One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

They are both members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

He, Gecko Moria, suffered a crushing defeat against the Blackbeard Pirates.

With his men either dead or wounded, he was like a lamb to the slaughter, unable to even protect his comrades. He could only watch helplessly as Hogback was beheaded and Perona and Absalom grieved and died.

That sense of powerlessness was like a replay of the nightmare from Wano Country twenty years ago, completely crushing his last remaining pride.

While Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirates, is not a Shichibukai, his pirate crew... is overwhelming the Blackbeard Pirates!

"What...am I doing...?"

Moria's crimson pupils dilated slightly as he murmured softly.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, the battle between Chopper and Strong had already been decided.

Unsurprisingly, Chopper won the battle.

The clay armor slowly peeled off and disintegrated from Chopper's body, turning into countless tiny clods of earth that rolled to the ground with a soft rustling sound.

As the power of the clay dissipated, the monster's massive, mountain-like body shrank as if deflated, eventually reverting to the fluffy little reindeer.

Chopper stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the bottom.

There, the celestial horse lay sprawled on the scorched, broken earth, its once pure white wings nowhere to be seen.

It reverted to its sickly, ordinary appearance.

Its chest was still rising and falling slightly, but each breath seemed extremely difficult, and blood foam was spilling from its mouth and nose—it was clearly on the verge of death.

"Did I... go too far?" he muttered to himself, his ears drooping slightly.

"Chopper, well done!"

Just then, a cheerful voice came from behind.

Chopper whirled around and saw Usopp jumping out from behind some rubble, a bright smile on his face, giving him a thumbs up.

Although the long-nosed sniper was covered in dust, he was in high spirits, clearly boosted by his recent victory over Van Oka.

Immediately afterwards, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin, and others gathered from various directions of the battlefield.

Zoro had sheathed all three of his swords, and his green hair had returned to its short length, though some scorch marks from lightning still remained on his body.

Sanji had a cigarette dangling from his lips, and his right trouser leg was slightly torn, but his gait remained elegant.

The drone swarm behind Nami had receded like a tide and disappeared into the thick fog;

Robin stood with his hands folded in front of his chest, a gentle smile on his face, and his clothes were spotless.

"Damn it, even if you praise me like that, I won't be happy, you idiot!"

Chopper's face turned bright red in an instant, and his whole body writhed like boiled seaweed, waving his hooves wildly, but his big, round eyes clearly sparkled with unconcealed joy and shyness.

"Pfft... Little Chopper is still the same."

Seeing Chopper's smug and contradictory demeanor, the Straw Hat crew burst into laughter.

Suddenly, a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere filled the ruins that had just been shrouded in darkness and battle.

And at that very moment—

call.

A slight whooshing sound came from above.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

A figure clad in a long black overcoat was seen slowly descending from the highest point of the dilapidated castle of the Thriller Bark.

Her clothes fluttered in the wind, and the irregularly shaped glasses covered most of her face, revealing only her sharp jawline and a half-smile.

"It seems everyone has made significant progress recently."

V landed smoothly in the middle of the group, his gaze sweeping over each member of the Straw Hat crew through his glasses, his voice calm yet filled with obvious approval.

"V!"

The expressions on everyone's faces turned serious again.

Zoro spoke first, asking, "Is that guy the only opponent left?"

He raised his head, and everyone's gaze followed him to the distant sky.

The rolling darkness, like thick ink, enveloped half the sky, so heavy it seemed to swallow the entire sea. Even the dense fog could not resist its engulfing power.

Within that darkness, however, there was a crimson flame-like entity that constantly collided with and tore through it.

That was Luffy in Gear Fourth form, his body enveloped in Haki bursting with dazzling light in the darkness.

“That’s right!” V nodded, his eyes gleaming with an indescribable light.

"Only...that guy is left!"

Chapter 127 Everyone has a second stage (Seeking monthly votes~)

Compared to his crewmates' swift and overwhelming defeat of their opponents, Luffy's duel with Blackbeard presented a completely different picture.

Even Luffy, who has already joined the ranks of the world's top fighters, can only barely hold his own against Marshall D. Teach, who has fully unleashed his dark power.

Darkness, rolling and spreading like an abyss, devoured light, sound, and all energy.

