As the Blackbeard Pirates suddenly appeared, Lafitte's expression finally changed. He knew this group was on a completely different level from the soldiers he'd been dealing with.
Especially the one leading them—Blackbeard. Lafitte felt a strong sense of danger emanating from him.
Blackbeard held a piece of cherry pie in his hand, swaggering forward in his signature wide-legged stride, heading straight for Lafitte.
Lafitte instinctively drew his cane sword. Blackbeard, noticing the motion, shoved the rest of the pie into his mouth and, while chewing, said casually:
"Don't be so tense. I just think you're an interesting guy. Ever thought about joining my pirate crew?"
"Join your pirate crew?"
Lafitte blinked in surprise. So this guy was a pirate?
Behind him, among the group of soldiers, someone recognized Blackbeard and cried out in fear:
"It's Blackbeard! The pirate who defected from the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Blackbeard?"
...
...
The name was unfamiliar to Lafitte. His reputation had taken a hit recently, and the newspapers had been filled with criticisms about him, so he hadn't been keeping up with the latest news. He hadn't even heard about this 'Blackbeard' character making waves on the sea.
But he did catch the name Whitebeard Pirates from the soldier's cry. And really, who in these seas hasn't heard of the Whitebeard Pirates?
For most pirates, joining the Whitebeard Pirates was something to boast about for life. And yet, the man in front of him—Blackbeard—had defected from them!?
Still, no matter how you looked at it, if this guy had the strength to join the Whitebeard Pirates and then turn around and leave them, then his power was far beyond something Lafitte could hope to contend with.
Lafitte figured it was best to play along for now. Steeling himself, he asked:
"A man like you... why would you be interested in someone like me?"
Blackbeard let out another of his trademark "Zehahaha!" laughs and pointed to the wrecked street around them.
"Isn't it obvious? You're just the kind of lawless bastard I need!"
The soldiers behind Lafitte all showed furious expressions upon hearing Blackbeard's words. In their eyes, this man was pure scum.
But when they considered his strength, they could only feel powerless. What could regular men like them possibly do against a monster like this?
One of the soldiers whispered to the others:
"We need to report this to His Majesty. This enemy is beyond our ability to deal with."
The others nodded in agreement and quietly began retreating toward the royal capital.
Blackbeard didn't bother stopping them. As far as he was concerned, as long as they remained in this country, they couldn't escape his grasp.
A vicious grin crept across his face. Under Lafitte's confused gaze, he placed his palm on the ground.
A tide of darkness surged out from Blackbeard's hand and rapidly spread, covering the entire ground of the nation.
Lafitte's face changed dramatically.
"This... this is a Devil Fruit ability?"
Blackbeard remained in place and grinned smugly.
"That's right. It's the most fearsome power among Devil Fruits—the Dark-Dark Fruit!"
"Dark-Dark Fruit?"
"Zehahahaha! Watch closely—you're about to witness the terror of this ability! Dark Vortex!"
Buzz!
The blackness on the ground suddenly trembled before unleashing a terrifying gravitational pull, sucking everything around it into the void.
In no time at all, the area around Lafitte was utterly empty—nothing left but the ever-churning darkness.
He looked around in horror, completely stunned by the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Blackbeard straightened up, though he was a little confused—he hadn't heard a single scream. Where had all those people gone?
After thinking for a moment, he figured maybe he'd just used too much force and sucked them in before they could even react.
Oh well—not like he cared about the lives of commoners anyway. Satisfied, he glanced at Lafitte's terrified face, then spread his arms wide and shouted:
"So? Do I have what it takes to be your captain?"
Lafitte swallowed hard. Faced with such overwhelming power, how could he dare refuse? He opened his mouth to answer—
"I acce—"
"That's quite the ability. Seems this trip wasn't a waste after all."
A sudden voice rang out in the open space, startling Blackbeard and his crew.
"Who's there!?"
Blackbeard quickly looked around, but all the surrounding buildings had already been consumed by his darkness. Only the ground remained—there was nothing else in sight.
Fortunately, his Observation Haki wasn't weak. He quickly sensed the voice's origin—above.
He jerked his head upward—and there, floating in the sky, was a lone figure.
It was Kaito, who had just arrived.
Once Blackbeard spotted him, Kaito slowly descended, landing a short distance away.
The moment Blackbeard got a clear look at his face, his expression changed drastically. Even if he'd never seen Kaito in person, those piercing purple Rinnegan eyes were impossible to ignore.
Realizing who this man was, cold sweat instantly broke out on Blackbeard's forehead. He even took two unconscious steps back.
Since obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, there were few people who could still frighten him like this—but Kaito was definitely one of them. In fact, he ranked first in Blackbeard's mind—even above Whitebeard himself.
After all, this was the man whom even his "father," the so-called Strongest Man in the World, had deeply feared!
Lafitte, who had been just about to agree to join Blackbeard's crew, snapped his mouth shut the moment he saw Kaito.
Are you kidding me? Who would dare call themselves a pirate in this man's presence?
But not everyone had the sense to be afraid. Blackbeard's subordinates, like Jesus Burgess and the others, hadn't seen Kaito's face since his back was turned.
So when they saw Blackbeard's sudden change in demeanor, they assumed Kaito was an enemy.
Van Augur immediately raised his sniper rifle, didn't even think twice, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. The bullet passed right through Kaito's body—then continued on toward Blackbeard on the other side.
Van Augur hadn't even used Armament Haki, and against a Logia-type user like Kaito, his attack couldn't even ruffle his clothes.
Blackbeard, while unable to turn into his element, had his own tricks. A wave of darkness surged from his body and swallowed the bullet before it could strike him.
Though he avoided friendly fire, Blackbeard's face was anything but calm. He shouted in panic:
"Burgess! Don't attack him! He's the Marine Admiral Shikiryū! You're no match for him!"
"Shikiryū!?"
The name alone nearly scared Burgess and the others out of their wits. Van Augur, who had just fired the shot, shuddered violently—the rifle almost slipped from his hands.
They turned to flee, but it was already too late.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three deafening thunderclaps shook the sky.
The three new recruits Blackbeard had just brought along were instantly reduced to ash.
Kaito didn't even glance at them. He looked straight at the horrified Blackbeard, smiling as he said:
"Alright. You've had your little trial run with the Dark-Dark Fruit. Now hand it over."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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