"Are you kidding... just because of this reason..."
The last battle with Drake was still vivid in Blackbeard's memory. Drake's kick, under the influence of the Dark-Dark Fruit's double pain sensation, did not take his life but made him understand what it truly meant to live worse than death.
For days, whenever he recalled this battle, his lower body would throb with a dull pain. More crucially, a considerable amount of time had already passed since then.
During this period, Blackbeard had been reading newspapers the most. Although Morgans' news could not be fully trusted, the major events happening around the world didn't escape his eyes. It was the best way for pirates to understand the world and gather information.
Blackbeard's plan was very complex. He needed information from various regions to decide his next course of action.
Simultaneously, he was also keeping an eye on the movements of the New World's Sea Emperors. The consecutive meetings of Red Hair with Kaidou and Whitebeard filled him with excitement; only in such turbulent times could he seize opportunities better.
In this process, he also paid attention to the movements of some officers, such as the inexplicable appearance of the Whitebeard Pirates' captain in the First Half of the Grand Line.
He knew those people must be coming for him.
Compared to the Whitebeard Pirates, he wasn't so concerned about the movements of the Hundred Beasts Pirates.
The rule of the Whitebeard Pirates not to harm comrades was well-known, and knowing that he had violated Whitebeard's taboo, he made sure to steer clear of the New World first.
Although he had a fight with one of the Hundred Beasts, he managed to escape smoothly. He didn't think the Hundred Beasts would go out of their way to trouble him over an injured officer.
The Whitebeard officers were called Captains, BIG MOM's officers were called Commanders, while the Hundred Beasts were known as Disasters.
Someone who established themselves with terror surely wouldn't be a kind soul and shouldn't care so much about their subordinates.
Now, it seems he was wrong. Reflecting on the situation in the newspaper, it seems that shortly after that, King started to hunt him down.
"Joke? I'm sorry, I never joke, Juujiseiou!"
King bent forward slightly, his wings wrapped in white light, slashing forward in a cross-shaped strike. After forming the strike, the blade in King's hand thrust forward, and the sword light and slashing formed a giant cross spearhead charging towards Blackbeard.
The glowing wings had the effect of Steel Wings. For the Lunarians, the wings on their backs were like extra pairs of hands. Strengthened by Steel Wings, these wings were like sharp blades for King.
Adding the saber in his hand, a unique "Three-Sword Style" was born.
"Damn it, are all the Hundred Beasts such lunatics?"
Watching the strike fly towards him, Blackbeard felt a tremor inside. The massive cross Sword Qi not only included him in its attack range; it also encompassed other Blackbeard Pirates members, including Ace behind him within King's attack range.
Blackbeard couldn't believe that as a current All-Star, and the leader of the Hundred Beasts Pirates' Three Disasters, King couldn't recognize the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Ace, obviously bound, had clearly lost combat ability. There was no way he could withstand such an attack, yet King chose indiscriminate attacks without concern for killing Ace.
"Dark Water!"
Blackbeard held his arms out wide, his body exuding wisps of black smoke, a strong gravity attempting to absorb King's slash completely.
King didn't care about Ace's life, but Blackbeard couldn't act that way. If Ace died at King's hands, he would lose his bargaining chip, and then the entire plan would collapse.
Therefore, he had to protect Ace's safety by using his Fruit Ability to absorb King's attack.
"I see, this ability, no wonder Drake failed."
The explosive power of Gigavolt Havoc was no less than his own, seeing Blackbeard's ways, King realized how he managed to dodge Drake's attack.
But King's strike was just a probe. Seeing Blackbeard trying to absorb his strike, King wasn't idle.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four huge rocks fell out of nowhere around Blackbeard and began pressing towards his body.
Bang!
"Ah!"
A trickle of blood fell from the corner of Blackbeard's mouth, the impact of the rock encirclement caused significant damage to his body.
The Dark-Dark Fruit did not have the passive elementalization of a Logia-type Fruit. To absorb attacks, one must actively respond.
If attacked before he unleashed Dark Water, the intense pain could have him rolling on the ground.
Moreover, to absorb an attack without pain, he had to rely on his hands. During the original timeline at the Summit War, due to arrogance, his hands were controlled by Whitebeard, and he had to withstand Whitebeard's damage with his body.
If not for Whitebeard's critical condition at that time, Blackbeard's unique life force and the Dark-Dark Fruit's passive ability to absorb damage impact, Whitebeard's seismic attacks would have probably ended him.
At this moment, Blackbeard's hands were busy absorbing King's strike, unable to react as before when surrounded by the massive stones.
The darkness from his body was offsetting the damage caused by the stone confinement, and the Dark Gravity was slowly grinding away King's created stones, but King's new round of attacks had already arrived.
"Flame Emperor!"
The flames erupted, the stone confinement created a special stove, with Blackbeard as the "prey" on top of the stove.
"Ah!!! It hurts!! So much pain!"
Shrill screams echoed across the coast, even Ace, captured by Blackbeard, stared blankly at everything before him; the damage this flame caused seemed even greater than his own.
Looking again at King with flames burning behind him, Ace felt he must have consumed a fake Flame-Flame Fruit.
The stones, scorched by the flames, turned black, but deeper layers of darkness surged within. When the stones got devoured by the darkness, Blackbeard was already half-kneeling on the ground, sweat accumulated in streams, constantly falling.
King had unique research on torture, just now, besides the stone pinch and flame burn, there was also branding from burnt stones, threefold damage added to the doubling effect of the Dark-Dark Fruit, the pain Blackbeard experienced was indescribable.
"What? Already out of steam? There's plenty of time, this is just some interest."
"Captain Teach!"
Blackbeard's miserable appearance reshaped his subordinates' understanding of him. Blackbeard had practically taken beatings since debut, but being beaten this badly at first contact was the first time.
King didn't even give Blackbeard a chance to show off his abilities before starting a fierce combo attack.
Bang!
A bullet was fired from Van Augur's gun, his sniping skills were excellent, the bullet aimed at King's exposed pupil.
Hearing his subordinate's intervention, Blackbeard didn't feel happy, instead, he panicked.
"Fools! Don't act, this is not someone you can provoke!"