Blackbeard, standing amidst the shadows, seemed to blend into them, becoming almost "invincible."

The dense dark curtain not only absorbed Luffy's furious rubber punches, but also transformed them into a violent dark shockwave the instant it was absorbed, blasting back at Luffy!

"Rubber Rubber - A Messy Battle of Snakes!"

Luffy's figure flashed through the darkness, and countless fist shadows wrapped in Armament Haki attacked Blackbeard from all directions, their trajectories unpredictable.

However, Blackbeard merely grinned and gestured forward with one hand—

"Dark acupoints!"

A surge of darkness erupted from his palm, transforming into a vortex that swallowed up all the fist shadows in the sky.

The next second, the center of the vortex suddenly exploded, returning Luffy's attack in a more intense and ferocious manner!

"Ugh!" Luffy crossed his arms to block, but was knocked back dozens of meters by the impact, and the ground beneath his feet shattered one after another.

He gritted his teeth, and a dark red aura of dominance emanated from his body, dispelling the dark threads that were trying to entangle his upper body like flames.

If it weren't for his long period of arduous training and the rapid growth enhanced by the tenfold efficiency of the "Effort Leads to Success" prosthetic body, he would have already been defeated by this strange and troublesome dark power.

"Hahaha... Straw Hat Boy, you can hold your liquor even better than Ace!"

Blackbeard's maniacal laughter echoed in the darkness, but a hint of anxiety flashed in his single eye.

He was not unaware of other battlefields.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Burgess, Van Oka, Lafayette, Doc Q... his own crew members falling one by one!

Blackbeard was consumed by boundless rage.

It wasn't grief or indignation stemming from the defeat of a comrade.

From the very beginning, the Blackbeard Pirates believed in the law of the jungle and the absolute bond of interests.

Subordinates can be replaced, partners can be replaced, as long as the ultimate ambition can be realized, the losses in the process are just a necessary price to pay.

The source of his anger was far deeper, more naked, and more in line with his Marshall D. Teach nature.

waste.

This word, like a poisoned icicle, was repeatedly etched into the depths of his consciousness.

Out of the corner of his eye—no, without even needing to look—the aura that weakened and eventually vanished one after another was like a resounding slap across his burgeoning ambition.

Burgess, who calls himself the "champion"; Van Augur, who is aloof and arrogant; Lafayette, who is mysterious and elegant; Doc Q, who is sickly and evil, and his broken horse; and Enel, who always has "God" on his lips...

none.

They didn't shoot down a single enemy soldier!

These rubbish!

The "partners" he painstakingly gathered, whom he thought were enough to stir up a storm in the new world, turned out to be so vulnerable in the face of real hard battles!

This is a mockery of his meticulously planned ambitions!

"Hahaha... Straw Hat Boy, your crew is really capable!"

In the brief moment between the surging dark energy, a glint of almost ferocious glint flashed in Blackbeard's single eye.

The Dark Colossus punched Luffy's rubber fist, which was wrapped in Haki, and Blackbeard's laughter came from the depths of darkness, hoarse and filled with a suppressed violence.

Luffy, panting heavily, steadied himself in mid-air, his dark red Haki surging like flames.

He didn't respond to Blackbeard's "praise," but instead clenched his fists even tighter.

The enemy's strength made it difficult for him to maintain the smile he always wore.

Those who want to win don't laugh.

"Rubber Rubber - Great Ape King Gun!"

Luffy suddenly inhaled, stretching his arms to their limit like rubber bands, and then abruptly contracted them.

A massive fist, imbued with overwhelming power, tore through the darkness and slammed towards Blackbeard's chest.

"Thief, hahaha... Still won't give up?!"

Blackbeard laughed wildly and pushed forward with one hand, "Dark Water!"

The darkness condensed into a vortex, swallowing most of the fist's force, but the remaining impact still made him stagger.

Luffy used the momentum to leap backward, pushing off with both feet in mid-air, unleashing "Gum-Gum King Kong Gun Barrage!"

The torrential rain of punches poured down once more, each impact powerful enough to shatter a small mountain.

However, those fist shadows struck the darkness without even causing a ripple.

"It's no use, Straw Hat Boy!"

"In the face of dark forces, all your efforts seem utterly laughable!"

Blackbeard swung his massive dark arm and swept away the shadow of fists.