"Aokiji!" Blackbeard's strike at Marco was blocked by Kuzan. Burning with rage, he spun and leaped high from the flagship, black smoke roiling around him as he smashed down at Kuzan's head. "Is this your choice?"
The nature of the Dark-Dark Fruit had long been thoroughly studied in the New World over the past two years. Known as the bane of Devil Fruits, the Dark-Dark Fruit was regarded as something no Devil Fruit user should ever casually confront head-on. Wary of its power, Kuzan did not receive the blow directly. He tucked himself away in a flash, using the Six Powers—Shave beneath his feet. His figure flickered, instantly shifting more than ten meters away. Blackbeard's strike slammed into the deck, blasting the two crowded pirate ships apart. Seawater poured in.
"I chose the future I want!" Kuzan swung his hand back, frost surging from his palm. A beam of icy light abruptly shot from his hand and struck Blackbeard squarely in the chest. "And you showed me a world that runs in the opposite direction!"
Blackbeard raised his left hand. The icy light that had just touched his chest was instantly caught in black waves of energy, and the Dark-Dark Fruit's devouring power dissolved Kuzan's attack in an instant.
"But you've forgotten—this is the world we live in!" Blackbeard instantly swallowed the frost with the Dark-Dark Fruit, then threw a fierce punch into the air. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's devastating impact blasted through the void, and a horrifying shockwave suddenly erupted across a vast area around him.
Crack!
Kuzan flipped away, raised both hands, and released Armament Haki to meet Blackbeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit power head-on.
However, Blackbeard's attack covered an enormous range, with no regard whatsoever for the lives of the pirates around him. Kuzan blocked only one wave of impact,