Before everyone's eyes, the demonic shadow effortlessly erased Whitebeard's presence, albeit temporarily.
Then, as if possessing a will of its own, the shadow took on a hollow, pumpkin-like visage with eerie, exaggerated features.
Its wide, toothy grin seemed to mock Blackbeard, who had charged in with the sharp intent of a dagger.
Seeing Maude use an ability akin to the Dark-Dark Fruit's black hole to absorb Whitebeard's corpse, Blackbeard's expression darkened.
This bastard had exuded such murderous intent, practically spelling out "I'm going to kill Doflamingo" on his face.
And yet, now he had suddenly taken Whitebeard's corpse.
What was the meaning of this?
Blackbeard was visibly unsettled.
The same held true for the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Especially the newly recruited, fearsome prisoners and the former Impel Down Chief Guard, Shiryu of the Rain, who had betrayed Magellan.
Their expressions were a spectacle to behold.
If they failed to retrieve Whitebeard's corpse within a limited timeframe, it would mean…
Blackbeard's grand plan—the one he had proudly proclaimed to defy all logic and shake the world—would be doomed to failure.
The likes of Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, Sanjuan Wolf, and Vasco Shot—criminals so heinous that the World Government had sought to erase them from existence—felt ripples of uncertainty.
Only Shiryu remained indifferent.
Having recently consumed the Venom-Venom Fruit, he was determined to follow Blackbeard regardless of whether the latter obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit or not.
"Oi, oi, don't tell me you plan on turning Pops into a zombie?"
Blackbeard's face darkened as he stared at Maude, speaking in righteous indignation, "That's my dear old Pops! No matter what, it should be up to me, his son, to take care of his burial. You can't just do whatever you want with his body!"
"Oh? That's a good idea."
Maude gazed impassively at Blackbeard's theatrical display, then subtly willed his shadow to act.
In an instant, the demonic shadow shrank and reshaped itself to match Whitebeard's physique before rapidly forming his exact contours.
"Encasing a corpse completely in shadow enhances a zombie's durability and strength. That way, Whitebeard's name won't be tarnished. Satisfied with this outcome, Blackbeard?"
"Zehahaha, your 'ability' isn't half bad…"
Blackbeard's eyes flickered with killing intent, and the aura of his gathered crewmates darkened menacingly.
Maude remained unfazed.
Law, however, felt as though he had stepped into quicksand.
"These people…"
His eyes trembled slightly as he warily observed the Blackbeard Pirates.
Maude spared a glance at the affected Law but said nothing. Instead, he silently issued a command to his shadow clone enveloping Whitebeard's corpse.
Upon receiving the order, the shadow clone bolted toward the wreckage-strewn bay.
"???"
Blackbeard's surging killing intent faltered as his eyes widened in disbelief.
Could it be…?
No, impossible.
He vaguely sensed a possibility, but time was running out. There was no room for hesitation.
Van Augur reacted immediately, raising his rifle to shoot at Maude.
But this time, Maude was faster.
Raising his flintlock, transformed from White Weasel, he fired at Van Augur in rapid succession.
Gunfire rang out.
Haki-infused lead bullets tore through the lingering smoke, streaking toward Van Augur's vitals.
Van Augur's expression flickered as he swiftly returned fire, intercepting the initial shots.
But Maude didn't need to reload.
The relentless barrage of bullets forced Van Augur into a desperate retreat, leaving him no chance to reload his own weapon.
As Maude continued his suppressive fire, he observed Blackbeard's reaction with a smirk. "Didn't you say you wanted to handle Whitebeard's funeral? If you don't hurry, my shadow will give him a grand burial at sea."
"If I kill you, the shadow will stop."
Blackbeard quickly composed himself, dark mist seeping from his shoulders.
Maude never once looked at Van Augur, yet his trigger finger never paused.
He narrowed his eyes at Blackbeard. "That's true, but among the wreckage, there are plenty of crevices that could serve as a proper burial site. So, who's faster? Care to bet?"
"Zehahaha, the outcome is obvious—"
"Room!"
Law's voice cut in, his power instantly activating.
Before Blackbeard could finish speaking, Law teleported himself and Maude hundreds of meters away.
"!!!"
Blackbeard's face twitched violently.
Quickly gauging the distance…
"Damn bastard!"
Making a split-second decision, he charged toward Whitebeard's corpse.
Now free from Maude's gunfire, Van Augur ceased his evasive maneuvers.
Recalling how Maude had suppressed him without even looking his way, Van Augur felt a deep sense of humiliation—an insult to his marksmanship.
He wanted to regain his pride, but retrieving Whitebeard's corpse took priority, so he let it go.
For a brief moment, the Blackbeard Pirates—who had made such a grand entrance—were reduced to a pack of frenzied cats chasing after Whitebeard's remains, utterly powerless against Maude's manipulations.
"What's with them?"
Law watched the Blackbeard Pirates' obsession with Whitebeard's corpse with suspicion.
Having experienced their terrifying might firsthand, he quickly deduced a possible reason.
Were they after Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
But to Law's knowledge, Devil Fruits couldn't be extracted from corpses, so he dismissed the thought.
Maude merely smiled, unwilling to answer, and instead turned his gaze to Doflamingo, now within reach.
"To deal with you, I won't even need my shadow's power."
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo's anger flared into laughter at Maude's words.
...
In the Bay Area.
The island, shattered by Whitebeard's final quake, had turned into countless debris fragments that rained into the bay.
The resulting terrain was a chaotic mess of jagged wreckage and fallen trees, resembling a battlefield strewn with makeshift barricades.
Sentomaru, leading a squad of Pacifistas, frowned at a bizarre mountain formed from overlapping island remnants.
The fallen trees, crisscrossing at odd angles, looked like military anti-cavalry fortifications.
"These paths are a nightmare to traverse."
Sentomaru sighed, shifting his gaze to the gaps formed by the stacked debris.
"That's the only way through," he thought.
Suddenly—
A dark figure emerged from the gap.
"Huh? Whitebeard?!!"
Sentomaru's heart pounded at the sight.
"No… a shadow?!"
He quickly recognized the truth.
What the hell was going on?
Seconds later, Blackbeard and his crew—excluding Sanjuan Wolf—burst through the gap in pursuit.
Sentomaru's eyes widened as he registered not just the Blackbeard Pirates, but also the Pacifistas behind him.
What the hell was going on?
Both sides locked eyes.
Silence fell.
Maude's shadow clone, sensing amusement in the situation, paused to observe the unexpected standoff between Sentomaru's forces and the Blackbeard Pirates.
The squad meant to annihilate Blackbeard's crew had, by sheer chance, intercepted them instead.
With this turn of events…
The chances of Blackbeard obtaining the Quake-Quake Fruit were now close to zero.
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