Sniper Fire on Jaya Island · Blackbeard's Ambush

Sea Circle Calendar, year 1519, waters off Jaya Island.

The Flame Emperor cleaved through the azure waves, the Double D Flag at its bow snapping in the wind. The sea breeze had swept away Alabasta's desert heat, replacing it with the Grand Line's distinctive salty, humid air, mingled with danger and opportunity.

"Captain, Jaya Island is up ahead!" Isuka waved from the lookout platform. "But something's wrong-there isn't a single ship in the harbor, and there's thick smoke above the town!"

Lin Yan stood at the bow, his crimson-gold pupils contracting slightly. His Observation Haki spread like ripples, instantly covering the entire island. In his perception, Jaya Island resembled a dead city: Mock Town, which should have been bustling, held only scattered signs of life, all filled with fear. Meanwhile, twenty-three figures with savage auras lay in ambush in the dense forest along the island's western shore. The one leading them...

"Dark, profound, devouring everything like a black hole..." Lin Yan murmured. "Marshall D. Teach."

"Blackbeard?!" Ace instantly appeared beside him, blue-white flames igniting around his fists. "That bastard really is here!"

Robin emerged from the cabin, holding a freshly compiled intelligence report. "According to information provided by Alabasta's royal family, the Blackbeard Pirates arrived on Jaya Island a month ago to find 'the pattern of the Knock Up Stream.' They seem interested in Sky Island, too."

"Not for Sky Island's gold?" Ace frowned.

"No." Lin Yan shook his head. "Teach wants something more dangerous-the Thundercloud Iron unique to Sky Island, and any clues to an Ancient Weapon that might exist there. His ambitions have never been limited to treasure."

His words had barely fallen.

Whoosh-!!!

A shrill whistle tore through the air! A bullet wrapped in Armament Haki shot from the dense forest five kilometers away, hurtling straight toward the point between Lin Yan's eyebrows at more than three times the speed of sound!

A sniper shot!

The timing, angle, and power of that shot had all reached the pinnacle of sniping. The bullet traced a spiral through the air, ripping white shock waves through its surroundings. It had clearly been imbued with terrifying rotational force, enough to pierce a warship's armor.

"Captain!" Tashigi cried out.

Lin Yan did not move.

He merely raised his left hand and extended his index finger.

A speck of crimson-gold light lit up at his fingertip.

"Furnace Domain · Microscopic Deflection."

Within a spherical space ten centimeters in radius centered on his fingertip, the laws of physics were briefly rewritten. As the bullet entered that space, its rotation abruptly slowed, and its trajectory shifted almost imperceptibly-by 0.3 degrees.

It was enough.

The bullet skimmed past Lin Yan's temple, pierced the mainmast behind him, leaving a hole with melted edges, and finally vanished over the distant sea.

The entire process took less than 0.1 seconds.

In the dense forest, a tall, thin man wearing a scope froze.

"Impossible..." Van Augur-the Blackbeard Pirates' sniper, nicknamed "Supersonic"-stared incredulously through his scope. "My Sure-Hit Bullet... was dodged? No, he didn't dodge it. Some force forcibly altered its trajectory!"

In the forest beside him, Blackbeard grinned, revealing an ugly smile with several missing teeth.

"Zehahaha! Just what I'd expect from the Flame Emperor! You really are different from those small fry!"

He rose, his obese, three-meter-tall frame emerging from the shadows of the trees. Lafitte, Doc Q, Burgess, and the other core members followed him, along with more than a dozen newly recruited, vicious pirates.

"Boys!" Blackbeard spread his arms. "Get ready to welcome our guests! Remember, don't kill that Flame Emperor-I want him alive! His power... I've taken a liking to it!"

On the Flame Emperor's deck.

"Prepare for battle!" Lin Yan's voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "Isuka, take the fighters and hold the rails. Ace, you're responsible for the left flank. Tashigi, the right. Chopper, prepare emergency medical care. Robin..."

He looked at the historian. "Use your ability to scout. Confirm the enemy's numbers, positions, and ability types."

"Understood." Robin crossed her hands before her chest and closed her eyes.

The next moment, dozens of "eyes" sprouted simultaneously from trees, rocks, and the sea's surface within a kilometer of the Flame Emperor. These pupils, formed from petals, turned rapidly, transmitting everything they saw directly into Robin's mind.

"Twenty-three enemies, seven main fighters," Robin reported swiftly. "Blackbeard himself is three hundred meters straight ahead, a suspected Dark-Dark Fruit user. His danger level is extremely high. To his left is the sniper Van Augur; to his right, the ship's doctor, Doc Q. Behind him are the helmsman Lafitte, fighting champion Burgess, and two newcomers-'Colossal Battleship' Sanjuan Wolf and 'Corrupt King' Avalo Pizarro."

"Seven officers and sixteen lackeys..." Ace rolled his neck, flames dancing over his fists. "Enough for a warm-up."

"Don't underestimate them." Lin Yan pressed a hand against his shoulder. "Teach's Dark-Dark Fruit can devour everything, including your flames. Once he grabs you, your Devil Fruit ability will temporarily stop working. Your job isn't to duel him. Clear out the small fry and protect Chopper and Robin."

