"This is bad…" Shiryu clenched a cigar between his teeth, watching as Whitebeard's corpse hurtled toward Sengoku.
Saa!
Lafitte suddenly spread his wings and shot forward, attempting to intercept the body before it reached the Fleet Admiral.
Just as he was about to close in, a calm yet chilling voice echoed behind him.
"Are you ignoring me?"
"What?!" Lafitte's pupils shrank as he instinctively tried to evade, but it was too late.
Boom!
Carl's heel crashed into Lafitte's back, sending him plummeting like a meteor.
Boom!
The ground shook violently upon impact, a massive crater forming in the wake of his fall.
Sengoku extended his arms, catching Whitebeard's lifeless body with a grave expression. "That man… Blackbeard… why is he so fixated on Whitebeard's corpse?"
"There's no way to retrieve it now." Shiryu wiped the cold sweat forming on his forehead. "With that monster blocking us, our chances are zero."
"Damn it! Damn it!" Teach roared, staggering to his feet, his body already regenerating from injuries that should have left him crippled.
His furious gaze locked onto Carl.
"Does he know what I'm trying to do?"
From the start, Carl had prevented him from getting anywhere near Whitebeard's body. There was no way this was a coincidence.
"This is fate," Van Augur muttered coldly.
By now, Marineford had split into two major battlefields.
At the port, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were being pursued. To be precise, it was Akainu—who had just climbed out of the molten battlefield—mercilessly chasing down the retreating commanders.
Compared to Kizaru and Aokiji, who had taken a more passive stance, Akainu's relentless aggression was a terrifying display of his dedication to absolute justice.
Within the central square, however, a different war was raging.
The Blackbeard Pirates versus Carl.
Carl swept his gaze over the notorious crew standing before him.
"I wouldn't mind eliminating a future Yonko early."
One captain, eight officers, and a ship doctor—every key member of the Blackbeard Pirates was here.
A newly risen Emperor was always a chaotic force in the world. If he could remove Teach now, he would do so without hesitation.
"Even this monster can't fight all of us at once!" Teach bellowed. "Everyone, attack!"
"Heh… I suppose we have no choice." The towering drunkard, Sanjuan Wolf, grinned as he stepped forward, his massive form casting a shadow over the battlefield.
Saa!
A dark blur shot toward Carl—an enormous fist coated in Haki came crashing down.
"If it's raw strength, I won't lose!"
'Champion' Jesus Burgess.
Carl didn't move.
His golden eyes flickered.
Brush!
Burgess' titanic fist struck Carl's face directly.
Yet, nothing happened.
"What the hell?!" Burgess' eyes widened in disbelief. "I hit him dead on—"
"Compared to them, you're too slow."
Carl's voice was indifferent.
Burgess' brute strength was formidable—capable of tossing entire buildings with ease.
But Carl was on a different level.
Calmly, he activated [Golden Experience Requiem], erasing the very result of Burgess' attack.
"Impossible!" Burgess' expression twisted. "My strength is second to none!"
Brush! Brush! Brush!
He unleashed a flurry of punches, kicking up dust and debris. But each strike dissolved into nothingness, as though the attacks never existed.
Carl sighed. He was about to put Burgess down when—
Clang!
A gleaming sword slashed toward his back.
Carl raised 'Sakura Ten', blocking the blow. Sparks flew.
Shiryu of the Rain.
"No matter how much of a monster you are, you can't win against all of us."
At the same time, Van Augur and Avalo Pizarro fired from a distance.
Bullets, enhanced with Haki, spiraled toward Carl.
Carl remained still. His left hand gripped 'Deadwood'.
[Draw—]
A crescent-shaped blade of light flashed outward.
Shing!
Blood bloomed across Burgess' chest.
The incoming bullets split cleanly in two, deflected away.
Shiryu barely managed to block with 'Thunderstorm', but the blade trembled violently, sparks crackling as his hands were lacerated by the Lion's Majesty—black liquid lightning infused with Carl's Haki.
Carl tilted his head. "So, what gave you the courage to approach me?"
He swung 'Sakura Ten' at Shiryu.
"Dark Vortex!"
Teach suddenly thrust out his hand. A swirling void of darkness coiled around his palm, attempting to drag Carl in.
But Carl didn't even flinch.
His blade descended.
Boom!
The earth split. Shockwaves erupted outward.
Shiryu was driven to his knees, his blade trembling in his grasp, blood trailing down his face.
"Why… isn't it working?" Teach's voice wavered.
Carl smirked.
The Yami Yami no Mi was hailed as the most powerful Logia—not because of offense, but because of its ability to nullify Devil Fruits.
It could absorb enemy abilities, drag opponents into its darkness, and cancel out even the most potent of fruit-based attacks.
Against any normal Devil Fruit user, Teach's power was absolute.
But Carl wasn't a Devil Fruit user.
Teach's hands trembled. "That's… that's impossible!"
Swordsmanship, Haki, his crimson eye, and the cascading sakura petals…
And yet—his Devil Fruit had failed against him!
"You're not… a Devil Fruit user?!"
Teach had assumed Carl possessed a Zoan of some kind. It was the only explanation for his near-immortal endurance and unpredictable abilities.
But his Darkness had done nothing.
Saa!
Carl blurred forward. 'Sakura Ten' rose high.
"Shit—" Teach's instincts screamed. His Kenbunshoku Haki flared.
"I won't let you!"
Catarina Devon lunged, her clawed hands flashing with cold light.
Clang!
Carl deflected her effortlessly. Midair, she twisted, morphing into a nine-tailed fox.
Teach took advantage of the distraction.
His palms slammed into the ground.
"Black Hole!"
The battlefield trembled. A swirling abyss of darkness spread, pulling everything inward with terrifying force.
Teach cackled. "You're dead, boy!"
The Yami Yami no Mi's suction was absolute.
Even non-fruit users were drawn into its crushing singularity.
But—
"Really?"
Carl's voice came from behind him.
"What?!"
Carl had vanished.
Teach turned in shock—
Zheng!
Carl sheathed 'Deadwood'.
"Extreme—Excalibur—Instant Slash."
Teach's body tensed.
And then—
Chi! Chi! Chi!
Blood erupted from his chest.
Teach collapsed to his knees.
"You… what did you…?"
Dark lightning and an ominous fighting aura ravaged his insides. His body tried to heal—his fruit devoured the damage—but the pain was endless.
He couldn't die.
He could only suffer.
Carl clicked his tongue. "What a cockroach."
His crimson eye flickered—switching from five to one.
He prepared to activate [Hell Path]—
Clang!
A bullet struck 'Sakura Ten' mid-motion.
Carl frowned. "Van Augur."
Even he had to respect a sniper who could strike at the speed of sound.
"Kill him!" Teach screamed.
He was breaking.
The strongest Logia…
Crushed.
Again.
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