Boom!!!
Conqueror's Haki erupted in a violent clash that seemed to tear heaven and earth apart. In the next instant, countless jagged streaks of pitch-black lightning burst forth, racing across the sea and spreading to the very edges of the horizon.
Bathed in pure white radiance from head to toe, Warrior God Luffy swung a fist as massive as a battleship, slamming it head-on into the pitch-black fog before him.
Within the curtain of darkness—constantly being devoured by light—a grotesque, arrogant face suddenly thrust itself forward.
Sensing that Golden Lion's presence had weakened to the brink of disappearance, Blackbeard burst into loud, mocking laughter.
"What a disgrace!"
"You struggled just to cling to life until today, only to end up as fertilizer for the new era."
"This world should be ruled by people like us!"
"Don't you agree, Straw Hat brat?!"
"Zehahahahaha!!!"
A gigantic hand shrouded in darkness shot out from the black fog, wrapping around Luffy's fist with overwhelming force.
At that moment, light and darkness split the sea cleanly into two distinct worlds.
Faced with Blackbeard's laughter, Luffy—whose mind was focused solely on battle—simply grinned.
"Hmph~! I don't understand a word you're saying, you ugly old guy!"
"But since Red's side is already finished, I'd better put in even more effort!"
"Effort!?" Blackbeard's smile vanished. "With what are you going to 'try'!?"
"Last time, I only fell for that long-nosed liar's dirty trick!"
"This time he's not here—what are you going to use to fight me now?!"
As he spoke, a ruthless gleam flashed in Blackbeard's eyes.
From the stump of his severed arm, torrents of dark energy erupted once more, gathering high in the sky to form an enormous black-fog fist crackling with crimson lightning.
If Red were here right now, he would have stared in disbelief.
Because the technique Blackbeard was using was a supreme skill mastered only by top-tier powerhouses—
Conqueror's Haki coating!
Boom!!!
The terrifying impact slammed straight into Luffy's body.
That special Haki immediately began ravaging him from within, blasting him sideways through the air.
"Ah! That hurts!!!"
In the next instant, white vapor erupted beneath Luffy's feet, completely dispersing the force of the blow and halting his body midair once more.
His gaze snapped to his side.
Residual Haki still lingered there, continuing to erode his body.
"This is—!?"
Luffy's eyes widened.
At this moment, he clearly realized how extraordinary Blackbeard's attack had been.
"Conqueror's Haki… coating?" Luffy muttered in shock.
"Now you see the gap between us, Straw Hat!" Blackbeard roared.
Releasing a rain of shattered debris, Blackbeard moved again beneath Luffy, cloaked in a sky-blotting sea of darkness.
Hearing Luffy's mutter, he laughed even louder.
"Zehahahaha…"
"I told you long ago—there's no way you can beat me!"
"Whether it's Devil Fruit abilities or Haki mastery, you're inferior in every way!"
"What do you have to fight me with?!"
Blackbeard continued to display his trademark arrogance and self-importance.
This time, however, he no longer bothered inviting Luffy to join him.
After linking Luffy's Devil Fruit to that legend, he could barely restrain his impatience.
He wanted to see it with his own eyes—
Whether Luffy truly was the man spoken of in legend.
And then… to claim that Devil Fruit power for himself!
"Tch… he really is a troublesome guy."
On the other side, Luffy wasn't intimidated in the slightest by Blackbeard's Haki coating.
Seeing the lingering Haki around his abdomen, he even attempted to release his own Conqueror's Haki, trying to use it offensively just like Blackbeard.
But Conqueror's coating wasn't as simple as focusing Haki on a single point.
Without Master Kai's guidance, even Luffy couldn't grasp it in such a short time.
"Man, this is really hard!"
After several failed attempts, Luffy lifted his head, his expression turning serious as he looked at Blackbeard's mocking face.
"Zehahahaha…"
"What a foolish dream, you brat!"
"Too bad… this is a technique you simply can't learn right now!"