"What about you, big brother?"

"Me?" Lin Yan stepped forward, his entire body turning into crimson-gold flames as he rose into the air. "I'm going to meet that 'future Emperor of the Sea.'"

Using Geppo, he drew a fiery trail through the air and landed directly on Jaya Island's shore, standing before the Blackbeard Pirates.

Fifty meters separated the two sides.

"Zehahaha! You've got guts!" Blackbeard strode forward, laughing. "Flame Emperor brat, I've heard of you-Garp's adopted grandson, Ace's older brother. You raised hell in Mary Geoise and even sent that useless Crocodile to prison. Not bad. You qualify as an opponent for me!"

Lin Yan ignored the trash talk and simply studied Blackbeard.

The man's aura was strange: outwardly coarse and unrestrained, yet concealing extreme cunning and patience deep within. His bodily structure also differed from an ordinary person's-the system indicated that Blackbeard had at least three "life fluctuations" inside him, each emitting the aura of a different Devil Fruit.

[Warning: abnormal energy reaction detected]

[Target: Marshall D. Teach]

[Status: multiple-fruit vessel (2/3)]

[Confirmed abilities: Logia · Dark-Dark Fruit (complete), Paramecia · Tremor-Tremor Fruit (inactive, requires special conditions)]

[Hidden ability: special constitution · Aberrant Physiology (can contain three Devil Fruits without bodily rupture)]

"So that's it..." Lin Yan understood. "It's not two fruits, but a special constitution that can accommodate three. Right now, he only has the Dark-Dark Fruit. He hasn't obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit yet, so he's desperate to find a third... Is it Sky Island's Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Or something else?"

Then Blackbeard spoke. "Brat, I'll give you a choice. Join my crew, and when I become one of the Four Emperors, you'll be my first mate. Or... I'll take your power right here today!"

He extended his right hand, pitch-black mist spilling from his palm. The mist seemed capable of swallowing light; even the sound of the surrounding waves grew muffled.

"Dark-Dark Fruit Liberation!"

The black mist surged outward like a tide, instantly engulfing a hundred-meter radius! Everything within it-sand, stones, trees, seawater-began collapsing toward Blackbeard's palm, as though being swallowed by an invisible black hole!

More terrifyingly, Lin Yan felt the flame energy inside him being forcibly drained! Within the black mist domain, the combined abilities of the Furnace-Furnace Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit became sluggish and difficult to wield!

"Feel that?" Blackbeard grinned viciously. "My power is the bane of every Devil Fruit! In this darkness, your flames... are nothing but fuel!"

He clenched his fist, and the black mist abruptly contracted!

"Dark Water: Gravity Cage!"

Terrifying gravity pressed in from every direction, as though trying to crush Lin Yan into a meat patty! At the same time, Van Augur's sniper rifle rang out again, sending three bullets in a triangular formation toward Lin Yan's eyes and heart! Doc Q threw several Plague Apples, while Burgess charged in with a wild laugh, his fist coated in Armament Haki!

Besieged on all sides!

Yet Lin Yan's expression remained calm.

"You said... my flames are nothing but fuel?"

He raised his right hand and spread his fingers.

"Then let me show you-"

"What kind of flame can set even darkness ablaze."

Crimson-gold flames gushed from his palm.

But this time, rather than spreading outward, they contracted inward-the moment the flames touched the black mist, they neither went out nor weakened. Instead, they burned wildly, as though they had encountered oxygen!

"What?!" Blackbeard's eyes widened.

The principle behind his Dark-Dark Fruit ability was to "create a black-hole domain that devoured everything." But that domain was not invincible-it could not devour energy that exceeded its capacity. Just as a black hole had an upper mass limit, it would collapse once that limit was exceeded.

And the temperature of Lin Yan's flames broke through the critical threshold in an instant.

Ten thousand degrees, a hundred thousand degrees, a million degrees...

The flames changed from crimson-gold to pure white, then finally became an indescribable "transparency"-plasma so hot that it exceeded the visible spectrum, with nuclear fusion reactions simulating a stellar core taking place within it!

"Genesis Furnace · Stellar Core Mode."

Lin Yan's voice echoed through the burning darkness.

"Your darkness can devour light, energy, and matter."

"But it cannot devour-a true sun."

Boom-!!!!!!!

The pure-white flames exploded.

They did not explode outward, but collapsed inward-a miniature "sun" ten meters in diameter was born around Lin Yan! Its light and heat melted the black mist like snow meeting boiling oil! That all-devouring gravity seemed laughable before stellar-level mass!

Blackbeard screamed and staggered backward! The intense heat scorched his right hand, carbonizing his skin, while a hole was burned straight through his black mist domain!

"Impossible! My Dark-Dark Fruit has never-"

Before he could finish, Lin Yan was already in front of him.

It was not teleportation, but "Light-Speed Movement"-turning his body entirely into photons and surging forward at the speed of light! Though he could only sustain it for 0.1 seconds, that was enough.

"Flame Emperor Finger Pistol · White-hot Point."

