One Piece Gunslinger

The "Striker" was a shotgun that Li Ang had acquired in the last two years. Unlike other shotguns, the Striker's advantages were its shorter barrel and larger magazine capacity, and its power was far greater than his initial "Short Gun." This was the first time Li Ang had used it against a formidable enemy.

"So, Captain Blackbeard, can you still call yourself a captain if you lose your crew?" Li Ang pulled the trigger as soon as he uttered the first word, not caring whether others could hear him clearly as his words were mixed with the gunshot.

When Bashas saw that Li Ang had instantly switched to a strangely shaped gun, he realized that this thing was different from a sniper rifle and was suitable for close-range combat. He immediately crossed his arms to protect his face and chest.

"boom!"

Without a shred of mercy, Leon pulled the trigger, and Basas accepted it all, taking every single shot. Even Basas, who was as strong as an elephant, was not spared; the shot knocked him to the ground, his arms riddled with tiny bullet holes.

Fortunately, this guy's arms were thicker than his legs, almost like a gorilla's, and with his strong muscles and physical strength, he actually managed to take the bullet. However, after taking the bullet, both of Libasas's arms were injured, making it difficult for him to fight anymore.

However, Barshas did make a contribution, at least blocking Leon's first shot. The common problem with all shotguns is their extremely slow rate of fire, and even the "Striker's" revolver-like magazine structure could not compensate for this.

Following closely behind was Lafitte, and now Li Ang couldn't use a shotgun to repel him.

However, Li Ang's close-combat skills were not bad. He kicked out with a kick that was no less powerful than a shotgun. If Lafitt had been hit, he would have lost his fighting ability.

Unfortunately, Li Ang's retreat hit nothing but thin air.

"Huh?!" Seeing his legs pass through Lafitte, Li Ang instantly realized that the real Lafitte was on the left. He had fallen for Lafitte's trick again. It was quite terrifying that it could hypnotize him even in this emergency.

However, now that Li Ang knew Lafitte's true location, his attack hit thin air, creating a significant opening for him to launch an attack. He could only switch from his shotgun to a tactical knife for an emergency response.

I have to say, this space pack is really useful; it allows you to change equipment at lightning speed.

As soon as Li Ang changed his knife, Lafitte drew his sword and slashed it down at Li Ang's head from above.

"Hmph! You're very capable, but I've already seen through you this time!" Li Ang said after successfully blocking the incoming sword with his dagger.

Sigh, this is another case of using hypnosis in secret, making Li Ang see a fake attack move. In reality, Lafitte used a first-level forward charge to aim straight for Li Ang's heart.

"They actually saw through me?!" Lafitte exclaimed in surprise.

Li Ang responded hastily, seemingly panicked, but actually as steady as a rock: "Hmph, don't you know that the same move has no effect on a Saint Seiya? To be honest, Vista's moves are far superior to yours. I can chat with him without any problems. You still need to improve your technique."

(This guy clearly fell for the same trick twice; his act wasn't very convincing. And you also fell for Vista's trick several times without realizing it.)

Although Lafitte didn't understand what a Saint Seiya was, he still drew his sword and attacked again, continuing to stab at Leon.

However, Li Ang chuckled lightly, preparing to swing his sword and bend down to slash at Lafitte. This strike was not only meant to break Lafitte's attack but also to deliver a blow to him.

Lafitte clearly understood that if he were alone, he would certainly not be a match for Li Ang, but he was not fighting alone; he had teammates behind him.

Sure enough, when it comes to raiding bosses, you still have to rely on your teammates. Lafitte is a prime example of trusting his teammates, and they did not disappoint him.

Van Augur was one of the men who was prepared to provide support after Barzas rushed out, but Barzas was too large and completely blocked Van Augur's firing path. However, when Barzas fell after blocking Leon's first shot, he cleared a firing path for Van Augur.

During Lafitte's first attack, Van Auger didn't have time to fire in support, but he reacted quickly on the second attack. The moment Leon made his move, Van Auger pulled the trigger of his "Sonic Leap."

"Interesting." Li Ang's Observation Haki was focused on the surrounding situation, and he had also observed Van Augur firing his gun. However, if he insisted on slashing Lafitte, he would inevitably be hit in the head, even if Li Ang could use Armament Haki to block it. But the power of this famous gun was extraordinary; even if he wasn't injured, he would be stunned for two seconds, and those two seconds could be fatal.

So Li Ang gave up on simply parrying Lafitte's attack and let the bullet pass right in front of him.

"They're really tough to deal with." Li Ang then continued to fight Lafitte and Van Augur for a few more rounds. Although he didn't get hit by any attacks, he didn't make any progress either, and for the time being, he couldn't do anything about the two of them.

During this time, you might try to break away quickly and create distance, but you'll be tightly entangled by Lafitte. If you try to rush in and take down Lafitte, you'll be threatened by Van Auger's bullets.

This put Li Ang in a dilemma.

However, this was only temporary. The two were coordinating their attack on Li Ang, now completely focused and giving it their all, not even noticing that their backs were soaked with sweat. After a few more moves, some openings would inevitably appear, allowing Li Ang to break through their combined assault.

