"Black Hole!"
Blackbeard Teach roared, slamming his right hand onto the ground. A boundless darkness surged out from his body, spreading in every direction. The darkness consumed all the surrounding plants and trees.
From the other side, Ace let out a shout of his own. "Firefly... Fire Daruma!"
The dense cluster of small, firefly-like orbs that had been floating around Teach instantly detonated.
BOOM!
In a flash, Blackbeard was engulfed in the countless small fireballs.
"Damn it! That hurts!"
Suffering from his devil fruit's side effect of doubled pain, Blackbeard was scorched by the flames. He rolled on the ground a few times, crying out in agony. But as a wave of darkness washed over him, the flames on his body were completely swallowed. He immediately sprang back to his feet and yelled at Ace, "Dark Water!"
A powerful gravitational force instantly pulled at Ace, suppressing his Logia intangibility. He was helpless as Blackbeard drew him in and seized him by the arm.
"Zehahahaha... Ace, this is the power I've obtained. Isn't it intoxicating?" Blackbeard said, his expression enraptured as he looked at Ace.
"How can this be?" Ace muttered to himself, feeling as if he couldn't use any of his strength.
BAM!
Blackbeard Teach drove a fist into Ace's face. The tremendous force sent Ace flying, and he crashed hard onto the ground.
"Pfft..." Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Zehahahaha, Ace, why don't you join us?" Blackbeard laughed, propositioning him.
"If power is all that matters, then what meaning is there in this world!" Ace said grimly, slowly pushing himself back to his feet. It had come to this. He had no choice but to use his strongest technique.
"Zehahahaha!" Blackbeard Teach laughed as he watched Ace, feeling a surge of pleasure at seeing his former crewmate in such a state.
"If it weren't for Ryuuto and Hancock watching from nearby, today would have been a perfect day!" Blackbeard sighed internally. "I need to find a chance to get out of here, and soon." He glanced over at Ryuuto and Hancock. They were the real threat.
He then saw Ace crouch down and place a single hand on the ground...
With himself at the center, Ace created several massive, spiraling rings of fire on the ground, accumulating a vast amount of energy. The fiery energy from the surrounding environment was compressed to its absolute limit before converging in his hands, forming a super-massive, blazing sphere that resembled a miniature sun.
"Flame Emperor!" Ace roared, raising the giant fireball with both hands.
Seeing this, Blackbeard Teach also let out a great shout. "Black Hole!"
A boundless darkness erupted, forming a colossal dark shadow that rushed toward Ace.
"Will it be darkness or light? There can only be one winner!" Blackbeard bellowed with a laugh.
As the flame and darkness collided in mid-air, a tremendous explosion of energy erupted. A powerful shockwave swept out, reaching Ryuuto's position in an instant. Ryuuto made a slight motion with his right hand, and an invisible wind rose up, forming a barrier in front of the three of them that blocked the entire shockwave.
BOOM!
Flames and darkness each stained half the sky as Blackbeard and Ace's powers clashed violently.
PING! PING! PING!
Suddenly, three bullets leaped across space from a great distance, appearing right in front of Ryuuto's group. Van Augur had taken advantage of the chaos to attack them.
But he had clearly underestimated their strength.
"It is my turn to act!" Hancock declared. She leaped forward, her cheongsam fluttering as she extended one of her peerless long legs straight toward the three incoming bullets. Hancock's beautiful eyes narrowed, and black lightning crackled around her leg as she precisely kicked each of the three projectiles.
Instantly... the three bullets were petrified.
Clink...
The stone bullets fell harmlessly to the ground.
Van Augur stared at Hancock for a long moment. As expected of the Pirate Empress with a bounty of over 1.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the battle between Teach and Ace was nearing its conclusion. The stalemate of fire and darkness had shifted; the darkness had now consumed more than half of the flames!
"Teach, I will make Whitebeard the Pirate King!" Ace roared, unleashing another torrent of fire from his hands, trying to hold on with this last burst of strength.
"Zehahahaha, you're still too naive, Ace!"
Blackbeard stomped his foot, and an even more powerful wave of darkness surged forth, crashing down on the remaining third of the fire.
Pfft...
Under the onslaught of this darkness, Ace could no longer hold on.
"This is bad. It's our turn to move!" Ryuuto said, catching sight of Ace's predicament. His figure flickered and vanished from the spot. Hancock, meanwhile, scanned their surroundings, guarding Nami closely.
BOOM!
The immense power of darkness came crashing down. All the flames in the air were completely devoured.
"Cough..." As the darkness slammed into him, Ace was smashed into the ground by the massive force. He coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, clearly and grievously injured.
"Zehahahaha! Don't be so naive in your next life, Ace!"
"Dark Water!"
Darkness swirled in Blackbeard Teach's hand as an invisible gravitational force began pulling the fallen Ace toward him. It seemed Blackbeard intended to strike while the iron was hot and finish Ace off for good.
"Hold it!"
Ryuuto's voice boomed in Teach's ear like a clap of thunder. A flash of lightning streaked forward... and a figure appeared in an instant, right in front of Blackbeard's raised hand.
"Ryuuto, why must you interfere! This is our family business!" Blackbeard's eyes narrowed as he stared at Ryuuto, who now stood between him and Ace.
"Family business? Do you even count?" A contemptuous smile played on Ryuuto's lips. He continued, "I already gave you a chance. Since an invitation didn't work, I'll have to use another method to make you listen!"
"Pull!" Blackbeard's expression changed, and the suction from his hand intensified dramatically, trying to drag Ryuuto toward him.
Ryuuto, however, stood his ground, his feet planted firmly. Seeing Blackbeard's attempt, he let out a laugh. "If you like pulling so much, then take this!"
"Chidori Slash!"
Ryuuto roared as the crackling lightning around his body rapidly converged into the black blade, Yukibashiri, in his hand. As he swung the sword down, it unleashed a colossal blade of pure lightning that shot toward Blackbeard Teach.
CRACKLE!
Sparks flew from the giant lightning blade, making a sizzling sound as if it were tearing through the air itself. The attack was a slash imbued with Haki! This technique, combining the Chidori Sharp Spear with a sword strike, was tremendously powerful.
Everywhere it passed, the lightning blade carved a deep trench into the earth...
"Not good!" Blackbeard Teach cried out. He canceled his Dark Water and, seeing the massive slash bearing down on him, scrambled to roll out of the way.