Sugar: "T-that's insane… even the seabed got steamed away?"
Sadi: "This is… way too scary. Nojiko's template can do something like this?"
Stussy: "As expected, never underestimate the Mirajane template. Turning into animals is child's play—the main act is becoming a demon itself."
Ginrummy: "If only I could get that power too…"
Ulti: "If I had that power, couldn't I beat one of the All-Stars and become a new 'Calamity' myself?"
Black Maria: "If Kaido knew what the Mirajane template can do, he'd definitely want it."
Yamato: "Another transformation! So cool—way cooler than my Mythical Zoan. Damn it, if trading in my fruit could get me the Mirajane template, that'd be perfect. I'd get stronger and be able to swim again!"
"…W-what is this pressure?!" Jesus Burgess stared wide-eyed at Arton floating in the air, utterly shocked. The seabed dropping by over ten meters had already rattled him, but the aura pouring off Arton now was far more terrifying.
"Pure darkness. Energy so black it's turned red—how frightening. Just the release of it warped the entire sea. I've only felt something this terrifying from Whitebeard."
Blackbeard scowled, eyeing Arton in the sky with undisguised wariness. He had already tried several times to use the Yami-Yami Fruit's Dark Water to drag Arton down and seal his Devil Fruit ability. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't make it work.
That wasn't the most shocking part.
The thing that truly rattled him was this: whenever he cast Dark Water at Arton, the darkness gathered in his own hand seemed to… lean toward Arton's side. As if his darkness couldn't pull Arton in—but Arton's darkness could pull his.
As if Arton's darkness were the true sovereign, and the darkness Blackbeard wielded was merely subordinate to it.
"Hah… this feels pretty good."
"Teach, you look confused."
Having acclimated to the Mirajane template's strongest state, Arton smiled down at the frowning Blackbeard, the contrast between their expressions stark.
"Arton, what the hell is your ability? What is that darkness around you?"
"What Devil Fruit did you eat? Or rather—what Devil Fruit did your crewmate eat?!"
After taking an interest in Arton's crew, Blackbeard had researched them. Arton's current look differed from his usual one—so Blackbeard guessed he'd fused with a crewmate. Eliminating Nami, Uta, Carina, and even Tashigi by process of exclusion left him with Nojiko.
But he'd never seen Nojiko display anything like this in the papers, nor Arton showing this sort of power while fused with her. He wasn't certain—he was fishing to shake Arton up.
Arton, of course, saw right through him. But he had no intention of denying it. And as for Blackbeard insisting he was a Devil Fruit user… Arton's lips curled. He'd just had an amusing idea.
Chapter 348: "My darkness… got swallowed?!" — Teach in Disbelief
"Yeah, I'm fused with Nojiko right now. As for Devil Fruits… Nojiko wields a certain Mythical Zoan. And this 'mythic form' is especially attuned to darkness—handles it even better than your Yami-Yami."
"So? You fought tooth and nail to seize the Dark-Dark Fruit, only to find you're not top dog in darkness after all—can't even counter us. How's that feel, Teach?"
Arton smiled.
Sure enough, veins popped on Blackbeard's forehead—the taunt had hit home.
"Alright, I'll stop needling you. I came for Robin; now that I've found her, I won't be playing with you. Here—take this as payback for that cheap shot."
Arton shot skyward. Blackbeard craned his neck and watched him shrink from a figure to a speck against the blazing sun—then vanish from sight.
"What's that guy planning…? Van Auger, can you track him?"
Among Blackbeard's crew, Auger's eyesight was the best. Even with the sun's glare, he should be able to make something out.
"Captain, this isn't good. Arton looks like he's powering up."
Auger had his rifle shouldered and trained on Arton, but didn't fire—he'd learned from the last exchange that his bullets were useless. If anyone could face Arton head-on here, it'd have to be the captain.
Teach lifted his gaze again. The bright sun was being veiled by a mantle of pitch-black energy. From afar, it looked like the sun itself had turned into a black star.
"This Arton… what a pain."
Clenching his teeth, Teach regretted picking a fight over Nico Robin. But at this point, there was no option but to stand and face him.
Black mist surged from Blackbeard, coiling and thickening. In moments, a compact black sphere congealed above his outstretched hand.
"That's more like it. If you just stood there, I'd be disappointed."
Seeing the building power below, Arton grinned.
"Arton, are you going to kill him?" Robin asked from within his one-armed hold.
"Maybe. Live or die—either is fine. If he survives this shot, I won't press it further."
Arton hurled the massive dark mass downward.
"Soul Extinctor!"
A magic circle of jet black flared in his palm, and a column of darkness speared toward Blackbeard.
Teach's face changed. He flung his own black sphere up to meet it.
The two darknesses collided midair, locking for half a heartbeat—then Arton's beam overpowered Teach's and drove it inexorably toward the sea.
"What?!"
Teach panicked, throwing out more darkness. A carpet of shadow flowered beneath his feet, and he, his crew, and their small boat began to sink into it—as if the darkness meant to swallow the Blackbeard Pirates whole.
But just as Teach's body was about to submerge, Arton's black pillar punched through Teach's thrown sphere and reached him. As Blackbeard sank into his own darkness—
...
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