However, Teach wouldn't be idle either. As the captain and a user of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach should be the biggest threat. The time Leon was held up by the two was enough for Teach to prepare his ultimate move.

Yes, while the two were holding off Leon, Teach was preparing his ultimate move, the Dark Emperor, which he created by imitating Ace's Great Flame Ring - Flame Emperor. This move was originally intended for Ace.

I really have to give a thumbs up to the core members of the Blackbeard Pirates. They've only known each other for a short time, yet they already cooperate so well. It seems like these guys are natural teammates, with such high compatibility that they could practically share a pair of pants.

Seeing Teach's hands raised above his head and the ever-growing black ball in them, Li Ang sensed something was wrong. If he were to take a powerful attack, his health bar would be completely depleted.

"Xi Ba, the only option left is to trade injuries for injuries." Li Ang nervously pondered a solution, and finally decided to sacrifice his body to break through this situation.

With a loud shout, Li Ang imbued his blade with Armament Haki, preparing to slash at Lafitte, intending to cut him in half despite the combined attacks of the two.

Lafitte immediately backed down. Cooperation was fine, but not at the cost of his life. He promptly withdrew, even though it would destroy the advantages he had previously built up.

"Good move!" Li Ang realized that the target wasn't Lafitte at all; the intention was to force him back. This horizontal swing wasn't aimed at Lafitte, but rather at Van Auger, who was not far away. That's what made it so unexpected.

Actually, it was a motion of throwing a knife. Using the acceleration from the previous horizontal swing, Li Ang suddenly let go when the tip of the knife was directly facing Fan Ao Te.

"Chua!"

No one expected that Li Ang's target was Van Augur. Even though Van Augur realized that Li Ang had let go, he quickly realized that the throwing knife was aimed directly at his heart. He hurriedly dodged to the side, but the knife still severed his right arm, and the "Sound Leap" fell to the ground.

Although they failed to kill him, Van Augur was temporarily incapacitated, and Lafitte knew he would be defeated in the next move. While both were defeated, they bought Teach considerable time; in fact, in just a few more seconds, the Dark Emperor in Teach's hand would have been fully formed.

However, the remaining crew members were a few ordinary sailors who had followed Teach here. Before Lafitte was defeated, they had to stand in front of Leon to buy Teach more time.

Unexpectedly, these henchmen of the Blackbeard Pirates were also quite troublesome. Li Ang was so frustrated he almost vomited blood.

These people weren't particularly skilled, but they were incredibly fanatical, practically fearless, willing to risk their lives to buy Teach time. And the source of their fanaticism was none other than Teach's brainwashing using Leon's theories.

Seeing the black ball taking shape in Teach's hand, Lafitte quickly retreated, leaving his henchmen surrounding Leon. Teach, however, showed no mercy, completely disregarding the lives of his men; if they died, he'd just keep deceiving them.

With a loud shout, "Leo, prepare to die! Take my Dark Emperor move!" Teach hurled the large black ball at Leo.

Chapter 369 Steady as an Old Dog

Li Ang was thus covered in the smear, with the Dark Emperor completely enveloping him.

Once the large black sphere disappeared, the other ordinary crew members had also vanished, and Li Ang lay motionless on the ground, covered in blood.

Undoubtedly, Li Ang lost this time.

There are a few suspicious points regarding Li Ang's attack on the Blackbeard Pirates.

First, Lafitte.

The biggest reason for Leon's defeat this time, if analyzed, was his inability to defend against Lafitte's move. It could be said that Lafitte was the MVP in this battle, with Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit ability playing a secondary role. Even so, in the end, it was Teach who ultimately defeated Leon.

So here's the question: was Leon unaware of Lafitte's abilities? Or had he forgotten them? Is that why he wasn't on guard? Is that it?

Or rather, Li Ang hadn't forgotten; he was fully aware of Lafitte's abilities. It was just that these abilities were incredibly difficult to defend against. Lafitte's hypnotic techniques were of unknown origin, yet their effects were immense. Therefore, Li Ang failed.

That makes some sense.

However, the situation wasn't either of the two mentioned above; Li Ang simply hadn't planned to defend against this tactic at all. He hadn't even considered how to target Lafitte.

You could even say that Lafitte's MVP award was given to him by Li Ang; Li Ang gave him the opportunity to perform. He wanted Lafitte to show off his skills.

Otherwise, the first one to be sniped shouldn't have been Doc Q, but Lafitte. At that time, Leon had a surprise opportunity, and only one chance. But one was enough; he could easily take down Lafitte.

Perhaps Leon didn't anticipate Teach's new tactic and thought he had more opportunities, which is why he didn't target Lafitte with his first shot?

No, Li Ang knew perfectly well that Lafitte was the second most crucial figure in the entire team, a key strategist, and had to be eliminated as soon as possible. Furthermore, Li Ang didn't know the range of Lafitte's hypnosis; if Lafitte could hypnotize Li Ang while still on the ship, there would be no second chance.

