The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

Blackbeard knelt on the ground, his body trembling violently, whether from the lingering oppressive aura of his domineering presence or from the extreme humiliation and anger he felt.

Gern's words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing the very title of "Four Emperors" that Gern had always cherished most.

It also burned into the deep-seated ambition in his heart to be recognized and respected.

Faced with an absolute gap in strength and will

His schemes, plots, and dual Devil Fruit abilities all seemed like laughable decorations.

This self-proclaimed new-era tyrant, one of the "Four Emperors," faced with Fleet Admiral "Skyquake" Gern Reginald Sigmar.

Stripped bare of all pretense and glamour, all that remained was a pathetic kneeling and a completely denied "qualification."

Gern stopped looking at him, slowly turned around, his back to Blackbeard, who was still kneeling on the ground, shaken and unsteady.

He took a step, ready to leave, leaving behind only a cold sentence.

"Get lost."

"Who are you trying to impress with this pathetic and incompetent act?"

Gern paused slightly, but did not turn around.

"After all, a hyena like you, who only knows how to hide in the shadows and scheme to steal the power of others..."

Although he got incredibly lucky and acquired two Devil Fruit abilities, it's impossible that he didn't know that on this vast ocean...

What truly transcends everything is always...

"Domineering."

"Especially..."

Gern finally turned his head and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the pale-faced Blackbeard who was still kneeling on the ground.

"Conqueror's Haki".

"And you..."

"It seems that he never showed even a trace of the domineering aura that belongs to a 'king' from beginning to end."

Even... in the face of my negligible 'pressure' just now.

"Same."

Sometimes, I really don't know if you're pretending or if you've never actually had it!

After saying that, Gern didn't linger and strode away with steady steps.

[It has not yet been explicitly stated in One Piece whether Blackbeard possesses Conqueror's Haki.]

Chapter 639 Blackbeard: I Cannot Win Head-on

Port, the Blackbeard Pirates' flagship

The "Sword of Gibbek" was converted from a giant wooden raft.

With a grim face, Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach carried the still unconscious Lafayette and stepped onto the deck, one step at a time.

Once on board, he showed no mercy, walked to the ship's side, and threw Lafayette onto the deck with a "thud" like a sack of potatoes.

Lafayette groaned, seemingly regaining some consciousness from the fall, but his eyes remained closed and his breath was weak.

After all, their captain just lost face! Now is not the time to wake up!

Samuel Kronos, the "cursed doctor" who was responsible for staying behind, quickly stepped forward and returned to the ship to await orders.

The eerie green eyes first glanced at the disheveled Lafayette on the deck.

He then subconsciously looked up and glanced at the imposing Marine Headquarters, New Marineford, still bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

His mind uncontrollably recalled the domineering aura that had faintly emanated from the direction of the port, a aura that had made his heart pound.

Immediately afterward, the corner of his mouth twitched beneath the mask, and he looked awkwardly at the black-bearded man whose face was so pale it seemed to drip water, and asked...

"Captain Teach...you...you didn't...fight with 'Skyquake' at Marine Headquarters, did you?"

"what?!"

Blackbeard glanced at him unhappily, without giving a direct answer.

Instead, he retorted in a suppressed tone of anger, his gaze piercing Samuel like a knife.

"You sensed that domineering aura just now, didn't you?"

He paused, his tone becoming even more unfriendly.

"Why didn't you come?!"

The subtext is: I was almost crushed to death by their overwhelming power down there, even Lafayette was stunned.

As the highest-ranking combatant remaining on the ship, you sensed something amiss. Why didn't you come down to provide support or check the situation?

Faced with Blackbeard's questioning gaze, Samuel Kronos immediately became impotent.

She even unconsciously took a small step back, fear flashing in her eerie green eyes.

“Captain Teach…” Samuel’s voice was hoarse, with an almost instinctive tremor of fear, “That’s… ‘Skyquake’!”

He seemed to recall some extremely painful past event, and his voice trembled slightly.

"Back then...the legendary era...I, 'The Cursed Doctor' Samuel Kronos, had a bounty of 1.14 billion Berries!"

In the New World, with this reputation, who wouldn't politely call me "The Great Pirate" when they see me?

Even Wang Zhi, the ruler of Pirate Island at the time, would nod and show me some respect when he saw me…”

"And what happened? He was carelessly beaten like a dog by Gern Reginald Sigmar, who was still a brigadier general at the time!"

"They were arrested and imprisoned in Impel Down... for who knows how many years!"

Samuel's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a sigh of nostalgia for past glories.

However, his spine has been broken!

Even...the treasures he painstakingly collected and cherished as his own life.

Those two precious Paramecia-type 'Gold-Gold Fruit' and 'Heal-Heal Fruit'

Gern took them all! He used them to strengthen his own forces!