"Dark Vortex · Roar!!!"
Boom!!!
Vast waves of darkness burst forth from Blackbeard, condensing into a colossal fist that surged toward Luffy in the sky.
With Conqueror's Haki coating layered over it, even Magical Shine—normally effective at countering the Dark-Dark Fruit—lost its original power.
"Gum-Gum · Warrior God Hardening!"
Seeing this, Luffy immediately activated the only defensive technique he knew—
the Tekkai technique from the Six Powers.
Of course, at Red's strong insistence, anyone in the Straw Hat crew using "Tekkai" was strictly forbidden from assuming its standard stance or even saying the name aloud.
Though no one understood this bizarre rule, since it wasn't much trouble, everyone gave the technique a name that suited their own style.
The demonic giant fist instantly engulfed Luffy's tiny body.
In the blink of an eye, endless darkness washed over him again and again.
Fortunately, he had kept Magical Shine active the entire time, preventing the darkness from harming him for the moment.
But then—
"What incredible strength…"
"He's even stronger than last time."
Within the black fog, Luffy's eyes flickered thoughtfully. Then he slowly pulled out a dark-green injector from his pocket.
"Even though Red says pushing through is part of our strength, power gained this way really doesn't feel as reassuring as training it myself."
Despite saying that, faced with the true power Blackbeard displayed, Luffy hesitated not at all and stabbed the injector straight into his chest.
Instantly, flame-like ripples surged across his body.
Under the effect of Facade, Luffy's physical abilities skyrocketed.
At the same time, the vast Armament Haki within him swelled explosively!
Blackbeard might indeed know an advanced Conqueror's Haki technique—but that was only because he had followed Whitebeard for decades, stealing insights through exposure.
By contrast, someone who had bet everything on Devil Fruit powers like him had trained Armament Haki far less—
far less than Luffy at this very moment!
"Gum-Gum · Warrior God · Sun Fist!!!"
Boom!!!
Brilliant radiance exploded from Luffy once more. Blazing pillars of light, like countless swords, tore the surrounding darkness apart.
The world returned to the light again!
"Come on!"
"The real fight is only just beginning!"
Breaking through Blackbeard's dark domain, Luffy grinned widely. A divine, fairy-like aura unique to his Mythical Zoan form radiated from him as he locked eyes with Blackbeard from above.
"What!?"
Seeing Luffy break through his full-power strike so easily, Blackbeard's face finally lost its composure.
A strange light flared in his eyes.
In the next moment, boundless darkness erupted from his body, forming a barrier vast enough to engulf the entire island, surging toward Luffy.
Naturally, Luffy didn't back down either.
A flood of light instantly took over the sky, outshining even the blazing sun and bathing the world in brilliance—
driving away the darkness that threatened to swallow everything.
Light and darkness clashed once more.
…
…
Meanwhile, Amazon Lily.
With the Straw Hat crew joining the fray, the Black Lion Alliance pirates didn't even last an hour.
Especially after Golden Lion relocated the island housing their headquarters…
Light returned to Amazon Lily, and with it, hope for an island that had already fallen into despair.
…
…
"Red!"
On Amazon Lily's shore, Usopp, standing atop a stag beetle, spotted a suddenly opened Hyperspace Hole beside him and hurriedly greeted the figure emerging from it.
"Usopp, take this. It'll be useful later."
Red showed no surprise at all. Instead, he casually tossed the unconscious Golden Lion over.
"Handle it, Usopp."
"Then gather Nami and the others—we're going to negotiate with the Pirate Empress~!"
"The price for the Straw Hat crew's services… I hope she can afford it."
"Huh!? But—"
Usopp froze, then pointed toward the distant sea where light and darkness collided, forming a starkly divided domain.
After a brief pause, he asked,
"Do we really not need to help Luffy?"
"That Blackbeard guy looks insanely strong!"
Even from such a distance, the aftershocks and the overwhelming clash of auras made Usopp's heart tremble.
