Previously, in the ambush against Drake and the battle with Ace, Blackbeard's subordinates had intervened briefly.
This was something Blackbeard tacitly allowed. He valued the future of these people, but they still had a long way to go in their growth; they needed to know how varied the world could be.
But this time was different. King's intent to kill far exceeded usual, yet Van Augur didn't seem to notice.
Blackbeard wanted to stop Van Augur, but it was already too late.
In this sea where most people use specially made repeating flintlock guns, Van Augur wielded a rare sniper rifle. The quality of his weapon was far superior to ordinary guns, coupled with his exceptional sniping skills, making him a formidable opponent.
The premise being that his opponent couldn't be cadres from the New World.
He merely had good sniping skills, nothing like the powerful Haki of Yasopp or Beckman.
Against Logia-type Ace, Van Augur's sniping seemed weak and powerless, let alone against the Zoan-type King.
King merely closed his eyelids to block the incoming bullet.
The bite of a mosquito can't directly harm a human body, but it can certainly annoy someone.
On a summer night, when a cool breeze finally blows in and sleep is just setting in, the buzz of a mosquito can wake you, and many people's first reaction is to try and swat it dead.
To King, Van Augur, who fired the shot, was just such a mosquito.
"Speaking of which, it was you who first attacked my subordinates. In that case, it's only reasonable that I target yours."
"Stop!"
Shing!
King ignored Blackbeard's words. He was here for revenge, and both he and Shaina were quite extreme in some aspects.
While he considered Drake a subordinate, at times, he treated Drake like a sister.
Lending money was an example; ordinary members wouldn't dare to borrow money, and would be cautious around King, fearing to anger him.
Everything related to Blackbeard this time was a target of his revenge.
The blade sliced through the air, splitting Van Augur's sniper rifle along the sight, and a blood mark appeared on his face.
"What a fast... blade..."
Van Augur spoke his last words, then spewed a massive amount of blood, his entire being split in two, falling to either side.
Blackbeard ultimately failed, watching helplessly as King killed Van Augur.
"You bastard, that was a crewmate I went to great lengths to choose!"
What Blackbeard cared about wasn't camaraderie but Van Augur's value. This tied into his future plans. In his view, once Van Augur matured, he would be a great help.
But now, King snuffed out Van Augur right before his eyes, killing him in the cradle.
"Angry? Don't be anxious; there are three more. I won't spare any of them, including you, of course."
"You lunatic! Compared to that woman, I'm more severely injured!"
Blackbeard didn't know if the Hundred Beasts could heal Drake's eyes, but he felt his own torment was far worse than Drake's. Even without doubling it, a kick in the groin would incapacitate any ordinary person.
Not even Whitebeard intervened in the petty squabbles of his subordinates, only when death was involved. Yet the Hundred Beasts' cadres were even crazier than Whitebeard.
"So what? You're not my subordinate. If you've set your sights on her ability, you must be prepared to pay the price."
"Run! Get away from this guy! Dark Acupoint Path!"
This is his foundation. Blackbeard didn't want his subordinates to all die at King's hands; it would render all his recent efforts futile.
Normally, he would choose to retreat and wait until his plan succeeded to settle with King, but things were different now. He had a new idea.
The Navy's convoy was on its way. He didn't know who the Navy would send to liaise with him, but against Whitebeard's Second Division Commander - Fire Fist Ace, and him, they couldn't be weaklings.
Once they arrived, he could join forces with the Navy to take down King, make it an achievement under his Seven Warlords of the Sea title, and ensure King paid the price for this.
Darkness spread from beneath his feet, reaching out like hellish hands towards King. His ability was modified from the Aerodactyl, differing from ordinary Devil Fruits but still retaining similarities.
Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit had a stronger attraction to King than to Drake but not as severely restraining as against Ace.
Even as gravity tethered him, King still managed to strike a second blow towards Laffitte on the side.
Clang!
Laffitte's cane turned black. At that moment, he raised the cane with both hands, barely blocking King's strike.
"Haki? Not all are useless junk, huh?"
Able to infiltrate Mary Geoise alone and demand a Seven Warlords of the Sea seat for Blackbeard, and open the Gate of Justice with a single hypnotic skill, Laffitte's strength differed from Van Augur and the others.
Yet he still felt a tingling numbness in his hands from King's shock. Seizing the opportunity, Blackbeard advanced to face King. Despite their height difference, he grabbed King's wrist, leading to an awkward scene.
The flames remained, the wings were intact, and King maintained his original posture.
"Hey, hey, you guys... what kind of monsters are you?!!"
Once again, his Fruit Ability was ineffective. Against Ace, the Dark-Dark Fruit had worked wonders, but against the Hundred Beasts, it was again ineffective.
Clearly, the problem wasn't with his fruit but with these Hundred Beasts ability users.
In fact, Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit was effective against King, suppressing the original power of Aerodactyl, preventing King from transforming for now.
However, against the power from Aerodactyl and Lunarians, the Dark-Dark Fruit was powerless. King could still use Pokemon skills, release innate flames, and wouldn't lose his wings.
But Blackbeard didn't know this. With Drake's previous example, he deeply mistrusted the Hundred Beasts ability users, even recalling Queen's bounty.
[That guy can create ability users immune to the Dark-Dark Fruit... he must be eliminated...]
At that moment, past reports about Queen resurfaced in Blackbeard's memory, even making him think Queen might be the biggest pitfall in his future plans.
"How dare you get distracted at a time like this? Jigoku Enou!"
Flames engulfed him, and King's fire enveloped both himself and Blackbeard. With a flap of his wings, he broke free from Blackbeard's Dark Gravity, soared skyward, and transformed into his Aerodactyl form.
"I'll kill all your subordinates before your eyes and let you witness hunting methods of the ancient pterosaurs!"