Chapter 110

(Tanya POV)

Tanya let Kotatsu take the lead. The big cat just told her that he caught a hint of Blackbeard's scent. Kotatsu may not be a dog, but Tanya trusted his senses that were enhanced even more after eating his Devil Fruit.

"Is it really him, Kotatsu?" Tanya asked.

"I'm sure of it!" Kotatsu said, his voice lowered to a growl. "Now that we're getting closer… yeah. I know that smell."

A part of Tanya still found it difficult to believe. They were walking right in the middle of a busy market street selling all kinds of goods. It looked like a normal place. What would Blackbeard do in a place like this in San Faldo of all places?

"Are we close?" Tanya asked.

Kotatsu didn't answer. Instead, he suddenly stopped and perked up. He then proceeded to wordlessly scuttle away to a nearby alley, but not before beckoning Tanya to follow.

"Hide, quick!"

Tanya followed Kotatsu to the nearby alley. If hiding was the goal, they were successful. No one seemed to pay any mind to the two of them.

"What is it?"

"Shh!" Kotatsu hissed before peering over the corner of the wall. "There he is!"

Tanya mimicked Kotatsu. She carefully peeked from the corner to spot their target. It was laughably easy to spot him: Blackbeard.

There he was, walking as inconspicuously a lone pirate could be. He mostly looked the same from what Tanya remembered. Along with the anger she felt for Blackbeard was satisfaction. Enel did a number on Blackbeard.

At first glance, one would think Blackbeard became even more intimidating. But no, Tanya noticed that to not be the case. Blackbeard was obviously trying to make up for something now.

Tanya immediately noticed that Blackbeard was missing one of his arms even though he was wearing a black pirate cloak (like the one Ace used to wear) to try and hide it. He walked with a limp that seemed to be caused by his rather unresponsive leg.

Blackbeard looked nothing like Tanya remembered. Gone was the roguishly handsome face Blackbeard had. His head was now bald and scarred. One of his eyes were also blinded, given how it's just white.

'You messed him up pretty badly, huh?' Tanya couldn't help but think of her uncle Enel. Knowing he didn't die without badly ruining his killer made Tanya a bit proud of her uncle even though she won't admit it.

Tanya and Kotatsu continued watching Blackbeard. That man was no longer their friend and must be treated as an enemy. Blackbeard stopped walking in front of a stall that sold jewelry.

"Aren't those… for women?" Tanya asked.

"Don't ask me, I'm a cat!"

Blackbeard was hunched over the display of jewelry. Tanya was right that the jewelry displayed were made for women, given the intricate and feminine design of the rings, necklaces, and circlets.

'Those aren't for him… right?'

To Tanya's surprise, Blackbeard bought a piece of jewelry: a ring. It was an intricately designed gold ring with a small diamond embedded on top. It looked like…

'A wedding ring?'

Blackbeard put the ring that was inside a small black case inside one of his chest pockets. He then proceeded to walk away with a happy and hopeful smile on his face which unfortunately only made him uglier.

"So… that bastard has a lover, huh?" Tanya said.

"A what?" Kotatsu asked.

"You'll know it someday, kid." Tanya patted Kotatsu's head. "Come on. Let's see where he goes."

Tanya and Kotatsu then proceeded to tail Blackbeard.

…

(ONE HOUR LATER)

Tanya and Kotatsu followed Blackbeard to a relatively open field. It was one of the parks of San Faldo outside the carnival. For an island that boasted neverending liveliness, this park was calm.

Blackbeard stopped to sit by a pond, seemingly relaxing. Tanya and Kotatsu were a good distance away from him; far enough so they wouldn't be noticed, but near enough for them to see him.

Tanya was hesitant to confront Blackbeard. On one hand, she wasn't alone. Kotatsu was here with him and the big boost he gained in his strength is not to be underestimated. On the other, Tanya didn't want to alert Blackbeard and let Ace know about her discovery so they could take the next step as an entire crew.

