Darkness and the Demon King
A Logia-type Devil Fruit…
The Dark-Dark Fruit!
Known as the most ferocious ability in the history of Devil Fruits.
With the infinite gravitational force of a black hole, it can suck everything into its darkness, compressing and crushing it infinitely.
In addition, it has the power to pull Devil Fruit users from the air and temporarily seal their abilities upon physical contact.
Although it lacks the ability to become intangible like other Logia fruits, it can absorb damage—but with the painful drawback of doubling the user's suffering.
"The Demon King must be a Devil Fruit user…"
Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach had a twisted, hideous expression, his mind tangled with conflicting thoughts.
If he encountered Bai Yu and managed to use the Dark-Dark Fruit to nullify his abilities, he might just have a chance to kill him.
"Teach, you're nothing but a pompous gambler…"
Just as Teach made up his mind, Bai Yu, standing a meter or two in front of him, spoke in a calm tone:
"Since you were willing to gamble that the Dark-Dark Fruit would appear among the Whitebeard Pirates and endured for decades, then you might as well bet on whether you can kill me."
"What?!"
Teach's pupils shrank in shock.
For a moment, cold sweat trickled down his forehead as his hair stood on end.
"Thief hahahaha! Lord Demon King must be joking! How could I ever dare to attack you?" Teach forced a laugh, trying to mask his fear.
"Sorry, my fault…"
Bai Yu sighed and shook his head slightly.
"I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe, at this very moment, you're already betraying me in your heart. What a pity…"
Gulp.
Teach swallowed hard.
He felt like Bai Yu was a demon standing before him, deliberately provoking his greed, tearing open his dark heart, and staring at it with indifferent amusement—like a child playing with a broken toy.
"He's making me fear him!"
"He's breaking my will!"
"How cruel… this devil is!"
After suffering humiliation twice, Teach realized that Bai Yu hadn't even laid a hand on him—yet he still felt an inexplicable fear.
Those eyes… as if they could see right through him. It was suffocating.
Seeing Teach remain silent, Bai Yu spoke casually:
"Your legs numb? Can't stand up?"
"Hahahaha! Lord Demon King, you're joking! I knelt out of sheer admiration for you…" Teach said with an awkward smile.
Bai Yu raised his hand, conjuring an island cloud. He sat down and casually waved his hand.
"See you at Marineford."
Once again, silence.
Jesus Burgess and the rest of Teach's crew looked grim. Why had Bai Yu humiliated them twice but done nothing else?
Watching their captain still kneeling, Laffitte raised an eyebrow:
"Captain… you're not seriously kneeling, are you?"
"Help me up…"
Teach wasn't just numb—his legs had gone weak.
"He wants me to remember this fear… to keep me from resisting… He must want me to do something for him…"
That was the only explanation Teach could think of.
But once Bai Yu left, Blackbeard immediately ordered:
"Quick! Get inside Impel Down! I need to know what he did in there!"
When Bai Yu had emerged from the prison, no one was with him.
So, Teach assumed that Bai Yu had just come for a walk and hadn't taken anyone with him.
Laffitte and the others, who had been contemplating why Teach hadn't acted against Bai Yu, quickly followed.
But just as they stepped inside…
"Poison Dragon!"
Three massive dragons made of venom surged toward them.
Before Blackbeard and his crew could react, the toxic wave swallowed them whole.
Instantly, they fell to their knees.
Teach and his crew: (…)
They had just managed to stand up—only to be knocked down again.
What kind of cursed fate was this?!
Magellan stormed out in fury. Upon seeing the intruders, he frowned.
"The Blackbeard Pirates? What are you doing here? Where is Bai Yu?"
"#%¥…."
Blackbeard, now covered in thick layers of purple poison, twitched violently on the ground, foam forming at his mouth.
"Damn it! This guy is too poisonous!"
The dark mist of the Dark-Dark Fruit barely managed to absorb the poison. But Teach still felt as if he were dying.
"No! I still have a chance!"
Teach suddenly remembered that he hadn't attacked yet. He still had time to recover.
Desperation in his voice, he pleaded:
"The Demon King is gone! Please, give us the antidote!"
"Director Magellan, I am Shichibukai Teach! I came to visit Impel Down! Please…"
"Leave."
Hearing that Bai Yu was gone, Magellan interrupted coldly. Still, he added,
"I'll cure your poison, but…"
"Impel Down has been emptied by the Demon King. There's nothing left to visit."
"WHAT?!"
Teach's eyes widened in disbelief.
Impossible!
There had been no one around Bai Yu when he left.
And they had rushed here barely ten minutes after him!
How did the Demon King do it?!
After confirming the truth multiple times, Teach roared in anger, dark smoke billowing around him, shrouding the sky in shadows.
"HOOAH! DEMON KING, I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
Magellan observed the spreading darkness and frowned.
This man was dangerous.
But he was a Shichibukai, after all.
Since he hadn't actually committed any crimes yet, Magellan chose not to intervene further. He left an antidote and turned away to report to Sengoku.
"HOOAHHHH!"
Blackbeard vented his fury.
Ever since he met Bai Yu, everything had gone wrong.
His frustration erupted in an uncontrollable storm of rage.
When he finally calmed down, Laffitte frowned slightly.
"Captain, what now?"
Jesus Burgess's expression was also dark.
Bai Yu had humiliated them, forced them to kneel twice, killed Doc Q, and now even ruined their grand plan to rise to power.
This grudge could never be forgiven.
Teach's face twisted through dozens of expressions before he suddenly started laughing again.
"Thief hahahaha… People's dreams will never die…"
He turned toward Impel Down one last time, then left with an aching heart.
But power…
A powerful crew could be formed sooner or later.
Right now, strength mattered most.
With enough power, he could gather allies again.
"See you at Marineford…"
Recalling Bai Yu's parting words, Teach felt as though he had been seen through completely.
He shook his head.
No… Impossible.
After years of patience, his mentality was solid.
"Thief hahahaha…"
"If that's the case, Demon King…"
"Then I will put on a show that shakes the world!"
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