A Chilling Blackbeard

Hearing Su Yu's words, Blackbeard gave a stiff smile.

"Zehahahahaha, I just heard the wine here is really good, so I wanted to come try some. After all, I'm a man who loves wine too, zehahahaha!"

In truth, Blackbeard's purpose for coming here was by no means so innocent-or rather, it hadn't been to begin with, but that little trick Su Yu pulled just now had genuinely scared the wits out of Blackbeard.

Blackbeard harbored no good intentions whatsoever in coming here; to put it less inaccurately, he was actually here to scout the place out.

Previously, he had been constantly on the run. After all, he had committed betrayal, and he knew all too well how much Whitebeard hated traitors. If Whitebeard didn't drag him back, he certainly wouldn't let the matter drop. Besides, he knew that even though he had already acquired the Dark-Dark Fruit of his dreams, and even though Whitebeard was old and frail, there was a high probability he still couldn't beat Whitebeard. The best-case scenario would be dragging Whitebeard into a war of attrition and ending up in mutual destruction, yet Whitebeard had numerous "sons" while he stood entirely alone as a single man. Therefore, he absolutely, positively could not let such a scenario happen.

Yet right in the middle of his flight, he caught sight of a piece of news that shocked him to the core. Since he was on the run, keeping a constant eye on the news was a very normal and rational operation.

Naturally, that news was the one featuring Su Yu and Kaido.

Looking at the oversized photo on the front page of the newspaper, showing Kaido's miserable state, along with the subsequent text describing Kaido as "frail and weak," Blackbeard felt as though someone had poured a neckful of ice and snow down his collar in the dead of winter, followed by violently chewing up tons of ice cubes. Talk about a bone-chilling cold!

Why would he feel that way? It was because Blackbeard had a dream...

He was actually very similar to Rocks, and his goal was also to rule the world. Yet he was different from Rocks too; unlike Rocks, whose sharp edge was on full display as he openly declared war on the government, he had remained dormant, staying under Whitebeard's command for over twenty years. During this time, everyone thought he was just a somewhat capable, loyal, honest, and kind-hearted veteran crewmate. Who could have possibly imagined he was a fierce powerhouse capable of injuring a Four Emperors member!

Now, the single most important puzzle piece for his plan to rule the world-the Dark-Dark Fruit-was already in his hands. The next step was to proceed step by step: recruit followers, build up his strength, develop the fruit's power, and then gradually devour the existing powers step by step. As for the Four Emperors, they were definitely within Blackbeard's target range, though they were certainly reserved for last.

Yet he had originally thought that figures like the Three Admirals, Garp, the Fleet Admiral, and the Four Emperors-these were the peak combat strengths on the sea, and thus his ultimate targets. As long as all these people were wiped out, wouldn't the old powers exist only in name? Wouldn't this world have already fallen into his hands!

And now look at him-such a ruthless powerhouse had suddenly popped up on the sea, whose strength was clearly on a completely different tier from the Four Emperors. Toying with a Four Emperors member was like child's play to him, and not just any emperor, but Kaido, who possessed the most tenacious vitality and was currently in his prime!

In Blackbeard's eyes, Kaido was harder to deal with than Whitebeard. Although Whitebeard had the strongest attack power, he was old after all, so there were still methods to finish him off. Moreover, strong as Whitebeard might be, half of his strength came from his Devil Fruit ability, a portion of which was countered by his own power. But Kaido gave him a terrible headache; the man was simply like an airtight fortress that could repair itself, leaving him completely helpless.

Yet that fortress had now been smashed open by someone else. Sadly, it wasn't him. As a result, he had gained a brand-new enemy, and this new enemy was even more despair-inducing.

The strength of Kaido, Whitebeard, and the others still had a depth that could be roughly measured, but Su Yu's strength was completely untraceable, resembling a bottomless abyss that Blackbeard couldn't even begin to comprehend!

What the hell was the point of fighting this!

Blackbeard felt that even if he achieved Awakening with the Dark-Dark Fruit, and even if he successfully seized Whitebeard's fruit ability according to his plan, he still wouldn't be able to effortlessly thrash Kaido like that. As for human-wave tactics, Blackbeard hadn't even considered them; in battles of this caliber, unless combatants were of the same tier, the mere shockwaves alone were enough to leave ordinary people severely wounded. But finding peers of the same tier was no easy feat, and even if he found them, it remained questionable whether those people would even deign to listen to him.

Yet if he were to just give up like this, Blackbeard was truly unwilling. After all, he had endured for a full twenty years just for today! Give up just like that? No way!

A shred of wishful thinking still lingered in Blackbeard's heart. He believed it was impossible to achieve this level of destruction using only human strength alone; therefore, this must be some extremely powerful Devil Fruit that hadn't been recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia!

After all, the world was so vast that the existence of such an unknown fruit was nothing strange.

Blackbeard figured that as long as Su Yu's power stemmed from a Devil Fruit, he still had hope! After all, as long as he made physical contact with the target, his Dark-Dark Fruit could nullify the opponent's Devil Fruit abilities-he could be called the ultimate nemesis of all ability users!

That way, an opportunity still existed!

Therefore, Blackbeard had come. He prepared to observe Su Yu up close and test the waters to find out his true depth.

Actually, Blackbeard wasn't usually one to act without caution; he was just getting a bit desperate. After all, he had already endured for twenty years, and with success now halfway in sight, Su Yu's appearance had instantly reset all his progress back to square one. If his mentality hadn't been extraordinary, he probably would have suffered a mental breakdown by now.

Having suppressed himself for twenty years and finally gained a taste of liberation, he certainly wouldn't choose to lie low again, nor did he possess the state of mind to keep hiding anymore.

This mindset was roughly akin to the saying, "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality."

Thus, he decided to take a gamble!

Yet the moment they met, he received a shock. Regardless of how he immediately greeted Marco upon entering the door as if completely ignoring Su Yu, he was actually experiencing extreme shock internally. Within his sensory perception, only Marco existed right in front of him, while Su Yu felt like mere Den Den Mushi projection, completely imperceptible!

In truth, this discovery had already chilled half his heart.

Following that, he desperately provoked Marco, actually attempting to force Marco into making a move so he could probe Su Yu's depth through it.

The outcome went smoothly! Marco took the bait, got angry, and wanted to strike, while Su Yu also successfully took the bait and attacked. Everything unfolded just as he had planned.

Yet unfortunately, Su Yu's strength seemed to have vastly exceeded his expectations...

That single cough from Su Yu had quite literally scared the soul right out of his body...