…
…
*Boom*
*Boom*
"Damn Marine dogs!" Marco scowled.
The usual calm and levelheaded parrot was now plagued with anger and frustration.
The reason being that they had been tricked!
The Whitebeard Pirates had gotten intel that there was a Devil Fruit found on a nearby island. Seeing that it was only a day's trip they decided to take a look. However, they didn't expect that the Marines had actually set a trap for them!
Now usually, this wouldn't be a problem, but the Marines weren't playing around. They fully intended to take down Whitebeard, sending an entire fleet of 16 ships.
*Boom*
"INCOMING!!"
A cannon ball had been shot and was going to land on the deck of the Moby Dick.
*Clack Clack Clack*
The sound of wooden sandals tapping on the deck were heard as a figure in orange flashed in front of the incoming cannon ball.
Unsheathing a katana he slashed in the direction of the ball, as a wind blade was formed.
*Boom*
The canon ball had been cut in two as it exploded several meters away from the ship.
"Oden!" The crew members who were in danger cheered in glee as he had saved them.
"White-Kichi-chan, I am not sure how much more we can take! That last shot was fairly close!"
Pops, who was irritated by the dilemma they found themselves in, nodded as he put down his naginata.
Teech, seeing Whitebeard take action immediately got excited! Who wouldn't when they were about to witness something extraordinary.
Whitebeard was going to use his Devil Fruit! The Tremor Tremor Fruit! It is said that within Pop's hands, this fruit can even destroy the world!
Pops stood tall as his hands reached up. His hands seemed to grab something as the air warped around his very fingers!
Almost like fabric stretching to the max, you could hear the very air tearing under Whitebeard's grip.
Then as he pulled down, only one word could describe what had occurred, and that was "chaos"!
The sea lifted into the air as the ground beneath shifted forcefully! Tsunami level waves smashed into the Marines fleet, taking out nearly half of them.
5 of the ships that the Marines had, were flipped and crushed underneath the ground that had been lifted. After the "chaos" had ended only 3 ships had managed to come out unscathed out of the entire fleet.
"That. Was. Insane! Hahahaha!" Teech laughed in a mix of hysteria and awe.
Ignoring the ramblings of the young apprentice, the crew's morale was at an all time high!
"Pop's, there's only 3 ships left! We should fight them now! We can win!"
"Yeah! Let's make them pay for tricking us!"
'We were gonna win regardless.' Teech wanted to say but kept it to himself.
Slowing the Moby Dick down, the crew did their best to antagonize the Marines into fighting them!
'There's no way they are going to fall for… they're actual idiots aren't they?!'
Teech watched how the Marines who were planning to turn back and retreat, suddenly changed their minds and attacked.
"They just saw Pop's wipe out their entire fleet! How stupid can they be?"
As they got closer, Teech finally saw why they had attacked with such confidence. The leading ship carried a high ranked Marine! Specifically, a Marine Vice-Admiral!
"Please don't be Garp!"
Looking at him, Teech didn't find him familiar at all. Of all the Vice-Admirals they could have sent, they sent the one least likely to make it back. He didn't seem to be a very big figure in the story.
'Ooohhh… He's going to die…'
With the 3 remaining ships, Oden himself could have easily destroyed them alone. But, what would be the fun in that? Letting the Marines catch up, they immediately bordered the Moby Dick, where an all out war took place.
The clashing of swords and the firing of weapons practically deafened everyone. The stench of blood was nauseating even for veteran pirates and marines alike.
Due to the Marines still outnumbering the Whitebeard Pirates 3 to 1, young Teech was forced to fight. Though Pop's wasn't too worried. This signified his first ever battle in the One Piece world!
On the battlefield, Teech struggled to get his bearings as there was too much going on around him to process everything. The screams of agony left a startling impression on him!
"Pirate Scum! Better I get rid of you early!"
Teech heard a Marine yell and realized it was targeted at him. Looking at the Marine, he saw the lengthy looking man stride towards him with a cutlass. Feeling his hearts pounding, he got into a ready position to fight him.
Sprinting towards him, the Marine slashed down at Teech, causing him to dodge backwards, away from the blade!
Seeing that he missed, he once again chased after Teech.
As he continued to slash, Teech understood that it was hard to get an actual hit on the guy due to the weapon.
Dodging under a slash, he heard the sound of the blade whip over him.
*Woosh*
'Crap that was close!'
Seeing that this fight was going nowhere, he purposely stood still to bait an attack.
As expected the Marine performed a downward slash at Teech!
Turning his body he narrowly dodged the cutlass as it was lodged into the deck.
*Thud*
The Marine tried to pull the cutlass out but was startled to find it stuck.
*Bang*
Teech, not waiting a second, struck full force, hitting the jaw of the Marine causing him to stumble backwards.
"Damn pirate scum!" He spat.
Teech rolled his eyes as he mocked the Marine.
"Dude! You've already said that! I get it!"
Infuriated by the mockery, the man charged at Teech, intending to fight with his bare hands.
