At this moment, Blackbeard and Burgess were at the peak of arrogance.
How could they not be?
That terrifying cannon blast had been neutralized. In their opinion, nothing the fortress could fire would surpass that.
Blackbeard even shouted a threat across the sea toward Mork.
Originally he wanted to recruit Mork as a subordinate.
Now he had changed his mind.
Inside the fortress—
"Host, the intruders are not dead!"
Mork finally lifted his eyes from the manga.
But even now, there wasn't a trace of worry on his face.
He rose from his high-backed chair, walked slowly to the massive glass window, and looked at Blackbeard in the distance.
"He's still missing half his teeth… looks like the timeline really is two years ago."
After Marineford, with his new power and rising status, Blackbeard would later embed gold teeth and wear gold chains everywhere.
But right now? Mouth still patchy.
"Originally you had a chance to appear on this world's stage," Mork murmured,
"But it seems that opportunity is gone."
He turned around and sat back in the chair.
"Baby Fortress, bombard him with full coverage fire."
"If he can absorb… then let him absorb to his heart's content."
Mork lay back, resumed his manga.
"Understood, Host."
The fortress responded.
Outside, the enormous main cannon slowly retracted—
On the sea—
Seeing the main cannon withdraw, Blackbeard burst into laughter.
"What now?
Are you planning to surrender?"
"Zehahahahaha! Very good, very smart, very sensible."
"Since you're being so obedient, I'll take back what I said earlier. I'll give you another chance."
"Open the gate. Offer up this fortress. I, Blackbeard, will graciously accept you as one of my officers."
To him, anyone capable of building such a fortress was a talent worth recruiting.
But the fortress's reply… was a forest of new barrels.
Hundreds of them.
Blackbeard's smile froze.
Burgess's expression stiffened as well.
They thought the main cannon withdrawing meant surrender.
They didn't expect it to be a change of firepower style.
Before Blackbeard or Burgess could react—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hundreds of missiles erupted from the fortress in a single volley, blanketing the entire area around Blackbeard's ship.
Dense enough to horrify anyone with trypophobia.
Blackbeard's face twisted.
"You bastard!! I give you a chance and you spit in my face!?"
From the fortress speakers came Mork's voice:
"You think you're Shanks? Have the 'Face-Face Fruit' or something?"
Blackbeard blinked—
"Face… Face Fruit?"
No time to think.
"DARK VORTEX!!"
He roared, unleashing more swirling darkness.
"And once I take this steel fortress, I'll make you beg for death!"
Missile after missile slammed into the darkness, exploding with thunderous roars.
Blackbeard forced himself to swallow each blast's energy using his Dark-Dark Fruit.
In the sky—
Buffalo asked cautiously:
"Young Master… does the Red-Haired Emperor have a devil fruit?"
Baby 5 blinked.
"Is there really something called a Face-Face Fruit…?"
Doflamingo ignored them.
Of course such a fruit didn't exist.
And he had no idea what the fortress master meant by that bizarre joke.
What mattered was—
The firepower.
So many missiles —missiles he, the world's largest arms dealer, had never even seen before.
"Just who the hell is inside that fortress…"
Doflamingo muttered, eyes deep with shock.
On the sea—
Missiles kept launching.
The fortress's ammunition reserves drained rapidly, but Mork wasn't concerned.
Plenty in stock.
Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit was powerful indeed—
but the missiles came endlessly,
with no limit in sight.
Soon—
Sweat soaked Blackbeard's forehead.
His breath grew uneven.
He finally felt it.
Fear.
"Damn it!! How much ammunition does this fortress have!?"
"At this rate… I… I won't last!"
Blackbeard began to panic.
Absorbing explosions consumed massive stamina—
but the missiles?
They didn't stop.
This wasn't a fight.
This was a war of attrition he couldn't win.
Blackbeard knew when to fold.
Even while desperately absorbing, he shouted:
"Fortress Master— I was wrong!!"
"I spoke too loudly earlier! I apologize!"
"Please treat me like a fart— let me blow away! Just stop firing and I'll leave instantly!"
Inside the fortress, after the system relayed Blackbeard's begging, Mork only sneered.
"You should've thought of that earlier."
"Since you made your choice—
you'll pay for it."
He knew Blackbeard's nature all too well.
Outside—
Blackbeard's eyes were full of despair.
The missiles still came.
Finally, exhausted, he failed to absorb one blast—
and the explosion swallowed him whole.
That was the start.
One explosion triggered another.
Missiles rained upon him and Burgess, engulfing them completely.
The pirate ship shattered apart.
Blackbeard was drowned in a sea of fire.
In the sky—
Doflamingo, Baby 5, and Buffalo were completely speechless.
After a long silence, Buffalo whispered,
"Whoever's inside that fortress…
their firepower puts our Donquixote Family to shame…"
Doflamingo's face was solemn.
In that short exchange, the amount of ammunition used equaled half a year of their arms deals.
And the missile power exceeded their best weapons several times over.
"I didn't think a force with stronger firepower than ours existed in the New World…"
Doflamingo muttered.
Inside the fortress—
After the system reported the intruders eliminated, Mork casually said:
"Recover the pirate ship's remains."
"Understood, Host."
Far away, in the burning sea—
A head surfaced.
Burgess.
He gasped for breath, dragging a charred, twitching Blackbeard behind him.
Blackbeard's whole body was burned and trembling.
"It hurts— it hurts— it damn hurts!!"