Defeating Blackbeard Teach! (Part 1)

Immediately after.

Blackbeard Teach spread his hands, and two streams of dark matter quickly covered them. At the same time, a pillar of dark matter shot into the sky behind him like a column of water.

"Ahahahahaha."

"Rear Admiral Roya, my power is the strongest Logia Devil Fruit in history—the Dark-Dark Fruit!"

"Since you refuse to see reason, I'll show you the power that can devour everything in this world!"

"Men, get back!"

Blackbeard shouted confidently.

Watching Blackbeard Teach, Roya knew very well that what he had unleashed was the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit he had obtained.

It was also because of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power that Ace, whose strength had once been recognized by the Marines, had suffered a crushing defeat.

"Move! The captain's angry. He's about to go wild."

"That's right. If we don't leave now, we'll get dragged into this too."

Van Augur carried the injured Burgess as he quickly retreated from the battlefield with Lafitte and Doc Q.

All of a sudden.

The dark matter that had shot into the sky like a water column crashed down, spreading across the ground like surging tides.

"W-What is this...?"

"R-Rear Admiral Roya... what do we do...?"

The dark matter Blackbeard Teach had released was simply too bizarre, leaving many Marines at a loss.

"All Marines, retreat to the ship immediately!" Roya gave the order at once.

Roya knew that Blackbeard Teach was no decent man. If he let the Marines stay here, Blackbeard would definitely kill them all.

Besides, rather than letting these Marines get in his way, Roya might as well have them all return to the ship.

The Marines did not hesitate. They had just witnessed Roya's Conqueror's Haki. Since Rear Admiral Roya had ordered them to retreat, they believed he must have a way to deal with Blackbeard. Before the dark matter reached their feet, they all began to withdraw.

After all the Marines had evacuated, the dark matter released by Blackbeard Teach had completely covered the shore.

Amid the surging darkness, countless rocks and trees slowly sank as though they were being devoured.

Roya stood atop the dark matter as well, but it posed no threat to him.

"Come, let me show you the true power of darkness! Liberation!"

Blackbeard shouted.

The dark matter immediately began to converge, gathering above Blackbeard's head. In only a few seconds, the rocks and trees that had been swallowed were blasted toward Roya like a rain of bullets.

Roya remained calm. His sharp gaze shifted, and Conqueror's Haki burst forth in an instant.

Boom...

With a deafening crash, the rocks and trees that had poured down like a torrential storm shattered instantly.

It was as if they had been blasted into fragments by cannon fire!

The tangible Conqueror's Haki did not stop. After smashing through the rocks and trees, it continued forward and collided with the massive tide of dark matter Blackbeard had unleashed.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~!!!

The tangible Conqueror's Haki actually managed to temporarily hold back the dark matter that could devour everything!

The Marines aboard the warship were utterly dumbfounded at the sight.

"Rear Admiral Roya is incredible!"

"He didn't even move, yet he neutralized Blackbeard's terrifying Devil Fruit attack."

Even several members of the Blackbeard Pirates hiding nearby were astonished.

"Is that Marine rear admiral really that strong?"

"The captain won't lose to that guy, will he?"

"What are you thinking? Didn't you see that the captain hasn't even gone all out yet? Even Fire Fist Ace wasn't the captain's match. Do you think this Marine rear admiral can do it?"

"..."

"You actually trained your Conqueror's Haki to this extent?" Blackbeard Teach's face changed in shock.

Others might not have understood what power Roya had displayed just now.

But Blackbeard Teach had been a hidden expert aboard Whitebeard's ship for many years. Even before obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, he had been capable of injuring Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. He recognized the power Roya had displayed at a glance.

That was the power of tangible Conqueror's Haki!

Conqueror's Haki on the same level as Red-Haired Shanks!

"What's wrong? Did my Haki scare you, Blackbeard?" Roya sneered.

Hearing that.

Blackbeard Teach immediately flew into a rage.

"Brat, if you had agreed to join us, we could have overturned this world."

"Unfortunately, you chose to refuse me!"

"And your strength has truly surprised me. Since you can't become a companion, you'll definitely become my greatest enemy in the future."

"So I'll kill you here today."

Blackbeard Teach's sharp eyes were filled with killing intent. As he spoke, he once again unleashed—

"Blackbeard, have you ever heard a saying?" Roya asked leisurely.

"What?" Blackbeard asked in confusion.

"Villains die from talking too much!"

The moment the words fell.

Roya vanished from where he stood without a trace.

"Hm?"

Blackbeard frowned deeply. By the time he reacted, Roya had already appeared above him.

Immediately after.

Roya's legs swung, and several sharp blade-like strikes descended from the sky, slashing directly into Blackbeard's body.

In that instant.

Roya had combined three of the Six Powers—Soru, Geppo, and Rankyaku—while also incorporating Armament Haki, dealing a fatal blow.

With just one move, Blackbeard was covered in flowing blood. After a thud, he collapsed into a pool of blood, rolling around in agony.

Although the Dark-Dark Fruit ability Blackbeard Teach possessed was powerful, it had many weaknesses. One was that, despite being a Logia Devil Fruit, it could not grant elemental transformation. Another was that the pain he felt from injuries was twice that of an ordinary person.

Seeing this result.

Everyone watching was stunned!

"So strong! Rear Admiral Roya has trained our Marine Six Powers to such an extent?"

"With just one move, he brought down that pirate called Blackbeard! This Blackbeard is the man who defeated the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division!"

As for the members of the Blackbeard Pirates, they stared at one another, their faces extremely grim. None of them had expected their captain to be defeated so easily.

Their only thought now was to find a way to take their captain and run!

"How?"

"Blackbeard Teach, is this all the strength you have?"

"I haven't even used my specialty yet!"

Roya drew a sword and slowly walked toward Blackbeard Teach, his body radiating killing intent.

"W-Wait..."

"Don't kill me... I'm a Shichibukai now..."

"As long as you don't kill me... I-I don't want that billion anymore..."

Blackbeard endured the pain and began begging for mercy while lying on the ground.