"Forget it."
Red waved his hand calmly.
"Let the dawn of the new era be opened by Luffy himself."
"Relax. That's our captain."
"Then… alright."
Hearing this, Usopp dropped the thought. He glanced at Golden Lion lying unconscious, extended one hand, and pressed it to his chest.
"Contain!"
A spatial node linking two dimensions opened instantly.
Golden Lion's body rapidly shrank—until it vanished completely.
…
…
"That's it… it's over?"
On Amazon Lily's streets, Rindou blasted the last Black Lion Alliance pirate away with her hand cannon, then stood there blankly.
Looking at the devastated streets, she didn't know whether to feel joy at victory or sorrow over the war.
The war had come without warning, catching everyone on Amazon Lily completely off guard.
And yet…
It ended just as strangely.
Many of the island's warriors didn't even know who had helped them.
At that moment, everyone instinctively turned their gaze toward the battlefield between Luffy and Blackbeard.
The sky-covering light and darkness were impossible to ignore.
Though they couldn't tell which side they should support…
They all knew one thing—
That battle would decide Amazon Lily's future.
With solemn expressions, the islanders began cleaning up the ruins while praying for the victory of the mysterious strong warrior.
…
…
"Zehahahaha…"
"Useless! Useless!"
"Darkness is the foundation of this world—the origin of everything!"
"You can never dispel it!"
"And you will never—"
"Rule this sea!!!"
Blackbeard roared, his body exuding lethal menace.
Nearly an hour had passed since the battle reached its climax.
With every collision, the scale of destruction only grew more terrifying.
Eyes glowing crimson, Blackbeard transformed under the cloak of darkness into a twisted dark demon god, hurling mountain-sized black fog hands at Luffy in an attempt to drag him down from the sky.
But Luffy, empowered by Facade, had grown far stronger.
No matter how dense or wide-ranging Blackbeard's attacks were, Luffy dodged them all with ease while fully armed.
By combining Moonwalk, Shave, and Paper Arts, Luffy not only held the aerial advantage but possessed astonishing mobility.
With that alone, he fought evenly for an entire hour against the man who once scarred Red-Haired Shanks' face.
But now, the battle was nearing its conclusion.
Not because either of them was exhausted—
but because both had tacitly agreed not to drag it out.
From the very start, they had gone all out, wagering everything on every single clash.
"What I want to do… isn't to dispel darkness!"
"Nor is it to rule the sea!!!"
Luffy suddenly answered Blackbeard's roar.
Sss—
He narrowly dodged another barrage of attacks, then scorching steam burst violently from his body. Framed by Magical Shine, it swirled around him like divine clouds at a god's descent.
Already in Warrior God form, his presence became even more majestic.
At that moment, Luffy's fist reached high into the clouds.
Next, torrents of Armament Haki surged from his body like a raging river, converging wildly upon his fist.
Luffy raised his head, eyes locked firmly on Blackbeard below.
"My goal is simple!"
"To defeat you!"
"And then keep adventuring with my friends!!!"
"Gum-Gum · Natural Warrior God · Heavenly Might!!!"
Crackle!
Boom!
Whooo—!
A massive bolt of lightning split the sky, tearing across the heavens.
In the next instant, raging flames and roaring blizzards manifested on opposite sides of the sky, rushing toward Luffy's colossal fist.
At that moment, Luffy was like an insatiable bandit, seizing the power of nature itself and smashing it down upon Blackbeard below.
"…What!?"
Blackbeard's expression twisted in shock.
Never imagining Luffy could unleash such a move, he frantically released dark energy upward, trying to block or weaken the attack.
But then—
A dazzling seven-colored rainbow light burst from Luffy's fist.
When that brilliance collided with the black fog, it burned and scattered it like fire.
In an instant, time itself seemed to freeze.
All motion in the world stopped.
Only that godlike fist continued to descend toward Blackbeard.
The entire world fell silent in that moment…
(End of Chapter)