But… Tanya didn't need to think anymore. Blackbeard made the decision for her.

Tanya and Kotatsu flinched after seeing Blackbeard wave over to them. When did he notice them? Wait, were they really the one he waved at or-

"I knew you w-were tailing me for q-quite some time now!" Tanya and Kotatsu heard Blackbeard shout at them. "Don't b-be shy! Let's s-stop this charade!"

It only took a moment for Tanya and Kotatsu to make a decision. With a quick nod between the two of them, they walked out from behind the big tree they used to hide and approached Blackbeard.

Tanya's heart was strangely calm. She expected her heart to beat faster in anticipation and fear at the very possible prospect of having to fight Blackbeard. She didn't know how she compares to him but… something tells her that she doesn't have to worry too much.

After all, Tanya developed her Devil Fruit well enough to match up with Enel in only a few years.

Tanya and Kotatsu stopped a stone's throw away from Blackbeard. Now that she was closer to him, Tanya found his appearance even more laughably pitiful. She didn't notice it earlier, but Blackbeard was constantly twitching in erratic frequencies.

'Nerve damage?' Tanya guessed the damage Blackbeard sustained. 'I almost feel sorry for this fool, Uncle…'

Blackbeard, Tanya, and Kotatsu had a two-way stare off for a few silent moments. Eventually, Blackbeard spoke.

"How n-nice to see you ag-gain, Tanya," Blackbeard said. "Have you b-been well?"

Tanya felt rage build up inside her at the sight of Blackbeard's mocking grin. She clenched her fist and then… relaxed. Her hunch was right. Blackbeard still hasn't fully recovered from the damage Enel did to him.

'Thanks, Uncle.' Tanya then returned Blackbeard's mocking grin. 'Kotatsu and I will try to finish the job now.'

"I'm f-fine, you f-filthy r-rat," Tanya said, imitating Blackbeard's stutter and exaggerating it. "How ab-bout y-you?"

Blackbeard's grin was wiped off his face. A scowl replaced it.

"You t-two really are f-family," Blackbeard said, remembering how Enel mocked him the same way. "So? H-How is Ace's n-number one, c-cocksucker?"

"Wh-Wh-Why don't you a-a-ask him, y-yourself?" Tanya said before summoning her Devil Fruit power. "I'll send you to meet him soon."

The winds picked up around their vicinity. Tanya summoned the winds and slowly encircled them.

As someone who spent time on Ace's ship, Blackbeard knew almost all about the abilities of the crew. She didn't let Tanya finish her preparation for an omnidirectional attack with her winds.

At a speed Tanya could barely keep up with, Blackbeard lunged forward. Shorter than the blink of an eye, he had his claw equipped on his remaining hand.

By instinct, Tanya repelled Blackbeard with her Devil Fruit power. As a wind human, her body naturally possesses the power of the wind element. With a quick exhale, Tanya blew Blackbeard away.

It was a good thing Tanya repelled Blackbeard instead of dodging or blocking his attack. He would have overwhelmed her.

Blackbeard was blown a great distance away. The wind Tanya blew directly from her mouth packed a surprising amount of punch. In his perspective, it felt like someone punched him in the gut with enough force to throw him.

Tanya and Kotatsu went on the offensive. They chased down Blackbeard. By the time they reached him, he was already up. Tanya gathered the wind around her body, doubling her strength and speed.

"North Wind!"

Tanya then gathered more wind around her arms like a funnel. It looked like she had tornadoes for arms.

"Sky Fang!"

Tanya then charged Blackbeard confidently. With her fist covered by sharp rotating winds, she aimed a punch right in his ugly face.

But, Blackbeard was not a veteran pirate for no reason. He reacted quickly and blocked Tanya's attack with his Armament Haki covered claw. If he didn't use Haki, Tanya's winds would have shredded him.

Tanya's sudden increase in strength and quickly gathered momentum met with Blackbeard's shaky and unprepared defense. For a brief moment, their strengths matched.

