However, most pirates who obtained rare abilities chose to sign Contracts with the Eternal Divine Kingdom!
Although the contract terms contained some oppression and exploitation—essentially selling their freedom for power—rather than living an ordinary life forever or dying here today, it was better to take a gamble!
As long as they signed the contract, they immediately gained abilities they could never have imagined in their entire lives!
What's ten years of servitude? They thought.
After ten years, I'll be a ruler of the seas!
The battlefield instantly turned into a Devil Fruit Exhibition.
Leopard-Men transformed into golden lightning, weaving through hails of bullets.
Mantis-Blade Masters sliced through steel shields like paper.
Even more chilling were the dozens of pirates who obtained the Candle-Candle Fruit ability.
"Candle Wall!"
They activated their powers simultaneously, instantly erecting milky-white defensive fortifications that blocked Marine gunfire.
"Candle Champion Cup!"
A newcomer who had just gained the ability excitedly shouted as wax solidified into a giant fist in the air, smashing toward the Marine formation.
But what terrified the Marines most was the Paramecia Corps.
A pirate who obtained the Float-Float Fruit laughed heartily as he rose into the air.
He casually flipped over a warship that Ron had previously sliced in half, controlling the massive wreckage to crash down on Marines fleeing in the sea.
Another burly man who had acquired the Spring-Spring Fruit bounced back and forth across the battlefield at blinding speeds, each kick capable of shattering iron armor.
Just then, Ron's calm warning voice echoed across the battlefield through the amplification system.
"Attention, valued customers. A friendly warning:"
"All Marine Special Forces members using black energy are 'Dark-Dark Fruit' users. Physical contact will temporarily nullify your abilities. Stay alert if you don't want to become sitting ducks."
His voice instantly sobered up the frenzied pirates.
A Leopard-Man who had been wreaking havoc suddenly screeched to a halt, narrowly avoiding a pounce from a black-clad officer.
He stared fearfully at the dark vortex swirling around the officer's palm, his mane bristling.
"Damn it! Almost got caught off guard! If he touched me, I'd have reverted to human form instantly!"
"Not too late—you can cover yourself with Armament Haki!"
Marco demonstrated in mid-air, his phoenix claws wrapped in black Armament Haki.
"Like this! Apply Haki to the areas about to be attacked. Haki transcends Devil Fruit logic!"
Many understood immediately after a glance and quickly learned the countermeasure.
"Haki? What about those without Haki?"
"Wait to die."
"What the fuck!"
The pirates' tactics immediately became more cunning.
Warriors who had obtained Zoan abilities stopped charging recklessly, instead using Armament Haki to cover their transformed parts while employing guerrilla tactics.
Paramecia users tacitly formed medium-to-long-range fire networks, specifically focusing fire on those black-handed officers trying to approach.
"See that?"
Eustass Kid manipulated hundreds of swords with magnetism, slaughtering Marines from a safe distance.
"That Ron guy might be a shady merchant, but his warning was indeed timely."
Whitebeard punched Akainu flying and took a moment to give Ron a thumbs-up.
"Gurararara! Kid, that was well played! Why didn't you tell this old man earlier!"
Ron, watching from above, raised an eyebrow.
'I told you to leave, old man. Who knew you'd suddenly charge in?'
"Gurarararara! Boys, CHARGE! Kill all these damn Marines!"
The battlefield instantly turned into a boiling furnace as tens of thousands of pirates surged toward the Marine ranks like a raging tide.
This was no ordinary plunder—this was a life-or-death battle of revenge!
Every pirate's eyes burned with bloodthirsty fury. Since the Marines dared to besiege them, they must pay the price in blood!
"Kill all these hypocritical dogs!"
"Fighting alongside the Whitebeard Pirates? So damn cool!"
"Let the Marines experience the terror of the New World!"
The pirates who had obtained Devil Fruit abilities charged at the forefront.
Each was a Great Pirate with a bounty over a hundred million, already a battle-hardened veteran.
Now enhanced with the Devil Fruit abilities granted by Ron, it was like adding wings to a tiger!
"Hahaha! This power is amazing!"
A pirate who had just obtained the Ancient Zoan: Saber-Toothed Tiger form laughed, his claws easily tearing through the defenses of three Marine Vice Admirals.
"I can take on ten now!"
The Paramecia users displayed even more terrifying destructive power.
A pirate who obtained the Bomb-Bomb Fruit pressed his hands to the ground, causing the entire Marine position to erupt in chain explosions.
The new owner of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit controlled countless shadow soldiers, overwhelming the Marine defenses like a tidal wave.
Ron stood at a high point watching coldly, the White Moon blade reflecting the battlefield's bloody hues.
"We should thank the Marines..." he murmured to himself. "If they hadn't pressured us so hard, my 'Devil Fruit Mass Production Plan' wouldn't have been field-tested ahead of schedule."
Indeed, these Great Pirates capable of spending one billion Berries to purchase Devil Fruits were already the elite among pirates.
Now, having gained these abilities, their strength had increased exponentially!
The vanguard force they formed was like a sharp dagger, brutally stabbing into the heart of the Navy!
"Maintain formation!" Marco commanded from the air.
Although these guys hardly followed orders, saying a few words still had some use in guiding the chaos.
"Long-range ability users, focus fire on the Dark Dark fruit units!"
Vista swung his twin swords, directing the Rose Swordsmen to flank the enemy.
Akainu watched with a grim expression as his forces retreated step by step.
His proud elite Vice Admirals were now being overwhelmed one by one by the ability-wielding pirates, barely able to catch their breath.
"Damn it..."
Akainu's magma fists clenched with a grinding sound.
"That bastard Ron... actually throwing around Devil Fruits like they're cabbages!"
'HAA... HAA...'
Akainu's breathing grew heavier, each heartbeat accompanied by a tearing pain.
He glanced down at his chest, where cracks spread like a spiderweb.
The incompatibility with the artificial Dark-Dark Fruit gene, combined with the severe injuries inflicted by Whitebeard and the stress of the Chimera form, was causing his body to collapse from the inside.
"I must... deal with Newgate quickly..."
Akainu's thoughts were already blurring, but his obsession with Absolute Justice still sustained him.
His peripheral vision swept over the four Seraphim charging across the battlefield, calculating his final move—even if it meant mutual destruction, he would drag this monster down to hell with him!
"Gurararara—!"
Whitebeard's deafening laughter suddenly exploded beside his ears, startling Akainu and making him tremble.
Only then did he realize he had lost focus in a life-or-death battle!
"Daring to be distracted while fighting ME?"
Whitebeard's Murakumogiri was wrapped in black-red Conqueror's Haki lightning, with supreme Armament Haki dyeing the blade purple-black.
"YOUR LIFE—I'LL TAKE IT!"
That slash came too fast, too ruthless!
Before the blade even arrived, the terrifying pressure of the Haki accelerated the disintegration of Akainu's unstable magma body.
At the critical moment, Akainu displayed astonishing combat instinct.
He abruptly twisted sideways, his magma-ized left arm actively rising to meet the blade to save his head!
SCHLICK—!
With a muffled sound of flesh being severed, Akainu's entire left arm was cleanly cut off at the shoulder.
SPLAT!
The severed arm was instantly pulverized into a mist of blood by the residual Haki shockwave, scattering like rain along with scalding magma.
"URGH—!"
Akainu staggered backward, his right hand tightly clamping his spurting shoulder wound, his face twisted in agony.