One Piece: The World King Who Emerged from the White Town

Teach laughed too, but it was a cold laugh.

Did they really think he was an easy target?

He had thought it through and knew he would definitely do his best later.

He can defeat his opponents using only the power of the Devil Fruit.

This gives him a reason to explain.

It wasn't that he had been hiding his true abilities or was too cunning; it was simply that the Devil Fruit he had consumed was too powerful.

And since this Devil Fruit was given to him by Chairman Abel, he could also indirectly flatter him—it was perfect!

Teach's eyes darted around, finally settling on a crew member who was usually quite active but whose strength was not yet at the captain level.

After all, there was no rule that he had to choose a particular captain as his opponent.

Anyway, Teach didn't feel shameless at all; he was just making reasonable use of the rules. If there's an easy target, why not take advantage of it?

"Damn it, they didn't dare choose me!"

"Heh, Teach is quite self-aware enough to know he can't be a match for the captain, so he simply chose someone else."

"Go Slim! Take him down!"

“That’s right, it all depends on you, Slim.”

"Knock him away with your shield, then poke a few bloody holes in him with your spear!"

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Slim, feeling he had successfully reached the pinnacle of his life, immediately stepped forward and shouted, "Leave it to me! I will definitely defeat Teach and let him know that choosing to leave our Whitebeard Pirates was the worst decision he ever made in his life!"

Chapter 1002 Even Winning Isn't Honorable

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"Slim! Slim!"

"Come on, if you beat this bastard, you won't have to pay back the money you owe me."

"Yes, make him regret it!"

Slim was extremely excited.

He had never been so popular before; almost everyone was cheering him on!

Even Captain Vista, whom he usually admires, patted him on the shoulder and told him to fight well and not to underestimate his opponent.

Captain Vista's intentions were definitely good.

But how do we deal with Teach?

too easy!

Slim appeared very confident, and both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Dragon Hunter Guild ceded the middle space to the two of them.

"It seems both sides are ready, so let's begin."

Abel said something slowly and deliberately.

Then the tall Slim immediately rushed towards Teach.

Despite his imposing stature, wielding a heavy shield in one hand and a metal spear in the other, he was surprisingly fast.

And when they charge, they're like a heavy tank.

His most memorable battle was when one man, in a single charge, pierced through an entire enemy army's defensive line.

It directly shattered the opponent's morale, and won almost effortlessly without bloodshed.

This time, he plans to use the same trick again.

He underestimated Teach, not only the Teach of the past, but also the Teach of today.

"Vines entangle!"

With a slight flick of his finger, Teach saw two thick vines suddenly sprout from the ground in front of Slim's path, precisely wrapping around Slim's legs.

Caught completely off guard, Slim tripped and fell in a panic.

He crashed to the ground with a thud.

"Vine Strangulation!"

Teach once again controlled more vines to sprout from the ground, and in the blink of an eye, he bound Slim into a dumpling.

Shield?

Spear?

That kind of thing is a joke in the face of the power of the Forest Fruit.

The changes in expression of the Whitebeard Pirates members were truly remarkable.

From cheers and excitement, to shouts of exhilaration, to anxious anticipation, and finally, "Are you kidding me?"

As Slim was increasingly entangled by the vines, he was forced to discard his shield and spear, his face turning red with rage, yet he still refused to admit defeat.

Vista could only snort coldly, rush over, and with a few swift sword flashes, rescued the person.

"We agreed beforehand that we'd stop short of a fight. Are you trying to break the rules?"

"Huh? Who's breaking the rules? I think I've been lenient enough, but this trash just won't admit defeat. What can I do? Do you expect me to give up?"

Teach gave a mocking look with an innocent expression.

This infuriated the Whitebeard Pirates.

But the facts were undeniable, leaving them speechless.

Slim, who was rescued, felt extremely ashamed!

He preferred to stubbornly refuse to admit defeat because it was too embarrassing for him to say.

Unexpectedly, this became a reason for people to ridicule them.

Even more embarrassing!

If I had known this earlier, I would have preferred to be dead.

"Hmph, if you lost, get out of here. If you're not satisfied, wait until you get stronger and then get your revenge yourself."

"Losing is not terrible. What is terrible is losing both face and dignity, and refusing to face reality because of a pointless sense of pride."

At this point, Whitebeard spoke up without any politeness and gave Slim a lesson.

On the surface it was a lesson, but in reality it was an attempt to enlighten Slim.

Slim shuddered, and the unnatural redness on his face finally subsided. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know I was wrong. I was just not good enough. I lost."

"Yes, everyone else listen up. Courage and recklessness are two different things. If that had been a real fight, what would the outcome have been?"

"I hope you have the courage to forge ahead, instead of being fools who would fight a losing battle!"

Clearly, Slim's opening shot was not well executed.

This enraged Whitebeard!

He could understand his sons' desire to stand up for him and save face.

But the problem is, you need to have the ability to do it.

Otherwise, wouldn't you just become a fool or an idiot who sticks his neck out?

At that point, not only will we lose face, but we'll also lose everything.

When Whitebeard got angry, many people quickly retreated.

It wasn't that she was afraid of getting splattered with blood, but rather that she didn't want to become the stubborn 'fool' that Whitebeard had described.

In this way, those standing at the front all become people who have absolute confidence in their own abilities, or who have a compelling reason to take action.

Abel didn't mince words and said directly, "It seems the battle just now wasn't convincing enough. Teach, let's continue picking people. This time, there shouldn't be any duds."

Teach's face immediately fell. "Huh? We have to fight again? If we win one, there's another one. Isn't this turning into a war of attrition? What if I keep winning?"

These words infuriated many members of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"No need for a war of attrition, I'll handle it. As long as you beat me, this matter will be considered settled, and I will apologize to you on behalf of everyone."

Marco stepped forward without hesitation.

No one had any opinions.

After all, Marco is arguably one of the strongest captains of all. If even he loses, there's no point in having the others participate.

We can't really turn it into a war of attrition, with Teach being the only one being targeted, can we?

In that case, we would really lose all face.

It's even more humiliating than losing.

When Teach saw Marco step forward, he quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, how could I possibly beat you?"

Just when everyone thought Teach had some self-awareness, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "Who doesn't know that the first division commander 'Phoenix' Marco is the second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates? What about me?"

"I'm just an ordinary officer in the Dragon Hunter Guild. There are at least six others like me."

"As for those stronger than me, there are many more."

"If you really want to fight someone, I recommend that you challenge our Vice President, Lord 'Hawkeye' Mihawk. That way, it will be an equal fight."

"At the very least, we should go find Lord 'Thunder Emperor' and the others. That would sound good to others. What's the point of keeping an eye on me? Even if we win, there's nothing to be proud of."

Teach's words were truly a blow to the heart.

After all, battles between pirate crews of equal strength are generally soldier against soldier, general against general, and king against king.

Captains should fight each other. I've never heard of a captain asking his underlings to fight one-on-one. That's too shameful!

Unless one side is too powerful, even sending just one of their officers can easily defeat the opponent's strongest member.

Those kinds of one-sided matches don't matter.

Between organizations like the Dragon Hunter Guild and the Whitebeard Pirates, there is absolutely no situation where one side can completely dominate the other.