"Don't waste your strength. It's useless."
Teach's voice echoed from within the black sphere, sending a chill through both Vice Admirals.
Before they could react, two openings appeared on the surface of the sphere. In the next instant, two arms stretched out.
Gilman and Nickt's expressions changed sharply. Both instinctively tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
"Dark Water!"
Overwhelming dark gravity surged outward. Their bodies were seized instantly, dragged forward against their will. No resistance. No escape.
Teach's hands closed around their necks.
Gilman let out a muffled groan as his human-beast form collapsed, his massive body shrinking back to normal. Nickt felt the same sensation.
Their abilities were gone.
Not destroyed, but sealed.
They could still sense them inside their bodies, yet they were completely unusable, suppressed by an unfamiliar and terrifying force.
The Dark-Dark Fruit.
Under Teach's control, the black sphere slowly unfolded. The solid shell opened into a hemispherical form, revealing Teach standing calmly inside. A moment later, it shrank again, returning to a fist-sized black orb that floated quietly behind his shoulder.
Even without their abilities, neither Vice Admiral showed any intention of surrendering.
One of them kicked out desperately, aiming to force Teach to release his grip.
Teach responded instantly. A sharp kick sent Nickt flying backward. At the same time, Teach raised his leg and blocked Gilman's attack, then followed with a heavy punch to the abdomen.
Gilman was sent flying as well.
Without his Zoan enhancement, his body could no longer withstand Teach's raw power. He barely managed to block with his arms, yet the force still hurled him through the air.
The two struggled to their feet almost simultaneously and charged again.
"Still not giving up?" Teach shook his head lightly.
They leapt into the air, fists coated in Haki, attacking together.
Teach did not move.
The black sphere reacted on its own.
It expanded, but not fully. Instead, it split and reshaped into two dark shields, positioned precisely at the points of impact. Thin strands of black matter connected them, forming a seamless defense.
Their punches landed.
Nothing happened.
Not even a ripple.
Only the violent airflow from the impact whipped Teach's long hair behind him.
Nickt attacked again, this time using his Sonic Punch.
The black sphere instantly transformed, forming a curved shell that completely isolated the attack.
What shocked Nickt even more was what followed.
His Sonic power did not spread.
It was cut off.
Contained.
Even Haki had never been able to fully block his sonic vibrations, yet this strange black substance suppressed them completely.
What in the world was this thing?
They attacked again and again, relentlessly.
Teach remained suspended in the air, unmoving, while the small black sphere danced around him, appearing exactly where it was needed. Every strike was blocked. Every effort was meaningless.
The exhaustion was not just physical.
It was mental.
No matter what they did, there was no effect at all.
Despair slowly crept into their hearts.
Finally, Teach moved.
A single kick sent one flying.
Another kick followed, sending the other crashing away.
"I already told you," Teach said calmly. "It's useless. You should know its defense. Even my full-power claw strike only left a shallow scratch."
Their pupils shrank.
They knew how terrifying Teach's claws were. That sharpness, that destructive power, could tear through almost anything.
And yet, against this black sphere, it barely scratched the surface.
Teach had no reason to lie.
They had seen the proof with their own eyes.
"This is a solid body formed from infinitely compressed darkness," Teach said, smiling faintly. "I call it Dark Jade."
He raised his hand and grasped the floating orb.
In an instant, a sharp black spike burst from its surface and extended outward, rapidly stretching to a hundred meters. With a casual motion, Teach pulled it back. The spike retracted, and the sphere returned to his shoulder.
"It can extend endlessly and change form at will," Teach continued. "More importantly, this is my absolute defense."
He looked down at them.
"Calling it absolute might be an exaggeration, but there are very few people in this world who can break it. And as my ability grows, its hardness will only increase."
"With double pain, physical fighters were once my greatest weakness. So I developed this for certain monsters. As long as you cannot break its defense, the Dark-Dark Fruit has no flaw. I've already resolved it."
"With Teach's current strength, there are very few people in the world who can deal with him," Tsuru said calmly, her gaze shifting toward Garp. "His physical combat ability and monstrous body leave him with almost no natural enemies."
"Garp," she added, "this move was clearly developed for you."
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed loudly, stuffing senbei into his mouth. "Youth really is amazing. I kind of want to try smashing it myself."
"Stop joking," Tsuru said sharply. "You saw that defense. Even Teach's full-power claw only left a scratch. Are you confident you can break it?"
Garp slowly stopped laughing.
The room fell silent.
