After accidentally seeing the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Blackbeard developed a special plan. For this, he abandoned his dignity and begged Whitebeard to let him join his crew.
At that time, he believed that only by joining Whitebeard's crew could he increase his chances of obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit.
For decades, he hid his ambitions, and after much effort, he finally achieved his goal. But at this moment, a devil fruit user ignored his dark gravity and the Dark-Dark Fruit's suppression of other Devil Fruit abilities.
Previously, when Delia resisted his gravity, Blackbeard could still blame it on his unfamiliarity with his own ability. But after making contact, she was still able to use her powers—this was abnormal.
To use an analogy, his previous situation was like eating the Gum-Gum Fruit but not yet turning into Nika, which wouldn't be surprising.
But now, it was as if he hadn't even gained the most basic rubber body—something Blackbeard could not accept.
If he hadn't tested his abilities on other devil fruit users during his escape, he might have started doubting whether his decades of hiding had all been in vain.
"Could it be that Mythical Zoans are different… or is this not even an ability at all? Zehahaha! I'm even more interested in your power now. It's not too late to join me."
Even after being beaten to this extent, Blackbeard still hadn't given up on recruiting Delia.
It was the same in the original timeline when he fought Ace—even before Ace was defeated, he still tried to recruit him, hoping to make Ace's powerful strength his own.
In this regard, Blackbeard had his own confidence, believing that no matter who it was, he could eventually make them submit.
"Thunder Fang Charge!"
Delia no longer wanted to talk with this arrogant man. Lightning condensed into new claws, and as the violent lightning condensed into solid form, they became exceptionally sharp. A piercing spear of lightning shot straight toward Blackbeard's chest.
Squelch!
The lightning spear pierced through Blackbeard's plump body. Accompanied by the rumble of thunder, Blackbeard let out another scream. But as he screamed, he also swung his fist toward Delia.
Bang!
Delia's body was sent flying. After landing, she stumbled several steps before finally stabilizing herself.
"This guy's punches… are a bit troublesome…"
She rubbed the area around her ribs. Even with a body similar to a Zoan-type, she still felt pain from that attack. That seemingly comical body seemed to hide a terrifying amount of power.
"Black Vortex!"
Blackbeard reached out and grabbed the lightning that had pierced his body. Under the influence of darkness, Delia's attack was gradually absorbed by the darkness. Aside from the sweat on his forehead, there were no visible injuries on Blackbeard's body.
This was the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit—it doubled the pain the user felt but did not double the actual damage. Instead, it can absorb the injuries, preventing them from affecting the user's body.
"It's useless! No matter how special your ability is, your attacks will ultimately be swallowed by darkness! I'm invincible!"
Blackbeard would rather believe that Delia was special because of her Mythical Zoan ability or that it was the product of some other power, than accept the possibility that there was something wrong with his own ability.
"Heh, the ignorance of a frog at the bottom of a well is always amusing. If you can handle it, then go ahead and take this on!"
Light began gathering at Delia's mouth. Hyper Beam was rapidly forming. Like Protect, this was a standard move known to the majority of the officers. The stronger the person, the faster they could charge the Hyper Beam, and the shorter their post-attack stiffness.
Currently, both Kaido and Yamato could use Hyper Beam instantly without becoming immobile. Delia was slightly inferior, but it still only took her a few seconds to prepare.
"No matter how many times you try, it's useless! Be it light or lightning—darkness is the final destination!"
Blackbeard confidently extended his right hand. His darkness had an incredibly powerful absorption ability, capable of absorbing most attacks.
Boom!
Bang!
Lightning and darkness clashed in rapid succession, and the battle between Blackbeard and Delia grew fiercer. Throughout the fight, Blackbeard's screams continued to echo. However, even though he was constantly getting beaten up, his body never sustained any fatal injuries.
Most of the attacks were neutralized by the Dark-Dark Fruit's power. Even in terms of physical combat, Delia failed to gain an advantage. Blackbeard's body was naturally unique—it is said that he never needed to sleep, giving him more than twice the amount of time as others to do whatever he pleased.
Many of the older members of the Whitebeard Pirates knew he was an anomaly. And the first outsider to discover this trait… was probably Buggy.
Back then, he had confidently told Shanks that Blackbeard had gone three whole days and nights without sleep. This made people wonder—had Buggy been watching him for three days and nights as well?
…
"Beasts Pirates' officers sure are troublesome. This is probably the first time the captain has caused such a big commotion, right?"
"Yeah, they're not easy to deal with."
At the edge of the battlefield where Delia and Blackbeard were fighting, the members of the Blackbeard Pirates looked at the sky filled with lightning with a hint of astonishment. Based on what they knew, No.4 wasn't even considered a senior officer. For someone of that rank to create such chaos was far beyond their expectations.
"Quit wasting time over there! Get over here and help! This woman is too difficult to deal with!"
Van Augur and Laffitte were chatting on the sidelines, Doc Q lay slumped over his horse as if he was about to die, and only Burgess was actually fighting against Kikunojo.
Blackbeard had chosen his crew members primarily for their potential. At this point, they hadn't been part of the Blackbeard Pirates for long, and their current strength was still limited.
Although Kikunojo held the status of "prisoner of war", over the years, he had fought many battles for the Beasts Pirates. With each battle, his strength had steadily grown.
At first, Burgess had looked down on this seemingly delicate woman and had challenged Kikunojo to a duel. But now, just a few minutes into the fight, he was already regretting it.
Clang!
A flurry of swift sword strikes forced Burgess to retreat. While he possessed immense brute strength, it was utterly useless against Kikunojo, who had mastered advanced Armament Haki.
The multiple bleeding wounds on his arms were proof of this. Just as Kikunojo was about to deliver a decisive strike and behead him, a cane intercepted the attack.
Laffitte had appeared in front of Burgess, his steps quite comical. Using his cane as a weapon, he blocked Kikunojo's sharp blade.
"Miss, being so fierce isn't good, you know. Why not just wait patiently for the battle over there to end?"
"Fallen Snow Blade!"
Kikunojo turned his hand and swiftly countered with another slash toward Laffitte. Among these people, Laffitte gave him a peculiar feeling. From Laffitte, Kikunojo sensed a different kind of threat...
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