When Blackbeard thought about the Mag-Mag Fruit, a trace of regret surfaced.
"What a pity…" he licked his lips.
"My Dark-Dark Fruit is a Logia. I can't eat Akainu's Mag-Mag Fruit too. Otherwise…"
But the regret was quickly swallowed by greed.
"That doesn't matter!"
His grin returned.
"If I can't eat it, I'll let one of my brothers eat it."
Of course—
Only someone truly loyal to him.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He had personally witnessed the Mag-Mag Fruit's destructive power.
It was absolutely worthy of a Titanic Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates.
"Zehahaha! That's right! That's it!"
He rubbed his hands excitedly.
Beside him, Burgess's eyes lit up.
He had seen Akainu's power firsthand.
Powerful Logia fruits weren't common.
"Wahahaha! Captain!" Burgess roared, pounding his massive chest. "Let's ambush Akainu! Take the Mag-Mag Fruit!"
"I don't mind switching fruits!"
Ever since Blackbeard revealed his ability to steal Devil Fruits, the crew had already begun eyeing their desired prizes.
Sure, the Strong-Strong Fruit was nice—
But the Mag-Mag Fruit?
That was top tier.
Blackbeard stroked his chin, not rejecting the idea immediately.
Ambushing a weakened Akainu…
It wasn't impossible.
And Burgess, as one of his earliest companions, had more trust than most.
But Van Augur was staring elsewhere.
His gaze was fixed on Domino.
The more he watched, the deeper his frown grew.
"Captain."
"What?"
"You once said only the Dark-Dark Fruit can seize another's Devil Fruit ability, correct?"
Blackbeard puffed up proudly.
"Of course!"
"Zehahaha! It's the most vicious fruit in the world!"
"No other power can do that!"
Van Augur slowly pointed toward Domino.
"Then what about her?"
Everyone turned.
"She's using Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit… isn't she?"
Silence.
Blackbeard froze.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was still a thorn in his heart.
"Nani?!"
He snatched a telescope and locked onto Domino.
The tremor intensity wasn't Whitebeard's peak—
But that power…
There was no mistaking it.
That familiar vibration—
That overwhelming force—
It was absolutely the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Damn it… it really is…"
Blackbeard lowered the telescope.
His face darkened like a storm cloud.
Rage ignited.
"LENO!!!"
"So it was you from the very beginning!"
"You stole my Tremor-Tremor Fruit!!"
Everything clicked.
Why Whitebeard's corpse had vanished at the last moment.
Why his perfect plan had collapsed.
It was all Leno.
Old hatred and new fury merged.
If not for that bastard—
He would already possess the most vicious Logia and the strongest Paramecia in the world.
Invincible.
Instead, he had been reduced to targeting Hancock's comparatively secondary Love-Love Fruit.
How could he not be furious?
His body trembled with rage.
But Blackbeard was still Blackbeard.
A man who endured decades for a single fruit.
After the explosion of anger—
He forced himself to calm down.
He couldn't understand how Leno had taken the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
But right now—
That didn't matter.
He raised the telescope again.
Leno was locked in an intense duel with Akainu.
Neither could disengage easily.
Domino, meanwhile—
Was fighting a bunch of "trash" female Marines.
A bold thought surfaced.
If he couldn't understand it—
Then forget it.
What mattered was opportunity.
"Zehahaha…"
His eyes gleamed with greed.
"Leno stole the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from right under my nose…"
"But now?"
"The chance to take it back is right in front of me!"
He turned to his crew.
"Change of plans!"
"When both sides are worn down—we don't just take the Mag-Mag Fruit and the Love-Love Fruit…"
He paused.
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is the priority!"
"Keep your eyes on Domino. We take her fruit first."
"As long as I grow stronger, your fruits will follow!"
After all—
She was the easiest target.
"Wahahaha! No problem, Captain!" Burgess roared.
Catarina Devon cackled, "Killing beautiful women? My favorite pastime!"
The Blackbeard Pirates grinned viciously.
In their minds—
Once both sides were exhausted—
Taking down a single woman would be effortless.
With Leno and Akainu weakened—
Who could stop them?
The fruits would inevitably fall into their hands.
What they didn't know—
Was that while they plotted as the lurking predator—
Another predator was already approaching.
They weren't the only third party entering the fray.
On another route—
A massive Marine fleet was speeding toward Amazon Lily.
At its helm—
Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
His expression was thunderous.
And his anger wasn't directed at pirates—
But at his own admiral.
"Sakazuki, you bastard…"
He ground his teeth.
"What gave you the nerve to lay a hand on Kujaku?!"
"If anything happens to her—"
"And Tsuru loses her temper—"
"I swear I'll kill you myself, Sakazuki!!"
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