The deep-sea fleet sailors who had jumped into the water watched as Blackbeard Teach rowed farther away. One by one, they climbed back onto the ship.
"Didn't expect we'd get to save a whole vessel," the captain muttered, still shaken. The black-bellied man was dangerous—just the murderous aura he had unleashed earlier had drenched him in cold sweat.
Originally, this ship had been meant to be destroyed by Souta Kiryuu's crew. After all, Souta had already paid them off; all they had to do was wait for their comrades to arrive and rescue them. But since Blackbeard had fled alone, they weren't about to abandon the vessel so easily.
Not long after, an airship descended from above. The captain nervously pointed Souta's crew in the direction Blackbeard had escaped.
"Captain, I see him!"
Violet peered through her scope, quickly spotting Blackbeard frantically rowing in the distance.
"Then chase him," Souta Kiryuu said flatly. He paid no further attention to the underlings of the Sea Transport King. The plan had taken an unexpected turn, yes—but Blackbeard was still within reach. As long as he hadn't escaped their grasp, it wasn't worth worrying over. If he somehow slipped away, however, those lackeys would be forced to pay the price.
The Ark Maxim roared as it accelerated, surging toward Blackbeard.
"Yahaha! Time for a little greeting gift!"
Enel had already pinpointed Blackbeard's position with his Observation Haki. Without a word, he called down a pillar of lightning from the heavens, eager to test just how the powers of the Dark-Dark Fruit would respond to his long-range thunder strikes.
Down below, still rowing, Blackbeard cursed bitterly at the Sea Transport King—what kind of business was this, to betray him like that? Once he rose to power, he swore, he'd make the bastard pay.
But suddenly, a blinding light flared across the sky. A column of lightning came crashing down.
"Damn it!"
"Dark Vortex!"
Eyes wide, Blackbeard flung away his oars and raised his hand. A swirling void of darkness erupted, sucking the lightning into its depths before it could annihilate him.
"What the hell? Extreme weather?!" he shouted. If not for his quick reflexes, that thunder strike would've obliterated his little boat—and him with it. But when he glanced up, there were no thunderclouds overhead at all. That strike hadn't been natural.
Then he saw it—the airborne warship looming above. His pupils shrank to pinpricks.
"Golden Lion Shiki? No… Souta Kiryuu, the Godslayer??"
"That lightning… it's Enel of Souta's crew!"
Realization struck him like ice water. Still, why were they attacking him? He had no quarrel with Souta's crew.
Before he could think further, a barrage of compressed paw-blasts rained down—Kuma's assault. That left no doubt. This was definitely Souta's crew.
"Why the hell are they here?!" Blackbeard cursed. He summoned another vortex, swallowing the bombardment before it shattered his boat entirely. His mind raced. He had studied the Devil Fruit encyclopedias extensively—he knew the Paw-Paw Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Hell, he had even coveted those powers for himself. And now both were right in front of him.
But even with the Dark-Dark Fruit, he wasn't ready. Not yet. He needed Whitebeard's Quake-Quake Fruit before he'd be strong enough to dominate the seas. For now, he could only endure.
On the Ark Maxim, Bonnie lifted her binoculars and cried out, "He actually blocked Kuma's attack!" The Dark-Dark Fruit user really did have some ability.
"He even swallowed my lightning," Enel snarled. "Let's see how much more you can take!"
He pounded the drums on his back. Dozens of lightning dragons and thunder beasts surged forth, all diving toward Blackbeard. After his training on Raijin Island, Enel's drums brimmed with power, giving him far more thunder to command.
"You've got to be kidding me!!" Blackbeard roared as the sky lit up, his boat about to be swallowed whole. Could Whitebeard really have hired Souta's crew to handle him? Impossible. The proud old man would never let outsiders meddle in the Whitebeard Pirates' affairs.
Bonnie screamed encouragement as Kuma launched another colossal paw-shaped shockwave straight at Blackbeard, intent on sinking his tiny vessel once and for all.
"I'll see just how dangerous you really are compared to me!"
"Slave Arrow!"
From the approaching ship, the Pirate Empress herself could no longer resist joining the fray. A massive pink heart shimmered into existence before bursting into a storm of arrows raining down.
"What?! That's Boa Hancock's power?! Why the hell is she on Souta's crew's ship?!" Blackbeard was floored. Crocodile had already been taken. Now Hancock too, subdued in secret. That left only three of the Seven Warlords unaccounted for.
The Love-Love Fruit, the Paw-Paw Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Ope-Ope Fruit—all powers he had once dreamed of seizing—were now in Souta's hands.
His jealousy was maddening. Why weren't these monsters under his banner?
Lightning beasts, paw shockwaves, Slave Arrows—strike after strike rained down. Blackbeard faltered. Cracks spider-webbed across his boat.
"Souta Kiryuu! I surrender! I want to join your crew! Stop this at once!"
Panic seized him. He was still a pirate with no bounty. What right did he have to draw the wrath of Souta's entire crew? There was no choice left—surrender was the only option.
But inwardly, his hatred burned. Damn you, Souta… if I get the chance, I'll make your crew pay. All your Devil Fruits will be mine.
His plea went unanswered. Instead, a massive dragon's breath of fire roared downward.
Seeing the blazing torrent, Blackbeard's scalp went numb. Souta's people weren't fighting fair—they were all ganging up on one nameless upstart!
"I can't hold this!!"
In desperation, he hurled himself from the boat rather than face the dragon's fire head-on. But the instant he left the vessel, he knew he was finished.
BOOM!
The fire consumed the boat in a blazing inferno, erupting into a towering column of water that hurled Blackbeard helplessly through the air. Saltwater touched his skin, and his Devil Fruit powers collapsed. He sank, powerless.
"Jet Squad, deploy! Capture Blackbeard!"
At Capone Bege's command, a squad of black-suited men armed with seastone rifles shot into the air on jet packs, streaking down toward the sea. Each moved with precision, ready to counter any last-ditch retaliation.
"That Dark-Dark power really can nullify my arrows," Hancock muttered. It was the first time anyone had dared to directly swallow her petrifying strikes.
"To withstand the attacks of three of our officers… Blackbeard has earned a shred of pride," Lafitte admitted. Even King Kaido's top All-Star, King the Wildfire, might not have survived this long.
...
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