Upon seeing the Blackbeard Pirates suddenly appear, Lafitte's expression finally changed. He knew that this group was not on the same level as the soldiers.
Especially the leader, Blackbeard, from whom Lafitte sensed a strong sense of danger.
Blackbeard, clutching a cherry pie, swaggered toward Lafitte with a pigeon-toed gait.
Lafitte instinctively drew his staff-sword. Blackbeard noticed his movement and stuffed the rest of his cherry pie into his mouth, chewing as he spoke.
"Don't be nervous. I just think you're a very interesting person. Would you be interested in joining my pirate crew?"
"Let me join your pirate crew?"
Lafitte was taken aback. So this guy was a pirate?
Among the group of soldiers behind him, someone recognized Blackbeard and cried out in terror,
"It's Blackbeard! That pirate who defected from the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Blackbeard?"
Lafitte was unfamiliar with the name. His reputation had been quite bad lately, and there were frequent criticisms of him in the newspapers, so he hadn't been reading the newspapers much these past few days. Therefore, he was unaware that Blackbeard had emerged on the high seas.
However, he still gleaned the name Whitebeard Pirates from the soldier's words. After all, who on this high seas didn't know the legendary Whitebeard Pirates?
For ordinary pirates, joining the Whitebeard Pirates is something to brag about, but this guy named Blackbeard actually defected from there!?
Regardless, the fact that this guy was able to join the Whitebeard Pirates and even defect from them means that his strength is definitely beyond my ability to contend with.
Lafitte felt it best to appease Blackbeard first. He paused for a moment and said,
"Why would a man like you choose me?"
Blackbeard let out another burst of maniacal laughter, pointing to the dilapidated streets around him.
"That's enough! That's exactly the kind of lawless bastard I want!"
The soldiers behind Lafitte were filled with rage upon hearing Blackbeard's words; in their eyes, these guys were utter scum among scum!
But considering the opponent's strength, they felt a wave of powerlessness wash over them. What could ordinary people like them do against such a monster?
One of the soldiers whispered to his comrade,
"Let's go back and report to His Majesty the King that this enemy is beyond our capabilities."
The others nodded in agreement and began to quietly retreat towards the imperial city.
Blackbeard paid no heed to the departing soldiers; to him, as long as these soldiers remained in the country, they would never escape his grasp.
A sinister smile appeared on his face, and then, to Lafitte's bewildered gaze, Vice Admiral placed his hand on the ground.
A tidal wave of darkness surged from Blackbeard's palm and rapidly spread outwards, covering the entire country's ground.
Laot's expression changed, and he said,
"This... this is Devil Fruit?"
Blackbeard remained motionless and said smugly,
"That's right, this is what's known as the most ferocious Devil Fruit! The power of the Dark-Dark Fruit!"
"Dark-Dark Fruit?"
"Hahaha! Just you wait and see, you'll soon see how terrifying this ability is! Dark Hole!"
The darkness on the ground jolted violently, then released a terrifying gravitational pull that dragged everything around it into it.
Before long, Lafitte was surrounded by nothing but darkness surging across the ground.
He looked around in terror, completely stunned by the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Blackbeard got up from the ground, somewhat puzzled, because he hadn't heard a single scream. Where had everyone in this country gone?
After thinking for a while, he could only assume that he had used too much force and those people hadn't had time to react before being pulled into the darkness.
"Fine, he didn't care about ordinary people's lives anyway." He smugly observed the expression on Lafitte's face, then spread his arms and shouted,
"So? Am I qualified to be your captain?"
Lafitte swallowed hard. Faced with such terrifying power, how could he dare refuse? He was about to speak immediately...
"I agree with..."
"This ability is indeed impressive; it made my trip worthwhile."
A voice suddenly rang out in the open space, startling Blackbeard and the others who were standing on the ground.
"Who goes there!?"
Blackbeard hurriedly looked around, but the surrounding buildings had already been swallowed up by his darkness; there was nothing else but the ground beneath his feet.
Fortunately, his Observation Haki was also quite strong, and he quickly realized that the voice was coming from the sky.
Blackbeard suddenly raised his head and immediately saw the figure floating above him.
The person who arrived was none other than Senga, who had just come here.
Seeing that Blackbeard had finally noticed him, Senga slowly descended from the air and stood not far from Blackbeard.
Blackbeard's expression changed drastically when he saw Senga's face. He couldn't help it; even though he hadn't seen Senga's face before, those purple Rinnegan were simply too dazzling for him to ignore.
Upon recognizing Senga, Blackbeard immediately broke out in a cold sweat and even instinctively took two steps back.
Since obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, there have been very few people who could terrify him like this, but it's clear that Senga is one of them, and he definitely ranks first in his heart, even surpassing Whitebeard!
You must understand that the man in front of you is someone even his father, Whitebeard, known as the "World's Strongest Man," feared greatly!
Laot, who was about to agree to join the Blackbeard Pirates, immediately shut his mouth after seeing Senga. Seriously, who would dare call themselves a pirate in front of this man?!
However, there are always those who are blind to the truth. Because Senga's back was turned to them, the group led by Blackbeard, including Gizas Jesus Burgess, did not see Senga's face. Therefore, when they saw Blackbeard's actions, they only regarded Senga as an enemy.
Van Oka raised his sniper rifle, aimed at Senga, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, and the bullet passed through Senga's body, heading towards Blackbeard, who was standing opposite him.
Van Augur can't even use Armament Haki right now, so for Senga, who is a Logia Ability User, this kind of attack can't even hurt the Kakuzu of his clothes.
Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit doesn't allow him to become an elemental, but he has his own method: a surge of darkness emanates from his body, absorbing the incoming bullets into it.
Although he had avoided friendly fire, Blackbeard was far from relaxed. He shouted in a panic,
"Jesus Burgess! Don't make a move! He's Marine Admiral Purple Kirin, not someone you can handle!"
"Purple Kirin!?"
Upon hearing the name, Jesus Burgess and the others were terrified. Van Augur, who had just fired the shot, shuddered so violently that he almost dropped his gun.
Without daring to think any further, Jesus Burgess and the others turned to run, but it was too late.
Boom boom boom!
Three deafening thunderclaps resounded, and the three members Blackbeard had just recruited were completely reduced to ashes.
Senga didn't even turn to look at them. He looked at the terrified Blackbeard in front of him, a smile on his face, and said,
"Alright, you've had your fill of the Dark-Dark Fruit. It's time to hand it over."