Sengoku, Kong, and the other high-ranking Marines all turned their attention to him.
Garp was strong, but he rarely fought seriously. No one truly knew his limits.
After a brief pause, Garp spoke.
"At full power, I can break it."
A collective sigh of relief spread through the room.
"But," Garp continued, "he's only had the Dark-Dark Fruit for two years. And it's already reached this level. Just like he said, as the ability grows, that defense will only get stronger. Give him a few more years, and even I might not be able to break it."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
"There's something else," Garp added. "His combat state reminds me of his fight with Rayleigh."
Sengoku's eyes widened. "You mean…?"
"Yes," Garp nodded. "The Dark Jade is controlled by him. In theory, if you're faster than its movement speed, you could still hit him. But with his Observation Haki predicting the future, that's meaningless."
He chuckled softly.
"At this point, he's already on par with the true overlords of the New World. What a terrifying pirate. Makes me feel like retiring."
"Did you see clearly, Marines?" Teach said, hovering in the sky and looking down at Gilman and Nickt. "From the very beginning, you already lost. Numbers mean nothing to me. Your strength isn't enough. You haven't reached that level."
He smiled.
"Now, I'm invincible."
The two Vice Admirals felt only despair.
Their bodies were nearing collapse. Their strength was fading. And the Dark Jade had completely crushed their last hope.
No matter what they tried, they could not break it. It even appeared ahead of their attacks, sealing every possibility.
How could they win?
At that moment, Teach suddenly turned his head and looked into the distance, toward where Redyat was fighting.
"So it's over already," he said with a smile.
Everything was finished.
The other battlefields had already been decided.
This alone showed the terrifying range of Teach's Observation Haki. He and Redyat were kilometers apart, on opposite ends of the island, yet he could clearly perceive the outcome.
Those watching the live broadcast felt a strange anticipation.
They knew what was coming.
Turning back to the two Vice Admirals, Teach chuckled. "Looks like only this side is left. The others are already done."
"What do you mean?" Nickt asked hoarsely. A deep sense of dread filled his chest.
"Do you really want me to spell it out?" Teach said lightly. "The other battlefields have all ended in victory for the Nightfall Pirates."
He paused.
"But congratulations. Out of mercy, and for certain reasons, about three thousand Marines survived. They'll be leaving this island soon."
"This war belongs to the Nightfall Pirates."
They could not believe it.
Yet Teach had no reason to lie.
They exchanged glances, sorrow flashing through their eyes.
Their vitality was nearly gone. Wrinkles crept across their faces as their bodies aged rapidly. Even if they survived, they would not live long.
Better to die here.
To die in battle.
Teach raised his hand as his body ascended higher into the sky, high enough to overlook the entire island.
"Then I'll end this with one move."
"Dark Jade Star of Destruction."
Black energy gathered in his palm. A new sphere formed, shimmering faintly with blue light.
Unlike Dark Jade, this was not solid.
Its outer shell was made of the same dark substance, but inside was hollow, containing terrifying power.
Cracks spread across the surface. Blue light leaked out, growing brighter and more unstable by the second.
Even the dark shell could barely contain it.
Teach released his grip.
The sphere fell.
Silently at first.
Strong warriors felt it instantly.
Fear.
"Run!" Gilman shouted.
Both Vice Admirals fled with everything they had, retreating hundreds of meters in seconds.
It was meaningless.
Teach flew even higher. Even Morgans instinctively rose, driven by terror and professional instinct, keeping his camera trained on the scene below.
The sphere stopped midair.
Then its shell shattered.
Boom.
The light exploded outward, forming a massive gravitational field hundreds of meters wide.
The island trembled violently.
Rocks, trees, and earth disintegrated and floated upward, dragged into the field by infinite gravity. Fragile objects were torn apart instantly. Solid stone crumbled like sand.
The blue-lit gravitational sphere expanded rapidly, devouring everything in its path.
Within seconds, an entire small mountain vanished.
Clouds above were pulled downward. The sea surged violently, massive waves crashing against Erso Island's shores.
Gilman and Nickt were swallowed without a trace.
No one noticed.
All eyes were fixed on the destruction.
The gravitational field expanded until it reached its limit.
Then, in an instant, it collapsed inward.
Everything compressed into a single point.
A towering column of sand and dust spiraled upward. Beneath it lay a vast crater, gouged deep into the island.
Everything that had been swallowed was gone.
Crushed beyond existence.
This was Teach's ultimate attack.
The Dark Jade Star of Destruction.