Despite Marineford being only about ten days' sail from the Florian Triangle, it still took Maude and Law three days and nights of continuous flight to reach the Thriller Bark.
During this time, they were completely cut off from external information and had no way of knowing the outcome of the Summit War.
So, the moment they landed, Law immediately demanded a newspaper, eager to learn the latest developments.
Lafitte glanced at Law before pulling out a pre-prepared newspaper.
Seeing this, Law stepped forward, reaching out to take the newspaper from Lafitte's hand.
However—
Lafitte dodged his outstretched hand and instead handed the newspaper to Maude.
"...!"
A vein bulged on Law's forehead as he barely managed to suppress the urge to snatch the newspaper away using his ability.
Damn it!
He cursed inwardly as he glared at Lafitte's back.
Lafitte could clearly sense the sharp, seething gaze stabbing into his back, but he paid it no mind.
Maude, noticing Law's undisguised irritation, smirked slightly before accepting the newspaper from Lafitte.
As he unfolded it, he noticed that there was an extra copy tucked inside.
This guy, Lafitte...
Maude chuckled helplessly and casually tossed the extra newspaper to Law before focusing on the contents.
After just a few glances, Maude skipped past the redundant recounting of battle details.
What he truly wanted to see was the final outcome of the Summit War—not a summary of events he had already experienced firsthand.
His gaze moved to the last section of the report, where the first name that caught his eye was Blackbeard.
At the time—
Maude and Law had been sent flying by Kuma's ability, while Sabo and the others had been rescued by Dragon.
The Marines, having failed to execute Ace and Robin, were left seething with frustration after their defeat. And with nowhere else to vent their fury, their attention naturally turned to the Blackbeard Pirates, who still remained in the center of the battlefield.
Given the sheer wrath of the Marines, their fate was practically sealed.
Although the Marines had fought a grueling battle and were in a weakened state, Maude doubted that Blackbeard could escape completely unscathed under such circumstances.
During the three days they spent flying to Thriller Bark, Maude had even speculated that Blackbeard would most likely perish on the battlefield.
That was why, when he had Law use his ability to teleport Blackbeard's crew directly in front of Aokiji and the others, he had already envisioned this possible outcome.
At that moment—
Maude wasn't just trying to screw over Blackbeard.
He genuinely intended to send him to his death.
However—
"Not dead?"
Reading the report, Maude raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Given the situation Blackbeard was in, Maude had assumed that even if he survived, he would most likely be captured and thrown into Impel Down.
But the outcome was completely unexpected.
Not only had Blackbeard avoided capture, but he had also successfully escaped from Marineford…
Deeply intrigued, Maude carefully reread the details.
He wanted to know exactly how Blackbeard had managed to escape.
A few minutes later, after finishing the report, Maude furrowed his brows slightly and muttered to himself:
"With Shiryu's Venom-Venom Fruit ability and the floating islands brought by Golden Lion..."
After Golden Lion's death, the Float-Float Fruit's power dissipated, causing the islands suspended above Marineford to plummet toward the battlefield.
However—
Fujitora's Press-Press Fruit was able to keep the islands suspended in the air.
Even so, Blackbeard had used the Dark-Dark Fruit to create a massive dark vortex—pulling the floating islands into the void like a black hole.
At the same time, Shiryu unleashed vast amounts of poison using his Venom-Venom Fruit, which were also sucked into the dark vortex.
The way these abilities complemented each other in the heat of battle was nothing short of astonishing.
Then, with a do-or-die resolve, Blackbeard released the shattered, poison-laden islands all at once.
In an instant—
Countless boulders, trees, and sands soaked in lethal poison cascaded down like a massive mudslide, burying the already crumbling Marineford.
By sheer luck, Blackbeard was swept away by the very mudslide and landed in a safe zone where he could make a swift escape.
It was eerily similar to the time in the original story when his crew, on the brink of annihilation in Impel Down, was saved by Shiryu of the Rain.
Or perhaps—
Someone in his crew possessed an ability related to luck or fate, allowing them to survive despite the seemingly dire odds.
However, not all of the Blackbeard Pirates were so fortunate.
The terrifying combination of the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Venom-Venom Fruit, unleashed without restraint, not only buried countless Marines but also prevented several of Blackbeard's own crewmates from escaping.
By the war's end—
Jesus Burgess, Blackbeard's Champion, and Sanjuan Wolf, the Colossal Battleship, had both perished.
Vasco Shot, the Heavy Drinker, and Avalo Pizarro, the Corrupt King, who had only recently escaped from Impel Down's Level 6, were gravely wounded and captured by the Marines once more.
As for Blackbeard himself—
Along with Van Augur, Shiryu of the Rain, Doc Q, and Catarina Devon, he managed to escape despite sustaining serious injuries.
They were battered and bruised, but at least they had survived.
However, the price of their escape was steep.
The powerful force Blackbeard had painstakingly gathered for world domination was now cut in half.
The Marines, too, suffered tremendous losses.
The final mudslide of islands, released from the Dark Vortex, buried nearly two-thirds of the Marine forces.
Fortunately, Fujitora was able to use his abilities to lift the debris into the sky, preventing the trapped Marines from suffocating.
Under normal circumstances, the Marines would have regrouped and launched a pursuit against the Blackbeard Pirates.
However—
The lethal toxins mixed within the island debris had already infected many of the surviving Marines.
To avoid further casualties, the remaining forces had no choice but to focus on saving their comrades instead of chasing down Blackbeard.
In the end—
The severely weakened Blackbeard Pirates escaped Marineford.
"Clever move."
Maude folded the newspaper, acknowledging Blackbeard's resilience and cunning.
But undeniably—
Luck is also a part of strength.
Surviving in such a dire situation required not just intelligence and power, but also sheer luck.
Beside him, Law finished reading the newspaper, now fully aware of the Summit War's outcome.
"In this war, the only true winner is…"
Law glanced at Maude and silently put away the newspaper.
Shortly after—
The crew gathered in the castle's dining hall.
To celebrate their safe return, Gaya prepared a lavish feast.
After flying for three days and nights, Maude and Law were starving, and they devoured the meal within half an hour.
Satisfied, Maude suddenly placed a Devil Fruit on the table.
Everyone's gaze instantly locked onto it.
The fruit was pure white, adorned with delicate spiral patterns on the upper half and dense cloud-like swirls on the lower half.
"This is Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit."
Maude pressed his index finger against its green stem and said seriously:
"With this Devil Fruit, we can turn Thriller Bark into a floating island ship."
"A floating island ship…"
The crowd's expressions shifted upon hearing those words.
With just a brief description, a vivid image automatically formed in their minds.
In this way, the cumbersome nature of the Thriller Bark would be completely resolved.
Maude chuckled and said, "Not just that..."
"Hmm?"
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