Ace held that massive "sun" aloft with one hand and glared at Blackbeard.
At the same time, the black smoke pouring off Blackbeard had already covered the sky over the other half of the island.
"Zehahahaha! Light and darkness—only one can win! Ace, lose to me!"
Shrouded in layered darkness, Blackbeard charged forth like a king walking out from the depths of the abyss.
"I chose to support Whitebeard as my king! Even if I die today, that will never change!"
Ace rushed forward to meet him head-on.
Boom!!!
The entire island shook violently in that instant. The gigantic boulders that had somehow survived until now were all pulverized to dust in a heartbeat, vanishing without a trace.
"This is going to be a battle that changes the era."
On a tall rock by the shore, a few people watched the battle raging at the island's center. The man wearing a scope over one eye, draped in a black cloak and carrying a long rifle, spoke quietly.
Van Augur, sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates.
"Ace is way too strong… I thought captain's Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) could restrain other Devil Fruit abilities, letting him win easily. I didn't expect…"
The man in a black top hat, dressed up like a comedy performer, muttered in surprise.
Laffitte, the Blackbeard Pirates' navigator.
"Such terrifying power… he could probably destroy this whole island without breaking a sweat. But even if he's that strong, he'll still lose. Our captain is the strongest! The power of the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) is invincible!"
The purple-haired, masked Burgess shouted excitedly.
"Strong, weak, whatever… hurry and get me something to eat. I'm starving. Aaaah, I don't even have the strength to eat anymore…"
Doc Q, slumped on his equally half-dead looking thin horse, didn't seem to care about their conversation at all.
But the next moment, all of them were cheering.
At the island's center, everything was engulfed in darkness. The flames that had brought light had been completely snuffed out—gone without a trace.
"What an honor… to witness captain's rise with my own eyes! He'll become the sixth Emperor of the New World!"
Laffitte sighed from the bottom of his heart.
Defeating Ace—whose strength was second only to Marco—meant their captain had already taken a vital step forward. He only needed a little more time and polish to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Emperors.
"The sixth Emperor? Teach-boss won't stop there. He's going to stand above all the Emperors and become the one and only king of this sea!"
Van Augur shook his head in disagreement.
As one of Blackbeard's closest lieutenants, he knew better than anyone what kind of ambition Blackbeard carried.
Back when Teach had recruited him, it had been with that very dream that he'd drawn him in.
"Heeheehee… right now, Creed is the biggest force. It's not gonna be easy to steal his spotlight."
Burgess shook his head, sounding a bit unsure.
To make the World Government so wary that they threw this much strength into the New World—Creed was without question the foremost among the so-called "Five Emperors" right now.
And he was not even twenty yet. Just thinking about how strong he might become in the future was enough to make people feel despair, let alone talk about surpassing him.
"Teach-boss already said it: as long as we have the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit), not only can he dominate the New World, but all of us can grow even stronger. One day, we'll be able to stand alongside Creed—or even surpass him!"
Laffitte, clearly a hardcore Teach fan, drew that grand picture with absolute confidence.
"Fuh!"
The next moment, Blackbeard flew toward them, carrying the unconscious Ace by the collar.
"Huh? Teach-boss, why not just kill him? His Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) is really strong! I've got some apples ready here we can use…"
The usually half-dead Doc Q suddenly came to life. Sitting upright on his sickly horse, he pulled out a basket of bright red apples.
"I don't need fruit to recycle a Devil Fruit. That success rate is way too shaky…"
Blackbeard sounded thoroughly displeased.
Laffitte and the others were all stunned when they heard that. This method was a huge secret Blackbeard himself had told them about—yet he clearly had nothing but contempt for it.
"To me, Ace is very important. He's going to be a huge stepping stone for me… If we're going to go up against Creed and Kaido in the future, we'll need more comrades—and a lot more power."
Blackbeard narrowed his eyes, an obvious excitement flashing in them.
"Zehahahaha! The heavens are really smiling on me… they actually sent Ace right into my hands!"
…Please send flowers (support)…
…
Wano Country, in the headquarters of the Kaido Pirates, the atmosphere was tense to the extreme. Many officers were shouting orders at their subordinates, urging them to hurry up with the preparations needed for setting sail to war.
Kaido stood on a high platform with his three Disasters, looking down at the busy masses below.
"Isn't this a little too risky, Governor?"
King asked worriedly.
The Navy was about to engage Creed's alliance in an all-out war, and their own Governor wanted to join the fray as well. It was only natural for this to make people uneasy.
Either side's current strength outstripped their own crew by a wide margin. One mistake in how they moved, and the very foundation of the Kaido Pirates could be shaken.
In this situation, the safest play was to sit back and watch the tigers fight, then decide when—or whether—to act.
"I know what I'm doing. There's danger here, but there's opportunity too."
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in Kaido's eyes.
"I'll be the vanguard. If something goes wrong, you don't need to move. Don't worry about me…"
Hearing their Governor say that, King and the others had nothing more to say.
…
At the New Marine Headquarters, Kong and Aegis were finalizing their decisions.
The target of the first battle had already been completely set: Creed.
After this meeting, the war machine's wheels would start turning at full force, its aim set straight at Totto Land.
But then, a sudden piece of news left them both stunned.
"Are you certain the intel is accurate?"
Kong turned to look at Sengoku.
The report had come from Sengoku's subordinates.
"Doberman has never slipped up on a mission. It shouldn't be fake."
Sengoku nodded.
"The son of Pirate King Roger, huh? That's quite the gift. Giving him a spot among the Seven Warlords of the Sea is no problem—there are plenty of vacancies right now, anyway."
"Maybe we can use this Ace to lure Whitebeard and the others out…"
Aegis tapped his finger on the conference table and quickly came to a decision.
"Then what about our operational plan?"
Sengoku asked.
"No change. The Revolutionary Army clearly has ties to them; we'll just wipe them all out together."
A sharp killing intent flashed in Aegis' eyes.
Creed had to die as soon as possible.
(End of Chapter)
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