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"Conqueror's Haki…"
The pressure of that overwhelming will swept across the battlefield. Feeling the surge of Conqueror's Haki, the Blackbeard Pirates stiffened in shock yet again. Under their stunned gazes, thick black mist boiled up from Blackbeard's body, swallowing his figure completely.
When they saw this, the Blackbeard Pirates' tense faces broke into excited grins.
A few seconds later, the mist dispersed. The gruesome sword wound that had split Blackbeard open was gone without a trace—his injury had been completely devoured by the darkness.
Blackbeard let out ragged breaths and slowly pushed himself up from the ground. When he lifted his head to look at Redfield, his eyes were filled with naked terror. That sword strike just now had truly made him feel death brush past him; the fear still clung to his bones.
"Damn it! You're just relics of the old era—the grave is where you belong!" Blackbeard roared. Dark mist spewed from his body again, rolling outward like a tide.
Redfield's expression tightened despite himself. He was now certain: Blackbeard was far more troublesome than he had first imagined.
Staring straight at Redfield, Blackbeard shouted, "I'm not playing with you anymore! Brothers, don't move—I'm gonna use my ultimate move!"
"Ultimate move?" Redfield's face grew even more grave. Blackbeard's last "ultimate move" had already been terrifying, and he'd assumed that was the man's final trump card. He hadn't expected him to have yet another one.
Hearing Blackbeard's declaration, the Blackbeard Pirates immediately understood what he intended. None of them moved a muscle as streaks of black shadow slid out from the surrounding mist and plunged into their bodies.
"This is…" Redfield's pupils narrowed slightly. With Observation Haki, he could clearly feel their auras swelling one after another. It wasn't just their presence that changed; their bodies themselves began to transform.
One by one, their heights started to increase. As the shadows merged with them, their muscles bulged and swelled, their frames thickening. Their skin gradually darkened to a purplish-black, radiating a feral, crushing strength.
Blackbeard changed most of all. His original height of just over three meters stretched to five or six. His already dark skin turned even blacker as an enormous number of shadows were absorbed into his body.
"Zehahahahaha! I've fused with a hundred shadows now. To be honest, this is the first time I've ever used this move on an enemy," Blackbeard said with a sinister grin. Shadow fusion—one of the powers of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit—granted a massive temporary boost in strength, though it could only last for less than ten minutes. For them, that was more than enough.
Shiryu could feel power surging through his limbs, fierce and overflowing. Even if it was borrowed, there was no denying that this strength made him far more dangerous.
"Shadows?" Redfield frowned slightly. He finally understood: those black shapes that had just entered their bodies were indeed shadows.
Blackbeard's grin widened. "Zehahahahaha! This is my ultimate move! I call it 'Shadow Mode.' Right now, I've merged with the power of a hundred pirates—and these hundred shadows are all the ones that match my attributes the best."
Redfield snorted coldly. "Hmph… merely external power."
"External power? Zehahahahaha! Then I'll show you what 'external power' really is! Brothers, all together—take him down!" Blackbeard barked, sweeping his massive hand forward.
For a straight one‑on‑one, he'd already used Shadow Mode. He was confident he could win alone with his current strength, but Blackbeard never moved without absolute certainty—especially when this state wouldn't last long.
At his order, the Blackbeard Pirates didn't hesitate. As one, they charged Redfield, launching a full‑on group assault.
By now, each of them had fused with at least dozens of shadows, their strength skyrocketing. Their speed and power were on a completely different level than before.
For a moment, even Redfield was driven back by their encirclement. None of these men were weak, and Shiryu in particular had already been formidable. With the boost from dozens of shadows, his presence became even more oppressive. In pure swordsmanship, he could now clash head‑on with Redfield, taking the role of main attacker.
The rest of the crew unleashed their trademark techniques one after another, giving Redfield no room to breathe.
"Shadow Claws…" Blackbeard wasn't about to let any chance slip. While his comrades pinned Redfield down, he activated his own ability, sending several jet‑black arms clawing toward him.
Just as Redfield moved to evade, Vasco shot's fist crashed into his side, blowing him backward.
The Shadow Claws snared him midair. In an instant, the black mist of the Dark‑Dark Fruit wrapped around his body, brutally suppressing the power of the Vampire Fruit.
"Zehahaha, got you!" Blackbeard roared with manic laughter.
"Die!" Shiryu seized the opening, his blade flashing down and carving a bloody gash across Redfield's body.
Redfield screamed, blood spraying from his mouth. He tried to strike back, but the other Blackbeard Pirates swarmed in from every direction, refusing to give him a single second.
"Crescent Moon Funeral!"
"Sticky Launcher!"
One after another, the crew's attacks converged on Redfield, hemming him in from all sides.
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Redfield exploded with a surge of Conqueror's Haki, flooding his entire body. His sword swept out, releasing a massive crescent of sword aura that shattered every incoming attack. The remaining sword pressure kept going, crashing toward the Blackbeard Pirates.
Faced with such overwhelming force, some of the weaker members—even empowered by their merged shadows—couldn't withstand it. The sword energy struck them head‑on, sending them flying back, coughing blood.
"How is this possible? This guy still has so much power left?
Blackbeard's eyes widened as Redfield tore free of his Shadow Claws. That technique fused the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Shadow-Shadow Fruit—an ability that could suppress other Devil Fruit users. Yet Redfield's berserk Haki and sword pressure had ripped it apart. Blackbeard's expression turned pitch-black.
Shiryu was just as stunned. He watched Redfield spread his bat-like wings and soar into the sky, then shouted, "No, he's trying to escape!"
Redfield really was planning to run. He finally understood how badly he'd underestimated the Blackbeard Pirates. Their strength was on a completely different level from the average pirate crew.
Their numbers might be small, but as a whole, their combat power could rival that of a Four Emperors crew.
Especially Blackbeard. As a dual Devil Fruit user whose Dark-Dark Fruit suppressed other abilities, he might have been a bit weaker than a Marine Admiral on his own—but after fusing with the shadow, Blackbeard temporarily possessed power on par with an Admiral.
Next was Shiryu. Though not as strong as Blackbeard, once he fused with the shadow, his strength also rose to a level close to that of a marine admiral.
And beyond those two, the rest of the crew couldn't be taken lightly either.
Even if those abilities were only being borrowed for a short time, facing so many elites at once left Redfield with no choice but to retreat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several Transform Leaves—creations of his former companion, Padon, that could change into people drawn from his memories.
He scattered the Transform Leaves. In an instant, Whitebeard, Roger, Golden Lion, Garp, and Sengoku appeared in front of him.
The Blackbeard Pirates froze at the sight, and Blackbeard shouted in disbelief, "Wh-Whitebeard? How is this possible? He's already dead!"
"He made them with his ability," Shiryu said coldly, charging straight ahead. The sword in his hand unleashed a vicious slash that collided with the illusionary Whitebeard.
As expected, in the very next moment, the fake Whitebeard was cleaved cleanly in two. His body burst into smoke and faded away, revealing only a sliced tree leaf falling to the ground.
Seeing Shiryu deal with the fake Whitebeard so easily, Blackbeard instantly understood—they were just fakes. He sneered at the fleeing Redfield. "I told you, you're not getting away today."
"Dark Water…"
Redfield, wings spread and mid-flight, suddenly felt a massive force latch onto him. His body lurched, dragged helplessly back toward Blackbeard.
Shiryu seized the opening, appearing directly behind Redfield. With Blackbeard in front and Shiryu at his back, the two launched their assault from both sides…
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