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Blackbeard's resolve hardened, and he roared, "Come out, Zombie Army!"
Blackbeard repeated his move, unleashing Black Vortex once more. From the depths of the swirling darkness, countless zombies clawed their way out. The Dark-Dark Fruit's abyss could devour anything, which also meant it hid an immense space within. That was where Blackbeard usually stored his zombie army.
Watching the tide of zombies surge forward, Redfield glanced at them with cold indifference. "Hmph. Boring things."
Yet despite his words, his gaze slowly sharpened. Everyone before him was strong; he couldn't afford to take them lightly.
Just then, Pica and the former Donquixote family members rushed over. His shrill voice echoed out, "Captain Teach, we've come to support you!"
Seeing Pica arrive, Blackbeard's face split into a delighted grin. When they'd first entered Ghost Town, only a small part of his forces had come ashore; most of the crew had remained on the ship. He roared with laughter, "Zehahahaha! Perfect timing, Pica! Raise a wall—he absolutely must not be allowed to escape!"
"Yes."
Pica immediately activated his Stone-Stone Fruit. The ground began to rumble, then twist and churn as the earth itself rose up into towering walls. In moments, a ring of stone a hundred meters high encircled the area, sealing Redfield and the Blackbeard Pirates together inside the massive enclosure.
Redfield's eyes narrowed in surprise at this unexpected Devil Fruit ability. He muttered under his breath, "So this is what they call 'companions'?"
He had never believed in such a thing. From a young age, his Observation Haki had been…special. He could hear the voices in people's hearts—read their minds. Because of that, he had witnessed the darkness in humanity since childhood. He'd long since stopped believing in companions and placed his faith only in himself.
Now, through that same Observation Haki, Redfield listened to the hearts of the Blackbeard pirates. Not a single one of them trusted Blackbeard completely. Even among so-called comrades, there were walls, hidden schemes, and concealed malice. Yet when faced with an enemy, they could still close ranks and fight side by side.
At last, Redfield drew his conclusion. "Hmph. Humans really are incredibly hypocritical creatures."
"Good. Now he can't escape," Shiryu said, his tone grave.
"Hold it, Shiryu…" Blackbeard lifted a hand, stopping him.
Shiryu shot him a curious look. Blackbeard tilted his head back, staring up at the sky with a sneer. "It's high noon right now. Still a long way until dark. We've got plenty of time. From here on out, no one is allowed to make a move."
Shiryu's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "So you're planning to fight him one-on-one?"
"That's right… a monster from the old era." Blackbeard sneered, eyes gleaming. "Perfect for testing the power of my Dark-Dark Fruit and Shadow-Shadow Fruit."
After obtaining the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, he'd quickly realized how well it meshed with the darkness he already wielded. Its raw destructive power couldn't compare to the Tremor-Tremor Fruit he'd first set his sights on, but in terms of ability synergy, it was a perfect match.
He strode toward Redfield, grin widening. "Red the Aloof, Patrick Redfield. I heard that back then, you were on the same level as Whitebeard in his youth. I really doubt that! The power of Whitebeard in his prime was practically invincible—I don't believe you could measure up to him. So let me see it for myself."
Redfield's gaze turned ice-cold. He gave no reply.
Blackbeard's lips twisted into a feral smile as inky darkness began to seep from his body. Black mist spilled over the ground like a living tide, rapidly spreading outward and swallowing the surrounding houses one after another. Watching the darkness expand, Redfield finally moved. His opponent was a Logia with massive area-of-effect attacks; if he allowed that darkness to consume everything around them, he'd be fighting at a huge disadvantage.
"Zehahaha! Let me show you my newly developed ultimate move—Shadow Claw!"
In the next instant, within the sea of darkness, shadows tangled with the black mist, condensing into giant black hands that lunged toward Redfield.
Redfield didn't dodge. A savage burst of sword aura erupted from him, shredding the dark hands to nothing and surging straight on toward Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's face darkened. A curtain of darkness rose up before him, swallowing the oncoming sword slash. But when he looked ahead again, Redfield had vanished. His expression changed, and he spun his head, searching in alarm.
"Captain, above you!" Vasco shot shouted.
Blackbeard snapped his gaze upward. Redfield was plummeting from the sky, blade raised, unleashing a ferocious downward slash.
"Shadow Clone…" Realizing he couldn't block that strike head-on, Blackbeard instantly switched places with his own shadow. As soon as he moved, the clone standing where he'd been was ripped apart by the sword aura. The slash was so powerful it even split open the blanket of darkness on the ground, exposing the earth beneath.
"Hmph. A Dual Devil Fruit User really is troublesome," Redfield said, turning to face Blackbeard in the distance, his expression growing more solemn.
It was his first time encountering someone with two Devil Fruits. He understood now that he had underestimated Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's face was equally grim. These powerhouses from the old era were far harder to deal with than he'd imagined.
