"Bastards! Scumbags! Damn it! You two filthy bitches!"
Blackbeard cursed furiously as he ran for his life.
He couldn't understand where Kizaru had found a woman like Esdeath—someone so powerful yet completely obedient to his orders.
Even more baffling was Boa Hancock.
Why would the Pirate Empress—a Warlord of the Sea—risk offending the World Government just to chase him down?
Hadn't she heard that Kizaru planned to abolish the Warlord system?
That was directly cutting into her interests!
Unlike Blackbeard, who saw the Warlord title as a stepping stone, Hancock had the entire Kuja Pirates behind her.
Why would she take such a huge risk?
"Wait a minute! That guy is… Teach! I'll slaughter you!"
"The bastard who killed Thatch! I'll avenge Captain Thatch!"
"Kill him! We can't let that traitor escape!"
The chaotic battlefield suddenly turned even more volatile.
The pirates fighting in the war quickly took notice—
The traitor of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach, had actually dared to show up in front of them!
If there were a ranking for the most hated enemy in Marineford, then Blackbeard would be at the top without a doubt.
He betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates.
He murdered Thatch, the 4th Division Commander.
He captured Ace and handed him over to the Marines.
He triggered this war to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates.
And that was before they even knew his true objective.
If they found out he planned to steal Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, they'd hunt him down at any cost.
"Damn it! Don't get in my way at a time like this! Dark Water!"
More and more pirates charged toward him, eager to kill him before the two terrifying women behind him caught up.
Blackbeard had no choice but to eliminate these nuisances first.
A sinister black mist began emanating from his body.
As his right hand turned pitch black, all the pirates rushing toward him suddenly found themselves being pulled in—unable to resist.
"Waaahhh! I'm being sucked in!"
"My Devil Fruit powers… they're gone!"
"Die, Teach!"
Some fierce pirates even drew their weapons, ready to kill him up close as they got dragged in.
"Liberation!"
Blackbeard let out a wicked grin and suddenly threw his hand forward—
Right in the direction of Esdeath and Hancock.
An unbelievable scene unfolded—
The pirates that had been sucked toward Blackbeard were suddenly hurled away—
Straight toward Esdeath and Hancock.
To an outsider, it looked like they were helping Blackbeard escape.
"You're asking for death!"
Esdeath, skating across the frozen battlefield, didn't care whether these men were collateral damage or not.
Seeing them fly toward her, she didn't hesitate—
With a single swing of her blade, she cut them all down.
Even before meeting Kizaru, Esdeath had been a top-tier swordswoman.
But after learning Haki and swordsmanship techniques from Kizaru, it only took her a few days to master them completely.
In terms of pure sword skill, she wasn't far off from great swordsmen like Flower Sword Vista.
To her, ten or so Whitebeard Pirates were nothing more than a single slash's work.
"No!!"
Not far away, Marco had just noticed Blackbeard—
He was about to attack, but then he saw the blue-haired woman mercilessly cutting down more than ten of his crewmates.
Under normal circumstances, even if he knew how strong she was, Marco would never let this slide.
But right now, Marineford was absolute chaos.
The Whitebeard Pirates were desperately trying to retreat, while also helping the Revolutionary Army escape.
The pressure they faced was overwhelming.
If not for the Red-Haired Pirates, their mission would have been completely impossible.
No matter how furious Marco was, he couldn't afford to pick a fight with Esdeath now.
He could only memorize her face and swear to settle the score later.
"Hmph! What a joke!"
Esdeath, delayed by Blackbeard, had already fallen far behind Hancock.
When she noticed Marco glaring at her with pure hatred, she sneered without hesitation.
She wouldn't mind at all if Marco came after her. Taking down a strong opponent like him first before going after that smoke-covered bastard was perfectly fine.
The world her dear one belonged to was truly magnificent—powerful opponents were everywhere. Even with her Observation Haki not yet at its peak, she could still sense dozens, if not hundreds, of interesting prey, as well as at least a dozen fighters on her level or even stronger.
Even that woman called Boa Hancock was quite formidable.
If she ever ran out of worthy opponents, she could always use her dear one as an excuse to drag Hancock into a fight.
And then there was the woman named Gion, whom Nami mentioned—someone even stronger than Boa Hancock. Now that would be a truly satisfying opponent.
The more Esdeath thought about it, the more excited she became. She absolutely loved Kizaru, and she absolutely loved the world he lived in.
"Perfume Femur!"
Seizing the moment while Esdeath was delayed, Hancock used Moonwalk to chase down Blackbeard.
