Chapter 271: The Settling of Scores (2)
"That's far enough, 'Flame Emperor' Ace—!!"
That icy voice carried naked bloodlust as it pierced straight toward Ace's back.
"Is that so?"
Ace didn't even turn around.
Almost at the exact same moment—
The distant sea suddenly exploded!
A figure raced across the ocean at terrifying speed, carving a trench hundreds of meters long and several meters deep directly through the water itself!
Towering waves violently surged apart as the figure shot toward the center of the ruined city like a cannon shell.
CLANG—!!
A metallic explosion erupted less than half a meter behind Ace!
Vista of the Flower Swords appeared like a phantom, his twin blades crossed into a sharp X-shape as he forcibly intercepted Shiryu of the Rain's fatal thrust!
CRACK!
The ground beneath Vista instantly shattered apart.
He stepped forward fiercely, the stone under his feet exploding as the muscles in his arms bulged like steel cables.
"You sneaky rat…"
"You think you're worthy of attacking our captain?!"
"GET LOST—!!"
BOOM—!!
Vista unleashed tremendous force through both arms.
Powerful sword pressure exploded from the crossed blades and slammed directly into Raiu!
A flicker of surprise flashed across Shiryu's eyes as he was blasted backward by the overwhelming force, his body flying through the air in a rough arc.
"A swordsman, huh…"
Shiryu twisted violently in midair and barely regained his balance.
Instead of frustration, however, his face twisted into near-mad excitement.
He licked his lips, the bloodlust in his eyes intensifying.
"Now this is interesting!!"
"Looks like this fight won't be boring after all!"
But before his feet could even touch the ground—
FWOOOSH—!!
A figure wrapped in blue flames descended from the sky like a falling meteor!
Marco's blond hair whipped wildly in the wind as the blue flames of the Phoenix compressed around his claw to the absolute limit, radiating terrifying destructive power.
"Phoenix Brand!!"
Before the attack even landed, the overwhelming pressure alone caused the surrounding air to scream.
At the last second, Shiryu's eyes sharpened.
Raiu was instantly coated in pitch-black Armament Haki as he swung upward with a vicious slash!
BOOOOM—!!!
Phoenix claw and famed blade collided violently in midair.
For a brief instant—
Time itself seemed to freeze.
"Guh—!"
An overwhelming force surged through Shiryu's sword.
The skin between his fingers instantly split apart as blood sprayed outward!
His body shot downward like a meteor.
BOOOOOOM—!!!!
The ground shook violently.
A gigantic crater covered in spiderweb-like cracks instantly formed as towering clouds of dust exploded into the sky.
At nearly the same moment, more splashes erupted along the shoreline.
The remaining Whitebeard Pirates commanders and core fighters had successfully landed.
One after another, they positioned themselves behind Ace and Marco like an impenetrable wall, confronting the Blackbeard Pirates across the ruined battlefield.
Killing intent spread through the air like a freezing tide.
Their planned ambush had been completely dismantled in an instant.
Blackbeard's expression darkened.
"Zeh… ha… ha…"
A twisted laugh escaped his throat.
"Ace… looks like you've learned a few dirty tricks yourself lately."
"Then let me see…"
"Whether your strength has improved too!!"
Before his words even finished—
BOOM—!!
A vast and terrifying pressure exploded from Blackbeard's body like an ancient beast finally awakening.
Violent winds erupted instantly as sand and debris were blown skyward.
Invisible force distorted everything around him.
The very atmosphere seemed to darken.
This was—
The full release of Conqueror's Haki!
BOOM—!!
Another overwhelming force erupted in response.
Ace's own Conqueror's Haki burst skyward like a volcano suppressed for ages finally exploding.
It carried blazing heat—
The burning will to destroy all darkness.
Purple-black pressure and crimson-red flames violently collided in midair like two invisible gods clashing against one another.
RRRRRUMBLE—!!!
The red and purple energies smashed together repeatedly, releasing countless black-red lightning bolts that twisted across the heavens like the end of the world itself.
Shockwaves spread outward in visible concentric circles, tearing across the ruins in every direction.
The commanders stared wide-eyed at the devastated battlefield being twisted apart by the clash of supreme wills.
"This level of Conqueror's Haki…?!"
"That traitor Teach actually awakened it?!"
"What kind of sick joke is this?!"
"How does trash like him possess the qualities of a king?!"
Shock and disbelief erupted among the Whitebeard commanders.
Conqueror's Haki—
A power possessed by only one in several million people.
Proof of a king.
Yet Blackbeard Teach—
A man who betrayed his comrades and stole power through the vilest methods imaginable—
Actually possessed it too?
It felt like a complete insult to the concept of kingship itself.
Blackbeard took in their reactions with deep satisfaction.
He clearly enjoyed shattering people's understanding of reality.
"Zehahaha!! Since you're all so eager to die…"
"THEN COME AT ME—!!"
The instant he roared those words—
His purple-black Conqueror's Haki surged even further!
BOOM!
The deadlock between his Haki and Ace's instantly shattered.
Blackbeard's overwhelming pressure surged forward like a massive black tide, forcibly suppressing and eroding Ace's blazing crimson aura.
The fiery red field was steadily pushed backward.
Even the flames themselves crackled violently under the pressure.
Ace's pupils shrank sharply.
His Haki… can still increase?!
"Hmph!"
