“Are you joking? Just because of that?”
The battle with Delia last time was still vivid in Blackbeard’s mind. Under the effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit’s double pain, Delia’s kick, though it didn’t take his life, made him experience what it truly meant to wish for death.
For several days, whenever he recalled that battle, he would feel a faint pain in his lower half. More importantly, quite some time had already passed since then.
During this period, the thing Blackbeard read the most was the newspaper. Morgans’ news couldn’t be trusted completely, but major events happening around the world never escaped his eyes. It was the best way for pirates to know about the world and gather intelligence.
Blackbeard’s plan was extremely complex. He needed intelligence from various regions to decide his next course of action.
At the same time, he was also keeping an eye on the movements of the New World’s Emperors of the Sea. Red-Hair’s consecutive meetings with Kaido and Whitebeard excited him—only in a time of turmoil could he seize the best opportunities.
During this process, he also paid attention to the movements of some officers, such as a division commander from the Whitebeard Pirates appearing in the first half of the Grand Line for some reason.
He knew that these people were definitely coming for him.
Compared to the Whitebeard Pirates, he wasn’t particularly concerned about the movements of the Beasts Pirates.
It was a rule of the Whitebeard Pirates that comrades must not be harmed. Blackbeard knew he had violated Whitebeard’s taboo, which was why he had left far away from the New World in advance.
Although he had fought with the Beasts Pirates, Delia had successfully managed to escape. He didn’t believe the Beasts Pirates would come look for him so far away just for the sake of an injured officer.
The Whitebeard Pirates’ officers held the title of Division Commander, the Big Mom Pirates’ officers were called Sweet Commanders, while the Beasts Pirates’ officers were known as Calamities.
People who established their names through terror were certainly not to be trifled with—there was no reason for them to care so much about a subordinate.
But now, it seemed he had been wrong. Reflecting on the reports in the newspaper, it was likely that not long after that incident, King had begun chasing him.
“A joke? Unfortunately—I never joke, Imperial Cross!”
King slightly lowered his upper body, and his wings, enveloped in white light, slashed forward in the shape of a cross. As the slash formed, he thrust his blade forward, merging the tip of the sword with the cross-shaped slash to form a massive cross-shaped spearhead that charged straight toward Blackbeard.
The glowing wings was the effect of Steel Wing. For the Lunarians, the wings on their backs functioned as additional arms. When enhanced by Steel Wing, these wings became two razor-sharp blades for King.
Combined with the sword in his hand, a unique “Three-Sword Style” was thus born.
“Damn it! Is everyone in the Beasts Pirates lunatics?!”
Seeing the slash flying toward him, Blackbeard’s heart trembled. The massive cross-shaped sword energy not only covered him within its attack range but also enveloped other members of the Blackbeard Pirates, including Ace, who was behind him.
Blackbeard couldn’t believe that King—one of the current All-Stars and the leader of the Beasts Pirates’ Three Calamities—would fail to recognize the Whitebeard Pirates’ 2nd division commander.
Ace, bound and restrained, was clearly incapable of fighting. There was no way he could withstand this attack. Yet, even in this situation, King still chose an indiscriminate assault, completely unconcerned about the consequences of killing Ace.
“Black Vortex!”
Blackbeard raised both hands, his body emitting billowing black smoke as a powerful gravitational force attempted to absorb King’s slash entirely.
King didn’t care whether Ace lived or died, but Blackbeard did. If Ace died at King’s hands, he would lose his bargaining chip, and the entire plan would collapse completely.
Therefore, he had no choice but to ensure Ace’s safety, using his Devil Fruit ability to absorb King’s attack.
“Ah, I see. With such an ability, no wonder Delia ended up in trouble.”
The explosive power of the Gigavolt Havoc was no weaker than his own attack. Seeing Blackbeard’s technique, King finally understood how he had managed to evade Delia’s attacks.
However, King’s slash was merely a test. As soon as he saw Blackbeard attempting to absorb it, King didn’t remain idle.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four massive boulders descended out of thin air around Blackbeard, then began to press inward toward his body.
Bang!
“Argh!”
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Blackbeard’s mouth. The impact from Rock Tomb caused significant damage to his body.
The Dark-Dark Fruit didn’t possess the passive elementalization of a Logia-type fruit. To absorb an attack, he had to actively respond to it.
If he was struck before activating Black Vortex, the intense pain would send him rolling on the ground.
Moreover, to absorb an attack without feeling pain, he had to rely on his hands. In the original timeline’s Summit War, his overconfidence led to his hands being restrained by Whitebeard, forcing him to endure Whitebeard’s attacks with his body alone.
If it weren’t for Whitebeard being on the verge of death at the time, Blackbeard’s unusually strong vitality, and the passive effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit—which, while unable to nullify damage, could absorb the impact of the attacks—Whitebeard’s tremors might have truly been the end of him.
At this moment, Blackbeard’s hands were busy absorbing King’s slash, leaving him completely unable to react the same way as before when faced with the giant boulders closing in from all directions.
The darkness surging from his body was canceling out the damage caused by the Rock Tomb, and the dark gravity was slowly grinding away at the boulders King had created. However, King’s next wave of attacks had already arrived.
“Imperial Flame!”
Flames shot up toward the sky. The Rock Tomb had shaped the boulders into a special kind of furnace, with Blackbeard trapped inside as “prey.”
“Aaaahhh!!! It hurts!! It hurts so much!!”
A piercing scream echoed across the shore. Even Ace, who was captured by Blackbeard, stared blankly at the scene before him. The flames seemed to be dealing even more damage to Blackbeard than his own ever had.
Glancing at King, whose body was engulfed in flames, Ace suddenly felt as if he had eaten a fake Flame-Flame Fruit.
Under the searing fire, the boulders turned pitch-black, but an even deeper darkness surged from within. When the rocks were finally devoured by the darkness, Blackbeard had already collapsed onto one knee, beads of sweat converging into streams that cascaded uncontrollably down his face.
King had a unique expertise in torture. Just now, aside from the crushing force of the boulders and the searing flames, there was also the branding torture from the burning-hot rocks. Three layers of injuries, combined with the Dark-Dark Fruit’s double pain sensitivity, made Blackbeard suffer pain beyond words.
“What’s wrong? Already at your limit? We still have plenty of time—this is just a little interest.”
“Captain Teach!”
Blackbeard’s wretched state completely shattered his subordinates’ perception of him. He had been beaten many times in all these years, but this was the first time he had been beaten up so brutally.
King didn’t even give Blackbeard a chance to show off his abilities before launching into a relentless combos.
Bang!
A bullet shot out from Van Augur’s rifle. His sniping skills were exceptional as the bullet was aimed directly at King’s exposed pupil.
Hearing the sound of his subordinate making a move, Blackbeard was not pleased; instead, he was filled with panic.
“Idiots! Don’t attack! He is not someone you can afford to provoke!”
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!