Inside the room, Doflamingo sat on the sofa, deep in thought.
Diarmuid was currently chatting with Hina, who hadn't come out earlier. On the other side, Vergo was casually sitting by the coffee table, eating a doughnut. As for Teach, he had finally been released.
The Teach of this moment had none of the stubbornness he displayed when first meeting Diarmuid.
He looked utterly demoralized.
A look of despair hung permanently on his face, as if his dreams, ambitions, and everything else had been shattered, and he had suddenly lost his purpose in life, unsure what to do next.
"So you missed an epic scene, the appearance of the only dual-fruit user in history, tsk tsk," Diarmuid said. With one hand, he was still emitting the power of darkness.
The overflowing dark aura continuously swallowed and then perfectly spit out the teacup in his hand.
Hina, meanwhile, spoke nonchalantly. "There was nothing to see. But speaking of which, the Dark-Dark Fruit is a Logia ability. Can it truly not transform into an element?"
In reality, Hina hadn't dared to come out and watch. She knew she couldn't stop Diarmuid from doing something so insane.
But she feared that Diarmuid might die because of it.
She was afraid that if she came out, she would see Diarmuid's body torn to pieces, blown to smithereens.
Therefore, at that moment, while Doflamingo and the others might have been anticipating the birth of a legend, Hina alone was hiding inside the room like a nervous little quail, silently praying for Diarmuid.
Of course, at this moment, Hina wouldn't show any of that anxiety. She just pretended to be disdainful.
Diarmuid smiled, seemingly understanding Hina's pretense. Even knowing she was changing the subject, he didn't stop her. Instead, he looked at Vergo. "Vergo..."
Vergo, who was eating a doughnut, glanced at Diarmuid and asked, "You're really not going to take revenge on me?"
"Do I look like such a petty person?" Diarmuid glared at Vergo.
After a moment's consideration, Vergo nodded. "Yes, you do. From what I've seen, anyone who offends you, Admiral, rarely comes to a good end."
"Well, you just offended me, then!" Diarmuid rolled his eyes.
The moment Diarmuid said that, Vergo paused, then swallowed the doughnut whole. Putting force into his legs, the figure sitting on the sofa suddenly vanished.
It was Soru, one of the Rokushiki techniques.
In the next instant, Vergo appeared right in front of Diarmuid.
"Shigan!" Vergo's eyes flashed with intensity.
The moment the words fell, his finger stabbed toward Diarmuid's chest.
Diarmuid, however, remained motionless, seemingly waiting for it.
With a soft poof sound, Vergo's finger sank directly into Diarmuid's chest.
When he pulled his finger out, there was a bloody, gaping hole left behind.
After delivering the strike, Vergo quickly returned to the sofa and sat down, stating earnestly, "I was just following orders."
Doflamingo's eye twitched slightly. I feel like you had a hint of revenge in that, though.
"I didn't use Armament Haki, but I also didn't display the phenomenon of elemental transformation. This proves that the Dark-Dark Fruit truly cannot become elemental," Diarmuid observed, examining his wound.
Hina looked at Diarmuid with an expression that said Are you crazy? and said, "Was it necessary to prove it can't be elemental?"
"No, it wasn't just to prove it couldn't be elemental. It was to show you that while the Dark-Dark Fruit cannot turn elemental, it can bring about an effect that is even stronger than elemental transformation..." Diarmuid grinned.
Doflamingo and the others didn't quite understand what Diarmuid meant.
Only Teach, sitting alone in the corner, looked up at Diarmuid with an unreadable expression.
"The ability called the most evil Devil Fruit in history, the true strength of the Dark-Dark Fruit, also lies in... its ability to absorb damage!" Diarmuid said softly.
As the words were spoken, a dark aura began to emanate from his body. The dark power quickly shrouded the wound.
Then, before everyone's astonished eyes, Diarmuid's injury completely healed at a visible speed.
This was one of the manifestations of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power: while unable to become elemental, it possessed a much more powerful effect—damage absorption!
"This... This is too... too incredible! In other words, if a regular Logia is grabbed by Haki, they get injured, but the Dark-Dark Fruit can absorb the damage no matter what?" Hina asked in surprise.
"There's a much more severe drawback, though..." Teach suddenly interjected.
Whether it was because he was resigned to his fate or because he had just walked through the gates of hell, the guy seemed to be letting go of his fear.
"What do you mean?" Doflamingo asked.
"The Dark-Dark Fruit can indeed absorb damage. This is its advantage over elemental transformation and its incredible aspect. But the problem is, this damage absorption must be accompanied by a more intense pain. Usually, it's double the pain for absorbing the damage. And the heavier the injury, the faster you try to heal, the more severe the pain you have to endure. Think about it: when fighting others, you take a blow and experience double the pain. Even if there's no physical wound, the accumulation of that mental pressure... is very dangerous for anyone," Teach explained listlessly.
