"I didn't expect this guy to be here. I'm not stupid enough to start a war with two Warlords of the Sea at the same time."
Blackbeard stared at Kuma, a hint of apprehension hidden in his eyes.
Even though his Dark-Dark Fruit was the natural enemy of ability users, Allen's physical arts and Kuma's strength were nothing to scoff at. He had absolutely no confidence in fighting both of them simultaneously.
Thinking this, Teach hesitated, the idea of retreating already forming in his mind.
However, before he could make a move.
"What's wrong? Weren't you going to take my Warlord title? Don't tell me you're trying to run away."
Allen saw right through his plan. He smirked fiercely, suddenly flapping his wings and charging forward!
Teach wanted to plunder his ability, but he wanted to plunder Teach's physique!
"Since you're already here, you might as well leave your life behind too!"
"Since you have a death wish, I'll show you the true power of the most evil ability in history!"
Teach shouted wildly, his eyes turning ruthless as the black mist behind him surged rapidly like a tornado!
"Darkness: Liberation!!"
With a furious roar, the massive amount of buildings previously absorbed by the darkness were released all at once. Countless twisted houses, broken walls, boulders, and wood splinters rained down from the sky!
Allen flew at high speed, relying on the powerful dynamic vision of his compound eyes to calculate trajectories, nimbly weaving through the space with his strong directional control.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Various buildings missed and smashed into the ground, until Allen completely entered the falling ruins.
"Blackwater!!"
Teach suddenly raised his arm, the black mist in his palm swirling to release a powerful gravitational pull.
Those falling objects naturally couldn't hit Allen directly, but combined with this move, it was a different story.
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
Under the terrifying pulling force, Allen's flying form completely lost control. He bent his knees and swung his arms, his body unavoidably smashing through one building after another.
"Zehahahaha! This is the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit! Not only can it devour objects, but it can also accurately pull ability users right into my hands!"
Teach laughed wildly, maintaining the gravity with his left hand while pulling back his right arm, quickly coating his fist in Armament Haki.
When Allen smashed through the last broken wall and flew out, Teach's massive fist viciously struck out!
A red glint flashed in Allen's eyes as he tightly clenched his own fist and met the strike head-on!
Bang!!
The clash of their fists erupted into a violent impact, sending a shockwave rippling outward.
A flash of surprise appeared in both Allen and Teach's eyes simultaneously, both seemingly caught off guard by the other's immense strength.
Despite his surprise, Teach's left hand, still channeling Blackwater, swiftly grabbed toward Allen's shoulder.
Restrained by the gravity, Allen had no way to dodge and could only let Teach grab him. The moment that palm made contact with his body...
The two pairs of dragonfly wings on Allen's back, his legs that had transformed into a locust's structure, the giant horn on his head, and the chitinous exoskeleton covering his upper body all regressed and disappeared.
His Devil Fruit abilities were completely sealed!
"Zehahaha! Surprised, aren't you? How does it feel to be unable to use your powers?!"
Teach smirked fiercely, raising his Armament Haki-coated fist as he boasted smugly:
"That's right, this is the other power of the Dark-Dark Fruit! It can completely seal away the powers of a Devil Fruit!"
"To ability users who rely on their fruit powers to fight, I am their absolute natural enemy!!"
Teach roared furiously, his right fist smashing down viciously!
However, just as the fist was thrown, in the very next instant, accompanied by a sense of weightlessness, his vision suddenly flipped upside down!
Allen grabbed the arm resting on his shoulder, pivoted his footing, twisted his waist to generate power, and executed a shoulder throw, slamming Teach brutally into the ground!
Bang!!
Teach's massive body was launched into the air before his head crashed heavily into the ground. His two rows of teeth slammed together and bounced apart, instantly spitting out a mouthful of bloody froth.
Aikido, a classic martial art technique for the weak to overcome the strong.
Unfortunately, since setting sail, Allen hadn't encountered an opponent with greater physical strength than his own. The last time he used this move was back in the East Blue when he was bullying Morgan.
Teach's physical strength was indeed surprisingly immense—a fact that had just startled Allen—but it wasn't much greater than his own, and their Haki was roughly on par.
