Chapter 54: Iron Fist Chiba
Chiba extended his Observation Haki across nearly the entire island, searching for Ace. When he couldn't locate him, he knew he had to play along with Blackbeard's talk to get more information.
"Hehehe, Mr. Chiba, I'm giving you a genuine offer," Blackbeard began with his usual smirk. "Why remain a Marine? At the end of the day, you're just a dog on a leash for the Celestial Dragons."
Blackbeard's eyes gleamed with malice. "I've even heard the Celestial Dragons have taken an interest in you. They're planning to capture you and drag you to Mariejois to use you for their life potion experiments."
"Those Celestial Dragons are selfish and vile. Once you've created the life potion, they'll kill you to keep their secret."
"Join me, Chiba! With my resources, I'll provide you with everything you need for your research. Together, we'll become stronger than ever—powerful enough to rival the Four Emperors, even to surpass them! And one day, we'll bring down the Celestial Dragons themselves!" Blackbeard laughed maniacally, his voice echoing across the island. "Hahaha—argh!"
His laughter turned into a pained scream as Chiba's fingers dug into his shoulder, drawing blood.
"Enough with the nonsense. Where's Ace?" Chiba's patience was wearing thin.
Almost simultaneously, Jesus Burgess, the towering first-ship captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, locked his gaze on Chiba. Standing at 355 cm, his body was a mass of pure muscle, and his Strength-Strength Fruit gave him incredible power. Burgess couldn't ignore Blackbeard's peril any longer.
With his right arm swelling up from his fruit's power, muscles bulging with heat radiating off him, Burgess roared, "Die, Marine brat!"
Grasping his right arm tightly with his left hand, he launched his elbow towards Chiba's head with all his might. The blow's power generated a shockwave capable of demolishing buildings.
Chiba reacted instantly, tossing Blackbeard aside like a ragdoll—Blackbeard crashed into Van Augur, who had been aiming his rifle. In the same movement, Chiba clenched his right hand into a fist, coating it in dense, dark Armament Haki that spiraled outward like black ribbons.
Without hesitation, Chiba's fist met Burgess's reinforced elbow.
*Boom!*
A deafening impact rang out as Burgess's armored device shattered, his arm crushed into fragments. Bone spurs punctured his flesh, and he was sent flying backward, tearing through multiple buildings before crashing to a stop.
Rumble!
Debris rained down as the buildings collapsed, burying Burgess in rubble. Whether he was dead or alive remained unknown.
Seeing this display, the ordinary pirates of the Blackbeard crew were seized with terror. Their faces turned pale as they fled in all directions.
"That man's fist… it's like a nightmare. He knocked Captain Burgess out with a single punch. No wonder they call him the grandson of Garp the Fist!"
"Garp's the Iron Fist, and his grandson's the Iron Fist too. Why did we ever provoke this family?"
The remaining pirates scattered in panic.
Blackbeard swallowed nervously. He knew that if he were to take a punch like that, he'd end up no better than Burgess.
*Is this guy the next Garp the Fist?* Blackbeard thought. *Roger had Garp chasing him all his life… am I going to be hounded by Iron Fist Chiba for the rest of mine?*
Just then, Blackbeard noticed Van Augur taking aim at Chiba amidst the chaos.
"No!" Blackbeard shouted in horror, but it was too late.
*Bang!*
A gunshot rang out as a Haki-coated bullet sped towards Chiba's forehead—only to be caught between Chiba's fingers just inches from his face.
Van Augur's eyes widened in shock.
"You… caught my bullet with your fingers?" he stammered.
To catch a Haki-enhanced bullet, not merely deflect it or block it with Armament Haki, but stop it with his bare fingers… the speed and precision of Chiba's Observation Haki was beyond anything Van Augur could comprehend.
He realized then that the combined might of the Blackbeard Pirates was nothing against this Marine.
"Captain, we can't beat this guy! We need to retreat!" Van Augur called out, diving into the cover of the nearby buildings, hoping to escape.
Chiba smirked as he watched the sniper flee. "Shooting at me from the shadows, and you think you can just walk away?"
With his right hand, Chiba made a gun gesture, focusing his energy at the tip of his index finger until it condensed into a small, dense air bullet. The zhenqi energy solidified, resembling a droplet of water, and Armament Haki coated the air bullet, making it shimmer faintly.
"Finger Pistol: Death."
With a faint thought, Chiba released the air bullet. It tore through the void, piercing one crumbling building after another, until it punctured Van Augur's side, just missing his heart. Thanks to his keen Observation Haki, Van Augur managed to shift at the last moment, avoiding a fatal injury.
"Not bad at hiding," Chiba remarked, preparing to fire again. But at that moment, Blackbeard stepped in front of him, his beady eyes filled with desperation.
"You still want to find Ace, don't you?" Blackbeard shouted. "If you want him, you have to let my crew go!"
"Captain!" Doc Q called out in shock, but Blackbeard glared back at him, his voice stern. "Take Burgess and leave! I'll meet you at the rendezvous point—if I survive."
Doc Q hesitated, but finally obeyed, hauling Burgess onto his sickly horse and riding off as fast as he could.
In the aftermath, only Blackbeard and Chiba remained.
Sweat continued to bead on Blackbeard's brow as his expression grew darker.
He hadn't stayed behind out of loyalty; it was sheer pragmatism. He knew that unless Chiba found Ace, he'd never let him escape.
With his crew gone, there was still a slim chance that he could somehow use Ace as leverage to save his own skin.
[•———•———•———•]
𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:
• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮
• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝
• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲
𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!
👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.
𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