Though they were both Warlords of the Sea, Hancock clearly had no intention of wasting time talking. She opened with a ruthless whip kick.
Despite being hailed as the "Most Beautiful Woman in the World," the Pirate Empress was no mere ornament.
Even among the Warlords, she was one of the only ones qualified to challenge Mihawk for the top spot.
After all, Mihawk could only occasionally spar with Shanks, while Hancock could spend all day, every day, using Kizaru as her personal training partner.
Unfortunately, the Pirate Empress was hopelessly lovestruck. If not for her absurd natural talent and Kizaru's frequent "strict supervision," her strength might not even match that of her alternate timeline self.
Boom!
Blackbeard barely managed to block in time, but he was still sent flying, rolling across the ground in pain like a helpless worm.
"Slave Arrow!"
A massive pink heart formed in Hancock's hands. As she pulled back on one side, countless pink arrows rained down toward Blackbeard like a storm.
At first glance, the attack didn't seem particularly lethal.
But Blackbeard, with his sharp Observation Haki, panicked and scrambled out of range.
Many pirates who had rushed over upon spotting Blackbeard, however, were not as lucky.
The pink arrows pierced their bodies—turning them to stone instantly.
This was the power of the Love-Love Fruit. Hancock could petrify anyone who harbored even the slightest love for her.
Of course, the ability only worked on those significantly weaker than her. But when combined with her unparalleled beauty, it was practically invincible.
"So Kizaru was right. The Dark-Dark Fruit really is the only Logia that can't turn intangible…"
Hancock's eyes narrowed. Esdeath's presence made her feel threatened.
In terms of beauty, Hancock knew she was superior, but she had to admit—Esdeath's wild and domineering aura exuded a raw, primal attraction that could stir something deep within any man.
In terms of strength, Hancock didn't consider herself weak, but Esdeath had managed to take down Delocas alone. That meant she was even stronger than Hancock.
Worst of all, that wretched woman, Esdeath, was just like her—she didn't care that Kizaru had other women.
And in all the "how to keep rivals away" strategies that Stussy had taught her, this kind of woman was the most dangerous.
If she wanted to win Kizaru's favor, she had to prove she was more useful than that wicked woman!
"So just die already! I'll take your head and use it to earn Kizaru's affection!"
With a fierce battle cry, Hancock's body crackled with lightning—she was unleashing the Lightning Release that Kizaru had taught the Kuja warriors.
Although Orochimaru had simplified it, reducing its original power, even a slight boost was valuable for someone like Hancock, who already had one foot in the realm of top-tier fighters.
"Bastard! Like hell I'll let you use my head to impress another man! Wait—what the hell is happening to her body?!"
Blackbeard cursed as he fled, but in his panic, he caught a glimpse of the lightning crackling around Hancock's body.
True powerhouses of the sea never bothered to hide their Devil Fruit abilities. Most people, for example, knew that the three Marine Admirals wielded the Glint-Glint Fruit, the Ice-Ice Fruit, and the Magma-Magma Fruit.
But even with that knowledge, the outcome of facing them was always the same—utter annihilation.
Knowing a Devil Fruit's ability didn't mean you could counter it, and even if you could counter it, that didn't mean you could win.
Hancock, however, was a unique case. She never actively concealed her fruit's power, yet because she rarely left Amazon Lily, very few people truly knew she possessed the Love-Love Fruit.
Especially someone like Blackbeard, who had spent years playing the fool in the Whitebeard Pirates—he had never encountered Hancock in battle before.
So when he saw the dazzling lightning radiating from her, his first thought was, naturally, the infamous Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
After all, Hancock was clearly no Mink. Yet she could generate electricity, and she was this strong…
"Zehahahaha! If I can't get my hands on the Quake-Quake Fruit, at least I can settle for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to make up for it!"
"Icicle Cage!"
But before he could act, countless sharp ice spikes rained down from above, stabbing deep into the ground and forming a massive cage that trapped him inside.
Then, Esdeath's proud figure landed gracefully atop one of the ice pillars, looking down at both Blackbeard and Hancock with cold amusement.
"Still not finished after all this time? And you call that worthy of following my dear?"
A mocking smirk curled at Esdeath's lips. She had stumbled a bit in her initial skirmish with Hancock over Kizaru's attention, lacking experience in this kind of battle.
But then she recalled the theories from the books Niu had recommended to her—combining them with her own strategic expertise from military campaigns, she had devised her own Esdeath-exclusive "Enemy Rival Suppression Tactics."
