"Captain Catarina! Captain Vasco!"
The terrified cries of the Blackbeard Pirates erupted one after another across the battlefield.
"The Captains have all been defeated... what do we do?"
Despair tore through the ranks of the Blackbeard fleet. Conversely, the Whitebeard Pirates were surging with high morale. Everyone present realized one undeniable truth: the Blackbeard Pirates had been utterly routed!
"Flame Dragon Thrust!"
Ace's voice rang out from the distance as he delivered a decisive blow. The onlookers watched as his spear pierced through Blackbeard's right shoulder, sending a spray of blood into the air. Time seemed to freeze. Every member of the Blackbeard crew stared in disbelief. Their "invincible" Admiral Teach had actually lost...
At that moment, the foundation of their belief crumbled. Some stood dazed and soulless; others were mask-like with horror. Yet, there were those whose eyes flickered with a predatory excitement—in the underworld, many ambitious men only follow strength. If Blackbeard fell, new opportunities would arise.
"Teach, this strike is for Squard!" Ace said calmly, his mind flashing back to the days of fighting side-by-side with Squard and Thatch, sharing meat and laughter.
Pfft—
Ace retracted the spear and looked down at the fallen man.
"Agh..." Blackbeard winced in agony, but he ignored the blood flowing from his wounds. His mind was racing, cycling through survival strategies. The battle was a loss; he had to evacuate immediately and wait for another day. Ace's strength had far exceeded his wildest estimations, and his Titanic Captains had been picked off one by one by Drake and his crew. It couldn't get any worse.
"Black Hole!" Blackbeard gritted his teeth, slamming a palm into the ground. A massive amount of darkness surged forth.
Within moments, the battlefield was swallowed by shadows. Everyone braced for an attack, but it never came. Instead, Blackbeard and a few nearby subordinates began to sink into the ground.
"Ace, let's call it a draw for today. I'll be back," Blackbeard said, his head the only part of him still visible above the darkness, his expression defiant.
"Not good! They're trying to escape!?" Vista's face shifted. Several of the Blackbeard Captains nearby began to sink as well. Clearly, Teach intended to drag his core officers into the void with him.
Just as the Whitebeard Commanders prepared to move, someone acted faster.
"Ice Age!"
A flash of absolute zero swept across the field. Shiryu and the other captains, who were halfway into the darkness, were instantly frozen solid, anchored to the physical world and unable to be dragged further.
Finding his efforts thwarted, Blackbeard made a ruthless decision. He gritted his teeth and dove into the darkness alone, abandoning his entire crew to save his own skin.
"Teach got away!" The Commanders rushed to the spot, their teeth gnashing in fury. Their loathing for the man had reached its peak; only his execution would suffice to cleanse the family and avenge Thatch.
Aokiji looked at the remains of his shattered ice, his gaze somber. Even wounded, Blackbeard was not to be underestimated.
"He won't get far!" Ace declared. He took a step forward and shot toward the back mountains like a rocket.
"Ace..." Drake watched his brother's retreating figure. He knew that this time, Blackbeard was likely meeting his end. He then turned his attention back to the former Admiral.
"Admiral Aokiji... or should I say, Kuzan? Perhaps now you can tell me your true purpose?"
Aokiji gave Drake a long, measuring look before casually sitting down on a nearby rock. "What is it you want to know?"
"Your reason for joining the Blackbeard Pirates," Drake said, staring him down. This question had bothered him for a long time. Even with the timeline changes, Aokiji had still made this move. Drake knew there had to be a deeper meaning behind it.
"Retreat! Retreat! The Admiral has fled!"
With Blackbeard gone, the remaining members of the fleet were seized by panic, scrambling back toward their remaining warships. The scene was chaotic, but the Whitebeard Pirates didn't pursue them with full force. For them, a victory was enough; they had no desire for unnecessary slaughter, especially given their own heavy casualties.
However, the core executives could not be allowed to leave. Aokiji's ice had kept Shiryu and the other captains pinned. As the Whitebeard crew began the arduous task of securing prisoners and treating the wounded, the battlefield remained a hive of activity.
Kenshin and the others were relatively idle. Noticing Drake was deep in conversation with Aokiji at a distance, they chose not to disturb him and sat down nearby.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Kenshin asked, curious as he watched Drake's facial expressions shift.
"Yeah, Drake-san looks really surprised," Bell added. "I've never seen anything catch him off guard like that. Kuzan couldn't be a threat to him, could he?"
"With Drake's current strength, even an Admiral would find it nearly impossible to harm him," Locke said, shaking his head. "I'm more interested in what kind of secret could make him react like that. We still don't even know the true extent of Drake's power after these two years."
The Back Mountain.
Ace thrust his flaming spear into a patch of open ground.
BOOM!
The earth exploded, creating a bottomless pit. A moment later, a pained cry rang out.
"Agh...!"
A battered Blackbeard stumbled out of the darkness. The moment he appeared, Ace lunged with the spear.
"Black Hole!" Blackbeard snarled, unleashing his darkness. The Flame Spear was sucked into the void, but the darkness didn't stop there—it surged forward to swallow Ace as well.
Blackbeard stared intensely until Ace was completely submerged in the shadows.
"Zehahahaha!" Seeing his enemy swallowed, Blackbeard burst into manic laughter. Inside his darkness, as long as he didn't wish to release someone, they would be trapped forever. No matter how strong Ace was, he would wither away in that void.
Blackbeard's mood improved instantly. His crew was gone, but he could find new subordinates. As long as he lived, the future still belonged to him!
"Pops was right," a voice suddenly echoed from the air, cutting through Blackbeard's laughter. "Your arrogance and overconfidence... they are your ultimate weaknesses."