hancock.
"What’s your condition? Can you do it?"
After less than a second of silence, Hancock looked at Reiner and nodded lightly.
"Mm. Just undoing the petrification won’t consume any of my energy."
"I understand."
At Reiner’s signal, Hancock caught her breath, then slowly stood up, staring at Blackbeard coldly with hatred.
"You can’t do anything right now. Don’t make any rash moves, Hancock."
Teach’s lips curled into a sinister smile. He beckoned to his subordinates behind him to bring the petrified Lafitte and the others forward.
Soon, Hancock placed her palm in front and blew a breath at the few statues. The gray on the bodies of Lafitte, Vasco Shot, and Catarina Devon gradually faded.
They had no memory of their time being petrified. They were still a little dazed when they had just recovered. Seeing Hancock before them, they slowly remembered the battle on Kuja Island and reacted.
"I see. So we were petrified just now."
"Hahaha! It feels good to be alive! It seems my life is not bad."
"Zehahaha! Welcome back! I paid a high price to save you!"
Teach immediately looked at Lafitte and the others, his smile carrying a hint of enthusiasm.
"Stop putting on an act, Teach. Have Aokiji bring her over."
Not giving the other time to talk nonsense, Reiner spoke directly.
The smile on Teach’s face disappeared. He turned his head and gave Reiner a heavy look.
He didn’t have anyone suitable to take the Mero Mero no Mi for now. The necessity of keeping Hancock was not high. As for holding her hostage...
...to abandon Shiryu and the others as pawns in front of his subordinates... he wouldn’t do such a stupid thing without sufficient benefits or at a life-and-death juncture. Not to mention, he was also reluctant to lose such powerful subordinates.
His five fingers, covered in jewels and rings, clenched into a fist. Black mist coiled around it. Teach also did not hesitate. He spoke in a low voice:
"Kuzan. You go."
Aokiji did not respond. With one hand in his pocket, he looked at Reiner faintly, then turned to look at Hancock, and with a wave of his hand, he froze her hands together.
"Let’s go."
Aokiji brought Hancock over. Reiner also pulled the bound Shiryu and the others and walked forward.
The people on both sides were nervously staring at Reiner and Aokiji in the center, as if every step were heavily treading on their hearts.
What would happen after the hostage exchange? Both sides knew in their hearts. As the two sides of the hostage exchange got closer and closer, everyone’s hearts were gradually in their throats.
"When I saw in the newspaper that you had joined the Blackbeard Pirates, I was quite surprised, to be honest."
Arriving in front of Aokiji, Reiner looked at him with great interest.
To say he’s an undercover agent... it’s a bit too bizarre that Teach would let him on the ship. I can’t quite figure out his intentions.
"I just wanted to try to make my own choice for once. You, on the other hand... after just two years, you’ve also become a character who can stir up the seas."
Aokiji stopped, his expression blank. He looked down at Reiner from his greater height and said faintly:
"Sometimes I also think back... what would have happened if I had sent you all to Impel Down back then?"
"That would have been a pity."
With that, Reiner pulled on the rope, pulling Shiryu and the others up.
"Alright. Release her."
"You first."
"No, you first."
"If you don’t release, I won’t release."
Aokiji’s tone was lazy, but he was very resolute as he remained in a stalemate with Reiner.
"..."
Seriously? Have these two read too many scripts?
The hostages behind them were dumbfounded by their actions. Even Blackbeard couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Reiner is one thing, but is Aokiji like this?
In the rear, a vein popped on Nami’s forehead. She closed her eyes and couldn’t help but raise her fist.
"Well. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t be so cautious."
Aokiji, with a look of ’what a pain’, held his head and said lazily:
"But you’re a special case. It’s better to be careful."
"..."
Has my reputation really reached this point? Reiner’s eyes were speechless. He pulled on the rope and brought Shiryu and the others up.
At the same time, Aokiji also casually pushed Hancock out.
This dramatic hostage exchange made many people’s tense nerves relax a little.
However, the moment the exchange was completed!
"Kurouzu!!"
"Zoro!!"
Bang!! Bang!!
Teach and Reiner both roared at the same time! Van Augur and Usopp fired directly!
Ding!
A bullet, surpassing the speed of sound, shot through the air at Reiner. On its way, a crisp sound was heard as it was grazed by another bullet, changed its trajectory, and hit the soft sand.
At the same instant, a powerful, targeted gravitational pull acted on both Reiner and Hancock. Teach, his face ferocious, extended his palm. It was covered in a layer of black mist, like a black glove, and the gravity was emitted from within!
Reiner stomped his foot into the sand, grabbed the panicked Hancock with one hand, pulled her over, and forcefully threw her behind him. With his other hand, he directly punched out, forcing Aokiji back.
"Reiner!!"
Luffy and the others hurriedly cried out with worry.
Just as Reiner’s feet left the ground and he was about to be sucked over, a figure streaked past him at an even faster speed.
Zoro was so fast he transformed into a streak of light, his hand on his hilt, flying straight, almost parallel to the ground!
ZING!!
A cold blade of light flashed. Zoro instantly appeared behind Blackbeard, sheathing his sword!
"Ittoryu: Shishi Sonson!!"
Hiss!!
Before Teach’s disbelieving expression, a large splash of blood flew up, and a bloody gash appeared on his bare chest!
(End of Chapter)
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