"Blackbeard!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face was grim. Earlier he had received word that Blackbeard had broken into Impel Down, freeing countless prisoners. Now that Blackbeard was here in Marineford, what of Impel Down itself?
"Zehahaha~" came a wild laugh from the battlefield.
"What a tragic sight!" Blackbeard scanned the broken remains of the war‑torn field, then stepped off the rubble toward the dying Whitebeard.
Behind him walked Evil King, Burgess, Catarina Devon, Shiryu, and others.
The most peculiar of them was Lafitte, cigarette dangling from his mouth, purple diamond‑patterned eyes gleaming.
That was not the real Lafitte — it was Lucien Graves in disguise.
The true Lafitte was tucked safely within the floating books. Lucien had no intention of letting this moment slip. Whitebeard, even in his weakened state, was a major character with immense value. His flesh, his blood, and most importantly, his memories and insights — including legendary knowledge of Haki and combat mastery — were precious.
Lucien's own Armament Haki was only mid‑level compared to Ethan's immense power. He had been overwhelmed in his earlier fight with Ethan precisely because his Haki had not been fully cultivated. If his Armament Haki had reached its peak, he would not have lost so swiftly.
As for why he did not reveal himself openly, choosing instead to replace Lafitte: there were many powerful beings present, including other Transmigrators and unknown Demon forces. Exposure would only invite interference. Better to remain concealed and let others underestimate him.
This war was already straying far from the original story — even the World Government, the Gorosei, and Imu might be watching in silence. Maintaining the original narrative was a wise move.
"Pops," Blackbeard said, stepping closer to Whitebeard's battered form with a grin, "you're truly in a sorry state!"
His booming laugh carried across the battlefield, the gaps in his front teeth giving his voice a slight lisp.
"Blackbeard, what about Impel Down and Magellan?" Sengoku called out, stopping mid‑combat, his face lined with urgency and vexation.
"Our appearance here answers everything, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Shiryu said, smoke curling from his cigar.
"Sengoku," Sengoku's voice was ice cold, "you betrayed the World Government."
Shengoku's expression was fury itself. In this moment, any fool could see the truth.
"Zehahaha~" Blackbeard laughed again, stepping forward.
"Sengoku, our target is not the Marines," Blackbeard continued, tone threatening, "if you want to intervene, we won't shy away from fighting you as well. Where are Silver Dragon, Kizaru, and Aokiji?"
Sengoku said nothing, his gaze fixed on Blackbeard with steel.
The Marines were already in a disastrous position. If Blackbeard and his crew were added to the conflict, the path to victory for the Marines would become even more impossible.
Seeing Sengoku's silence, Blackbeard turned back to Whitebeard with a grin.
"Pops, I'm here to retrieve your body. Rather than having you killed by the Marines, let me send you off myself."
"Blackbeard, what did you say?!" Marco's gaze snapped cold.
Vista, Jozu, and the others stared in shock.
"Pops, dying at the hands of the Marines is an insult to you. Only I am qualified to send you off," Blackbeard declared boldly, spreading both arms wide as he laughed. "I will inherit your will and wield the greatest power in the world."
Blackbeard's smile froze as Whitebeard, chest heaving with shallow breaths, looked at him calmly.
"It seems Ace was right, Teach," Whitebeard whispered, voice faint yet clear, "you truly have great ambition."
Blood trickled from Whitebeard's mouth across his graying beard.
"Zehahaha~" Blackbeard replied gleefully, not yet done.
"Pops, what are you talking about? I don't understand it. Just do it!"
Before the words finished, Blackbeard produced a pistol from his waist and fired. The shot echoed like thunder.
At the same time Shiryu, Doc Q, and others opened fire, unleashing a storm of bullets and fire upon Whitebeard's immobile form.
Whitebeard stood defenceless, too weak to fight back.
"You're indeed at your last breath. Time to go, Pops!"
Blackbeard laughed wildly as his right hand began to form an air pressure bubble before it dissipated entirely.
"Teach… the person Roger is waiting for is definitely not you. The ONE PIECE truly exists."
When the gunfire finally stopped, Whitebeard turned his eyes first toward Blackbeard, then toward Sengoku with breathtaking clarity.
The world fell silent.
Marco and the others rushed forward, but it was already too late.
Suddenly, Lucien Graves leapt forward, his form flickering like dark flame in the battlefield wind. In one hand he held Lafitte's cane sword, which he drove into Whitebeard's forehead with lethal precision. In the other, he fired shot after shot into Whitebeard's head, shattering nearly half of the legendary pirate's face in a brutal assault.
He delivered the fatal blow.
Whitebeard's final breath, fragile as a burnt‑out candle flame, faded entirely.
Whoosh.
Shiryu and several others blocked Marco and the rest, leaving only the disguised Lucien, Blackbeard, and Katarina Devon standing before the fallen legend.
"Let's begin," Lucien said, pulling a black cloth from his belt.
His actions, alongside Blackbeard's sudden dominance over Whitebeard's defeat, left everyone stunned — both on the battlefield and across the world where the conflict was being broadcast.
"What are you doing to Pops' body?!" Marco's voice shook with fury, but he was pushed back by Evil King, Burgess, and the others.
Donquixote Doflamingo also intervened, blocking Vista's way.
"Just watch calmly," Shiryu exhaled smoke, grin wicked. "This will be a world‑class feast."
Under the heavy black cloth, Lucien's fingertips glowed red, the light illuminating the space. He wanted to witness the process of Blackbeard acquiring the Tremor‑Tremor Fruit firsthand. Although he already knew Blackbeard would succeed, he desired to see it with his own eyes.
"Begin," Blackbeard nodded.
His right hand, now cloaked in darkness, reached into Whitebeard's chest. In his grasp appeared an illusory Devil Fruit, shaking with unstable energy.
This had to be the Tremor‑Tremor Fruit.
It was spectral, wreathed in shifting illusions.
Blackbeard opened his mouth and swallowed the shimmering fruit. The tension rippled across the world — would Blackbeard survive, or would the usual consequence strike?
Nothing.
Blackbeard showed no discomfort at all.
Meanwhile, Lucien was far from idle. With his right hand wrapped in soul energy, he seized Whitebeard's broken body. Whitebeard's soul, rising upward in pale wisps, was still conscious as it drifted, witnessing everything.
But Lucien did not hesitate.
He shoved the soul into his own mouth without remorse or pause.
He never wasted time when enemies were watching, knowing hesitation could bring disaster.
Not only did Lucien take the soul, but he also drove eight obsidian‑black thorns into Whitebeard's flesh, pulling every last trace of life and power from the corpse.
Whitebeard's body collapsed into a pile of ash, and the black cloth draped over him fell onto Blackbeard's head, supported by his arm.
Under the stunned gaze of the world, Blackbeard and Lafitte emerged from beneath the black cloth — Whitebeard's body was gone.
"What's going on?" came shocked cries across the battlefield.
"What did Blackbeard do to Whitebeard's body?"
"In such a short time, did Blackbeard consume Whitebeard?!"
"How can there not be a single bone left?"
"What happened? Why did Pops disappear?"
"Teach, what did you do to Pops' body?!" Marco's voice cracked with rage.
Blackbeard did not answer, only raising his right hand in a pose that mirrored Whitebeard's final stance.
"This pose…"
"Could it be…?"
"You've got to be kidding."
Under everyone's incredulous eyes, Blackbeard struck the air with his fist.
Cracks spread like shattered glass across the sky, and a destructive force surged toward the Marine lines. Within moments, fragments of rock were hurled, explosions ignited without end, and a massive trench pushed outward from Blackbeard's feet.
The world fell utterly silent.
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