Lindbergh had no idea Whitebeard had been defeated by Blackbeard. He frowned and asked,
"If he's still alive, how can you use the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?"
As soon as those words left his mouth, the Blackbeard Pirates burst into wild laughter. Lindbergh's face darkened, and he said coldly,
"What's so funny?"
Teach raised his hand, signaling his crew to stop laughing. Burgess and the others immediately fell silent, a testament to Teach's authority.
With a wicked grin, Teach looked at Lindbergh and said,
"Dragon and the other three commanders are dead now, right? That makes you the leader of the Revolutionary Army, doesn't it?"
Silver arcs of electricity began to crackle faintly around Lindbergh's claws. He nodded and replied solemnly,
"Yes, that's correct. So, what's your purpose here?"
Teach spread his hands casually and said,
"Hey, hey, don't be so tense! I just came to confirm—our collaboration is still ongoing, isn't it?"
Lindbergh froze for a moment and asked,
"Collaboration? What collaboration?"
Teach responded matter-of-factly,
"With your Revolutionary Army, of course. Didn't your previous leader, Dragon, work with the Whitebeard Pirates? Even though he's gone now, that partnership should continue, right?"
Raising an eyebrow, Lindbergh replied,
"But you've already left the Whitebeard Pirates. Naturally, there's no collaboration to speak of between us."
Lindbergh had little respect for Blackbeard. He suspected Whitebeard was already dead and that his fruit's power had been stolen by some method Teach used. If that were true, Teach's actions were nothing short of betrayal—a concept Lindbergh despised.
The Revolutionary Army, driven by lofty ideals, couldn't possibly ally itself with someone like Blackbeard.
Teach smirked disdainfully and said,
"You're really stubborn..."
The slow-witted Burgess suddenly shouted,
"Captain! This mangy cat doesn't know what's good for him! Let me teach him a lesson!"
Before the words were fully spoken, Burgess charged forward, pulling back his arm. A powerful shockwave burst from the openings in his elbow armor as he roared,
"Hado Elbow!"
Lindbergh snorted coldly. His right arm instantly turned jet-black, wrapped in a potent layer of Armament Haki intertwined with crackling electricity. With one strike, he shattered the incoming shockwave.
The residual impact hit Burgess head-on, sending him flying backward. He was about to crash into Teach when Lafitte suddenly unfolded a pair of pristine white wings from his back, flashing forward to catch Burgess.
However, Lafitte underestimated Lindbergh's strength. While he did manage to catch Burgess, the sheer force of the blow carried them both backward until Teach finally reached out to stop them.
Teach reprimanded Burgess,
"Burgess! That was incredibly rude! How could you attack without warning? Besides, do you think you're capable of handling him?"
Still dazed from the claw strike, Burgess shook his head to clear it and awkwardly said,
"Sorry, Captain... He's tougher than I thought..."
Teach didn't seem too bothered. Waving his hand dismissively, he said,
"Lafitte, take him out of here."
With a graceful tilt of his black hat, Lafitte replied,
"As you wish, Captain."
He flapped his wings and carried Burgess toward the rear.
Once the two had left, Teach turned his gaze back to Lindbergh. With a smile, he said,
"Commander Lindbergh, while my subordinate was out of line, you were a bit heavy-handed. Aren't we supposed to be partners?"
Seeing how disorganized Teach's crew was only reinforced Lindbergh's disdain for the Blackbeard Pirates. When Teach had the nerve to mention the word "partners," Lindbergh chuckled derisively and mocked,
"Sorry about that. I didn't realize your subordinates were so fragile."
Teach's grin didn't waver, he didn't seem angry at all.
Behind him, Burgess bristled with rage and opened his mouth to curse, but Lafitte swiftly covered it.
"Calm yourself," Lafitte warned, "or the Captain will get angry."
Nearby, Doc Q suddenly pulled an apple from his pocket and offered it,
"Want an apple to calm your nerves?"
Burgess shuddered and turned pale.
"No thanks. You can keep that for yourself."
At the front, Lindbergh noticed that Teach's demeanor remained "polite," so he waved his hand dismissively and said,
"Fine. Since you used to be with the Whitebeard Pirates, I won't pursue the damage you caused here. I have more important matters to deal with. If you don't have anything else, take your crew and leave."
Though Teach was being ordered to leave, his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he persisted,
"What about our collaboration?"
"That's where you're mistaken," Lindbergh replied. "The Revolutionary Army partnered with the Whitebeard Pirates, not you."
Teach nodded with a sly grin and murmured,
"I see... What a shame."
Lindbergh shrugged and prepared to leave with his subordinates when suddenly, Ahiru's eyes widened in alarm.
"Watch out!" she shouted.
Lindbergh's heightened instincts as a Mink kicked in, and his fur bristled. Even without actively using Observation Haki, he could sense the imminent danger.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking echoed as a devastating shockwave erupted behind Lindbergh. Turning swiftly, his claws slashed through the air, creating arcs of silver wind to meet the attack.
Boom!
A blinding white light filled the area as the ground quaked violently, and countless bolts of lightning danced across the sky like silver serpents.
When the smoke cleared, two figures stood opposite each other amidst the devastation—Teach and Lindbergh. The surrounding land was left in ruins, save for the small patches beneath their feet.
Teach maintained a smile as he kept his fist raised, faint ripples of translucent energy emanating from it. Lindbergh, meanwhile, clenched his teeth, his right arm trembling.
Drip... Drip...
Blood dripped from the tips of Lindbergh's claws onto the ground. Despite his expertise in physical combat, he had been injured during the clash.
The raw, overwhelming power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, combined with Teach's own strength, had taken him by surprise.
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+240 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg