"Don't worry. Next, you all watch closely—I am going to create a miracle!"
Blackbeard stood before his crew, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit gripped firmly in his hand. As he looked at them, his gaze carried a sudden, heavy sense of oppression that made everyone's skin crawl. Without another word, he raised the fruit and took a massive, defiant bite.
"How is it? Is his body going to explode?"
The crew stared intently, their breaths hitched in anticipation. One second passed, then two, then three. Time seemed to crawl, but Blackbeard remained standing. His body didn't rupture; he didn't collapse.
"He did it!"
Their hearts hammered against their ribs. The impossible had become reality. There was no longer any doubt—Blackbeard had succeeded where the laws of nature said he should have failed.
"Zehahahahaha! My little ones, look at this!"
Blackbeard's laughter boomed as he raised his arm. Under the shocked gazes of his subordinates, he punched the air with terrifying violence. With a thunderous crack, the atmosphere shattered like glass. Cracks spider-webbed through the space where his fist landed, and a massive shockwave erupted, surging forward and tearing the clouds apart.
"Zehahahahaha! Now, tell me... do you want to conquer the world with me?"
Blackbeard looked at Burgess and the others, his eyes burning with newfound power. From one hand billowed a thick, abyssal black mist; from the other flowed a pulsating, crystalline white light. He now wielded both the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Once the news hit the seas, it would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the entire world.
"Of course, Captain Teach!"
At that moment, Shiliew and the others threw aside any lingering doubts. Their alliance was forged in stone, destined to last until their grandest dreams were realized.
"Excellent! We can finally start turning this world upside down!" Burgess chuckled.
The rest of the crew shared the sentiment. With the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in their captain's hands, their time to dominate the Grand Line had finally arrived.
"First, we need to deal with the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates," Blackbeard said, a cold, predatory glint in his eyes. "There are some useful abilities among them. We might as well seize those for ourselves while we're at it!"
On Onigashima, in a vast training ground, a crowd had gathered to watch a different kind of power display.
"Keep it up, Jack! Hit harder! Stop acting like you haven't eaten today, or this isn't training!"
Yamato, swinging her spiked club with casual ease, blocked every one of Jack's devastating punches without budging an inch.
"Yamato, would it kill you to shut your mouth for five minutes?"
Jack's forehead was a roadmap of bulging veins. With a roar, he lunged forward, his massive fist hardening with Armament Haki. He slammed his hand against Yamato's club with a resounding clang.
"Of course not! But who told you to be so weak, Jack? If you can't beat me, you have to listen to me talk. If you want me to stop, then do something about it and shut me up yourself!"
Yamato smiled brightly, putting a bit of weight into her arm and shoving Jack backward.
"Fine! Then I'll shut you up!" Jack gritted his teeth.
In an instant, he shifted into his Dragon-Human Hybrid Form. His already massive frame surged, his height doubling until he stood over ten meters tall like a small giant.
"Oh-yo-yo! Finally bringing out the big guns, are we? Come on then, Lord Jack the 'Drought'—let's see how amazing you really are!"
Yamato looked up at the towering figure and gave him a playful 'come hither' motion with her finger.
"Elephant Gallop!"
Jack bellowed, his legs cracking the stone floor as he propelled himself forward. He blurred through the air, appearing instantly in front of Yamato. He brought his massive, Haki-clad fist down like a falling mountain.
Yamato's golden eyes tracked the attack with clinical precision. This simpleton actually changed his style, she thought. He used to just swing those scimitars wildly, but now he's focused on raw physical power and his Haki has improved significantly.
She raised her spiked club with a single hand, catching the full force of the blow. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, causing the earth beneath her feet to spider-web and cave in.
"Elephant Whip!"
Without missing a beat, Jack swung his long, Haki-hardened trunk from the side, lashing out like a massive whip.
Hmm? Good heavens, he can multitask now? Yamato was genuinely surprised by his newfound flexibility. Is this really the same simpleton?
Bang!
The trunk struck Yamato squarely, sending her staggering several steps back.
"It's not over yet! Take this!" Jack roared, his confidence soaring as he pressed the advantage.
After months of taking constant beatings, Jack had undergone a total transformation. His mastery over his Devil Fruit and his Haki were levels above where they had been during the war.
Oh-ho, look at him. He seems a bit swollen with pride, Yamato thought, watching Jack charge. Does he really think he's got me? Time to teach him a proper lesson.
Nearby, Maria, Haruko, King, and several other executives watched the exchange. Ever since Yamato started training Maria and Haruko, helping them reach the level of Great Swordsmen, the rest of the crew had taken notice. Usually, the Beasts Pirates were a "fend for yourself" organization. Kaido didn't care about his subordinates' personal growth; you either got stronger on your own or you died.
