The collision of the sun and darkness, a moment of evenly matched strength, lasted only a brief while before the light was completely extinguished.
When the fierce battle ended and the thick smoke dissipated, the one lying on the ground was a thin, frail boy.
"Ace, since that Straw Hat Kid is your brother, I'll let him go this time, considering we were once teammates!"
"I'm going to take you to the World Government! The Second Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, there's no better gift than that! Hehehehe~"
A new idea popped into Blackbeard's mind—an idea he had never considered before, but one that might actually come to fruition!
"Captain! Something's happened!"
At this moment, Burgess and the others rushed over and surrounded him. Just as they were about to tell him that things were not going well, another voice rang out.
"You seem pretty smug, Marshall D. Teach. Or should I just call you Blackbeard?"
Blackbeard suddenly turned around and saw the man walking towards him with his hands in his pockets!
"Hehehehe~ I really didn't expect to run into two extraordinary people on the same day, Cifer!"
"You're not helping Whitebeard hunt me down, are you? This is an internal matter for the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Blackbeard was still laughing loudly, but he was already starting to panic.
He had been by Whitebeard's side since he was a child and knew very well how powerful the other party was. Even now that he was old, he could not withstand Whitebeard's full-force attack.
Not to mention this man who was still alive and kicking after taking that blow.
"You're overthinking it. I only came here because Ace is my friend!"
"Cifer ..."
Ace did not fall into a coma, but his injuries were so severe that he could hardly stand. However, he still heard their conversation and struggled to lift his head.
"Hehehehe~ Then I'll hand Ace over to you. You shouldn't meddle in other people's business now, right?"
Although reluctant, he still had no intention of starting a war with the other party right now.
Cifer is not Devil Fruit User, Dark-Dark Fruit doesn't affect him much, and he also wasted a lot of energy fighting Ace earlier.
If we were to fight this monster again now, all the patience we've built up over the past few decades might be for naught.
"No, no, no~ You misunderstood. What I just said was only one of the reasons I came here."
"There's another reason: I've wanted to kill you for a long time. In the peaceful and prosperous future, we don't need a ruthless hero like you!"
"Bang!"
Seeing that the negotiations had broken down, and now that the Blackbeard Pirates had all gathered together, Van Augur was the first to pull the trigger.
But to his astonishment, Cifer simply raised his hand and caught the bullet in his palm.
"What kind of monster is this...?"
Van Augur trembled as he encountered for the first time an enemy whose superior marksmanship was completely outmatched.
"Oka! You bastard, you've attacked me again without warning!"
Just now, and now, both times his subordinates' actions have put Blackbeard in a passive stalemate. He has no desire to engage in battle with strong opponents casually.
The Dark-Dark Fruit is powerful, but it comes with twice the pain! And the opponent is a master of physical combat!
"Captain, this guy's here to kill you!"
Even Burgess could see the situation clearly at this point.
"Retreat immediately! You are no match for this man!"
The situation had become irreversible, and Blackbeard had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it, but he didn't want his hard-earned subordinates to be given away for nothing.
They have great potential, but they can't even stall for time in front of this man!
"Wait, you forgot something."
Before Van Oka could react, the bullet had already pierced his chest, and the powerful force pulled his body backward.
"You bastard! I won't give you a chance to use that terrifying transformation! Taste the power of darkness!"
"Dark Hole!"
His large hand pressed down on the ground, and boundless darkness began to spread toward Cifer.
"Cifer, get out of the way! That thing will suck you in!"
Seeing his friend standing there motionless, Ace struggled to crawl over, but he couldn't muster the strength and could only shout to remind him.
There's no need for that.
To everyone's surprise, the all-encompassing darkness stopped a few meters in front of Cifer's feet.
"What happened? How could this be!"
Blackbeard couldn't believe what he was seeing and intensified his efforts, instantly engulfing the ruins beside Cifer once more in the darkness.
Strangely, only when Cifer stood in the darkness did the ground within several meters of him seem to be a forbidden zone of darkness, impossible to enter.
"Mere darkness is utterly insufficient to even set foot in the realm of nothingness."
