One Piece: Starting at the War of the Best

Narrowing her eyes, Katie could clearly sense the murderous intent emanating from Teach, but she remained unfazed.

The main reason Ace lost to him was not due to lack of strength, but rather a lack of information. The overwhelming suppressive power of the Dark-Dark Fruit against other Devil Fruit users was simply too great—anyone caught off guard would be at a disadvantage.

But as a transmigrator, Katie wasn't about to fall into that trap.

Besides, the Dark-Dark Fruit has many activation restrictions. For instance, to nullify someone's abilities, Teach has to physically touch them. And though it's a Logia-type fruit, it doesn't grant immunity to physical attacks. Instead, it absorbs damage—and with that absorption, the pain is doubled.

Given Katie's current swordsmanship, combined with her Shikai state and Armament Haki, she had no fear of facing Teach head-on.

"Teach, you're courting death!"

With a roar, Whitebeard charged straight at Teach. He couldn't ignore Teach's provocation—no, even without it, he would've taken action. His son had broken the crew's code, and as a father, it was time to enforce discipline.

"Hahahaha! Come on, Pops! Let me show you how strong your son has become!"

Teach's eyes were burning with fervor.

To outsiders, this looked like a son eager to prove himself in battle. But Katie knew better. While there may have been some of that feeling, what truly consumed Teach was his greed—his desire for Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power.

Just as Katie had suspected, Teach, who had followed Whitebeard for over ten years, knew full well how terrifying the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was. He was envious—dangerously so. Even without a guaranteed win, he couldn't help but act.

"Take him down, Pops! Kill that traitor!"

Seeing their captain step in personally, the Whitebeard Pirates erupted in support.

However, two among them looked deeply worried—Division One Commander Marco and Ace, who had once fought Teach himself.

Marco wasn't concerned about Whitebeard losing. He was worried about the old man's injuries. Though not life-threatening, they couldn't be left to drag on.

As for Ace—he was genuinely anxious. Having fought Teach personally, he knew better than anyone how troublesome that ability was.

"Marco, you should go help him. Even if you don't fight, you can stay close and support him just in case."

Katie's words made Marco pause before nodding in realization.

"Everyone except Ace, follow me!" Marco shouted.

At his command, the remaining eleven division commanders charged into battle. They had all been holding back their rage. Even if they couldn't personally kill the traitor, they'd be damned if they didn't protect Whitebeard—and maybe take out a few of Teach's scum allies along the way.

Just like that, the battlefield changed. What began as a clash between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy had now shifted into a full-blown pirate vs. pirate conflict.

The Navy, now relegated to the background, showed no intention of intervening. From their perspective, whoever lost this battle was a win for them.

Had Teach not stormed Impel Down, they might've joined in against Whitebeard. But now? The best-case scenario was for both sides to destroy each other.

"Great Quake!"

Whitebeard unleashed his Tremor power with a devastating punch toward Teach. The surrounding space warped from the sheer force.

"Dark Vortex!"

To everyone's shock, Teach didn't dodge. Instead, he met the punch head-on, his own fist wrapped in a swirling black aura of dark energy.

What happened next stunned everyone.

The expected shockwave and explosion never came. Instead, under everyone's disbelieving eyes, Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power vanished the instant his fist touched Teach's.

"What... what just happened?"

No one could comprehend it. How had Whitebeard's power simply disappeared?

But even without his ability, Whitebeard's assault continued. He threw another punch, and Teach once again countered with a darkened fist.

Black and white clashed again.

This time, every onlooker watched closely. They wanted to understand how Teach did it—how he nullified Whitebeard's power. Or more precisely, how his fruit worked.

Yet they were disappointed. There were no visible signs, no explanations. The moment Whitebeard's punch touched Teach's fist, his power vanished—no clue left behind. It could only be attributed to the mysterious nature of the Dark-Dark Fruit.

At that moment, every Devil Fruit user present looked at Teach with changed expressions.

There was no doubt—they all felt threatened. His ability clearly countered all Devil Fruit users. While they were sure there had to be limits, no one knew what they were yet.

They began watching the fight even more seriously, eager to see how the world's strongest man would overcome this challenge.

"Hahahaha! Pops, don't you think this is embarrassing? You're really getting old—it's time to hand over your throne!"

Teach, having blocked Whitebeard's attacks repeatedly, grew cocky. He completely forgot that Whitebeard wasn't feared solely for his Devil Fruit—his swordsmanship was just as deadly.

After another failed strike, Whitebeard suddenly changed tactics.

He tossed Murakumogiri, into the air, then swung a punch at Teach.

"It's useless! Still haven't figured it out? No matter how many times, it won't work!"

Still high on his perceived dominance, Teach failed to notice the subtle shift in Whitebeard's approach.

While his punch was intercepted as usual, the airborne Murakumogiri reached its peak—and dropped.

Whitebeard snatched the weapon mid-fall and swung it down in one fluid motion.

By the time Teach realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The blade flashed—and slashed across his chest.

"Arghhh! That hurts!"

The attack had been coated in Armament Haki. The pain and damage were immense.

But Whitebeard didn't stop there.

That strike not only injured Teach but broke his defense and exposed his weakness.

Bang! Bang! The next two blows sent Murakumogiri crashing down, pinning one of Teach's arms. Whitebeard then stepped forward, stomping his other hand into the ground.

The tides had turned in an instant. The seemingly weakened old man had once again shown why he reigned supreme.

"Yihaha! As expected of the legendary monster himself—his strength is beyond words, and his combat instincts are simply terrifying!"

Doflamingo voiced what everyone else was thinking.

While they had been racking their brains trying to figure out how to deal with Teach's powers, Whitebeard had already adapted and completely subdued him—proof of the overwhelming gap between them.