Doflamingo tried to imagine that state and felt it was indeed extremely risky.
On the surface, it sounded like the double pain was a small trade-off for the damage absorption.
But in reality, this increase in pain was multiplicative, not additive.
In the original story, shortly after Teach ate the Dark-Dark Fruit and fought Ace, he had not yet adapted to that pain. He would wail whenever he took a hit, which goes to show how intense the pain must be!
"That's a bit nasty," Vergo agreed, nodding.
Only Hina looked strangely at Diarmuid and said, "Isn't that the perfect ability for you?"
Doflamingo looked at Diarmuid, puzzled. "What does she mean by that?"
"Perhaps to most people, this is an extremely dangerous power, but to me, it's virtually no pressure. Because as long as I will it, I can't feel pain..." Diarmuid said calmly, a smile playing on his lips.
Doflamingo: "???"
Teach also looked surprised. "No wonder your face was expressionless just now. I thought you were just enduring the pain."
"What kind of ability is that?" Vergo asked as well.
"It's Willpower," Diarmuid said softly. "The power of Willpower. I call it Iron Will."
"To be able to temper your Willpower to the point of pain immunity? You truly are something else," Teach said, looking at Diarmuid.
Diarmuid looked strangely at Teach. Was it just his imagination, or was this bastard trying to flatter him?
"Flattery won't do you any good, Teach. Why do you think I've kept you alive until now?" Diarmuid squinted at Teach.
"I must still have some value to you? For example, using me against the Whitebeard Pirates?" Teach pondered for a moment and then asked.
"Heh heh. Do I need you to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates? Do you think I can't handle Newgate?" Diarmuid mocked him without hesitation.
Those words sounded incredibly arrogant, as if he didn't view the World's Strongest Man with any respect.
Yet, hearing them, Teach felt it was only natural. Diarmuid had the capital to speak that way.
"Then, what is my value to you?" Teach asked.
"First, don't dream of returning to the Whitebeard Pirates or continuing as a pirate. A man like you has only two choices in front of me: the first is Impel Down, and the second is death. Which do you choose?" Diarmuid said in a very flat tone.
In Teach's ears, those words were nothing short of cruel.
If he had even a sliver of hope, he would fight Diarmuid to the death!
But the problem was, Diarmuid had nearly finished him off with just a single look earlier. This overwhelming power prevented Teach from entertaining any thoughts of resistance.
Moreover, he wasn't a man known for his integrity or backbone. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been reduced to crying for his "Daddy" after one final burst of power from Newgate right before his death.
It's better to live shamefully than to die heroically. Teach understood this principle well. After only a brief moment of thought, without any attempt to bargain with Diarmuid, he asked directly, "If I go to Impel Down, what price do I have to pay?"
"It's not really a price, don't make me sound like some kind of demon. I just want to know how the Dark-Dark Fruit steals the abilities of others," Diarmuid asked.
Teach was startled but then offered a wry smile. "You know about that too?"
"What do you mean?" Doflamingo interjected, frowning.
"As far as I know, the Dark-Dark Fruit can steal the Devil Fruit power of others. In other words, even if you ate the String-String Fruit, I could take your String-String Fruit power away and even bestow the ability upon someone else. Of course, you would most likely die," Diarmuid said with an evil smile.
"Ah, this..." Doflamingo felt a shiver of dread just thinking about it.
"The hunting of abilities… that is my absolute secret. Back then, the reason I knew so much about the Dark-Dark Fruit wasn't just because of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia..." Teach sighed.
Diarmuid was not surprised, as the information on the Dark-Dark Fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia was not very detailed, which Teach, as one of the parties involved, would know.
"Through a certain coincidence, I learned the truth about the Dark-Dark Fruit. This fruit has the power to temporarily contain the ability that is released the moment another ability user is killed. Although the time limit is short, if you find an appropriate ordinary fruit, you can, to some extent, guide and control the Devil Fruit power's rebirth. Although it sounds incredible, it's not a particularly complex issue. The reason you're asking is because you haven't used the Dark-Dark Fruit's power to kill an ability user yet. If you had killed one, you would instinctively feel that surge. At that point, you wouldn't need me to explain anything; you would understand," Teach explained somewhat helplessly.
Diarmuid himself had suspected this but kept Teach alive because he worried about potential complications. Killing him would be easy, but if he ran into problems later, he'd have to figure it out himself. It was better to ask Teach first.
It wasn't a bother anyway.
Having received a definitive answer, Diarmuid nodded. "Very good. I'll prepare a comfortable single room for you in Impel Down."
Teach glanced at Diarmuid, giving him a fake smile. "Should I say thank you?"
"Of course, but don't mention it," Diarmuid replied with a wicked grin.