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BOOM!!!
Darkness once again shrouded the sea as a storm-like impact swept across the entire ocean.
In the pitch-black darkness, bright thunder and blazing fire became starkly visible, constantly appearing on Lab's broad back, only to be quickly swallowed by the surrounding shadows.
"Zehahaha!"
"It's useless! Completely useless!"
"No matter how many times you attack, the result will always be the same!!!"
Standing amidst the flames and thunder, Blackbeard laughed loudly. The numerous scars covering his body didn't seem to affect his movements at all. With each counterattack, he never missed an opportunity to mockingly taunt Luffy and the others.
"Damn it!" Luffy and his two companions gritted their teeth in frustration.
Blackbeard's arrogant attitude had completely enraged the three Straw Hat Pirates, causing their attacks to become faster and more intense with each passing moment! But even though Luffy's "Gomu Gomu" techniques occasionally managed to hit Blackbeard, creating brief opportunities for them to strike...
The absolute gap in strength meant Blackbeard's retaliatory attacks were even more devastating!
BOOM!!!
Black lightning bloomed in the void.
Blackbeard's fist, wrapped in darkness, suddenly struck Luffy's body. Despite having a layer of Armament Haki as defense, Luffy's face contorted in extreme pain as his body flew backward like a meteor, crashing into Lab's body and creating a massive depression in the surface.
Fortunately, Laboon's body was enormous, so this deformation was merely like someone pressing their fingers against skin, not a real injury.
Even so, the successive defeats had left the three Straw Hats increasingly wounded.
Especially Zoro and Sanji...
Their level wasn't particularly high to begin with, their current basic strength only around that of 500 million-berry bounty pirates! If not for the blessing of Pokémon moves and the use of Pokémon energy, they wouldn't even be qualified to participate in this battle! One careless moment, one direct hit, and they might be eliminated from the fight entirely.
"Red, this isn't working!" Usopp shouted anxiously from the edge of the battlefield.
He had just attempted to shoot some special Pop Green ammunition at Blackbeard, but the powerful ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit rendered all his attacks useless. His projectiles were swallowed by darkness before they even touched Blackbeard's body—a complete waste of ammunition.
Red's expression, however, remained calm and collected.
"Don't worry," he reassured Usopp. "Victory in this battle is already within our grasp. The one who should be anxious now is our opponent!"
As he spoke, his red eyes flashed toward the center of the battlefield.
Just as he had said, when his Surf move had taken advantage of the chaos and smashed through Blackbeard's raft ship, the Straw Hat Pirates had already won this encounter! They had even managed to kill three of the enemy crew members.
Now they wanted more!
By this point, Blackbeard had already discovered too much information about them. If this information spread, it would definitely impact the future actions of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Another issue was the war at Marineford that Blackbeard would cause.
A war at Marineford would almost certainly change the entire power structure of the sea. For the Straw Hat Pirates, who were still in a period of rapid development, a stable sea was preferable.
Moreover, it was Luffy's brother Ace who would be the trigger for that war. Both emotionally and rationally, they all had motivation to eliminate Blackbeard and prevent him from triggering the subsequent chain of events.
Only...
With Luffy's current strength, defeating Blackbeard was still far-fetched.
After all, at this point in the original timeline, Zoro hadn't even mastered the metal-cutting realm of swordsmanship, and Sanji was still far from awakening his Diable Jambe technique.
The fact that they had survived several of Blackbeard's attacks could already be considered a success in itself.
But success didn't mean they could solve their current problem.
"Are we really going to throw Blackbeard into the sea and let him go his own way!?"
For a moment, Red also found himself in a dilemma.
Just then...
"Red!"
A shout suddenly rang out behind him.
He immediately turned around and saw the Going Merry, which had been keeping its distance from the center of the battlefield during the recent brawl, quickly approaching from behind Laboon's body.
On the deck, Nami and the others were fully armed and looked full of fighting spirit.
At the same time, Red noticed two figures lying motionless on the Going Merry's deck.
Surprisingly, they were Doc Q and Van Augur—the only remaining members of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Obviously, while Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were fighting Blackbeard, Nami and the others had successfully subdued the last members of the Blackbeard Pirates and taken them prisoner aboard the Merry.
"Red, we're here to help you!"
When the Merry approached Laboon, Nami immediately halted the ship, not allowing the small vessel to get any closer to the battlefield.
The Going Merry's hull was still too fragile to participate in this battle.
From the deck, Nami and Smoker suddenly leapt upward, landing on Lab's body from the Merry.
Vivi's eyes glowed with a pink-purple light, and in the blink of an eye, her figure flashed as she used Teleport to appear at Nami's side.
"Treinta Fleur: Bridge!"
Robin crossed her arms and successfully used her Devil Fruit ability to create a bridge of arms.
Although she hadn't fully acknowledged her identity as a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, and didn't know if she actually regarded herself as one...
Robin still actively helped Chopper cross over to Laboon's back.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to say to the Going Merry in her gentle, mature tone:
"I'll leave everything on the ship to you, Little Merry!"
"Don't worry, everyone!"
Little Merry, who had transformed into a ship spirit, appeared on the deck and grinned at everyone.
In an instant, all members of the Straw Hat crew had gathered, except for the ship spirit Little Merry.
"Nami, Vivi, Robin, Chopper..."
Usopp called out their names one by one, but when it came to Smoker, his expression suddenly turned strange.
"What are you looking at, pirate!?" As if unwilling to admit he was there to help, Smoker shouted angrily and explained feebly:
"Such powerful pirates appearing in Paradise... As a Marine, I have an obligation to investigate their purpose!"
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the battlefield.
By now, all three—Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji—had suffered varying degrees of injuries.
Especially Luffy...
Worried that Zoro and Sanji might be defeated directly by Blackbeard and lose their ability to fight, he had been acting as a human shield throughout the battle, deliberately taking Blackbeard's attacks.
Seeing that any one of the three Straw Hats could easily defeat him if confronted alone, Smoker suddenly fell silent, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.
What he had said wasn't wrong.
The sudden appearance of pirates of this caliber in Paradise was definitely a dangerous signal for the Marines who hoped for peace and stability on the seas.
"Thank you, Captain Smoker!"
Red chuckled, ignoring Smoker's arrogant remarks.
The next second, before Smoker could make any more excuses, an uncharacteristically serious look flashed across Red's eyes—an expression unfamiliar to everyone in the Straw Hat crew.
Red suddenly said:
"This enemy is very unusual, and may even become one of our greatest enemies in the future!"
"If possible, we should keep him in Paradise as much as we can and not let him get a chance to regain his strength!"
"Also... the opponent is too powerful, so everyone must be careful during this battle!"
"Except for Captain Smoker, the rest of you should stay at the edge of the battlefield and wait for my commands!"
"And now..."
His red eyes suddenly turned to Smoker as he asked solemnly:
"Captain Smoker, although the timing isn't exactly right, I need to know..."
"Have you decided what you're fighting for?!"