In the previous ambush on Delia and the battle against Ace, Blackbeard’s subordinates had briefly taken action.
This was something Blackbeard tacitly approved of. He valued these individuals’ futures, but if they wanted to grow stronger, they still had a long way to go. They needed to understand just how vast the disparity in this world was.
But this time was different from before. The killing intent King displayed far exceeded the usual, yet Van Augur seemed unaware of it.
Blackbeard wanted to stop Van Augur, but it was already too late.
In this vast sea where most people wield custom-made repeating flintlock guns, Van Augur possessed a rare sniper rifle. The firearm itself was already far superior to what ordinary people used, and when combined with his exceptional sniping skills, he was quite a troublesome opponent.
But that was only under the condition that his opponent was not an officer from the New World.
He merely had excellent sniping skills—he lacked the powerful Haki possessed by Yasopp or Beckman.
Against the Logia-type Ace, Van Augur’s sniping was already weak and ineffective—let alone against the Zoan-type King.
King simply closed his eyelids and blocked the incoming bullet.
A mosquito’s bite cannot directly harm a human body, but it can certainly be annoying.
On a midsummer night, when a cool breeze finally blows in, just as drowsiness sets in, the buzzing of a mosquito can wake one up, and most people’s instinctive reaction would be to try and swat it.
To King, the act of Van Augur firing his gun was no different from that of a mosquito.
“Come to think of it, you were the one who attacked my subordinate first. Since that’s the case, it’s only fair if I go after yours.”
“Stop!”
Clang!
King ignored Blackbeard’s words. He was here for revenge, and in some ways, both he and Shayna were quite extreme.
Though Delia was technically a subordinate, at times, King already treated her like a younger sister.
Lending money was an example—ordinary members wouldn’t even dare to think about borrowing money from him. In fact, they would tread carefully just upon seeing him, fearful of provoking his wrath.
Everything related to Blackbeard this time was part of King’s target for revenge.
A sharp blade sliced through the air—Van Augur’s sniper rifle was split in half along its sightline, and a thin wound appeared on his face.
“What a fast blade.”
Van Augur spoke the last sentence of his life. Immediately afterward, he spewed out a massive amount of blood, and his entire body was split in two, falling to both sides.
Blackbeard ultimately reached out in vain—he could only watch as King killed Van Augur.
“You b*stard! He was a comrade I painstakingly selected!”
What Blackbeard cared about wasn’t camaraderie, but Van Augur’s value. He was part of Blackbeard’s plans for the future. In his view, once Van Augur fully grew into his potential, he would undoubtedly become a great asset.
But now, right in front of him, King had snuffed out Van Augur while he was still in the cradle.
“Angry? Don’t be in such a hurry—there are still three more. I won’t let a single one go. And of course, that includes you.”
“You lunatic! Compared to that woman, I suffered far worse injuries!”
Blackbeard had no idea whether the Beasts Pirates could heal Delia’s eyes, but in his mind, the torment he endured was far more severe than Delia, let alone it was double the pain. Even if it wasn’t doubled, just one kick in that spot was something no normal person could withstand.
Even Whitebeard wouldn’t intervene in minor skirmishes among his subordinates—only when death was involved would he step in. But the officers of the Beasts Pirates were even crazier than Whitebeard Pirates.
“So what? You’re not my subordinate. Since you set your sights on her ability, you should have been prepared to pay the price.”
“Run! Get away from him! Black Hole!”
These subordinates were his foundation—Blackbeard couldn’t afford to let them all die at King’s hands. Otherwise, all the effort he had put in during this time would be wasted.
Under normal circumstances, he would have chosen to retreat and settle things with King after his plan succeeded. But he suddenly had a new idea.
The Marine escort unit was already on its way. He didn’t know who the Marines would send to meet him. However, facing the Whitebeard Pirates’ 2nd Division Commander—Fire Fist Ace—and the one who managed to defeat Ace, it’s unlikely they would send anyone incompetent.
Once they arrived, he could cooperate with the Marines to take down King. This would serve as proof of his strength as a Shichibukai, while also making King pay the price.
Darkness spread out from under his feet, countless tendrils of shadow reaching out like ghostly hands from hell, grasping toward King. His ability was modified from Pteranodon, and though it differed from those of a typical Devil Fruit, there were still some similarities.
Blackbeard’s Dark-Dark Fruit had a stronger pull on King than it did on Delia, but it wasn’t as overwhelmingly suppressive as it had been against Ace.
Even while being restrained by gravitational force, King still swung a second slash toward Laffitte.
Clang!
Laffitte’s cane turned black. At this moment, he was holding it with both hands, struggling to block King’s slash.
“Haki? So not all of you are useless trash, huh?”
Laffitte was different from Van Augur and the others—he was strong enough to enter Mariejois alone and demand a Shichibukai seat for Blackbeard, using his hypnotism to open the Gates of Justice.
Yet even so, his hands were left numb from King’s strike. Seizing this moment, Blackbeard once again rushed to King’s side. Despite their significant height difference, he reached out and grabbed King’s wrist—only for an awkward scene to unfold.
The flames were still burning. The wings were still there. King remained in his original stance.
“Oi, oi! What the hell kind of monsters are you guys?!”
Once again, his Devil Fruit ability had failed. Against Ace, his Dark-Dark Fruit had been incredibly effective, yet against the Beasts Pirates, it was rendered useless.
It was obvious that the issue wasn’t with his devil fruit—it was with these Beasts Pirates’ Devil Fruit users.
In reality, Blackbeard’s Dark-Dark Fruit did have an effect on King—it could suppress the power that originally belonged to the Pteranodon, temporarily preventing King from transforming.
However, it had no effect on Aerodactyl or Lunarians’ power. King could still use Pokémon moves, he could still unleash his innate flames, and he certainly wouldn’t lose his wings because of it.
But Blackbeard didn’t know any of this. With Delia’s case fresh in his mind, he now deeply suspected the Beasts Pirates’ Devil Fruit users—even linking this to Queen’s bounty.
[That guy can create Devil Fruit users immune to the Dark-Dark Fruit… I have to eliminate him.]
At this moment, he recalled the past reports about Queen. He even began to think that Queen was the biggest hidden threat to his future plans.
“You’ve got some nerve, getting distracted at a time like this! Imperial Inferno!”
Flames bathed King’s entire body, enveloping both him and Blackbeard. Then, with a powerful flap of his wings, he broke free from Blackbeard’s dark gravity and ascended into the sky, transforming into his Aerodactyl form.
“I’m going to slaughter every one of your subordinates right in front of you. Now, witness the hunting style of the ancient Pteranodon!”
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