boom!
The boulder split in two.
Blackbeard was stuck in the rock wall, his limbs hanging limply.
The next moment, double the pain spread throughout my body.
"Aaaaaah!"
The screams caused debris to fall continuously.
Blackbeard fell from the stone wall.
He clutched his head and rolled around on the ground.
Nasal bone fracture.
Several of his ribs were broken by that kick.
The pain from these injuries was amplified by the Dark-Dark Fruit, almost causing him to faint on the spot.
But the more pain he felt, the more lucid he became.
Uchiha Xin landed not far away, watching the Blackbeard rolling around on the ground.
The effects of the Dark-Dark Fruit were as he had known.
It attracts everything.
It can also suppress the Devil Fruit powers of other Devil Fruit users.
Both normal attacks and fruit attacks can be consumed by darkness.
However, its shortcomings are also obvious.
Blackbeard cannot become an elemental.
Any damage will be borne by the main body.
Moreover, they experience twice the pain of ordinary people.
The reason why the Black Vortex failed to absorb the lightning was because the Clear-Clear Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had already completed their fundamental fusion.
The lightning bolt appeared to be there, but the real attack was hidden in another layer.
Black Vortex can only catch the lightning outside.
Unable to lock onto the hidden power of the fruit.
Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit is very powerful.
If it falls into the hands of Uchiha Xin, its weaknesses will be directly stripped away by the system.
At that time, the effects of devouring, gravity, and ability suppression will all be retained.
The double pain will not occur.
Uchiha Xin's gaze toward Blackbeard changed.
The killing intent subsided.
The pebbles on the reef began to tremble slightly.
The sea level also dipped downwards.
Blackbeard stopped screaming.
A chill ran up my spine to the top of my head.
He lay prone on the ground, too afraid to turn around.
Every part of his body was reminding him.
Uchiha Xin wanted to kill him.
And it only requires one strike.
"This guy..."
"He really will kill me!"
Blackbeard gritted his teeth.
He wanted to use the Dark-Dark Fruit to retaliate.
But the image of the Black Vortex failing is still vivid in my mind.
If he continues fighting, he has no chance of winning.
Uchiha Xin could destroy even a ship with a single blow.
If the next attack is aimed at his head, even the Dark-Dark Fruit won't save him.
Blackbeard propped himself up.
He didn't say anything harsh again.
He turned and ran.
"Captain!"
Burgess shouted from a distance.
Blackbeard didn't respond at all.
He leaped over the rubble and rushed toward the other side of the reef.
His internal injuries made him stagger.
But he dared not stop.
The locations of the Shichibukai.
Straw Hat Luffy.
A billion-dollar reward.
He completely forgot about all of that.
As long as you're alive, there's still a chance.
Dying here means the end.
Robin watched Blackbeard flee into the distance.
"Xin."
"You just tried to kill him."
"Um."
Uchiha Xin did not deny it.
Robin could sense that the killing intent wasn't simply because Blackbeard had launched an attack.
"Then why not chase after them?"
"At your speed, he can't escape."
Uchiha Xin looked in the direction where Blackbeard had disappeared and smiled faintly.
Killing Blackbeard now would indeed grant us the Dark-Dark Fruit.
But Blackbeard is still useful.
According to the original plan, he would capture Ace later, hand Ace over to the World Government, and in exchange for a position Shichibukai.
The Navy will also publicly execute Ace.
To rescue those in need, Whitebeard led his entire Whitebeard Pirates in an attack on Marineford.
The Paramount War thus broke out.
That war would involve the Navy, the Shichibukai, the Whitebeard Pirates, and a large number of powerful figures on the seas.
Uchiha Xin is preparing to use the Paramount War to complete a series of strategic plans.
If Blackbeard is killed now, Ace will not be captured by him.
The Paramount War may not take place as scheduled.
A single Dark-Dark Fruit wasn't worth giving up the opportunity that the war offered.
"He's still useful."
Uchiha Xin withdrew his gaze.
"Spare his life for now."
Robin glanced at him.
"You seem to have known all along what he was going to do next."
"I know some."
Uchiha Xin didn't offer any further explanation.
On the distant sea, Lafitte and his companions dared not linger.
Despite their injuries, they clung to any floundering wreckage and moved in the direction Blackbeard had fled.
No one dared to turn back.
Uchiha Xin did not stop him.
Blackbeard felt the pressure of danger lessen somewhat after he had escaped some distance.
He leaned against the rock wall, panting heavily.
" Uchiha Xin..."
"I'll remember what happened today!"
That's what he said, but he didn't slow down.
He didn't dare go back to look at it again until he had completely left the reef island.
Just then, the system voice suddenly sounded.
[Ding! Host has successfully defeated Marshall D. Teach!]
[Successfully acquired the Logia Dark-Dark Fruit ability!]
[Please select whether to embed the absorption spell?]
Uchiha Xin paused in his movements.
He had already given up on obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Despite Blackbeard escaping alive, the system still awarded him a reward.
"System."
"I didn't kill him, so why did I get the Dark-Dark Fruit?"
[Ding! The host can acquire abilities not only by killing ability users.]
[After the host defeats the target, there is also a chance to acquire their ability.]
[The stronger the target and the clearer their defeat status, the higher the success rate.]
Uchiha Xin looked in the direction Blackbeard had left.
He was just running away.
"This counts as a defeat?"
[Ding! The target Marshall D. Teach's ship has been destroyed by the host.]
[All of its crew members were incapacitated to continue fighting.]
[The target was directly overwhelmed by the host, the Dark-Dark Fruit's power was broken, and the target ultimately chose to flee.]
[The system has determined that the target has been completely defeated.]
Uchiha Xin understood.
The system's ability to seize power never necessarily requires killing.
He had previously killed those enemies directly, so the notifications always appeared after each death.
Blackbeard was the first Devil Fruit user to be defeated and flee.
This triggered another way of acquiring it.
[Ding! The Dark-Dark Fruit ability can be directly inlaid.]
[It can also be used as nourishment for the laws, to amplify the host's existing abilities.]
Uchiha Xin did not hesitate.
The Dark-Dark Fruit is a top-tier Logia.
It even had the effect of suppressing other Devil Fruit users in Blackbeard's hands.
Through system embedding, the double pain and the inability to be elementalized will be removed.
When combined with the Clear-Clear Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the effect will only be stronger.
"Inlaid with Dark-Dark Fruit."
[Ding! Dark-Dark Fruit inlaying begins!]
Dark power entered Uchiha Xin's body.
The origins of both the Clear-Clear Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit are simultaneously drawn together.
The three forces began to come into contact.
Darkness swallowed the lightning.
Lightning flashed through the darkness once more.
A transparent force covered the surfaces of both, concealing all auras and fluctuations.
[Ding! Dark-Dark Fruit inlay complete!]
[Potential fusion of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and Clear-Clear Fruit detected!]
[Fusion begins!]
The powers of the three fruits completely merged.
The abilities of transparency, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and darkness are combined into one.