Fortunately, Lafitte's ability wasn't too far-reaching. Teach and the others were almost in front of him when Lafitte activated his hypnosis, which allowed Leon to still eliminate a significant number of Blackbeard Pirates members, almost wiping out Teach's entire crew.

Therefore, the first conclusion drawn from the first point of doubt is that Li Ang did not want to kill Lafitte.

Secondly, this was the first target Li Ang chose to attack.

As mentioned before, Doc Q would never be his turn, and Doc Q poses little threat.

Moreover, Leon didn't know Blackbeard's techniques. Leon could even directly fire at Teach. If Teach didn't have this new ability, he might dodge one or two attacks, but not the third. Destroying Teach would be equivalent to destroying the Blackbeard Pirates. Even if the others obtained Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit, none of them would be as talented as Teach, nor would they have such a high degree of compatibility with the Dark-Dark Fruit.

However, in the end, Li Ang still chose to target Doc Q.

Even with his impressive Observation Haki, Leon possessed remarkable intuition. He sensed that shooting Blackbeard was inappropriate, but there were other options, such as fellow executives Burgess and Van Augur. These two posed a threat on par with Doc Q. Did Leon simply choose one randomly? Was there some other hidden reason?

Li Ang's choice must have some deeper meaning; he wouldn't have chosen a target blindly.

However, all of this will be explained later. For now, all we need to know is that the second question leads to the second conclusion: Doc Q must die. At least in Leon's plan, Doc Q must die.

Thirdly, Li Ang was all alone.

Honestly, going it alone is incredibly reckless and suicidal. If he had two teammates, his chances of winning would skyrocket. He's trying to challenge the Blackbeard Pirates all by himself, even if they weren't fully developed yet. That's terrifying enough.

Li Ang can't possibly think of himself as the chosen one, capable of single-handedly defeating Blackbeard's forces.

In particular, Li Ang will be able to get a powerful teammate in just two days, Ace, the eldest of the three troublemakers.

If the Revolutionary Army is busy with the final battle and doesn't have many manpower available, then Ace isn't a member of the Revolutionary Army; in fact, he came specifically to capture Blackbeard.

Ace's strength is undeniable. Even without Leon, Ace could have fought the Blackbeard Pirates to a standstill, though he ultimately lost. But the two of them combined, each on par with a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, would have easily overwhelmed them. There's practically no reason for them to lose.

Even if Ace ends up creating some melodramatic and frustrating plot twists like "You can't kill him," "I'm taking him back to Whitebeard for trial," "Please hand him over to me," or "Spare his life," it's still much better than what's happening to Leon and the others. At least those two can argue about whether or not to kill Teach.

However, Li Ang went in alone. Li Ang felt he had a great advantage, so he attacked and typed GG.

Therefore, the third conclusion is that Leon wanted to deal with the Blackbeard Pirates alone and did not want Ace to get involved.

Fourth, mediocre combat plans.

What might be considered mediocre by others, was utterly worthless and a far cry from Li Ang's standards.

After firing a few shots, detonate the grenades and flashbangs, then run away. Holy crap, this can actually be considered a battle plan, and it's even used against tough nut like the Blackbeard Pirates.

Even if the first part is successful and those things are detonated, it doesn't guarantee that you can escape. They might recover quickly and catch up soon.

Therefore, this ridiculous battle plan not only lacks technical sophistication, but also inherently has a high failure rate.

In other words, after discovering Teach's new trick, they turned the tables on him, elevating the entire plan and managing to salvage some face.

However, the problem returns to the first one: Li Ang knows Lafitte's abilities, yet he doesn't want to eliminate him. Doesn't this just invite the plan to fail?

Li Ang should have realized long ago that his plan to turn the tables on Lafitte would be easily foiled and would have no chance of success.

Could it be that Li Ang's IQ has dropped, leading to poor decision-making?

Well, that explanation is convincing, so I'll accept it for now.

So if Li Ang's IQ hadn't decreased, then conclusion four would have emerged, which is the most crucial conclusion.

Li Ang deliberately wanted to lose.

When Leon arrived at Banaro Island, what did he want to achieve? What was his plan? It was to prevent Blackbeard Teach from capturing Ace as he did in the original story, thus severing Ace's storyline.

Li Ang achieved his goal by defeating himself.

Why did the Blackbeard Pirates capture Ace? To use him as leverage against the World Government, hoping to become a Shichibukai. And now, congratulations to Blackbeard Teach for becoming a Shichibukai a few days ahead of schedule.

Therefore, Li Ang's fundamental goal was not to eliminate the Blackbeard Pirates, nor could he kill Teach. According to the final battle plan, no matter how much the Blackbeard Pirates harmed the world, they could not be eliminated for the time being.

If Blackbeard is gone, who will become the new Shichibukai and start the Marineford War? Similarly, the previous conclusion one can now be explained.

Laffitte cannot die. If Laffitte dies, there will be no diplomats to approach the World Government, Blackbeard cannot become a Shichibukai, and the rest of the story cannot proceed.