But seeing the remarkable results Yamato had achieved with the two women, the other executives were starting to feel a bit envious. After all, everyone wanted to be stronger.
"Jack is getting a little carried away," Maria observed, puffing on her pipe.
"The Young Master noticed," Haruko added with a confident smirk. "She's going to make him regret that confidence in about three seconds."
Sure enough, less than thirty seconds later, Jack was sent flying across the training ground.
"Gah... Yamato, you bastard! That was ruthless!"
Jack coughed up a mouthful of blood as he reverted to his human form. That last blow from Yamato's club felt like it had rearranged his internal organs.
"Haha! Don't blame me, Jack. I'm just helping you stay grounded. I'd hate for you to lose your life later because you got too overconfident, right?" Yamato chuckled.
Jack rolled his eyes, clearly not buying the "concerned teacher" act.
"Are we going again? I'm totally free today," Yamato said, leaning on her club.
"No. I'm done," Jack refused flatly, clutching his aching chest. Even when King beat him during training, he didn't make him spit blood. Yamato was on a whole other level of viciousness.
"It was just a little blood! You're an Ancient Zoan type, your recovery is top-tier. You'll be fine by dinner," Yamato pouted.
Jack ignored her. He knew she just wanted another excuse to hit him.
"Jack, the harder I hit you, the faster your bounty will go up! Think of the fame!" Yamato tried to coax him.
"Get lost. I don't care about the bounty," Jack snorted.
Seeing that Jack was done, Yamato turned to the others. "What about the rest of you? Second Uncle King? Third Uncle Queen? Sasaki? Who's-Who? Page One? Teacher Yamato is offering free lessons today!"
The men all collectively stepped back, shaking their heads. King and Queen didn't want to risk losing face in front of the subordinates by being pummeled by their junior. The others simply didn't think their bones were strong enough to withstand that club. If Jack was spitting blood, they were likely to end up in a coffin.
"Young Master, we'll stick to our own routines," King said, looking at the female executives. "You just worry about your own students."
Yamato stared at the group of grown men for a few beats before nodding. "Fine."
"Ulti, come with us. Don't hang out with these bores," Yamato called out.
"Pei-chan is coming too!" Ulti insisted, grabbing Page One by the collar and dragging him along. Yamato didn't mind; she led the four of them away to a separate area.
King and Queen went off to find their own space to spar, while Jack, Sasaki, and Who's-Who remained behind.
"You two train with me," Jack growled at the remaining duo. "You're always talking about replacing me as an All-Star? Then show me you have the guts to try."
Sasaki and Who's-Who exchanged looks and nodded. They had seen Jack's growth, and they knew that if they didn't step up, their ambitions were as good as dead.
As the core of the Beasts Pirates grew stronger, Yamato watched from the sidelines.
As long as the top brass are monsters, the crew will survive, she thought. Idiot old man, see how much I'm doing for you? I'm practically running this place.
In truth, she was just biding her time. She wanted to settle the mess in Wano and finally set sail to see the world Oden had described.
Meanwhile, Blackbeard returned to the New World in a big way. He wasn't hiding anymore. He wanted to scream to the heavens that his era had begun. He intended to seize Whitebeard's empty throne and claim the title of Yonko for himself.
"Whitebeard Pirates! Your name is an eyesore!" he declared. "The world doesn't need a ghost's name anymore. There is only Blackbeard! Marco, Ace, Jozu—come and settle this!"
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, led by Marco and Ace, didn't hesitate. They met Blackbeard's challenge head-on on a remote island in the New World. The battle was cataclysmic, but the outcome was undeniable: The Blackbeard Pirates emerged victorious.
"Did you hear? He really has the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"
"He has two abilities! How is he not dead? His body should have exploded!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are finished. Blackbeard is definitely the next Emperor of the Sea."
The news traveled like wildfire. A man with two Devil Fruits—including the most destructive Paramecia in existence—was a terrifying prospect.
On a small, quiet island elsewhere in the New World, a lonely campfire crackled. Marco and Ace sat by the flames, both staring into the orange glow in somber silence.
"Stop brooding. Here, eat," Marco said, tearing off a piece of roasted meat and handing it to Ace.
Ace took it with a sigh. "I can't believe the Old Man's power ended up in Teach's hands. We searched the whole New World for that fruit..."
"If he didn't have that power, we would have taken his head," Marco admitted, taking a bite of his own food. "But there are no 'ifs' in this world. Teach wouldn't have shown his face unless he knew he had the advantage."
"We weren't prepared for him to have the Tremor-Tremor Fruit," Ace muttered.
"None of us were. But even though we lost, we didn't go down easy. We made them bleed for that victory," Marco said, his voice firm. "We knew about the Dark-Dark Fruit, we just didn't expect the rest."
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