"Zehahahahaha! If I can't even beat you, how am I supposed to become Pirate King?!" Blackbeard roared with laughter, the black mist surging from his body once more. "Go—Zombie Army, attack!"
At his command, the surrounding zombies swarmed toward Redfield.
Redfield regarded the horde of zombies with an indifferent gaze, his sword swinging in smooth, continuous arcs. Limbs and torsos were sliced apart, corpses scattering in all directions. Yet every severed body still writhed with that same cursed immortality—twisted halves clawed at the ground, dragging themselves toward him, jaws snapping as they tried to bite.
This immortality was even more troublesome than a vampire's. Redfield's brows knit together in irritation. He glanced toward Blackbeard in the distance and said coldly, "Do you really think you can defeat me with just these?"
"Zehahaha, how could that be!" Blackbeard sneered.
The very next moment, the bellies of the zombies began to bloat grotesquely. Redfield's pupils shrank as he noticed the change—then a chain of deafening blasts—boom, boom, boom—erupted all around him, swallowing him in a sea of fire.
"Zehahahahaha! How was that!" Blackbeard roared with laughter. "My self-made zombie bombs—the power isn't bad, right, Redfield..."
But as his wild laughter echoed, a figure burst out from the roiling smoke. Redfield landed, cloak tattered and singed. Burns marked his face, and his usually composed features were twisted with anger.
"Despicable pirate, to use such underhanded tactics," he said, voice low and grim.
"Zehahaha, we're all pirates. What's with all this talk of despicable or noble?" Blackbeard scoffed. He thrust his palm toward Redfield and bellowed, "Dark Water...!"
That familiar pull of the Dark-Dark Fruit's gravity seized Redfield's body once more. Irritation flared in his eyes—he decided to end this quickly. His umbrella sword darkened as it was wrapped in Armament Haki, crackling with the pressure of Conqueror's Haki.
Seeing this, Blackbeard sneered, the corners of his mouth curving into a cruel grin. "I'm tired of that move of yours. Let me show you my ultimate technique—combining the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Shadow-Shadow Fruit!"
The shadow beneath Blackbeard's feet suddenly writhed and rose, twisting into the shape of a massive skull. Black mist coiled around it, forming a grotesque, fleshy visage. The monstrous skull opened a cavernous maw of darkness and lunged straight at Redfield.
"Be swallowed by darkness! Abyss Maw...!"
Redfield watched the surging darkness close in, realizing there was no way to evade it. He gathered every ounce of strength into his blade—haki and killing intent focused into a single point. A crimson sword pressure erupted from his swing and slashed toward the Abyss Maw.
In an instant, the Abyss Maw engulfed Redfield completely. But within that suffocating darkness, his sword, laden with Conqueror's and Armament Haki, relentlessly tore through the shadows from the inside.
Just as Blackbeard was certain of his victory, a brilliant red light flared within the Abyss Maw. With a single overwhelming strike, Redfield split apart the fusion of the Dark-Dark Fruit and Shadow-Shadow Fruit and shot forward, charging straight at Blackbeard.
"What..."
Blackbeard's eyes widened in disbelief. Before he could react, another vicious wave of sword pressure was already upon him. At such close range, he had no time to defend or dodge. The powerful sword crashed into him head-on, carving a grotesque wound across his body. Blood spurted from his mouth and nose as he was sent hurtling backward, body spinning through the air.
As Blackbeard's body was sent flying, the darkness shrouding the area vanished in an instant.
His eyes had rolled back; he was clearly unconscious. The damage and agony from that final sword strike had pushed him far beyond his limits. The Dark-Dark Fruit hadn't even had time to draw in and absorb the pain before he blacked out.
On top of that, the strike itself had been infused with Conqueror's Haki, carrying a crushing impact on the spirit. Blackbeard, who didn't possess Conqueror's Haki, had no way to endure such an attack.
"Captain Teach…" Trebol's face twisted in shock. He couldn't accept what he was seeing. Blackbeard, the man who wielded two Devil Fruits, had been defeated—taken out in a single blow, as if killed on the spot.
The others were just as stunned. Shiryu in particular was drenched in cold sweat, his mind racing. If he chose to swear loyalty to Redfield now… would he even be allowed to live?
He wasn't the only one thinking this. One after another, the crew began weighing the idea of surrender. They had only joined the Blackbeard Pirates because of Blackbeard's overwhelming power. Now that he had fallen, how could they continue following a defeated captain?
Redfield slowly slid his umbrella sword back into its sheath, his breath slightly uneven. That attack just now had been far from casual—it had been a full-force strike.
With his Observation Haki, he clearly heard the doubts and calculations in their hearts. He let out a cold snort. "Hmph. How laughable. So-called comrades, so-called friendship, so-called bonds—this is all they amount to."
But at that moment, Redfield's pupils suddenly shrank as he stared at Blackbeard's prone form.
A heartbeat later, a terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from Blackbeard's body, surging outward in an instant and sweeping across the entire area.
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