If it came down to a battle of physical arts, his skills were certainly no worse than Teach's.
"You didn't actually think I became a Warlord just by relying on my Devil Fruit powers, did you?"
Allen grinned, stepping forward. He pulled his arm back and, with a furious shout, viciously drove his fist into the abdomen of the upside-down Teach!
"Mach Two・Supersonic Burst!!"
Boom!!
The fist violently sank into Teach's abdomen, followed by a terrifying shockwave erupting outward.
"Blergh—!!"
Teach spewed a large mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a deflated balloon. He crashed through several houses in succession before smashing into another street!
Rubble scattered, and the collapsing buildings kicked up billowing clouds of dust.
The natural enemy of ability users?
For those who heavily relied on their powers to fight, that was indeed true. Unfortunately, all of Allen's true expertise lay in his physical arts.
Allen cracked his neck and cracked his knuckles, his gaze fixed on Teach's location.
He had caught his opponent off guard twice in a row, but he wouldn't underestimate Teach because of it.
Regardless of how it happened, this man was ultimately capable of leaving an indelible scar on Red-Haired Shanks' face.
Allen's eyes darkened as he once again manifested the wings on his back and the single horn on his head. His locust-like legs crouched down, muscles bulging, before explosively kicking off the ground and launching him forward.
When facing someone as insidious as Teach, carelessness was simply not an option for him.
...
Meanwhile, Sanji and the others had caught up to the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates, each engaging in their own battles.
Amidst the uneven residential streets, Van Augur wore a solemn expression, rapidly leaping and weaving between the houses.
In the air behind him, Robin used her abilities to manifest wings, relentlessly pursuing him through leaps and glides.
As a sniper, Van Augur had absolute confidence in his skills and his rifle. Everything within his line of sight was within his firing range.
But bullets still required travel time. Ultimately, they could be dodged or blocked.
However, his opponent's ability locked on the moment she saw him; it was impossible to dodge.
He could only continue to flee, relying on obstacles for cover to interrupt her from using her powers.
And besides Robin, there were also a large number of pirates in the streets pursuing him with high-end firearms.
That terrifying firepower suppressed him completely. The moment he poked his head out, he was greeted by a dense barrage of bullets and rockets.
If he couldn't open up some distance, continuing like this would sooner or later give them an opening.
Van Augur forced his mind to calm down, looking around at the uneven houses as he fled, searching for an opportunity to break the stalemate.
Just then.
"Lasso! Timer Mode, Curveball!"
"Woof!"
A voice suddenly came from below. Van Augur instinctively turned his head, only to see a baseball tracing an arc through the air, heading straight for him.
"A baseball?"
Van Augur was momentarily stunned, but he still instinctively dodged to the side. The moment the baseball brushed past him, under his shocked gaze, a blinding white light suddenly bloomed!
Boom!!
Intense flames engulfed his entire body, and the violent impact blasted him away, sending him crashing heavily onto the roof of a house.
"Cough... cough, cough!"
Van Augur's entire body was charred black. He coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, pressing his hands against the ground to painfully prop himself up, and hurriedly picked up his sniper rifle.
Just as he was about to move, suddenly...
An arm reached out from the ground, tightly gripping the ankle he had just lifted off the roof.
*It's over...!*
The moment he lost his balance, Van Augur's expression changed. He whipped his head around, only to see Robin, with wings on her back, gliding out from behind a tall building.
At the same time, several arms sprouted from his body. The arm growing from his chest immediately grabbed the barrel of his rifle.
Panic flashed in Van Augur's eyes. He almost instinctively raised his gun to shoot, but the rifle was pinned down by the hand on his chest.
Bang!
The incompletely raised muzzle fired a bullet, but it undoubtedly missed, flying harmlessly below Robin.
And Van Augur didn't get a chance to fire a second shot. The arms on his body had already grabbed his limbs, tightly locking down all his joints.
Wherever her line of sight reached, no snipe could ever be faster than the Flower-Flower Fruit, which directly bypassed space.
Robin activated her ability with a cold gaze.
"Six Fleur: Clutch!!"
Crack! Crack!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of snapping joints, Van Augur's eyes rolled back in agony as his body was forcefully folded backward.