Blackbeard's Ability

"Damn it, it's Ace and that Teach!" Marco said through gritted teeth, staring at the darkness that radiated overwhelming fury.

"Damn it, were we still a step too slow?" Vista was unwilling to accept it, but the boundless darkness had already said it all.

"What a joke! How can we let Ace fall into the hands of that traitor?" Jozu's face was contorted with rage as he stared at the source of darkness, tears of blood welling up in his eyes. Without turning his head, he said, "Be careful, I'm about to use my ultimate move."

Upon hearing this, Vista instantly turned deathly pale. "Wait... wait!!!"

Jozu grabbed him with his large, fan-like hand, swung his right arm in a wide arc, spinning it like a windmill, and finally threw him out with force. A faint, indistinct scream could be heard in the air, along with some murky liquid that emitted a putrid stench.

Marco's eyes were glazed over. He swallowed hard, and when Jozu's God of Death swept over him, he shuddered and, without thinking, transformed into a Phoenix Form and flew into the sky, leaving Jozu alone, bewildered in the wind, muttering to himself, "What happened to your promise to take me to show off and fly high?"

Banaaro Island.

"Captain, our plan is finally one step closer to success! Hahahaha!" Jesus Burgess shouted excitedly as he watched Ace being trampled under Blackbeard's feet.

"The gears of fate have begun to turn!" Van Augur said in an aria-like tone, with one eye closed.

"Zehahaha..." Blackbeard's raspy, hoarse laughter abruptly stopped. He looked in a certain direction on the island and said with an ambiguous tone, "Jesus Burgess, you should take my beloved Captain Ace and leave first. I'm planning to see some old friends from my old ship."

"Hahaha, Captain, don't go too far," Jesus Burgess laughed casually, without any worry. They all knew their captain's strength. Unless Four Emperors or some even more terrifying monster arrived, there were probably not many people in this world who could pose a threat to him.

Not long after, Marco and his two companions appeared before Blackbeard with overwhelming killing intent. Only Vista was pale, looking like he had indulged in excessive pleasure.

Seeing this, Blackbeard was also taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Captain Vista, your pale face... could it be that you just got up from a woman's belly? You must have had a hard time, hehehehe."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Vista's eye twitched slightly. "Hand over Ace right now."

"That won't do. Captain Ace is the beginning of my Blackbeard Pirates' fame. How can we just hand him over like that?" Blackbeard said without fear.

"The Blackbeard Pirates? Teach, you've really given yourself a good nickname. Are you trying to rival the Old Man?" Marco's tone was chilling.

"You've underestimated my ambition. Only mediocre people like you would consider Old Man an insurmountable figure. A true pirate must have the ambition to surpass everything!"

"Pah! You traitor who betrayed your captain, do you even deserve to talk about being a real pirate?" Jozu clenched his fists, hating his own eyes for being so bad at judging people.

"Captain Jozu, don't put it so harshly. I only used the Whitebeard Pirates as a stepping stone. I was never one of you, so there's no question of betrayal. In fact, you should feel honored. I'm destined to become the Pirate Kings. Speaking of which, you're the ones who were on the same ship as the future Pirate Kings."

"Hmph, Pirate Kings? If Old Man wanted to be the Pirate Kings, he could have done it more than ten years ago. Besides, even if Old Man has no interest in being the Pirate Kings, that position is far from yours. Defeat that monster who is already ahead of everyone else before you talk such big words."

Upon hearing Vista mention the monster, Blackbeard's expression froze. He was indeed not confident in defeating that real monster. Then, he recalled what Nightmare had told him on the Golden City, and a sense of unease crept into his heart. Could it be that Nightmare had already seen through his concealment of strength back then? And the nickname Blackbeard was something he only used after leaving the Whitebeard Pirates. Could it be that Nightmare had already foreseen this scene back then?

"Stop wasting time talking to this scum. Rescuing Ace is the priority. You guys hold him off, I'm going to catch up." Marco realized that Blackbeard was deliberately stalling for time, so he naturally didn't intend to do as Blackbeard planned. He spread his wings and was about to leave.

Suddenly, a terrifying suction force acted on Marco, pulling him towards Blackbeard.

Marco, a veteran of countless battles, reacted perfectly despite encountering such a bizarre ability for the first time. His body was enveloped in blue flames, which, combined with the attraction, propelled him to his maximum speed as he punched the menacing Blackbeard.

"Ah!"

Marco was sent flying by a punch, crashing heavily to the ground. But it was Blackbeard who screamed in agony, leaving Jozu and Vista somewhat bewildered. Why was the one who did the hitting screaming so pitifully? Was he trying to scam them?

However, they quickly reacted and ran to Marco's side to protect him. "Marco, are you alright?"

To their surprise, Marco didn't answer their questions. Instead, he stared blankly at his hands, then took a deep breath and looked at Blackbeard, who was still rolling on the ground. "Is this your ability?"

"Huff, huff." Blackbeard panted heavily, then laughed smugly, "Pretty impressive, right? Not only can it absorb your attacks, but it can also nullify your abilities. Having eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit, I can be said to be the nemesis of all Devil Fruit users in the world. This is the ability I've always dreamed of!"

Jozu and Vista were also shocked to hear this. Didn't this mean that all Devil Fruit users would inevitably be at a disadvantage when facing Blackbeard?

It's important to understand that for most Devil Fruit users, their Devil Fruits are their absolute reliance. Even Marine Admiral Kizaru once refuted former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, arguing that he only needed to continuously develop his Devil Fruit Ability and that Body Technique were useless to him. If even Marine Admiral relies on Devil Fruits so much, it goes without saying that others do as well.

Once they lose their abilities, the huge gap is enough to cause their mentality to collapse. Not to mention those who don't know Body Technique, even those who are also strong in Body Technique are easily affected, and can only exert one-tenth of their strength.

"How about it? Want to come aboard my ship? I'll show you the real fun of being a pirate, hehehehe!"

"No need. Let us make you experience the true pain of being a traitor."