"Huh? Is it really that strange that I've seen your sister? She used to visit 'Pops' all the time, always bringing along some top-shelf liquor."
Blackbeard expressed genuine surprise at Sherlock's extremely agitated reaction upon hearing about his sister. He had only heard through the grapevine that "Silver Hair" had a younger brother working as a merchant in the East Blue who later turned to piracy. However, Teach remained in the dark regarding the true identities of both Silver Hair and the Thaumaturge.
After all, Blackbeard's primary focus had always been solely on the Dark-Dark Fruit.
(Pops? Does he mean Whitebeard? Why would a Celestial Dragon visit a pirate? And not just any pirate, but one of the Four Emperors?!)
A monstrous wave of shock surged through Sherlock's heart. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, slowly piecing together a possibility he had never dared consider before.
And that was:
His sister, Sarsalian Lisanna, was very likely no longer in Mary Geoise. In fact, she might have escaped the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons many years ago!
Just like their grandfather had: Sarsalian Fresnel.
For reasons Sherlock himself refused to admit, he had long avoided looking into his sister's recent whereabouts. But this single piece of information, inadvertently dropped by Blackbeard, caused the emotions he had suppressed for nearly seventeen years to explode in an instant!
(But if that's the case, why hasn't Lisanna come looking for me all these years? What exactly happened?)
At this moment, the Thaumaturge had completely cast aside the danger of his current situation. His mind held only one singular focus: obtaining more information about his sister!
Taking a deep breath, Sherlock forced down his incredibly restless heart. He was just about to question the ferocious man surrounded by black smoke when the latter spoke first.
"Your sister really is a grand beauty. I'd wager she's not a bit inferior to that so-called 'World's Most Beautiful Woman' on Amazon Lily. It's just that her personality is a bit too violent..."
Recalling that flowing, dreamlike silver hair and the exquisite face that could make the stars lose their luster, even an absolute opportunist like Blackbeard couldn't help but let out a low sigh.
"Otherwise, it wouldn't be half-bad if she could become my woman, Zehahahaha!"
"..."
Upon hearing Teach's final sentence, the agitation on the Thaumaturge's face vanished. He fell into a miraculous, instantaneous calm. He stood rooted to the spot like a wooden doll, the cold, white glare reflecting off his glasses and completely obscuring his expression.
A chilly night breeze swept through, fluttering the hem of Sherlock's trench coat. His mid-length black hair swayed in the wind, making that small tuft of silver-white hair particularly conspicuous.
Amidst the ruins, the atmosphere suddenly became unprecedentedly oppressive, as if the very air were beginning to solidify.
"Gulp..."
Standing beside his captain, Burgess subconsciously swallowed. He didn't even notice that his legs were trembling uncontrollably.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
Utterly unaware that he had just said something unforgivable, Blackbeard looked on with a face full of confusion. Just as he was about to launch a pre-emptive strike...
BOOM! A faint, ethereal roar echoed through the space. At that moment, the entire world seemed to tremble violently! It was like a flash flood bursting a dam, or a volcanic eruption!
A frantic, terrifying aura filled with the scent of destruction erupted from Sherlock's body, sweeping out in all directions like a raging sea. The icy killing intent contained within was even more potent than the unconscious release back on Monkey Island!
Thump...
Under that hysterical and terrifying pressure, Burgess could no longer hold himself up. He crashed to his knees, his forehead drenched in sweat.
The onlookers in the distance, who had no idea what was happening, fared even worse. Their eyes rolled back into their heads as they collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Is this... Conqueror's Haki?!"
Blackbeard stared in shock at the Thaumaturge, who was now radiating a terrifying field of pressure. He muttered to himself:
"As expected of Silver Hair's brother. He also possesses the qualities of a King... but how is this aura so insane? It doesn't match his outward appearance at all!"
"Burgess! Get back! Go find Van Augur! Zehahahaha! I'm wanting to make you my subordinate more and more, Thaumaturge!"
A light flashed in Teach's eyes. It seemed Sherlock's display, rather than making this ambitious man back down, only served to deepen his interest in the Thaumaturge's strength.
At the same time, high above the almost completely ruined Mock Town, a tall man stood suspended in mid-air, laughing wildly.
"Lao lao lao lao... Marvelous! Simply marvelous!!!"
