"Let's do this!" Mark's eyes turned bloodshot as waves of Darkness Power rose from his body.
His heart, shrouded in despair, refused to submit like this. As Darkness Power corroded his hands, they turned completely black. A force that seemed ready to burst through his flesh faintly emerged around them.
Following that urge that was about to erupt, Mark swung his arms.
Smack! His palms slammed violently into the ground.
Black Hole!
Utter darkness instantly spread from his palms, racing toward the explosives.
Buzz!
Just as the explosives were about to detonate, Darkness Power flooded over them like a pool of water. Then a devouring force emerged and swallowed every last bit of the explosives.
"That was close..."
Mark's forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
"If I'd been even a little later..." A shiver ran through him. Still shaken, Mark wiped the sweat from his forehead, then his eyes became bloodshot and icy killing intent erupted from him.
"Those damned bastards..."
Suddenly, he sensed danger coming from behind him. Without time to think, he swung the head of the Mountain-Splitting Axe behind his back to block it.
Bang! Clang—
After a gunshot rang out, a bullet struck Mark's Mountain-Splitting Axe squarely.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to be a Devil Fruit User!"
The burly middle-aged man held up a Flintlock Pistol and spoke cautiously.
After running outside, he had stared at Mark with a sinister expression, waiting for the moment he died.
Instead, he had witnessed Mark unleash his power and use his Devil Fruit ability to swallow the explosives.
The appearance of Darkness Power had utterly shocked him. Devil Fruits were top-tier treasures even in the New World. To encounter a Devil Fruit User in East Blue, known as the weakest sea, was simply unbelievable.
But that shock was immediately followed by an intense sense of danger.
This kid's ability looked bizarre, and the huge axe in his hand made it obvious that he was no pushover.
Whether it was for Ballas or something else, they had already thoroughly offended him today. They had to kill him. He had no desire to be targeted by someone like this, though with the great figure backing them, they were not truly afraid of a Devil Fruit User...
Mark's expression was as cold as ice. These people had entered his shop, asked two questions, and then tried to kill him. They had even planted explosives in the store. They clearly intended to put him to death...
He was not known for his patience, especially while old man Gaban was away. Mark's killing intent became even more overwhelming.
Bang! Another bullet shot toward Mark.
The muscles in Mark's arms tightened like steel. Gripping the Mountain-Splitting Axe with both hands, one above the other, he blocked the bullet.
"I'll use you to test my current strength!"
Darkness Power erupted from his entire body. Using his feet in place of his hands, he sent a bone-chilling current of Darkness Power rapidly spreading toward them.
Black Hole!
Bzz!
Darkness flowed like water... engulfing the group.
The burly middle-aged man raised his Flintlock Pistol and fired several shots at Mark, but Mark blocked every one.
The people behind him kept firing, but most of their bullets were blocked by Mark's Mountain-Splitting Axe.
A very small number slipped through and struck Mark, splashing blood across his body, but they could not inflict any real harm.
By then, Darkness Power had completely enveloped them.
"Get out of here!" Noticing that darkness had surrounded them, the burly middle-aged man felt his scalp tingle and shouted at the people behind him.
But it was already too late.
Mark's lips curled slightly as waves of devouring force rose within the Darkness Power.
To their horror, they discovered that their bodies were sinking.
The burly middle-aged man struggled desperately, even throwing away his Flintlock Pistol, but it was useless.
In an instant, they were swallowed by Darkness Power.
It was nowhere near as slow as in the original story... the devouring speed was enough to swallow a person within a second, and it could become even faster.
As long as Mark grew stronger, he guessed that once the Dark-Dark Fruit awakened, it might possess power comparable to a black hole.
As the host of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he had just realized that this power was simply a weakened version of a black hole's power.
Gravity, devouring, corrosion.
"What terrifying power..."
Mark looked at the place where they had vanished and spoke with lingering fear.
Fortunately, this power belonged to him.
Suddenly, Darkness Power emerged from the wounds on his body, accompanied by a faint devouring force.
"It can even do this... What an incredible ability!"
Mark looked delighted. The bullets inside his wounds were completely swallowed by Darkness Power. Not only that, his wounds were also swallowed by the Darkness Power and slowly vanished.
All that remained was smooth bronze-colored skin without the slightest scar.
"No elemental transformation, but it can devour injuries. No wonder it's the most vicious Devil Fruit..."
(In the original story, Blackbeard could only devour damage caused by Devil Fruit powers, which was a little underwhelming. And that body that could only attract Devil Fruit Users has also been changed to attract anything. I've given this Devil Fruit a tiny buff...)
Buzz!
Suddenly, Mark felt a surge of heat from his left wrist.
"Hm? What's this?"
He lowered his head and looked at his left hand. That was... the Combat Bracer.
"Could it be..."
The heat came quickly and faded just as quickly. After it disappeared, Mark felt that something about his body had changed.
It was... the feeling of becoming stronger.
A flash of delight passed through his eyes.
Mark opened the Combat Bracer and observed it for a moment before quietly saying, "So that's how it is."
The yellow energy bar displayed on the Combat Bracer had deepened slightly in color.
One-fifth of the ☆ had become solid. Once the ☆ in the Combat Bracer completely turned into a solid ★, it could advance to the next stage.
"I didn't expect the Combat Bracer to change after I transmigrated as well."
After carefully sensing his body and confirming that he had grown somewhat stronger, Mark sighed.
In the game, the Combat Bracer provided a physique bonus. Yet after coming to this world, it absorbed life force to strengthen his body.
The two might seem similar, but there was an essential difference between them.
The first was an equipment skill, completely unrelated to Mark himself. It was merely a divine artifact he could wield, though it was powerful as well... The second, however, fundamentally altered Mark's body, elevated his physique, and granted him a higher, stronger peak.
His path to strength would be faster and more stable than anyone else's.
Powerful Devil Fruit abilities, a powerful Combat Bracer—Mark now possessed the foundation to climb to the summit. Of course... it was only a foundation.
After scanning the battlefield, Mark picked up the Flintlock Pistol dropped by the burly middle-aged man and returned to the shop.
"This is the first time I've seen a Flintlock Pistol. I wonder if the old man will like it."
Mark ran his fingers over the bronze-colored Flintlock Pistol and thought of Gaban.
He had loved guns in his previous life, but in this life, he only liked axes.
The Mountain-Splitting Axe in his hand, and the small axe tucked against his chest for peeling apples and carving—though naturally, he had proper carving tools when doing serious carving.
He had a particular fondness for axes.
Mark: It was all Gaban's fault.