Right now, provoking Hancock was just a warm-up.
Her real target was the one who was supposedly engaged to Kizaru—the Marine Admiral Candidate, Gion.
Unlike Hancock, Gion had both the strength and the status to be a serious contender.
"Shut up! I'm about to finish him off!"
Hancock's body crackled with lightning as she lunged at Blackbeard, determined to kill this bastard before Esdeath could step in and steal her victory.
"Zehahahaha! If you wanna die so badly, I'll grant your wish! Dark Water!"
Blackbeard laughed wildly, extending his hand as swirling darkness erupted from his palm, aiming to pull Hancock in and take her down.
"Grand Perfume Femur!"
Hancock was yanked toward him—but she showed no sign of panic.
She wasn't the type to rely solely on her Devil Fruit powers in combat. Or rather, thanks to Kizaru's relentless training, whether or not she had her fruit's abilities didn't make much of a difference to her strength.
Her lightning-infused, Haki-coated kick slammed directly into Blackbeard's face.
One moment, he was grinning with smug confidence. The next—his face contorted in agony as it warped from the impact.
Boom!
Blackbeard was sent flying again, smashing through several ice pillars before tumbling dozens of meters across the ground, carving a deep trench in his wake.
For a moment, his mind went completely blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
How the hell did I just get kicked like that?!
As far as he was concerned, once Hancock lost her "Rumble-Rumble Fruit" powers, she should have been helpless.
Yet somehow, this "helpless" woman had shattered the jar and smacked him so hard he spun eighteen times in place.
Then, the pain kicked in—unbearable, searing pain.
If an ordinary person had taken that hit, crashed through ice pillars, and skidded across the ground for dozens of meters, they wouldn't just be dead—they'd owe Hancock a few extra lives in the afterlife.
And that was only because this was the One Piece world, where people could suffer full-body fractures and be back to running, jumping, and fighting in just a few days.
Overconfident as he was, Blackbeard hadn't even thought to use Armament Haki for defense.
With the Dark-Dark Fruit's double pain debuff stacking on top of his miscalculation, the sheer agony nearly knocked him out on the spot.
"I'm not dying here!"
Blackbeard gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up. Blood poured from his face, which was now grotesquely misshapen, yet his sheer survival instinct kept him moving.
On paper, if Blackbeard fought Hancock one-on-one, his chances of victory were at least 40-60—maybe even higher if the battle dragged on, given his durability and persistence.
But he had completely misread the situation.
He assumed Hancock had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. He assumed her strength came from it. And with the Dark-Dark Fruit's drawbacks leaving him vulnerable, he had lost the initiative.
"Slave Arrow!"
Before he could fully recover, Hancock struck again.
Countless pink arrows rained down like a storm, each one carrying lethal intent. She was determined to finish him off.
"Dark Water!"
By now, Blackbeard had snapped out of his initial shock. He raised his hand, and all of Hancock's pink arrows were instantly swallowed into the abyss of darkness.
He had finally realized—Hancock wasn't a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user like he had assumed.
And unlike Ace, who relied heavily on his Devil Fruit, this Pirate Empress was an absolute monster in close combat.
If not for the Dark-Dark Fruit's side effects, he might've been able to trade blows with her. But with double the pain debuff, just thinking about that last kick made him break into a cold sweat.
"Hmph, so this so-called mastermind is only this strong?"
Esdeath sneered.
If it weren't for the constant live commentary from the spectators broadcasting the battle, she wouldn't have believed that Blackbeard was the one responsible for instigating a war of this scale.
"Zehahahaha! What a joke! Like hell I'm dying at the hands of two women! If you want my head, then come and take it!"
Blackbeard bared his teeth in a defiant grin, though several of those teeth were missing. His face looked somewhat ridiculous—but the burning ambition in his eyes was undeniable.
"Tch! Let's see if you can survive this, then!"
As soon as Esdeath finished speaking, Blackbeard noticed something strange.
The light around him had suddenly dimmed.
His head snapped up—just in time to see a colossal ice spike, hundreds of meters in diameter and several kilometers long, plummeting toward him like a meteor.
"Wha—?! What the hell is that?!"
"Run!"
"We're dead! We're so dead!"
Nearby pirates who had been planning to charge at Blackbeard immediately turned tail at the sight of the apocalyptic ice pillar crashing down.
Blackbeard's first instinct was to escape—but the moment he tried to move, he realized…
His feet had been frozen solid.
At some point, the ground beneath him had become a sheet of ice, locking his legs in place.
"Dark Vortex!"
°°°
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