In other words...

He, 'The Cursed Doctor' Samuel Kronos... was terrified of Gern.

Because back then... he really beat me terribly... I was in despair.

Looking at Samuel, who instinctively shrinks back and loses all confidence at the mere mention of Gern,

The anger in Blackbeard's eyes subsided slightly, replaced by a complex emotion.

Deep down, I knew Samuel was telling the truth, and I understood the feeling of being dragged down from the peak by the same person, leaving a permanent psychological scar.

After all, wasn't he also wary of certain "monsters of the old era"?

Blackbeard snorted coldly, withdrew his piercing gaze, and didn't bother to continue criticizing Samuel for his "cowardice."

He turned around, facing the vast and dangerous sea, his expression turning serious again. He spoke to himself, yet also as if addressing the cadres behind him.

“That guy from the old days…Gern Reginald…”

Blackbeard's voice was deep, carrying a heavy, undeniable weight.

"Even though I now possess the abilities of two Devil Fruits... the Dark-Dark Fruit counters everything, and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit is invincible in terms of destruction..."

He paused, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and spoke of the cruel reality.

"But against the current 'Skyquake' Gern... it's impossible to win head-on!"

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere on the deck suddenly froze!

Lafayette, who had just been pretending to be unconscious, suddenly raised his head, staring intently at his captain's back with a look of utter confusion on his face!

He even wondered if his ears had been damaged by the domineering aura!

No way?! The captain?!

Is this what you call a "high EQ" statement?!

Just now at the port, when they told you to "get lost," you didn't dare utter a single word and just carried me back!

Now that we're back on our own ship, it's become "unable to win head-on"?!

Isn't that a huge difference, Captain Teach?

Even Samuel Kronos next to him had a question mark look on his face behind the mask, blinking his eyes.

They were clearly taken aback by their captain's sudden "objective and calm analysis."

Where did that cowardly look go?

Why did you switch to "rational assessment mode" as soon as you boarded the ship?

Blackbeard seemed to sense the gazes of the two officers behind him. Without turning around, he stiffened slightly, and a hint of embarrassment and awkwardness flashed across his face.

He even coughed, trying to salvage his image, or rather... to find a more "reasonable" explanation for his "strategic retreat" at the port.

There's no way around it! How could Blackbeard possibly know how strong Gern is?

Especially... back when we were on Whitebeard's ship...

Having just entered the new world and established the G-10 branch in its early days...

But a monster who could engage in no fewer than fifty head-on duels a year with Whitebeard, who was in his prime and nearing his peak!

In other words...

I saw it with my own eyes... what Gern looked like when he unleashed his full power!

and so……

Now that we're safe, it's normal to show off a little, right?

I can't exactly say, "If I had made a move, I would have been strangled to death right here at Marine Headquarters," can I?

I, Blackbeard, may not be Shanks, but I still have some dignity, you know!

Chapter 640 Luffy: 'Emperor', I truly deserve the title!

Several days after the World Conference concluded, in the New World, Egherd was commonly known as "Egghead Island".

The gears of fate continue to turn.

Guided by their voyage, the Straw Hat crew, as if by destiny, landed on this strange island, brimming with futuristic technology and controlled by the world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk.

Upon learning that the visitor was Monkey D. Luffy, the boy who had just defeated Kaido, been crowned the "Fifth Emperor," and awakened Nika's powers...

Vegapunk did not show much hostility, merely activating the island's outer defense system and releasing some artificial sea monsters as a symbolic attempt to obstruct and probe.

These obstacles do not pose a significant threat to the Straw Hat crew at present.

After landing on the island, Luffy and his crew quickly discovered the secret hidden there.

The remains of a giant ancient robot that participated in the attack on the Holy Land of Mary Geoise two hundred years ago.

Subsequently, they made formal contact and acquaintance with Vegapunk (his main body or one of his clones) on the island.

Vegapunk seems to have some special interest or expectation in Luffy, and their interaction unfolds in a subtle and tense atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the peace did not last long.

Just as the Straw Hat crew was talking with Vegapunk, CP0 agents, led by Rob Lucci, quietly infiltrated Egerhead.

Their objective was clear: after the complete failure of the "Mother Spark" acquisition plan, the highest levels of the World Government (the Five Elders) issued a new order.

We must recover Vegapunk and his vast database (brain), and never let it fall into the hands of the Navy or any other power.

Conflict inevitably broke out.

Luffy and his old rival Rob Lucci meet again in the steel forest of Egghead Island.

Lucci looked at the boy who had once defeated him on Enies Lobby, but now bore the title of "Yonko" (Four Emperors), and a mocking smile appeared on his face.