Cifer walked slowly toward Blackbeard. With each step he took, the darkness was dispelled, and the faint sound of his footsteps was like a hammer striking the latter's heart.
"Liberation!"
The darkness had no effect on him; Blackbeard once again dumped all the ruins he had inhaled out and hurled them at Cifer.
"Cero!"
The attack that Blackbeard feared most came; he collapsed to the ground, crushing the ruins in the air into dust.
The residual force crashed onto the mountain, and the entire massive mountaintop vanished completely in that instant!
"Hateful!"
Seeing the captain's disheveled appearance, Burgess grabbed a tree from the side and charged at Cifer.
To everyone's surprise, the tree that Cifer swung with all his might was blocked by his single hand and could not advance an inch.
"How is that possible? I'm a fighting champion!"
First, the captain was helpless against him, and he was completely crushed in his best area, and a sense of despair gradually rose up.
"Although I don't really care about the little bug, since you're in such a hurry, I'll send you on your way first."
After a flash of light, Burgess had a large hole in his chest, collapsed to his knees, and his eyes gradually lost focus.
"I forgot to tell you, that little bug you sent to Marineford to attend the Shichibukai meeting also died in the same way."
Casually tossing aside his corpse, Cifer uttered something that plunged the remaining Blackbeard Pirates into even greater despair.
"You bastard, you wanted to kill me from the very beginning, didn't you? Why!"
With his plan completely ruined, Blackbeard began to give up entirely.
He recalled that when he was still with the Whitebeard Pirates, the way the person in front of him looked at him seemed a little different.
"Dark Water!"
At the same time, he rushed toward Ace was lying on the ground, while using his ability to lure him over.
As long as you have leverage, you have the conditions for negotiation!
"Dead people don't need to know too much."
"Also, don't do anything foolish!"
With just a slight lift of his finger, the attack he unleashed felt as fierce as if he were being punched by his Old Man's Blackbeard.
Before he could even grab Ace, Blackbeard, spitting out blood, collapsed to the ground, feeling as if all the bones in his body were about to shatter.
"Um?"
An apple flew towards Cifer, which he caught steadily in his hand.
"You're doomed! I've coated this apple with deadly poison. If you touch it, the poison will spread throughout your body! Cough cough~"
Doc Q couldn't help but laugh, his body trembling, whether from excitement or fear, it was hard to tell.
"Is that so? Then I'll return it to you!"
With a casual wave of his hand, the apple pierced through Doc Q's body, creating a hole in his chest, just like Burgess had done.
However, his hole was much smaller, but a deadly toxin was spreading within it.
"Antidote..."
He struggled to reach into his backpack, but he was too weak to stand up.
"You look like you're in a lot of pain. I'm a kind-hearted person, so I'll send you on your way!"
Walking over to Van Augur, who was still barely clinging to life, Cifer stepped on his chest.
"This is fate's arrangement. We took the wrong turn, and naturally we have to pay the price."
At this moment, there was no longer a trace of fear on his face; he had already seen through the ending.
"You're wrong. You didn't take the wrong fork in the road; you just encountered an insurmountable obstacle at the fork."
"This is not fate's arrangement; it is I, Ulquiorra, who have severed your future!"
With a powerful kick, Van Oka was completely rendered lifeless.
Now, there's only one person left.
"Wait a minute, Cifer, let me go! I'll go back and apologize to my Old Man. Make me your subordinate, and I can make you the Pirate King!"
Even though all his companions had died at Cifer's hands, Blackbeard began to kneel and beg for mercy in order to survive.
"First, as I've already said, I'm not here to seek justice for Whitebeard;"
"Secondly, I have no interest in becoming that boring Pirate King."
"Third, what makes you think you need me to use my Resurrección?"
Beneath his dark green eyes, a raw killing intent was about to overflow.
"Etc..."
Blackbeard is still making a final struggle.
"Cero!"
A scalding impact mark spread until it was invisible, and the man who had been kneeling there was reduced to ashes.
(PS: Sorry, I need to take a day off tomorrow. I have some things to take care of. I'm going to jump off a building.)