But, Tanya knew that wouldn't last for long. She retreated and used her wind and speed to encircle Blackbeard. She flew like the wind around him, looking for an opening while she buffeted him with winds that were strong enough to hold him down a bit.

"Y-You've become s-stronger, Tanya!" Blackbeard said as he tried his best to stay on his feet. "In s-such a short amount of t-time, too!"

"You haven't seen anything yet!"

Tanya then proceeded to punch Blackbeard from the side. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Blackbeard tilted his head back and dodged Tanya's quick attack that he felt with Observation Haki.

However, Tanya expected that too. With her wind covered fist so near Blackbeard's face, Tanya made a surprise attack. The wind around her fist exploded outwards and punched Blackbeard for her.

Blackbeard was once again knocked down on his rear. The winds were strong and sharp. It would have easily cut up a normal man's face, but Blackbeard was made from tough stock. His face only sported new graze wounds.

"Fuck, t-that stings!"

"Tempest Roar!"

Tanya was methodical and merciless. Just because Blackbeard was done doesn't mean she should stop attacking. With a wind-enhanced scream, Blackbeard was once again blown away.

"D-Damn it! G-Gimme a break!"

Tanya did in fact not give him a break. Instead, she started doing some kind of dance. It would have been funny if it didn't look so dangerous. Tanya swung her arms around as she called the winds to her. Soon after, her attention was back on Blackbeard.

"Zephyrus Flurry!"

Tanya started doing her strange arm dance again, swinging her arms in Blackbeard's direction. With every swing, visible sharp arcs of unnatural winds blew towards Blackbeard with enough power to cut a man in half. The sheer amount of attacks Tanya threw at Blackbeard made dodging almost impossible.

"Shit!"

"DIE!"

With his claw, Blackbeard responded with attacks of his own. Wind blades and flying slashes met halfway, neither seemingly gaining power on the other. If neither of them stopped, the winner would be the one with more stamina.

Unfortunately for Blackbeard, he let his guard down. Tanya wasn't alone.

Like a predator stalking his prey, Kotatsu hung back and made sure his presence was as negligible as possible. Kotatsu waited for a critical moment to land a heavy blow on Blackbeard. After all, the traitor didn't know about him.

Kotatsu's chance came when Blackbeard decided to engage Tanya in a battle of attrition. He was so focused on gathering all his strength to repel Tanya's seemingly wild and indiscriminate attack that he didn't notice Kotatsu right behind him until it was too late.

"Wha-? AAAARRGHHHH!"

Blackbeard screamed in pain at Kotatsu's surprise attack. With his Devil Fruit power, Kotatsu transformed into a big white tiger and swiped Blackbeard's back with his claws.

Suffering from Kotatsu's attack, Blackbeard stumbled forward. Unable to continue countering Tanya's attacks, Blackbeard was bombarded with wind blades on his front not a second after.

Tanya was relentless and continued sending wind blades in Blackbeard's way. She didn't stop until the grass around him was dyed in his blood.

With his front and backside suffering grievous wounds, Blackbeard couldn't fight anymore. His body was strong, but… he was damaged too heavily. He underestimated Tanya and especially Kotatsu by choosing to fight them despite not having fully healed from his previous battle with Enel yet.

Blackbeard fell backwards, too tired and hurt to do anything but stare at the slightly orange sky. Tanya nodded gratefully at Kotatsu who still hadn't transformed back to his normal form.

"...th-this is ridic-culous," Blackbeard said.

"What do we do with him?" Kotatsu asked Tanya.

"Lucky for you, Blackbeard… you won't die yet," Tanya said. "Pick him up, Kotatsu. I think Ace will like our souvenir."

"Yes, I imagine he will," said an unknown voice.

Tanya and Kotatsu's head swiveled quickly in the direction of the one who just spoke. They were grateful that Ace and Hepha shared what they know about important people to watch out for. If they didn't, Tanya and Kotatsu wouldn't be able to react properly at seeing the man standing there in front of them.

Admiral Aokiji.