"Yes! Yes! Exactly... EXACTLY!!! It's this very madness and hysteria that wants to destroy everything! This is the real you, my little partner!"
Just as one fool has an innate recognition of another, so it is with the mad.
Doflamingo, a psychopath who had long ago released the "Demon" within his heart, had always recognized this side of the Thaumaturge. Feeling that Conqueror's Haki again after five long years filled him with an incomparable excitement.
"Just like I said before, we are the same! If the two of us joined forces, we could absolutely turn this boring world upside down!!!"
"We could definitely take back all those things that were 'stolen' from us!"
The Heavenly Yaksha muttered to himself neurotically for a moment before looking back down at the ferocious man confronting Sherlock. His eyes narrowed slightly behind his red sunglasses.
"However, you're still a bit too weak right now. Though you're growing very fast, you still need a bit more time to mature..."
Near the coast of Mock Town, aboard a late-arriving Marine warship.
"Strange, why are all these pirates fleeing on their ships like refugees?"
Holding a pair of binoculars, Tashigi gazed at the distant pirate ships with a look of utter confusion on her fair face. "Colonel Smoker, did these pirates know we were coming beforehand?"
"No, that's not it."
The White Hunter stood at the bow, watching the pillars of fire visible in the dark over Mock Town. His expression was grim.
"It looks like something huge is happening in that town. That's likely why they're running away."
As he spoke, Smoker felt a faint sense of unease.
(Sigh... I hope the cigar shop in that town is still intact...)
Just then, a dazzling burst of flame erupted from behind the White Hunter. The rolling flames transformed into a crimson meteor, hurtling toward the nearby town at high speeds.
"Major General Alan?!"
Watching the flaming trail vanish into the night sky, Tashigi cried out in surprise, "Strange, why did she suddenly head off on her own?"
"Tch, that person never plays by the rules!"
Smoker rolled his eyes before turning to command the Marine soldiers. "Full speed ahead! Prepare for landing operations!"
"Yes, Colonel Smoker!" the Marines responded in unison.
"Heh... hehehe... Hahahaha!"
Sherlock suddenly covered his forehead and laughed toward the sky. His laughter was so crazed, so wicked—a complete departure from his usual gentle and elegant demeanor.
Shing! Under Blackbeard's surprised gaze, the Thaumaturge's blood-colored spear manifested once again.
(Oh? Is this that ability to project and manipulate weapons? He was planning to use this blood spear to kill Burgess earlier, wasn't he?)
(He's actually planning to use his strongest move right out of the gate? Tsk tsk, looking at his pale face, he's probably exhausted most of his stamina from the previous fighting.)
Seeing the blood spear, Teach felt no fear. Instead, he calmly began to analyze the Thaumaturge's Fruit ability, while the black smoke swirling around him grew even thicker.
However, this time Sherlock was in no hurry to perform a Mirror Fusion. Instead, he reached into the Mirror Space once more and pulled out a small paper packet. It was the forbidden drug—Insamona.
He tore it open and swallowed it.
Unlike the small pinch he took in Alabasta, Sherlock had increased the dosage fivefold!
That hellish taste exploded in his mouth instantly. It was immediately replaced by an unparalleled mental euphoria, sweeping away the lethargy caused by the previous battles.
While the effects of Insamona were significant, its side effects were equally terrifying. But right now, Sherlock didn't care.
His mind held only one thought:
To blast this toad, who dared to lust after a swan, into nothing but dust!
"Make Lisanna your woman? You certainly have a big mouth..."
Sherlock glared death at Blackbeard, who still looked composed. Beneath his transparent lenses, his pitch-black eyes shimmered with two eerie streaks of blood-red killing intent.
Then, the Thaumaturge took a deep breath, focusing his entire being as his Fruit power activated.
Rumble!!! The air hummed with an uneasy vibration.
A sphere of red light suddenly erupted from the shaft of Gungnir, several times more intense than before. That blood-colored glow, saturated with killing intent, instantly illuminated the entirety of Mock Town! Anyone who saw the light felt a shiver reach the very depths of their soul.
Immediately following this, a surging tide of energy radiated from the blood-red orb in all directions. Even the leaking remnants of that energy were enough to grind the surrounding rubble into fine powder.
—Six-Fold Mirror Fusion!
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