Seeing the reckless charge, Teech didn't hesitate as he delivered a spinning back kick to his opponent's abdomen.
*Thud*
The Marine collapsed as he clutched his gut in pain. He nearly lost consciousness when struck with the kick, but slowly made his way up.
Quickly, Teech got behind him and put him in a chokehold.
"Cough!"
The man violently squirmed in defiance and even threw his head back, ramming it into Teech's face.
Blood began to drip from Teech's nose as he started tightening his hold. The marine tried his best to get out of it, but to no avail.
His consciousness faded as his body slowly stopped moving.
Seeing him stop resisting, Teech was about to let go but realized something. This wasn't a cage match! There were no rules or referees to stop him! His opponent wasn't going to stop when he reawakened!
This was a fight to the death!
Grabbing the man's head, Teech violently twisted it.
*Crack*
A disturbing noise that sent shivers down anyone who heard it, sounded out.
"That… was surprisingly easy!"
For some reason Teech thought he might feel a little remorse, but no. He felt nothing of the emotion, instead a bubbling feeling began to emerge from within him.
It was foreign, yet it felt so… right?
Slapping himself, Teech needed to focus on what he needed to do. This was a battlefield, not a temple for meditation.
He understood that he was nowhere near Haki and his body wasn't built like Kaido's. It was just unique, not overpowered! This meant that he had to be extremely careful.
And the quick fight had pointed out a glaring flaw in his fighting style. He's had no way of actually causing damage as of yet. Meaning he would have to use something to help do damage.
'A pistol? Hell no! I hate guns!'
Looking at the ground nearby, Teech saw the cutlass that was used by the Marine he killed.
"Well I mean he's not going to be using it anymore."
Grabbing the cutlass, it felt oddly comfortable in his hand.
"You damned pirate! How dare you kill Mani! You will pay for that!"
Teech heard someone sprint from behind him!
Feeling the imminent danger approaching, he quickly rolled out of the way.
*Crack*
A giant mace, smashed at his previous location. Looking up, Teech saw a 4 meter tall Marine giving him death glares.
"Wow! We got ourselves a big boy!" Teech smiled.
'I obviously can't beat him in strength! Looks like I'll have to outmaneuver him!'
The giant Marine lifted his mace from the slightly dented deck.
"I'm going to crush you!" He yelled.
He sprinted at Teech while lifting his mace up.
Not wanting to contest in strength, Teech jumped left and right, making the guy hesitate!
"Damn rat! Stop moving!"
He slammed down at a location he thought Teech might move to next.
*Crack*
Fortunately Teech predicted this as he jumped and slashed at his shoulder!
"Ugh!" He screamed out in pain.
Once again he charged at the retreating Teech.
'Dang it! I wanted to slice his neck! But this damn guy is too tall. I either need to get higher or bring him down!'
Rolling away again Teech came up with a plan.
"Hey, is that all you got? Even our cook has better skills than you! And he spends most of his time in that damn kitchen!"
"I heard that!" A voice came from nearby.
"Sorry Thatch! Just trying to make a point!"
Hearing the insult the man began fuming as he bolted at Teech.
Reaching high with his club, he poured every bit of strength he had into one swing.
Teech could even hear the air being displaced, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
Once again he narrowly jumped to the side.
*Schwww*
However, instead of completely dodging he counterattacked and sliced off the Marines hand, sending it flying into the air.
"Ahhhh!!" The Marine bellowed.
His eyes became bloodshot as he watched Teech retreat once more.
As if possessed, the man wobbly stood up as he carried the mace in one hand.
*Scrape*
He dragged the mace across the floor as he charged at Teech.
Raising it as high as he could he brought it down.
Teech, seeing his weakened attack, put his plan into action!
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the cutlass with both hands.
As the attack arrived, Teech swung and met the attack.
*Tang*
Using the momentum of the mace he redirected the attack to the ground!
"What!"
Being in such close proximity, Teech used it to his advantage as he stomped on the ankle of the Marine, bringing him down on one knee.
"Little sh..!"
*Schwww*
*Thud Thud Thud*
Blood sprayed onto Teech's smiling face as he beheaded his opponent.
"Hahahahahaha! That was fun!"
Looking at his appearance, one could mistake Teech as a demon incarnate when covered in blood.
As he was about to find another opponent his eyes followed a figure falling out of the sky.
"Oh look, he's flying!"
*Splat*
"And that's the Vice-Admiral!"
Looking in the direction the Marine came from he saw Pop's in a position that rivaled the symbol of peace. His fist raised as he completed an uppercut.
"Did he just kill him in one strike? Hahahah! I knew he was dead!"
…
Safe to say the battle didn't last much longer as after the death of the Vice-Admiral, the fight quickly went downhill for the Marines.
Teech racked up a total of 4 kills in the battle! Pretty good for his first go! And he also discovered something about himself! He was a natural when it came to using a cutlass!
But he also wasn't a pure swordsman! He would use the cutlass to do the occasional kill strike or blocking. Other than that, he likes to get in close and disassemble his opponents fighting style.
