Devil Fruit Awakening

"It hurts so much!"

Blackbeard clutched his chest, where black smoke was rising from the bloody hole, but the bleeding had stopped. However, his face was pale, clearly indicating that he had exhausted a lot of his energy.

"Your abilities seem somewhat similar to the Gorosei, but you are still far inferior to them."

The Banlong was perched on Blackbeard's neck, but Cifer's face remained expressionless.

"Really? You're quite disappointed! Thief~ Hahahaha~"

No matter how you look at it, it seemed like he was about to die, but Blackbeard let out a maniacal laugh, and the black aura around his body continued to rise and spread.

"You don't want to talk? Then I'll just have to send you on your way. Don't worry, there won't be any surprises this time."

Seeing that he still hadn't satisfied his doubts, Cifer lost patience and raised the Banlong high.

"Tianyin!"

The kneeling Blackbeard's eyes were bloodshot, and a powerful aura suddenly emanated from his body.

Immediately, Cifer's raised hand holding the knife seemed to be pulled back by something, unable to fall.

He looked up, and from the darkness above, a dark hand reached out and gripped his blade tightly.

"Curiosity can kill you, Cifer!"

Blackbeard stood up, panting heavily. Then, centered on him, a vast expanse of darkness rapidly spread, engulfing the two of them before disappearing.

Where are they?

In Hancock's eyes, the two seemed to have vanished into thin air without leaving a trace, which made her very uneasy.

"Is this the power of darkness?!"

Rayleigh looked at the eroded ground, and even though he wasn't a power user, he felt a chill run down his spine.

In the Dark Domain at this moment.

"Rip~"

Cifer suddenly felt a pain as if he were being slashed by countless blades. His shirt instantly tore apart, and even his Steel Skin began to show wounds.

"Thief~ Hahahaha~ I smell blood! You're injured! In this realm, I am invincible!"

Blackbeard's unrestrained laughter drifted over, sometimes near, sometimes far, the sound seemingly echoing in the darkness.

For him, being able to hurt the other party is the first step; taking it step by step will give him a chance!

"Seal it off, Black Winged Great Demon!"

Cifer ignored his arrogance. As his wound healed instantly, a fine rain began to fall in the darkness, bringing Blackbeard's smugness to an abrupt end.

"It's no use! This place will gradually erode your power, while I will only grow stronger as you weaken!"

Blackbeard seemed to have found an excuse to comfort himself: as long as he doesn't get found, that's all that matters!

"I see, so you used the gap in visibility created by Cero to escape into this place, didn't you?"

In this darkness, much like with high-purity Seastone, Cifer's Neural Scan were restricted, making it difficult to extend outwards.

This is why, when Cifer sensed the disappearance of his aura during the Neural Scan, he was misled into thinking that he was dead.

"Escape? Speaking of which, I really want you to experience the pain I went through!"

Blackbeard's eyes were bloodshot with rage; he was so angry he felt like he was about to grind his back teeth to powder.

That experience replayed in his mind...

"Etc..."

Seeing the fingertips pointing towards him, Blackbeard fell into despair for the first time in his life.

The destructive flash of light burst forth before his eyes, and he struggled to raise his hands, attempting to block the attack.

The result was that, in his vision, time seemed to slow down, but he could only watch helplessly as the raised hands were swallowed up by the flash of light bit by bit.

But at that very moment, he heard an unusual sound.

A fear, seemingly from nowhere, surged within me. "I don't want to die here..."

The Dark-Dark Fruit Awakening at this moment.

In an instant, darkness engulfed him, and he was transported into this Domain of Darkness.

The darkness here will destroy everything, but as a newcomer, I haven't fully mastered that Awakening power yet.

Thus, he continued to feel a tearing pain, but he did not die; he simply lost all means of struggling.

In the days that followed, he was almost shredded into a human stump, searching for a way to master this power every day amidst endless pain, unable to leave.

After being tormented for nearly half a month, he was finally able to use this power properly.

The nearly useless, Unnamed Fruit he ate to save his life now displays an astonishing ability: limb regeneration.

He had always thought that the fruit had only given him two extra hearts, the opportunity to eat other fruits, and a certain degree of self-healing ability.

But it was only then that he realized what a treasure it was!

Although it took several months for the limb to grow back, the regeneration of the severed limb gave him endless possibilities!

From that moment on, he resolved to make Cifer experience the same agony he had felt being torn to pieces...

"I can tell from your voice that you've suffered a lot just to survive."

The resentment in his words was immense, easily detectable even to a stranger, but Cifer paid no heed:

"Hadō No. 30: Crimson Fire Cannon"

He raised his hand, and a giant fireball shot from his palm, hovering in the darkness as dazzling as the sun, illuminating Blackbeard's figure.

"What... Dark Devour!"

Seeing that his opponent had a way to create light, Blackbeard reached out and squeezed, and endless darkness surged towards the Crimson Fire Cannon like a tide.

But whenever darkness tries to get close, it is burned away by the blazing flames; the sun cannot be obscured at all.

"It's no use. It's covered by a thick Spiritual Pressure; your little speck of dust can't extinguish it."

Cifer raised his finger, and a black flash gradually gathered at his fingertip.

"Etc!"

Blackbeard shouted until he was hoarse.

This scene seems familiar.

"Garganta."

"Devour!"

A black hole suddenly appeared beneath Blackbeard's feet, and he fell into it. His Garganta missed its target, and he flew off into an unknown distance.

"Playing with black holes inside black holes...?"

Cifer looked around but couldn't find him.

"Liberation!"

The voice, sometimes near, sometimes far, came again. Cifer felt as if his body was being repelled by this space, and Blackbeard was trying to drive him out.

"You only let me in because I wanted to see what tricks you were up to. Getting me out won't be that easy."

The repulsive force that could crush a person was like a slightly firm massage to Cifer, having no effect whatsoever.

"Damn it... There are so many pirates in the world! Why are you only targeting me?!"

Blackbeard started to panic.

The ability to control his Awakening was already a burden for him, let alone now having to distract himself from suppressing the wound.

If this continues, even if they aren't beaten to death, they'll wear themselves down to death.

"I just don't like the look of you, and besides, you're getting too worked up."

"Bakudō Fifty-Eight: Kakushitsuijaku!"

Cifer casually drew a shape in the air, revealing Blackbeard's hiding place in his eyes.

"Cero Oscuras."

After confirming the location, without the slightest hesitation, he launched an attack with a speed far exceeding that of Cero, slamming it violently into Blackbeard's chest.

"Pfft~"

Blackbeard, already severely injured, immediately coughed up blood and was about to fly backward when Cifer grabbed his right foot and slammed him to the ground.

Blackbeard was on the verge of losing consciousness, and the entire dark space showed signs of collapsing.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you die. Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal."

Cifer stepped on him, crushing his bones without using any Spiritual Pressure.

Then, space collapsed.

"Cifer!"

The two reappeared on Amazon Lily, and Hancock and Rayleigh finally breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Cifer trample the battered Blackbeard underfoot.

"My dream..."

As Blackbeard reluctantly closed his eyes, a Hollow began to escape from his body at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

Where do you want to go?

After a hurricane, Cifer blocked its path.

"I... don't want to die..."

Unlike any of the Hollows Cifer had ever seen before, it actually begged for mercy.

"Now that you are conscious, we can't let you live."

"Don't want..."

Cifer's pupils contracted as a powerful Spiritual Pressure instantly engulfed him, annihilating what was known as the most ferocious "darkness."