After wrapping everything up, Kaito prepared to leave. Before heading off, he cast one last glance at Blackbeard, still lying motionless on the ground.
At first, he'd planned to dispose of Blackbeard's corpse himself. But now, he figured it'd be better to hand the body over to the locals.
After all, Blackbeard had nearly wiped out this entire nation. Letting them vent their anger on him was only fair.
Satisfied with the work of his Technique, Kaito transformed into a flash of violet lightning and disappeared.
Once Kaito was gone, King Gust fell to his knees again, bowing repeatedly toward the place Kaito had vanished. He'd made up his mind—he would have a statue of Kaito built in the very center of the royal capital, so all his people could worship and admire him.
When he shared this idea, not only his ministers but also the common folk immediately voiced their agreement. In their hearts, Kaito had long become a divine figure. Erecting a statue in his honor was exactly what they all wanted.
Some even suggested that the statue should be made entirely of pure gold, and the Rinnegan eyes should be carved from violet gemstones!
Hearing this, Gust could only wince and curse in his heart—Good grief, you really went there. The country doesn't even have a pot to piss in right now, where are we supposed to get gold?
But when he saw the reverent expressions on his people's faces, Gust clenched his teeth and made a silent vow: no matter what, that statue would be built.
With the statue discussion over, Gust turned once more to Blackbeard's corpse, now with a seething hatred in his eyes.
...
...
They'd all heard it inside Kaito's Door-Door Space. The reason this bastard destroyed their entire nation… was just to demonstrate the power of a Devil Fruit.
Just for that, he'd annihilated their homeland. If not for Kaito, they'd all be nothing but rotten flesh in the black void by now.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Gust drew the sword from one of his guards and slowly walked over to Blackbeard's body.
He raised the blade, intent on hacking the bastard into pieces—but for some reason, the moment he looked into Blackbeard's face, an inexplicable fear stirred in his heart.
Gust swallowed hard, cursing himself for being so weak. The guy was dead. What the hell was there to be afraid of?
He held the sword aloft, but after hesitating for a long while, finally let it fall powerlessly. Grinding his teeth, he barked,
"Someone! Drag this scum to the shoreline! Let the sea wash over him again and again until the tide carries him off to be fish food!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
...
On the beach, Blackbeard's corpse lay motionless, repeatedly washed by the waves.
It was only thanks to his heavyset frame that he hadn't been swept into the ocean yet. Otherwise, he'd already be inside a fish's belly.
But a corpse is still a corpse. With the rising tide, he was inching closer and closer to the waterline.
Finally, a large wave surged in, just about to sweep him into the sea.
And then, something strange happened.
Buzz!
Despite the fact that his Dark-Dark Fruit had been taken away, a mass of black darkness suddenly surged from beneath Blackbeard's body, rising into the air and forming a circular black hole above him.
The wave that had been about to swallow him was instantly dragged toward the black hole by a powerful gravitational force.
All at once, everything around fell silent—until a low, twisted laugh rang out.
"Hehehehehehe!"
Blackbeard's "corpse" moved. He slowly sat up, a strange smile creeping across his face.
He extended a hand now made of darkness and muttered to himself,
"You knew full well that guy with the violet eyes was hunting down fruit users, yet you still went running around with the Dark-Dark Fruit. Such a fool… Isn't that right, Teach?"
If anyone had heard him just then, they would've thought Blackbeard had developed split personalities from being beaten by Kaito.
But was that really the case?
"Blackbeard" lifted his head and looked out at the sea, spreading his arms and taking a deep breath. A look of rapture crossed his face as he sighed,
"Ah… how nostalgic. I never thought I'd get to feel your presence again. I really ought to thank that guy—what was his name? Shikiryū? If it weren't for him, I would've ended up devoured by that idiot Teach after all."
He clenched his outstretched hand, and the darkness dissolved into nothing. Seeing this, "Blackbeard" frowned slightly.
"There's not much of the darkness left. I'll need to use what remains to find a replacement, and fast."
He paused, and a certain fruit came to mind.
As he recalled its abilities, a grin returned to his face. He mused to himself,
"That's the one. Teach may have been a dumbass, but he wasn't completely useless. His knowledge of Devil Fruits really is something else. His memories are practically a living Devil Fruit encyclopedia."
With his target set, "Blackbeard" prepared to move. He needed to find the ship that had brought him here.
He didn't bother with the locals anymore. He had zero interest in causing more trouble, especially if it risked drawing that Shikiryū guy back here. That would be a total disaster.
Just thinking about him sent chills down "Blackbeard's" spine. He cursed inwardly,
"Damn it. I can't believe a monster like that actually exists. Even at my peak, I might not have stood a chance against him!"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, "Blackbeard" made his way toward the spot where his ship had docked.
Suddenly, a voice shouted from the sky in the distance—
"Teach, you bastard!!!"
The yell sent a jolt through "Blackbeard's" entire body. For a moment, he thought that madman Shikiryū had circled back.
He stiffly turned his head toward the source of the shout. But when he saw who it was, his expression immediately relaxed.
A giant bird wreathed in blue flames was soaring toward him on outstretched wings. Its identity was unmistakable—it was none other than Marco the Phoenix, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
In the air, Marco reverted to his half-beast form. His piercing eyes locked onto "Blackbeard" standing on the beach.
Memories of the fallen Thatch burned in his heart, and the blue flames around Marco flared even brighter, just like the rage inside him.
Before he even landed, Marco could no longer contain his fury. He folded his wings back in preparation, then let out a roar—
A massive bird formed entirely of blue fire detached from Marco's body and dove straight toward Blackbeard on the shore.
Watching the incoming flaming beast, "Blackbeard" smirked once more. He spread his arms wide, laughed madly, and shouted,
"Hehehehehehe! Marco, you're too late! Black Hole!!!"
Buzz!
A torrent of darkness surged from Blackbeard's open palms, spreading out to block the attack.
The bird dove straight into the dark void. After just a few moments of resistance, it was sucked in completely, vanishing into the abyss—leaving behind only a few fading embers of blue fire.
Power drawn from the fate of another...