Teech was extremely excited to create a style that fit him, and for some reason this felt like the path for him!
After completing his duties as an apprentice, Teech vigorously experimented with this new way of fighting. Once again he was back fighting wooden dummies at the back of the ship.
Oden, who was passing by, watched as Teech struck the dummy with a sloppy slash, then getting in close to deliver an elbow.
Quickly he struck with a spinning roundhouse knocking the head of the dummy off.
He continued to experiment, finding which attacks were suitable or not.
The rhythm of the attacks were all over the place, but Oden could tell that there was potential.
Seeing Teech start with a new dummy he watched again how he sloppily slashed.
"No. No. No! You're doing it all wrong!"
Oden couldn't take it anymore! He had to correct it. Although it wasn't a katana, it was close enough to wear he could give some guidance.
Teech was surprised by the unexpected teachings but didn't mind it.
Slowly, Oden fixed everything from his posture to even the way he held the cutlass.
After making sure Teech had the basics, Oden left him to his own devices so as to not interfere. He didn't want to completely train him as it would take him away from what the path he was on.
Oden had noticed the weird techniques that Teech had and how effective they could be for close combat. Thus, he did not push him in the way of the swordsman.
…
Sea Circle Calendar 1498.
Off the coast of Foodvalten drifted the almighty Moby Dick! Even from the island you could hear cheers and chants from the crew.
On the deck, over 20 pirates holding wooden swords stood defiantly as they looked at their opponent.
A young man standing at around 1.85 meters, who was surrounded on all sides.
His medium length black hair glistened under the sun's rays. His toned physique was overed in scars yet they were only present on his front, very reminiscent of Pops. Calm demeanor was a testament to his experience. In the young man's calloused hand was a wooden training sword in the shape of a cutlass.
A confident smirk ever present pissed off the 20 pirates.
"You little brat! You really bit off more than you could chew this time!" One of the surrounding pirates taunted.
In return the young man simply laughed.
"Says the one who is going to go down first!"
Saying nothing more he simply put up his hand and taunted a "come at me".
Gritting his teeth, the pirate who spoke first felt obligated to attack. He gripped the wooden sword tightly while lifting it up.
Rushing at the young man, swung the sword down.
*Clack*
Expecting to hit the young man he was completely shocked to find the young man simply stepping on his sword, keeping it in place.
*Snap*
Applying pressure the wooden sword snapped as a fist approached the pirates face!
*Thud Thud Thud*
The young man had hit the poor pirate hard enough to send him flying into part of the 20 attackers, creating a domino effect.
"Ohh… Strike!" The young man smiled.
"Damn Teech calm it down will you! You could've hurt someone!"
Yep, this was the one and only Marshall D. Teech. Gone was the chubby boy now replaced with a confident athletic warrior who had a certain charm to him!
"Oh sorry! Did I hurt your feelings!" A malicious grin appeared on Teech's face.
This grin not only scared the opponents but also angered them.
"Damn you!"
Another pirate attacked Teech with a side slash which he easily blocked.
*Clack*
The pirate struggled to push against Teech's sword when he noticed him only using one hand.
"Huh?"
Looking up he saw Teech's grinning face as he was forming a fist.
"Oh n…"
*Thud*
Teech hit him square in the jaw knocking him out.
Two people attacked at the same time while Teech dodged one and blocked the other!
In between the two attackers Teech kicked one's knee causing him to collapse.
The other he struck at the pirates hands making him drop the sword, before delivering a headbutt.
Turning around he quickly whipped his cutlass knocking the one on the floor out.
One after another people attacked Teech, but every time they only lasted one to two moves.
Finally, as the nineteenth man fell another stepped forward.
This time, Teech who had mostly been nonchalantly attacking, couldn't help but become serious.
After all this wasn't just any random pirate! The tall man in front of him wore a dark blue top hat with a feather, along with a semi-opened dark blue shirt. His mustache nearly screamed macho as he carried dual cutlass's.
This was none other than Vista of the Flower Swords! The newly appointed 5th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Feeling that dialogue was unnecessary they begin their clash.
Vista jumped into the air and swiped his swords down.
In response Teech used both hands to redirect the strike to the side.
As Vista's swords missed their target, Teech delivers a low kick to his opponent's leg, knocking him off balance.
Teech threw a punch at the swordsman who tried his best to block.
Vista winced as he took a hit to the arms. He went to jump back when suddenly Teech blitzed him.
Sprinting he performed a drop kick knocking Vista off of his feet!
"Ugh!"
Rolling, Vista was able to quickly recover.
They clashed once more, Vista, aware of Teech's tricky moves began to slowly counter them.
You could tell Vista held more experience than Teech, but his unique fighting style made up for it.
*Clack*
As both Teech and Vista were at a standstill, Teech slid his cutlass down the two swords.
Vista widened his eyes as he watched Teech purposely drop his sword.
Ducking underneath Vista's sword, Teech caught the dropped cutlass with his other hand before delivering a swift slice to his opponent's abdomen.
*Silence*
…
…