At that critical moment—
Vista suddenly moved.
The ground beneath him exploded apart as his body transformed into a silver flash too fast for the eye to follow.
SHING—!
In the next instant, Vista appeared directly before Blackbeard.
Both swords had already left their sheaths.
Wrapped in highly condensed Armament Haki, the twin slashes crossed toward Blackbeard's neck and waist simultaneously.
The speed was terrifying.
The angles flawless.
It was as if the attacks themselves intended to cut apart space.
"Pathetic."
Blackbeard merely sneered.
Facing slashes powerful enough to cleave warships apart—
He didn't dodge.
Didn't retreat.
Instead, he slowly raised his right hand wrapped in darkness.
BWOOOM—
A deep rotating vortex of darkness suddenly appeared within his palm.
The terrifying pull from its center made even one's soul tremble.
"Black Hole!"
The moment Vista's slashes touched the vortex—
They vanished completely.
Swallowed silently into the darkness without leaving even a ripple behind.
Not only that—
Blackbeard thrust his hand forward.
The darkness spread like living tendrils and wrapped tightly around Vista's twin swords.
Vista's eyes widened instantly.
"What?!"
He violently pulled backward—
But the swords wouldn't move at all.
It was as though they had been welded directly into Blackbeard's hand.
"Zehahaha!! Vista!!"
"You're still just as careless as ever!!"
Blackbeard's grin became even crueler.
While Vista was restrained—
Blackbeard's free left fist had already clenched tightly.
Pitch-black Armament Haki rapidly coated his arm.
The surrounding air visibly distorted under the condensed gravity of darkness itself.
Without hesitation—
He unleashed a devastating punch directly toward Vista's unguarded chest.
A fatal sense of danger pierced through Vista's spine instantly.
"Guh—!!"
BOOOOOOM—!!!!!
Unable to dodge—
Blackbeard's darkness-coated fist slammed directly into Vista's chest.
Agonizing pain erupted throughout his body as blood exploded from his mouth.
Vista was launched away like a broken cannonball.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BOOOOM—!!!
He crashed through three ruined walls before finally smashing deep into a mountain of rubble.
Dust exploded into the sky.
For a moment—
It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
"VISTA!!"
Marco shouted in alarm.
"Divine Fire: Shiranui!!"
Almost simultaneously—
Ace roared in fury.
He swung both arms repeatedly, launching several compressed flaming spears burning with explosive heat from multiple directions toward Blackbeard.
The air itself warped and evaporated wherever the flames passed.
Yet—
Blackbeard merely glanced at them coldly.
He couldn't even be bothered to dodge.
He simply raised the same left hand that had blasted Vista away.
BWOOOM—!
Vast darkness erupted from his body like a black tide.
In an instant, a domain of darkness swallowed the entire area around him.
The blazing spears entered the darkness—
And their light rapidly faded.
Shrank.
Then vanished completely.
Consumed utterly by the abyss.
The darkness remained.
Ancient.
Bottomless.
Devouring all light and heat.
Standing at the center of that abyss, Blackbeard looked like a demon god ruling over darkness itself as he stared down Ace and the enraged Whitebeard commanders behind him.
"This level of power…?!"
Marco stared at the darkness swallowing everything, his pupils trembling slightly.
"Your Devil Fruit…"
"Has it already awakened?!"
Even Marco himself felt a chilling sense of disbelief after saying it aloud.
This completely violated common knowledge about Devil Fruits.
The stronger the Devil Fruit—
The harder awakening became.
It required near-perfect harmony between user and ability, along with countless life-and-death battles and years of growth.
Even Marco himself had yet to reach the awakening stage of his Mythical Zoan, the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix.
Yet Blackbeard—
From the moment he stole Thatch's Dark-Dark Fruit until now—
Only a few months had passed.
And in that absurdly short time—
He had not only mastered its base abilities—
But had already stepped into the realm of awakening.
Reality itself was crushing the Whitebeard Pirates' understanding.
"Hehehe… otherwise…"
A bloodstained voice echoed from the shadows nearby.
Shiryu slowly rose while supporting himself with Raiu.
His body was covered in blood and his clothes nearly destroyed, clearly injured by Marco's Phoenix Brand.
Yet his eyes burned with even greater madness.
"How else…"
"Would we dare set this trap…"
"For the so-called 'true heirs' of Whitebeard?"
The instant he finished speaking—
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Figures suddenly appeared throughout the ruins.
Behind broken walls.
Atop burning debris.
Within the shadows.
Jesus Burgess cracked his fists loudly.
Laffitte stood elegantly atop a ruin while tapping his cane lightly.
Van Augur's sniper scope gleamed coldly through the smoke.
The Blackbeard Pirates' commanders had silently occupied every strategic position around the battlefield.
Completely surrounding Ace, Marco, and the Whitebeard commanders.
The sunlight itself had vanished behind smoke and darkness.
The air became suffocatingly heavy.
Cold killing intent wrapped around them from every direction like a spider web.
Marco's heart sank completely.
Looking around slowly, he spoke hoarsely.
"So this really was…"
"A carefully prepared death trap for us."
Standing at the center of endless darkness, Blackbeard slowly spread his arms wide as though embracing his personal hunting ground.
His savage laughter echoed across the ruins.
"ZEHAHAHAHA…!!"
"WELCOME…"
"TO YOUR GRAVEYARD!!"
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