Defeat Blackbeard Teach! (Part 1)

Immediately after.

Blackbeard Teach spread his arms wide. Two masses of Dark Matter swiftly covered his hands, while behind him, a pillar of Dark Matter shot into the sky like a waterspout.

"Ahahahahaha!"

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

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

"Men, retreat now!"

Blackbeard shouted confidently.

Watching Blackbeard Teach's display, Roya knew full well that what Blackbeard Teach had unleashed was the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit he had acquired.

It was precisely because of the Dark-Dark Fruit's power that Ace, whose strength had once earned the Navy's recognition, 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 over his shoulder as he, Lafitte, and Doc Q swiftly retreated from the battlefield.

All of a sudden.

The pillar of Dark Matter soaring into the sky came crashing down, spreading across the ground like raging tides.

"W-What is this...?"

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

The Dark Matter Blackbeard Teach had released was truly beyond comprehension, leaving many Marines at a loss.

"All Marines, return 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 behind, Blackbeard Teach would definitely kill every one of them.

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

The Marines did not hesitate. They had all witnessed Roya's Conqueror's Haki earlier. Since Rear Admiral Roya had ordered them to retreat, they believed he had a way to deal with Blackbeard. Thus, just as the Dark Matter was about to reach their feet, they began retreating.

After all the Marines had withdrawn, the Dark Matter Blackbeard Teach had released had completely covered the shoreline.

As the Dark Matter churned, countless rocks and trees slowly sank as if they were being devoured.

Roya stood atop the Dark Matter as well, but it posed no threat to him whatsoever.

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

"Liberation!"

Blackbeard shouted.

The Dark Matter immediately began converging, gathering above Blackbeard's head. In just a few seconds, the rocks and trees that had been swallowed earlier blasted toward Roya like a torrential barrage.

Roya remained calm. With a sharp glance, he instantly unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.

Boom...

With a deafening crash, the rocks and trees raining down like a storm were instantly shattered.

It was as though they had been blasted into scraps by cannon fire in an instant!

The tangible Conqueror's Haki did not stop there. After crushing the rocks and trees, it surged onward and collided with the massive tide of Dark Matter released by Blackbeard.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~!!!

The tangible Conqueror's Haki actually held back the all-devouring Dark Matter for a moment!

The Marines aboard the Warship were left utterly dumbfounded by 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 Navy Rear Admiral really that strong?"

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

"What are you thinking? Can't you see the captain hasn't gone all out yet? Even Fire Fist Ace wasn't his match. You think this Navy Rear Admiral can be?"

"..."

"You actually trained your Conqueror's Haki to this level?" Blackbeard Teach was visibly shocked.

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 years. Even before obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, he had been capable of injuring Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. He recognized Roya's power at a single glance.

It was the power of tangible Conqueror's Haki!

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

"What? Did my Haki scare you, Blackbeard?" Roya sneered mockingly.

Upon hearing that.

Blackbeard Teach immediately flew into a rage.

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

"Too bad you chose to refuse me!"

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

"So today, right here, I'll kill you first."

Blackbeard Teach's sharp gaze was 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 his words fell.

Roya vanished from the spot without a trace.

"Hm?"

Blackbeard frowned deeply. By the time he came to his senses, 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.

In that single instant.

Roya had displayed three of the Six Powers at once—Soru, Geppo, and Rankyaku—combining them with Armament Haki to inflict fatal damage.

With just one move, blood streamed all over Blackbeard's body. After a thud, he collapsed into a pool of blood, writhing in agony.

Though Blackbeard Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit power was immensely strong, it had many flaws. One was that, despite being a Logia Devil Fruit, it could not undergo Elementalization. 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 Navy Six Powers to such a level?"

"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 Blackbeard Pirates, they stared at one another, their expressions extremely grim. They had never expected their captain to be defeated so easily.

Their only thought now was to find a way to flee with their captain!

"What?"

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

"I haven't even brought out my signature move yet!"

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

"W-Wait... wait..."

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

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

Blackbeard endured the pain as he lay on the ground and began begging for mercy.