One finger thrust toward Blackbeard's heart.

Blackbeard's pupils contracted, and he displayed astonishing reflexes at the brink of death-at the very last instant, he actually twisted aside and took the finger strike with his left shoulder!

Hiss-!!!

The Finger Pistol pierced his shoulder, leaving a charred hole. The muscle tissue around the wound instantly carbonized, without even bleeding.

"Argh-!!!" Blackbeard cried out in pain, but madness flashed in his eyes. "Got you!"

His left hand, wreathed in the remnants of the black mist, grabbed for Lin Yan's wrist!

Once touched by the Dark-Dark Fruit, an ability user would temporarily lose their Devil Fruit power and be left at their opponent's mercy!

But Lin Yan did not pull his hand away.

Instead, he turned his wrist and deliberately let Blackbeard grab it!

"You fell for it."

A cold curve formed at the corner of Lin Yan's mouth.

"Furnace-Furnace Fruit · Second-Stage Release-"

"Inner-Core Steel Flame, reverse injection!"

Crimson-gold flames surged wildly up Blackbeard's arm and into his body!

This was no ordinary flame attack, but the preliminary step of "matter reconstruction"-after entering the enemy's body, the flames would break down their bodily tissues, then reconstruct them into whatever form Lin Yan desired!

"Arghhh-!!!"

Blackbeard screamed like a pig being slaughtered! He could feel the cells in his left arm breaking down under the intense heat, his bones melting into liquid, and his muscle fibers being reconstructed into... some structure he did not understand!

"Boss!" Burgess charged over with a roar. "Let go of the captain!"

His fist coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, he punched toward the center of Lin Yan's back!

But Ace blocked his path.

"Fire Fist · Blue Flame Burst!"

The blue-white flaming fist collided with Burgess's iron fist! Amid a thunderous crash, Burgess was driven back three steps, while Ace did not budge!

"How is that possible..." Burgess stared in shock. "My Champion Punch has never-"

"Because you're too weak." Blue and white flames ignited around Ace's hands. "My brother said that true strength doesn't come from brute force, but from 'understanding.' I've understood the essence of fire, while you... only understand violence."

He stepped forward and unleashed both fists.

"Blue Flame: Twin Dragon Coil!"

Two enormous flame dragons coiled around each other and lunged at Burgess! He gritted his teeth and took them head-on, but the flames' penetrating power far exceeded his imagination-the blue flames burrowed into his pores, burning his muscles and nerves from within!

"Aaah-!!!" Burgess collapsed, screaming.

Elsewhere, Tashigi's Flame-Infused Sword Aura intercepted Van Augur's sniper shots, Chopper's specially prepared medicine neutralized Doc Q's plague, and Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit interrupted Lafitte's hypnosis.

Within just three minutes of the battle's start, the Blackbeard Pirates' officers had fallen behind on every front!

"Damn it..." Blackbeard gritted his teeth. He could feel that his left arm had already gone numb. If this continued, the entire arm would be ruined.

Ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, and he made his decision.

"Retreat!"

"What?!" Doc Q exclaimed. "Boss, we can still-"

"Follow orders!" Blackbeard roared. "This bastard's power counters mine! This isn't the time to fight him head-on!"

He stamped his foot, and the remaining black mist erupted, forcibly knocking Lin Yan's hand away. Though his left arm was already half-crippled, he still grabbed the nearby Burgess and Doc Q with his right hand and fled into the depths of the forest.

"Trying to run?" Ace moved to give chase.

"No need." Lin Yan stopped him. "His Dark-Dark Fruit can devour attacks. Forcing him to stay would come at a cost. Besides..."

He gazed in the direction Blackbeard had vanished, his eyes deep.

"He'll go to Sky Island. What he wants is there, and so is what we want. When the time comes... we'll settle this for good."

He raised his left hand. A small lump of black matter hovered over his palm-a tissue sample "stripped" from Blackbeard's left arm, containing some of the Dark-Dark Fruit's properties.

[Obtained: Dark-Dark Fruit tissue sample (incomplete)]

[Analyzing...]

[Conclusion: this fruit's ability possesses a 'rule-level devouring' property and can temporarily nullify other Devil Fruits, but its effectiveness is reduced against 'concept-level' and 'rule-level' abilities]

[Suggestion: attempt to simulate its properties with the Genesis Furnace to develop the 'Flame Devouring' skill]

"Interesting." Lin Yan put away the sample. "Everyone, check your injuries and replenish supplies. In one hour, we set out to find the Knock Up Stream."

"Yes!"

The crew swiftly got to work.

Robin walked up beside Lin Yan and said quietly, "Captain, before Blackbeard escaped, I heard him tell Lafitte, 'Go to the east coast. There's a Log Pose there'-they seem to have some method of locating the Knock Up Stream."

"The east coast..." Lin Yan looked toward the other side of Jaya Island. "Then let them scout the route first. Sometimes, following behind a hunter is safer than walking ahead."

He turned and looked up at the empty sky.

Ten thousand meters above, the island made of clouds awaited their arrival.

And a showdown between a "Thunder God" and a "Sun God" was about to unfold atop the clouds.